Joutou43 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Hello everyone, I am not sure if it's the right place to post this but I take my chance. As the title says I am a high school dropout, now 25 and never had much interest in reading, in fact quite disliejkd the thing. A friend lended me the first 2 seasons of Game of Thrones and gave it a shot. I was blown away. So much that I actually went to the library and purchased the first book of ''A Song And Ice And Fire''. Started to read and was enthralled and I mean completely absorbed. I couldn't put the book down. I read in the bus, at lunch, before sleeping and so on. I didn't know reading could make you feel that way. Perhaps I never got to read a book I liked much. That's my little tale. The tale of a high school dropout winding up discovering an interest of reading becuase of GOT! Anyone with in a similar situation? I am curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden of the Cheesy Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 It's probably not the right place to post it, but I don't know exactly where you'd go with it.But hey, I'm also a HS dropout (albeit with a GED and in college-planning mode) and I love the books too! Good for you man, books open your mind up, so hopefully it can spark a new path in life for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyrnaSnowBunnyAvenger Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 1. Welcome2. I'm very happy that you found something to make you love reading, it can open whole new worlds3. If you have only finished GoT, be very careful around here. Spoilers abound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keter Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Good for you, friend.The secondary education system can make reading seem incredibly dull due to the ponderous tomes one is forced to read. I'm glad that you have discovered the joy of reading for yourself--people seldom do these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Leftwich Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 As a librarian, this is a wonderful thing to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watch for Witches Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 That's a very happy thing to hear. Hopefully ASOIAF has inspired you to read more; reading really is an amazing thing.Like Jojen said: "A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capp Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Something like 1 out of 10 children in school really struggle with reading - they might have dyslexia or some other LD that makes processing the words so difficult that they can't get the same real enjoyment out of it that people who have no trouble with processing do. I recommend trying listening to books to anyone who finds it tough to get through a book by reading. I listen while I clean my house and commute. There are some pretty interesting websites that are free such as the Gutenberg Project - free classics read by volunteers. Our library has a bunch of titles too. And, of course, there ways to pay for audiobooks - but they are quite expensive. I've been having some students do a lot more listening this year and it is working for getting grade level content and higher level material to intelligent kids who struggle with reading. edit: To the original poster - I'm glad you got immersed into a book and enjoyed it. The third book in this series was so amazing! What books have you not liked? Maybe the readers in here can suggest more titles. So many people your age were hooked by Harry Potter. Not you I guess!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spear of Dorne Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Great to hear - enjoying reading and escaping into the world of the book you're reading is a wonderful feeling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joutou43 Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 Thanks a lot guys. Very appreciated to read your comments. Capp] I never had much interest in reading, even at school when they were making us reading annoying mysteries novels. I didn't like that very much. Reading gave me headaches and made me sleepy to be honest. Harry Potter I never read, but I've watch some movies ( can't remember which ones) I am now in the middle of A clash of kings and it's fanatastic! I guess I feel drawn to the medieval, epic battle stuffs with conspiracy and I never knew I had such interest. I might plan to read the series Lord Of The Rings after that. My friends speaks highly of it. Well, I was never good at school but if I can find an inttellectual activity later in life, can't be a bad thing I guess. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckal Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Good for you, friend.The secondary education system can make reading seem incredibly dull due to the ponderous tomes one is forced to read. I'm glad that you have discovered the joy of reading for yourself--people seldom do these days. QFT. I credit ASOIAF for much of my love of reading I have now as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Beyond the Wall Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Hello everyone, I am not sure if it's the right place to post this but I take my chance. As the title says I am a high school dropout, now 25 and never had much interest in reading, in fact quite disliejkd the thing. A friend lended me the first 2 seasons of Game of Thrones and gave it a shot. I was blown away. So much that I actually went to the library and purchased the first book of ''A Song And Ice And Fire''. Started to read and was enthralled and I mean completely absorbed. I couldn't put the book down. I read in the bus, at lunch, before sleeping and so on. I didn't know reading could make you feel that way. Perhaps I never got to read a book I liked much. That's my little tale. The tale of a high school dropout winding up discovering an interest of reading becuase of GOT! Anyone with in a similar situation? I am curious.Glad to hear! This is a masterpiece for sure. I highly suggest staying off forums though, at least this one, until you are through A Clash of Kings. There are too many spoilers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crow's Third Eye Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Thanks a lot guys. Very appreciated to read your comments. Capp] I never had much interest in reading, even at school when they were making us reading annoying mysteries novels. I didn't like that very much. Reading gave me headaches and made me sleepy to be honest. Harry Potter I never read, but I've watch some movies ( can't remember which ones) I am now in the middle of A clash of kings and it's fanatastic! I guess I feel drawn to the medieval, epic battle stuffs with conspiracy and I never knew I had such interest. I might plan to read the series Lord Of The Rings after that. My friends speaks highly of it. Well, I was never good at school but if I can find an inttellectual activity later in life, can't be a bad thing I guess. :)I'm glad you are finding a love of books. Books are our friends :)If you struggle however, I wouldnt advise LOTR. While it is an exceptional work IMO, it isnt like ASoIaF. Its much more of a fictional history and a world builder. If you have seen the films and enjoyed them... expect something very different. The books place very little focus on actual battle scenes. It can be very difficult to wade through, particularly if you are unused to reading. If you are determined though, Children of Hurin, which occurs ages before the LOTR series, is probably the closest to ASoIaF. The Hobbit is the easiest to read Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenFleece Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 A person who doesn't read leads one life.A person who reads leads many lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valyrian Spoon Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 This is a nice post OP, welcome to the forum.I can only echo what others have said until your caught up be careful in general asoiaf. Even the post titles can be full of spoilers if you haven't got as far as ADWD. If you want to post whilst enjoying the books there are still reading sub forums. Also, if you are looking for inspiration for what to read next there are a lot of threads in the literature forum that can point you in the right direction. :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Bong of Ice and Fire Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 I was blown away. So much that I actually went to the library and purchased the first book of ''A Song And Ice And Fire''. I think the library ripped you off... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Beyond the Wall Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Best username ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winter's Knight Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 As a devoted reader myself, it makes me happy to see the books winning over new converts. I remember the Harry Potter series doing the same to my brother: one summer he read the series just to get me to stop badgering him and the next he's swallowing five books a week and fighting me over the spot closest to the reading lamps. Everyone has their own gateway book. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slugabed Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Hi OP! Your story is so cool! I was a big time reader in high school, but I think after I "grew up" I just stopped reading fiction, I don't know why. I credit ASoIaF with getting me back into reading for the pure enjoyment of it. If you like "losing yourself" in medieval fantasy worlds, you're gonna have a FUN TIME!!! There's so much amazing stuff out there to read. Here are some of my favorites that I read back in high school, if you still CRAVE MORE after reading this series! 1) C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia. Seven very readable books, starting with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. They're marketed as children's books, but they're actually great for any age. From Wikipedia: "Set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts, and talking animals, the series narrates the adventures of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of that world. Except in The Horse and His Boy, the protagonists are all children from the real world, magically transported to Narnia, where they are called upon by the lion Aslan to protect Narnia from evil and restore the throne to its rightful line. 2) Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy: The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, and The Last Enchantment. These are fantasy novels set in the time of King Arthur, but the story is told from the point of view of Merlin (the magician). I remember being completely over the moon in love with these books. If you like them, there are two later novels: The Wicked Day, and The Prince and The Pilgrim, but I haven't read those. Maybe now I will! 3) Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. From Wikipedia: "In it, a Yankee engineer from Connecticut is accidentally transported back in time to the court of King Arthur, where he fools the inhabitants of that time into thinking he is a magician—and soon uses his knowledge of modern technology to become a "magician" in earnest, stunning the English of the Early Middle Ages with such feats as demolitions, fireworks and the shoring up of a holy well." This book is fun and funny. 4) then of course there's J.R.R.Tolkien, start first with The Hobbit. It's totally awesome. From there you can get into the LOTR trilogy very easily. His writing style is very different from GRRM, but even GRRM gives proper respect to Tolkien for basically setting the standard for this kind of fantasy fiction. I completely lost myself in them, they were so wonderful. 5) also, the J.K. Rowling Harry Potter books came out much later for me (high school was a loooong time ago), even though they're commonly considered young reader books, don't write them off, Rowling's a fantastic writer and story teller! Have fun, OP! :cheers: and welcome! BTW - I echo the previous poster about the spoilers on this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden of the Cheesy Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 QFT. I credit ASOIAF for much of my love of reading I have now as well. I credit GRRM for my newfound dream of being an author someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SerTonyStark Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Good on'ya son. It's a wonderful series and now an entire universe of books is open to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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