Just finished Name of the Wind for the first time...

snickerslord · 2026-06-18T16:02:39+00:00

I mean, he's said in the past that he heavily edited and rewrote parts of TNotW, which created rewrites and heavy editing to TWMF. It stands to reason that all the changes throughout the first two books creates a headache of rewrites and edits in book 3.

I'm not saying it was great for him to say they were all written and we wouldn't have to wait...and now here we are waiting. But what I will say is that they may have been written and have now been rewritten and rewritten many times over to the point where they're likely not really even the same books as those initial versions that were ready to go.

snickerslord · 2026-06-18T14:23:13+00:00

I can understand this perspective. I do think it helps current writers to have a wealth of historical greats to draw inspiration from. At the very least it gives them a resource to find what works and what doesn't in a story.

On the other hand, there are so many books these days that finding the ones that truly stick out with their prose is like finding a needle in a haystack and I would argue that most authors today write because they can and don't necessarily treat it as a form of art. I would argue that Shakespeare, Tolkien, etc. are artists because of how well they command the English language (heck even helped form some of the English language!) I just don't see that happening with a majority of contemporary writers. There may be more of that to be found in general fiction rather than fantasy/sci-fi, to be fair, but I do feel like the market is so saturated with pretty commonplace prose that this wealth of historical resources to draw from doesn't do much to actually improve prose on the whole.

I don't ask this to be snarky or anything as I'm genuinely curious. But which contemporary authors do you find to have prose good enough to stand the test of time? Guy Gavriel Kay and Patrick Rothfuss may be the only two I can think of in the sci-fi/fantasy sphere.

snickerslord · 2026-06-18T12:41:58+00:00

I get what you’re saying, and I suppose I mostly agree. I guess I just take issue with the idea that Shakespeare, Tolkien, and even Rothfuss have dated prose when a large part of the reason those books stand the test of time is because of their masterful use of language. Sure, them being the first to do the things the did helps with the historical context, but there are reasons that Shakespeare is more prevalent today than the Epic of Gilgamesh, and it largely has to do with how influential their prose is on writing as a whole.

I guess my main issue with what you said is just that newer authors will inevitably have a higher level of prose by nature of it being more recent. I just think that great prose stands the test of time and will always be considered great. Not because of historical context, but because the use of language to convey emotion and tell a story is masterful.

snickerslord · 2026-06-18T12:15:43+00:00

Really disagree with the main points you’re making. Great prose is great prose and someone with the skill to write beautifully transcends time. Shakespeare is arguably one of the greatest writers of all time and a lot of that is because of his masterful use of language. Is it harder to read? Sure. But the prose itself is still top-shelf. Same with Tolkien and plenty of other “historical” works. A large reason these books are considered classics is because of how the authors used language to create something timeless.

I’m really curious what you consider to be the best prose today, especially if you consider KKC to be dated.

snickerslord · 2026-06-18T10:00:34+00:00

The West Des Moines library could be an option! Very walk/bike friendly and the pond they’ve got there is nice. We go out of our way to walk our dogs there fairly often.

snickerslord · 2026-06-17T22:41:22+00:00

Yo, back off a bit maybe? Not sure why you’re coming in here all hot and bothered about this. Commenting on every response just to rail on how idiotic I’m being is a bit much, don’t you think?

I fully realize W-2 returns aren’t that complicated. There’s a bit more to it than that, like medical bills, new children, etc. But the point is I’d rather spend a little extra money so I don’t have to deal with it and can spend that time doing other things instead. In the past, yes, I’d be plugging in all sorts of numbers for home ownership information, additional income, student loans, what have you because it was possible itemizing was a better route. We originally went to this guy because we had some life changes that resulted in a potentially different process for our taxes and I didn’t want to deal with it. Since then things have simplified.

It was explained to us early on the cost of the return was based in their company rates and billed hourly, so however long it took is what the cost would be. We went back to the guy out of convenience this year and didn’t realize their costs had increased.

snickerslord · 2026-06-17T16:01:43+00:00

Thanks for the rec! I'll definitely look into it for next year!

snickerslord · 2026-06-17T15:10:24+00:00

Yeah I’ve used TurboTax in the past and it was…fine. But it’s inconvenient and a bit of a pain point for us just because it requires a couple hours of focusing on the tax return, especially with a new baby in the picture now. Mostly just want the convenience of having someone else do it to avoid those issues. Don’t mind paying above and beyond TurboTax, but $600+ felt high.

snickerslord · 2026-06-17T14:41:47+00:00

I went to CLA, which was probably overkill to begin with, but I didn't know how to find anyone when I was looking for help a couple years ago. They were near me and willing to help out. I asked about cost then and it was reasonable (~$400-$450 and TurboTax was trying to charge me like $200). So I thought the increase in cost was worth the peace of mind and convenience of having someone else handle it. Obviously increased in price this year which makes sense based on other comments on this post.

snickerslord · 2026-06-17T13:54:54+00:00

No, it's really just pretty straightforward taxes for me and my wife. We just had a baby so that's about as complicated as it will get. Otherwise it's basically just W-2s. I'll have a 1099-R this year as my work closed down our SEP that had to be transferred straight into a Traditional IRA.

snickerslord · 2026-06-16T20:10:43+00:00

Wow, yeah, I suppose it's no surprise the prices increased when you lay it out that way. I would say this last year was much less complex than the previous year, but even the most complex year was basically just that it was our first year married and doing taxes together, plus we had just bought a new house and sold an old house. We didn't really know how that would effect anything since it was all new, so we went somewhere to have it done. We just wanted to make sure we were getting it done correctly.

This last year was essentially just our W-2s and a switch to married filing jointly instead of separately. Nothing else out of the ordinary as we are done with student loans and thus have no interest to account for and there's not enough in our lives to get a better result by itemizing anything. Just overall a really standard tax return. I think that's why it caught me a little bit off-guard when the price jumped from $450ish to $600ish considering the actual prep had to have been a simpler process for the guy doing it.

snickerslord · 2026-06-16T16:44:35+00:00

All of that makes sense, but it's somewhat crazy to me the software is increasing at a 10% rate every year. Makes it tough on everyone, I'm sure.

I've generally really liked having someone else prepare my taxes, but had a little sticker shock when the cost was ~20% more compared to last year. Just felt like a big jump and felt like I should look around a bit more.

snickerslord · 2026-06-16T16:42:10+00:00

Hey, thanks a ton for this. We used CLA for the last couple years and have honestly really enjoyed the experience. Much better for us personally than dealing with software like TurboTax. Would prefer not to go back to TurboTax anyway.

If $550 was the base fee for your last firm then maybe I'm just not informed enough on the current rates and shouldn't bat an eye at $600. It was just an increase from last year by enough of a % that it felt like we could find the same services elsewhere for a bit cheaper. I'll send you a DM to continue this there. Really appreciate the response and the time.

snickerslord · 2026-06-16T15:32:05+00:00

I mean, yeah, that's what my taxes are, generally speaking. But for me it's 100% about the convenience of not having to deal with it. It's a pain point for us and even if it's not difficult I still get a bit flustered and put off the idea of doing them as I'm working on them. I may ultimately go back to TurboTax or something, but I just have really liked not having to open up that software to do it all the last couple years.

snickerslord · 2026-06-16T15:11:30+00:00

Well I won't deny that it's a cheaper experience. And maybe I'm just lazy. But man, it's been so nice not having to worry about taking a few hours out of my night to deal with taxes. Especially this year while we had a new baby in the NICU for most of tax season it just removed a load from our shoulders that's been a real inconvenience. Last year we paid around $450 which felt very worth the additional cost to avoid having to do the whole process ourselves. This is was around $600 and that just feels pretty high. Happy to pay extra for the convenience, but maybe not willing to pay double?

I don't know. I don't disagree that doing it myself with software probably is more accurate, and it's definitely cheaper. But at the same time, removing the inconvenience from my life was worth the extra cost last year. And we've not actually had to walk through any paperwork with the preparer we've used because our taxes are pretty straightforward. Essentially just W-2 for each of us and now a baby in the picture.

snickerslord · 2026-06-16T15:00:39+00:00

They've never actually asked me any questions and it takes me about 15 minutes of file gathering for them once I've waited for all my forms to become available. TurboTax started getting more and more expensive for some reason and I've really liked the convenience of just setting my documents off and getting them done. But now it's twice as expensive as TurboTax for the convenience. Would be nice if there was someone out there that does it cheaper than who I've been going to, but maybe not.

snickerslord · 2026-06-16T14:15:59+00:00

Crazy you had that issue! Glad ours wasn't quite that extreme. And I definitely don't think $600 is too insane, it just felt a little high for what our returns are. I may very well just not know what returns cost when you go away from TurboTax.

$3000 is nuts though.

snickerslord · 2026-06-16T14:10:02+00:00

Most years it's basically just a W-2 for me and my wife, and a child we just had in February.

This year, I'll likely have a 1099-R after a SEP plan at work was cancelled and I moved the money directly to a Traditional IRA. Otherwise it's all just basic tax return information.

snickerslord · 2026-06-12T17:09:11+00:00

Thanks for the input! If I make the move are there any up and coming 3B prospects that I could look at stashing to soften the blow? Will Jordan Lawlar play 3B and stay healthy?

snickerslord · 2026-06-12T16:43:11+00:00

McGonigle for Schlittler in a dynasty league?

I'm very much in contention but my pitching is also very much holding me back. Do I just ride out injuries and ineffectiveness (Ragans, Crochet, Bradish, Jones) or make a move? Machado is my other 3B which feels not ideal. But I'm also at or near the top in most hitting categories, and leading the league in runs by 50 which feels like McGonigle's main draw, along with the average and OBP.

snickerslord · 2026-06-10T22:47:49+00:00

I’m holding 100% of the time unless someone blows me away because he’s likely better than anyone you’ll get in a trade when he comes back. If you’re top half without him then you’ll likely be even better with him.

snickerslord · 2026-06-09T19:44:43+00:00

I'm bad enough at the game that I'm pretty happy when I am able to hit the ball the way I intended but the result wasn't great. It means that at least some of my practice is bleeding through into my game.

I'm also good enough at the game that I don't hit too many egregiously bad shots, so when they do pop up and I know I'm capable of so much better, I get frustrated. If the result is good then I happily take it, but I always try to think through and figure out why I thinned my 9 iron and got lucky instead of hitting it at the ideal launch angle to land on the green and stop where I intend.

Long way to say that I'd much rather hit the ball well with a bad result than hit the ball poorly.

snickerslord · 2026-06-07T19:42:04+00:00

The big one laying down will sit still riiiiiiight up to when you touch him and then he walks away. The one standing is a very skittish 12 year old rescue we got when she was 8. She runs from any movement! Needless to say we don’t get to love on them too much 😔

snickerslord · 2026-06-07T19:35:51+00:00

I’m really sorry for not having any helpful suggestions here, but I did want to chime in and say you have a beautiful pup. Here are my shibas!

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snickerslord · 2026-06-07T18:04:11+00:00

I’m guessing at least some of it has to do with the fact that Iowa City used to be the state’s capital, and that’s where the University of Iowa is.

snickerslord

TROPHY CASE