Books: Game of Thrones

That is seriously all I've read in months.  I'm beyond obsessed.  If a repeat of the Season 1 episodes pops up on HBO, I'm up all night watching.  I read books 1 - 4 in a row without stopping.  It's taking all my will power not to jam through Book 5.  Because then there will be none left.  And, truthfully, I didn't love Book 4.  The author has indicated he will take the series through Book 7.  HBO is filming Season 2 now and is going to film, I think, Seasons 3 and 4 back to back to save $ (and thereby having the episodes ready to air quicker).  Season 2 begins in April and I'm hanging out on the show making of blog just to get glimpses of the show to kill time until it comes back.

Oh, I also read Mindy Kaling's new book and loved it.  She's great and the book is as funny as her Kelly Kapoor on The Office.

Books: Catching Fire, The Help

Catching Fire is the 2nd book in the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. It was just as great as the 1st book! I already put in a reserve at the library for the 3rd book that is due out in August. I hope they make the movie soon - it's slated as In Development with Lionsgate Films right now. They need an unknown cast and I bet it will be awesome.

Also read The Help which seems to be in everyones hands these days. I enjoyed it. It was a nice change from the Hunger Games books that I have been devouring.

On to No Angel by Penny Vincenze on recommendation from a friend of mine that travels and reads all the time. Also a trilogy I guess. Good so far. I'm pleased with the increase in my level of reading these days. Not too much on TV right now so it's working.

Book: The Hunger Games

By Suzanne Collins. I cannot recommend this book any more. It was FANTASTIC! It's a Young Adult book that I had read a review about. I actually finished it in about 3-4 sittings which is dramatic for me these days.

It takes place in the future where the US doesn't exist anymore. In it's place is the Capitol and 12 districts. To pay the people back for trying to revolt, the Capitol forces them to participate in the Hunger Games every year. Each district sends a boy and a girl b/w 12 and 18 to compete to the death. Awesome, awesome, awesome. I'd love to see this made into a movie with some kick-ass no-name actors. It could be like the Outsiders of our day propelling multiple stars into movie making.

If you like an original story, suspense, action, relationship stories, then read this ASAP. There is a follow up book that I'm going to get, but I have to read The Help first.

Book: Prayer for Owen Meany

I feel like I've heard from numerous people that this is a favorite book of all time. I've not read John Irving before, so I figured I'd give it a whirl. I really tried to like this book. I hung in there past the half-way point. No can do. I returned it.

Book: World Without End

Loved this book. Loved it. This was the "sequel" to Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It wasn't really a sequel per se, but rather took place in the same time with ancestors of the original story. Pillars wasn't really relevant, but it did give the current story some more context. In short, this story was about a town in the 1300's built around a monks priory; the interaction of church and community; the interaction also with the kingdom of England and the nobility; and finally the interplay between classes. As with Pillars, the core of the story focused around the architecture of the priory, the infrastructure of the town, and how commerce and politics played out at that time. There was a love story interwoven which was central, but not overpowering.

I just truely got sucked in and could not put this book down. It was long but written beautifully and I just didn't want it to end. I could see either or both of these being made into a solid movie. OOOOO...Just checked IMDB and it's being made into a TV Mini-Series to be released this year! Mostly unknown cast, which is probably good, except for Ian McShane (Deadwood).

Books: Sarahs Key & Watchmen

I enjoyed this book so much - it was a rec from my mom. It was very intense and sad, but I couldn't put it down. So much so that with only a few chapters left when I finished the elliptical today, I sat down on the floor at the gym and finished it. Totally choked up at the gym...embarrassing. It's about the round-up of Jewish families in Paris by the French police doing the bidding of the Germans. In the first chapter, a little girl locks her brother in their secret hiding place so that he is safe assuming she'll be back to let him out later. You can imagine the heartbreaking and inevitable result. Simultaneously, it's about an American journalist living in Paris years later and how she discovers this girls story. Anyway, it's by Tatiana de Rosnay and I recommend it highly.

I'm finishing Watchmen today also. I've really liked this one too and can't wait to see the movie. Unfortunately, I'm picturing the actors as I'm reading, but as much as I can distinguish between the 2, I'm thinking the casting was well done. This is my 2nd foray into Graphic Novels. I can't say I'm a total convert but I've been impressed with the 2 series I've read - Watchmen & Y: The Last Man.

Pillars of the Earth

I finished this book a couple of weeks ago and it was, as promised by my Uncle, an excellent book. Coming in at almost 1000 pages and with that annoying Oprah Book Club stamp on the front, I was hooked within the first 10 pages. I LOVE historical fiction and long saga stories. This was one of them and I'm so thrilled I heard there was a follow up book (although I think it takes place a few hundred years later). I am usually opposed to the "Author Rush" as once you zip through all an authors books excitedly, you have nothing left and are bummed (I have broken my own rule recently with the Twilight series though since I read all 4 in a row this summer). I haven't read Ken Folletts other books. He's known for thrillers which are fine but make me think of those quick airport reads that are good enough for what they are but just not meaty (ie John Grisham, etc). For me to dedicate my time and tiredness, I almost need a guarantee that a book will hook me in and keep me going.

Anyway, I HIGHLY recommend this book for anyone that loves a nice long story that seems to have no end in sight...

Books: The Twilight Series

I'm addicted to these books...Yes, they are Young Adult books and they are about Vampires. Don't make fun of me until you've read the 1st one. Stephenie Meyer has written a series of books including Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse. The 4th book, Breaking Dawn, is scheduled to be published August 2nd. If you ever read the Vampire books by Anne Rice (Interview with a Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, Queen of the Damned, etc) and liked them, you might like these. Meyers books are about the Vampire world; but moreso about a deep love story between a human teenaged girl and a Vampire (at least through Book 2). I'm waiting for Book 3 from the library and have pre-reserved Book 4.

Anyone who has talked to me about books knows I have a strong stance on not Author rushing. It's hard to avoid, but I try not to do it. When you have a great experience reading a book all you want to do is read another by that author and another. Then, lo and behold, there are none left and the author is dead (see Leon Uris who wrote one of my favorite books of all time, Exodus).

I have broken my own rule here, after I teased a co-worker for doing the same with this particular series. I read Book 1 on her recommendation as her 13-yr old daughter read it and loved it. She read them next and if she liked them I knew I would too. She read all 3 in a row and pre-ordered 4. So, looks like that's what I'll be doing. Except that I'm competing against a ton of teenaged girls in the greater Boston area and their summer reading lists and the million copies in my library network are ALL CHECKED OUT! I'm diverting to a book about Marie Antoinette right now that I'm liking probably since I loved the movie by Sofia Coppola not so long ago.

Last 7 Books I've Read

I just finished a pretty good book, Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. I should preface this by saying it was relatively depressing. I got the recommendation from David Sedaris when Joe and I went to see his show in Boston a couple of months ago. He warned us that the writing was melancholy, but that doesn't usually stop me. I've been known to steep in sad themes - book or movie. The writing was very good. The story didn't move along so quickly...stuff happened, but it was more of a character piece. Don't run out for it, but I would recommend it if you want to have a nice slow paced read and can handle the sadness.

I should note that I keep a journal of all the books I've ever read. A guy I used to work with at the Ann Arbor District Library, when we lived in Michigan and I was about to start Grad school, had done this for 30 years. Can you imagine logging every book you've ever read for 30 years???? I was inspired and spent weeks going through book lists, amazon, and other sources to back track and figure out what I had read. It took awhile, but I think I have a pretty good list now. I stopped from after my honeymoon (5+ years ago) until about a year ago, so at some point I'll try to fill that time period in. I'm keeping up with it again now though. When Shelagh is starting to read on her own, I'm going to get her a journal to do this in and see if she gets into it too. Rory too probably, but I can tell Shelagh is going to be a reader like me.


The last 7 books I've read include:

1. Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates
2. The Far Pavilions - M.M. Kaye - This was a crazy long historical fiction novel along the lines of Thornbirds (one of my faves - book and mini-series - of all time). It took me about 6 mos to finish...it's hard to get through a 1000+ page book a few pages at a time. I really enjoyed it.
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling - LOVED IT! What a wonderful ending. I should note that I listened to this, and all HP's on CD in the car. The guy that narrates all the books does a fabulous job and I don't think reading this in book form would have the same affect on me.
4. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini - I enjoyed this one so much more than his first book, The Kite Runner. Don't get me wrong...KR was excellent...until the end. It had possibly the WORST ending of all time. It screamed "my editor needs the ending, I can whip this out in 5 pages and be done with it". It truely ruined the book for me. I don't know if I'm going to see the movie. Maybe. ATSS was wonderful beginning to end. I think the author closed things up in a much more gradual and graceful way this time.
5. The Book of Eleanor: A Novel about Eleanor of Aquitaine - Pamela Kaufman - I love historical fiction. I especially love historical fiction when it's framed around real people. This was easy to get into and similar to The Other Boleyn Girl which I've recently read as well.
6. Scar Tissue - Anthony Kiedis - What a life to read about. Great book. His life philosophy is a little tiresome by the end, but you have to admire the Red Hot Chili Peppers dedication to their music and each other. I loved reading about their friendship the most...definintely gave me more respect for the band.
7. The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory - Loved this book and can't wait for the movie with Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johanssen.

Feel free to add your Last 5+ list into the comments.