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PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   1689 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for May 8, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I'm looking for some book recommendations in a specific vein, if anyone has suggestions. I'm looking for something a little pulpy, where the protagonists make a point of doing the right thing, and nothing in God's creation will set them from their chosen course. Think (early) Dresden Files Correia's saga of the forgotten warrior.

Beyond that, I'm looking for earnestness on the part of the author and the protagonist. I recently read Dungeon Crawler Carl after many recommendations, and it just felt a little too meta-ironic and quippy.

I would recommend The Wandering Inn for anything. The main character is definitely always earnest.

I would not recommend The Wandering Inn. I've not read it, but it's insanely long. Last I checked it was like 12 million words, but I imagine it's over 13 by now. And even if the protagonist is earnest from what I know the story is all about multiple povs, so how much of her will you even get to see.

You can finish the entire LOTR series, the entire Wheel of Time, all of Discworld, and then web novels like Worm, and a dozen of other novels and you're still under Wandering Inn's wordcount. No matter the hype for Wandering Inn, there's no way it justifies its length.

Nobody is forcing you to read the entire thing. As I recently mentioned:

What matters is the journey, not the destination. Among non-professionally-published literary works, I think it's very possible that I've enjoyed more incomplete ones than complete ones.

Even among professionally-published works, there's nothing wrong with giving five stars to The Three Musketeers, four stars to Twenty Years After, and three stars plus "did not finish" to The Vicomte de Bragelonne.

If you like the early parts, but find that the story becomes less enjoyable as you progress, then just drop the story.

No matter the hype for Wandering Inn, there's no way it justifies its length.

I understand that it's a detraction for many people no doubt, but there is a reason there is hype for it. Honestly when I was getting caught up, I didn't even realize the length cause I was getting really sucked in. The books are getting real prints I believe so maybe that's a good way to get into it. My friends and I tried to convince a friend to read One Piece for over a decade and he always balked at the length. He started reading after he watched the One Piece Live Action to all of our dismay lol.

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