I started reading progression fantasy on Royal Road earlier this year (a site for posting web serials). Here’s my current follow list (excluding stories that are on hiatus):

• The Runic Artist — isekai, rune-based crafting, good mix of action and slice-of-life
• The Broken Knife — Kobold MC with a dragon companion, dark but compelling read, excellent worldbuilding
• Demon World Boba Shop — cozy isekai, nice characters
• Dual Wielding — slow burn, tale of two friends (both very talented), writing is good, action scenes get dark and intense
• Legends and Librarians — cozy romance, magical library (not litrpg/progression), plenty of cute creatures
• An Otherworldly Scholar — isekai, teacher MC, good worldbuilding, nice romance, great characters, plenty of twists, adventure and danger, especially enjoyed the slice-of-life stuff
• Archmage from Another World: Gaining Administrator Access — isekai from another fantasy world, lighthearted fun with good set of characters, no looming world-level threats so far
• Underkeeper — MC is a recent magical academy graduate, good at magic but works as underkeeper (no money/connections to join adventurer groups), got darker than I’m comfortable with, but loved the characters and the demon companion
• Immovable Mage — good worldbuilding, characters, plot twists and detailed magic system, clever use of plot events pushes MC towards OP, would suggest to read at least till the end of 2nd arc
• Level One God — likeable MC, cool magic stuff I haven’t seen before, some bad moments are really dark, good writing
• Spire’s Spite — criminally underrated with only 100+ followers, mostly been spire climbing so far, good magic system, dark and has some stuff I don’t like but overall I’ve enjoyed it
• Blood Curse Academia — overall I enjoyed the combination of action, learning and mystery, but a lot of weird coincidences and stuff didn’t make sense
• Mana Mirror — loved the concept of mana garden and the myriad customization options, writing and plot was easy to follow, third volume is the best so far
• The Maid Is Not Dead — writing felt like traditionally published epic fantasy with progression elements, slow burn but events are starting to escalate
• Dark Lord’s Last Call — MC’s soul is swapped with the dark lord, plans to open a tavern, enjoyable light-hearted read
• Orphan — I usually ignore the litrpg math but this one takes it a bit too far! characters all have flaws (though sometimes it becomes a bit too irritating), good worldbuilding and mystery
• Rules of Biomancy — 70 year old herbalist MC with a secret past comes across two isekai-ed people in danger of dying and decides to help, enjoying a lot

When I was younger, I’d read slowly, trying to visualize the setting, keep track of character preferences, look up words I don’t know, etc. I’d remember a book well enough to talk about it even a year or so after.

These days, I just skim over descriptions and read as fast as I could while still getting the main plot. I get attached to characters only if the book is really good and savor them during rereads.

I mostly read fantasy and sci-fi, which tend to have multiple books in a series. If they are easy-to-read and short (300-400 pages per book), it becomes easy to consume. Also, I read for escapism, so I don’t read too closely.

Hopefully less than this year. I’m reading too many (100+) and that’s reflecting in my reduced time on actual work (self-employed).

+1 for Cradle already mentioned. I’d add

• The Riyria Revelations by Michael J. Sullivan
• Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

Cradle by Will Wight is a page-turner. 12 book completed series and audio is great based on gushing reviews I’ve come across.

GVim.

Check out https://ghostwriter.kde.org/ if you are looking for a GUI app with live preview, full screen mode, etc.

If you don’t mind sci-fi: Red Rising by Pierce Brown

And there’s the classic The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas