This year my new job exposed me to a lot of new concepts, so I decided on spending my reading time on fiction instead. The titles aren’t revolutionary, but they’re all new reads for me so I had fun.

Books

Harry Potter: I grew up during the hype, but could never get into the books or movies. I wanted to see what missed out on so I started (and finished) the series. A side effect is I’m now able to see all the differences compared to the movies.

Philosopher’s Stone
Chamber of Secrets
Prisoner of Azkaban
Goblet of Fire
Order of the Phoenix
Half-Blood Prince
Deathly Hallows

Lord of the Rings: Yes, The Hobbit isn’t part of the trilogy, but I still read it anyways as an introduction to Tolkien’s style. Even with that I couldn’t finish the series. I think it’s partly because I didn’t completely buy in, and I had the same issue when I tried reading Dune. It’s a great book, but very exposition heavy in the beginning. In the end it’s worth it, but it takes a few tries to get over the hump.

The Hobbit
The Fellowship of the Ring (up to Book II: The Ring Goes South)