Culture

3 Long reads to

Helo Strike Off Boredom

Colin Slark
Team Member

NBC’s semester is nearly over, opening up many possibilities for the upcoming

summer, Some of you will continue to take classes, some of you will be hard at
work, and others will need to find things to occupy their time. I have always found
that an enjoyable thing to do over summer break is to engage in a long reading
project.

Delving into a long series of fiction can

be rewarding. If you find something you
like and there is a lot of it, you can occupy
yourself for a long time. Here are three
long reads to help stave off boredom.

Robots/Foundation by Issac Asimov (1942-93):
Issac Asimov is a writer whose impact on
popular culture is often more remembered
than his actual works. His impact on robotics
is influential in both fiction and in real life.
His concepts are fascinating, but he also
excelled at world building. In over fifteen
books comprised of both novel-length
stories and short stories, Asimov tells the
story of the human race as it expands into
space. The Robot novels tell the story of
humanity’s first entry into space, the galactic
empire novels show humanity’s heyday

and the Foundation novels tell the story of
the man who predicted the empire’s end

and the steps he took to save civilization.

You could read any one of these series
individually, but together they forma
gigantic and captivating tapestry. There is
a caveat to this: Asimov's estate authorized
other authors to write other novels in the

series after Asimov’s death. Do not read
those; they are attempts to artificially
extend the life of a corpse. Also, if you’re
looking for strong female characters,
look elsewhere. Over these books, Asimov
writes no more than one woman well.

Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman (2009-
2012): Given that Fantastic Four has existed

for over 60 years and over 600 issues, I would
not blame you for not knowing if any of it is
actually good. Fortunately, a recent run on
Fantastic Four is both easy to find and of the
highest quality. Writer Jonathan Hickman and
a rotating cast of artists spent 58 issues from
2009-2012 taking the team through time,
space, multiple universes, and cosmic war.

The introduction of world-eater Galactus
in the 1960s introduced a massive scope to
comic books, but Hickman takes the action
to new heights and does it perfectly. If

you enjoy Hickman’s run on this book, his
run on S.H.LE.L.D. tangentially ties into his
Fantastic Four and his run on Avengers more
directly picks up on story threads from his
Fantastic Four. If you read all of it, I estimate
it to be around 160 issues - all of it great.

Discworld by Terry Pratchett (1983-2015):
Given the sheer quantity of Discworld content,
it is very understandable for a new reader
to not know where to start. There are 41
main novels, 5 short stories, and something
like two-dozen other books - and this

only covers the material directly written

or co-written by recently deceased series
creator Terry Pratchett. This does not
cover the comic book adaptations, film/TV
adaptations, audiobooks, stage adaptations,
radio adaptations, various games and

other material not written by Pratchett.

Given the sheer amount of content,

I would not necessarily recommend
starting from the beginning and working
your way through. The interesting thing
about Discworld is that while all the books
are part of the same series, there are
several smaller sub-series within it.

Since the books follow the adventures of
different groups and individuals across the
Discworld, you could read two novels in
chronological order but encounter none
of the same characters. This means there
are several good starting points for a new

Discworld Series | Terry Pratchett

reader. You could read the Tiffany Aching
sub-series without having read anything
else and you would be starting with the 30th
book in chronological order. Personally, I
would recommend that new readers read the
City Watch sub-series starting with Guards!
Guards!. There are some fun subversions of
tropes commonly found in chivalric tales
and police procedurals and the characters
tend to be grounded and relatable, making
it easy to identify with these men, women,
and monsters as they encounter the
weirdest things Discworld has to offer.

Depending on how fast you read, these series
could take you weeks, months, or even years
to finish. In my opinion, all of them are

well worth it. If you are unsure of where to
start, all of these series have dedicated fans
who have compiled detailed reading order
lists that can be found online. Boredom is

a powerful enemy; it sneaks up on you and
grabs ahold of your enthusiasm, killing it. If
you find something interesting to consume
during your free time, like podcasts or
science fiction movies, you can stave off
boredom and retain your zest for life.