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You guys, I read A BOOK. That’s right, a single digit accomplishment that was 728 pages long. It seems funny to be so proud of that after having read as many as six or eight books in a month, for the last several years, but motherhood really kicked me in the pants when it comes to my reading life. I had this idea that I would sit around nursing Polly, with a book and a cup of coffee, and that I would tell you grand stories about the books I was checking off my list and the picture books Polly and I were reading together. Ummm, not so much. I should write you a post about what the average day looks like right now, because there exactly negative numbers of minutes when I have time to do anything for myself.
When Rachel mentioned not hosting our link up this year, I was a little bit relieved. She’s probably thrilled to be doing something else, since I could not keep up last year, but it turned out to be a blessing for me. I needed to eliminate the expectation and pressure to read more and it has been so freeing to find my way back to a book, just because I wanted to. I’m going to continue sharing monthly reading posts, but it’s going to be a little more casual than before. No link ups or fancy forms to fill out, just a handful of thoughts about what books — if any — I managed to tackle in the previous thirty-ish days.
A CLASH OF KINGS by George R.R. Martin
★★★★★ | Fantasy Series
Two sentence summary: Book two in the A Song of Ice and Fire series (that HBO’s Game of Thrones is based on) — this book loosely follows the second season, but this is also where the stories begin to diverge. It’s hard to summarize any Martin book in two sentences, but the title says it all: all the kings are clashing.
What I liked: I’m a fan of reading series, because once I fall in love with a group of characters, I want to follow along with them for as long as possible. The upside to reading this story, is that you get so many more details, backstory, and internal dialogue from the characters than you do on-screen. The motivations behind their aspirations are plain to see and I find it easier to enjoy complicated story lines when you can hear a character’s thought process. I also really appreciate being introduced to characters not covered in the show and to see the changes the writers found necessary for television.
What frustrated me: I don’t have much bad to say about these — the writing and storytelling is impeccable. I alternated the book and audio version, which made reading much faster for me, since I could listen to several chapters a day, while I was commuting. The most frustrating part of any fantasy novel is the length — I often struggle with staying on task for books more than 300-400 pages long.
Favorite Quote: I couldn’t choose just one, but these were two of many that I marked!
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies,” said Jojen. “The man who never reads lives only one.”
– George R. R. Martin
“A woman’s life is nine parts mess to one part magic, you’ll learn that soon enough… and the parts that look like magic turn out to be the messiest of all.” – Cersei Lannister
Recommended for: I would recommend these for someone who loves epic tales of knights and princesses, but doesn’t mind heavy adult content. I think the books are easier to read than the show is to watch — visual cruelty and promiscuity is much harder to stomach than words on a page. While these are set in another time and place, they heavily mirror medieval stories. This means women are chattel and almost every dispute is settled with a sword.
You know I love Anne and she wrote a book post today with a few easy prompts, that I decided to swipe for my own review!
