Game of Thrones Rant

Good morning everyone!

As I'm sure a lot of you have seen, there's been a lot of controversy over the latest episode of HBO's Game of Thrones.  I don't usually get involved in these rantings and ravings because quite honestly, this is a fictional world inhabited by fictional people and there are a lot more worrisome things happening in the real world that deserve louder rantings and ravings.

However, I guess I need to put my two-cents worth out there for anyone interested in reading it.  I've been a fan of GoT since it first aired on HBO four and a half seasons ago.  And I'm still a huge fan today, even more so as the plot continues to thicken and characters come and go.  One of the things I love about what HBO has done with this series is that they have given us fans an alternate storyline that I can easily see GRRM getting behind 100%.  And he does.  Just read his interviews or watch videos of him answering questions about the show.

With that said, there's been this big blow up about Sansa's scene at the end of the latest episode.  Yes it was disturbing and yes I felt completely sorry for her character.  But what did people expect when she was marrying the biggest sadistic psycho of the seven kingdoms?  He wasn't going to be all flowery and romantic with her just because she was Sansa Stark and his newly acquired wife.  Ramsay is a freak and will continue to torture, both mentally and physically, until someone finally kills him off.  I'm just hoping that after what happened to Sansa and Theon being forced to witness it, that those two will make an odd alliance and kill the bastard off before the season ends!

Anyway, I guess the real reason I'm ranting here is that I had a friend on Facebook that I've known for a long time post an article about this episode.  Then he went on to share that if anyone was still willing to watch the show after what some people called a horrific, brutal rape scene, he wanted to know so he could unfriend them.  It kind of pi$$ed me off when I read that.  I find it ludicrous that people will turn their backs on those that get enjoyment out of a FICTIONAL show.  It's not as if any of us watching GoT condone rape or murder or torture and the writers and actors do not condone rape or murder or torture.  They are just writing a scene or acting out a scene in a world that was created to show the harsh realities of that realm.  And again... it's FICTION!  Plus, rape, murder, torture, orgies, and all sorts of insanity have been a part of this series from the beginning, both in the books and in the show.  So why this particular 2-minute scene is getting such a vicious and ludicrous reaction is beyond me.

I say kudos to the writers, actors, and to the author for standing behind this scene 100% and kudos to those fans watching/reading this series and realizing that they're watching a fictional story play out on their screens and reading a fictional story spanning the printed page.  Leave the rantings and ravings for reality where there are plenty of things to rant and rave about.

On a lighter note, I leave you all with my all-time favorite GoT character, Tyrion Lannister.  He's played by Peter Dinklage, a superior actor and apparently an incredible singer as the following video shows:

Teaser Tuesday: A Clash of Kings

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

 

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

This weeks' teaser comes from A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2) by George R. R. Martin:

When Bran repeated that to Osha, she laughed aloud. "Your wolves have more wit than your maester," the wildling woman said. "They know truths the grey man has forgotten." The way she said it made him shiver, and when he asked what the comet meant, she answered, "Blood and fire, boy, and nothing sweet." (p. 71)

I finally finished A Game of Thrones and loved it so much, that I immediately started reading A Clash of Kings.  This is just such an amazing, epic fantasy read that I can't believe I went this long before reading it.  Sigh.  Anyway, the passage above is one I really liked in that it shows the developing relationship between Bran and the wildling woman, Osha.  Outside of Tyrion Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen, and Arya Stark, Bran Stark is probably my next favorite character in this series.  And Osha intrigues me since I have yet to figure out how she's going to play out in this series.  I guess I'll just have to keep reading! lol

Have a teaser for me?

Leave me a link or comment below!

 

 

Booking Through Thursday #6

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly bookish meme about (mostly) books and reading.

 

This weeks' BTT is: What makes you choose the books you read? Genre? Reviews? Certain authors? Covers? Recommendations?

I'm kind of an eclectic reader in that I don't stick with just one genre.  I like to sample around and I usually choose the book I'm going to read by what kind of mood I'm in.  Am I in the mood for sci-fi or fantasy?  Am I in the mood for murder mystery or paranormal?  Do I feel like historical fiction or romance?  It's usually all about the mood for me and since I have over 400 books on my pile of books to read, I get the advantage of being able to choose from whichever genre I'm interested in at the moment.

Sometimes, though, I run into the dilemma of not having the book I want to read amongst those 400.  For example, I've been watching HBO's Game of Thrones and am loving it!  So, I wanted to read the books but didn't have them.  So, yeah, I added 4 more books to the pile I already have going and am currently reading A Game of Thrones.  So, I guess sometimes TV or Movies play a part in me choosing to read certain books.  Same thing happened with Harry Potter.  After I saw the first movie, I had to read the books and got hooked.

Also, I have gone by recommendations or reviews which have introduced me to certain authors that I've fallen in love with.  And therefore had to read more books by them.  J. R. Ward and Rachel Vincent are two authors that fall into the category for me.

And then there are the authors whose names have been around a long time but I'm just now getting into their books.  Stephen King and James Patterson are just two to name a few.

What makes you choose the books you read?

Leave me a link or comment below!

Teaser Tuesday: Game of Thrones final

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

 

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

This weeks' teaser comes from A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin:

 



"Take his horse," Dany commanded Ser Jorah. Viserys gaped at her. He could not believe what he was hearing; nor could Dany quite believe what she was saying. Yet the words came. "Let my brother walk behind us back to the khalasar." Among the Dothraki, the man who does not ride was no man at all, the lowest of the low, without honor or pride. "Let everyone see him as he is." (p. 231)

 

For anyone who has visited my last couple of teasers, you'll know that I've been working my way through A Game of Thrones.  It's been a slow progress as I don't have as much time as I would like to devote to reading, but I've been enjoying the book so far and seeing how well the HBO series mirrors it. 

 

For this last teaser from this book (I'm determined to have a different book to tease from next week), I wanted to quote Daenerys Stormborn, a character that I have truly fallen in love with and admire.  She has probably impressed me the most out of all the amazing characters George R. R. Martin has created in this epic world.  And I love this particular passage because it's the first time that she willingly and openly defies her brother, discovering that there truly is nothing to fear of him.  And this, I feel, is the turning point for her becoming the strong woman she grows into.

 

Have a teaser for me? 

Leave a link below and have a wonderful Tuesday!

 

Booking Through Thursday #3

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly bookish meme about (mostly) books and reading.

 

This weeks' BTT is: My brother-in-law turns 50 this weekend. So, in his honor, please pick up your nearest book or whatever book you’re currently reading, and turn to page 50 and then share the first 50 words with the rest of us.   (Do feel free to round this off, to stop and start with complete sentences, though.)

I'm currently reading A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.  Here's the excerpt of 50 words from page 50:

Down here on the benches, there was no one to stop Jon drinking as much as he had a thirst for.  And he was finding that he had a man's thirst, to the raucous delight of the youths around him, who urged him on every time he drained a glass.

lol...I couldn't have planned a better passage to celebrate someone's birthday with and it's exactly 50 words!  So cheers and happy birthday to BTT's brother-in-law!

Teaser Tuesday: Game of Thrones continued

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

 

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

This weeks' teaser comes from A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin:



Fat Tom used to call her "Arya Underfoot," because he said that was where she always was. She'd liked that a lot better than "Arya Horseface." (pp. 217-218)

 

I know my last teaser was from the same book, but in my defense, this book is freakin' huge at 800+ pages.  And it's really not meant to be read in just a couple of sittings.  Anyway, so since I am still reading this book and I shared a quote from Tyrion last time (he's my favorite male character), I decided to go with one of my favorite female characters this time and quoted from Arya's perspective.

 

If you have a teaser to share, please leave me a link below!

 

Monthly TBR Pile Update: April 2013

I have a ton of books on my reading pile and this feature showcases the ones I've managed to knock off that pile during the month.  Or it shows books I've read period.  However you want to look at it.

This past month I ended up reading only one book on the pile and the rest I purchased and read straight away. 

Nearly Departed in Deadwood is the first book in the Deadwood mystery series by Ann Charles.  I've had this book on my Kindle for way longer than I'd like to admit.  So, at the beginning of April, I was in the mood for a light mystery and decided to give it a try. 

This 'try' resulted in me purchasing every single book in the series, including the first short story she released, and devouring every one of these books within a two week timeframe.  I am absolutely in LURVE with this series and would recommend it to anyone who loves murder mysteries with humor, ghosts, and spicy romance mixed in.  This series had it all and then some and the character development and world-building are phenomenal!!  Unfortunately, I will now have to suffer and wait for at least another six months or longer before the next book in this series comes out.  But I can guarantee that I will be downloading it the minute it becomes available!

As for other books, I've started reading A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.  But I can safely say that I will not have that book finished by the end of April, so I won't include that in the books completed pile for this month.

What books did you read this month that you really enjoyed? 

Leave me a comment below as I'm always looking for new books to check out!

 

Teaser Tuesday: A Game of Thrones

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

 

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

This weeks' teaser comes from A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin:

"My mind is my weapon. My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer, and I have my mind...and a mind needs a book like a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge." Tyrion tapped the leather cover of the book. "That is why I read so much, Jon Snow." - pp.123-124

I started watching the HBO series a couple of months ago and it put me in the mood to read the books.  So far everything seems to be similar which is a huge relief to know that Hollywood didn't deviate too much from the storyline.  I love Tyrion Lannister, both in the TV series and in the book, so it was only appropriate to quote him this time.

Have any of you read this series or watched the HBO version?  Let me know what you think of it and who your favorite character or characters are!

If you have a teaser, leave me a link below and I'll be sure to check it out!



 

Insatiable Reading Trend

I love to read!  It's the next best thing to writing.  Well, that and chocolate and other things I won't mention here. lol

Anyway, as much as I love to read, I sometimes go through dry spells where I won't touch a book for months.  And it just so happens that I was going through one of those dry spells towards the end of last year, beginning of this year.  But then one day, I picked up Nearly Departed in Deadwood by Ann Charles and suddenly my reading passion is back with a vengeance!  Yay!!

Since picking up that book, I've read every book in the series up through book 4 (actually I'm about 30 pages from the end of that book which I should finish today, but I'm counting it as having read all the books) and that includes the short story she released not long ago to compliment the series.  This woman has astounded me...seriously!  Sure, it's your basic murder-mystery, but she's thrown in ghosts, a middle-aged single mother of twins, a crotchety old man that has sex on the brain constantly, a Dirty Harry style detective, and a smokin' hot alpha male for the heroine to lust after.  Add in all the humor that mixes so well with the story and it's no wonder I have devoured this entire series within two weeks!  Ann Charles, you are a goddess of humorous, ghostly murder mysteries!

As I mentioned during that ramble, I'm about 30 pages away from finishing the last book in the series (please, please, please let there be more books in this series) and I realize that my reading frenzy is just getting started.  So, I was pondering what to read next.  Enter George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.  Game of Thrones anyone?

Yeah, I got hooked on the HBO series and decided I needed to read the actual books.  I was curious as to whether HBO kept fairly close to the plot line or if they went their own direction with it.  From what I've heard, they stay pretty close with the storyline, but I recognize that there's so much going on behind the scenes that you can't fit it all into an hour episode.  So, with my sudden craving for all things Game of Thrones, I ordered a box set of the first four books which arrived in the mail yesterday...woot! 

So, to answer the question of what I'll be reading next....A Game of Thrones....hopefully starting tonight!  I plan to envision Peter Dinklage every time Tyrion Lannister makes an appearance in the book.  I'm completely in love with this character and feel that Peter Dinklage does an astounding job in the HBO series!

Anyway, I guess we'll see how long this latest insatiable reading trend lasts and I'll be sure to share my thoughts on books that I find worthy of expounding on!