A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

OK, so I know I'm quite late to the scene on this series.  And I admit, I am a band-wagoner since the series premiered on HBO.  My friends Cam and Mike have been raving about the books for years.  But what can I say, Fantasy was never my go-to literary genre of choice. However, I'm the first to admit I'm wrong.

A Game of Thrones - Book One of A Song of Fire and Ice by George R.R. Martin is a sweeping medieval story of court intrigue, power struggles, family loyalty and yes, there are some supernatural creatures thrown in to keep it interesting and fantastical. 

We start with the family Stark in Winterfell which is located in the northern region of Westros.  Eddard (or Ned for short) is the lord of Winterfell and all of the northern realm.  The Hand of the King (a sort of vice-king of sorts) and Ned's best friend has just died and King Robert is currently making his way north from King's Landing to Winterfell to ask Ned to be the new Hand. 

I am going to stop right here and tell you I am not about to introduce each character.  There are way too many and their relationships are too intertwined and complex to accurately explain here.  My writers notebook really came in handy with this book.  I took extensive notes to keep everybody's story clear and separate in my mind.  But, to help us out a bit, Martin has included some reference material in the form of maps and family lineage.  I kept these pages bookmarked on my Nook throughout reading.  Also, the chapters are each written from one of the main character's POV (and titled with that characters name) so at least it's organized clearly.

Anywho, back to the story.  Ned reluctantly accepts King Robert's job offer and heads off to King's Landing with some of his children.  Not comfortable at court and too honorable to actively participate in the back-stabbing politics, Ned makes no friends and acquires some dangerous enemies in the form of the Lannister family - a rich and power family in charge of a southern realm of Westeros -  and most notably Cersei Lannister, King Robert's power hungry queen.

Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea in the Free Cities, we meet Daenerys Targaryen and her brother Viserys.  The Targaryens were the ruling family prior to King Robert's war to win the Iron Throne.  The Targaryen king and most of his family were killed, but Daenerys and Viserys were able to escape with their mother.  The mother died giving birth to Daenerys. 



Daenerys - My favorite character. 
She may only be 13, but don't eff with her!



Khal Drogo - Yum!
And the actor is from Iowa!

Viserys is hell bent on reclaiming the Iron Throne.  To do this, he is selling his sister off to the leader of a barbarian horde by the name of Khal Drogo.  Drogo gets Daenerys for a wife, Viserys gets Drogo's army to reclaim the throne.  Except Viserys is a piss ant and not really suited for ruling anybody with his temper tantrums and foot stomping.  Oh and did I mention Daenerys is something like 13 years old.  They don't call him George "Rape Rape" Martin for nothing.

What unfolds from here is one of the richest, most complex pieces of literature I have ever encountered.  The world Martin creates is truly complex and imaginative.  I can only imagine the level of story-boarding and outlining that Martin had to do in order to create the world of Westeros and it's many characters.  And the series goes on for four more books!  That's mighty impressive.

As I've mentioned, the series is in the fantasy genre.  Although, I've heard it described as "fantasy-light".  When I think fantasy, I think of all those cheesy novels - 20 books to a series - with shadowy wizard characters or scantily clad witches or fairies on the cover.  Sort of the Harlequin Romance version of fantasy.  A Game of Thrones is really not that at all.  I can only think of a few details that would actually categorize it as fantasy.  Most notably there are the White Walkers/Others that live north of The Wall (seriously, I'm don't have the time to get into it).  And yes, there are dragons.  I guess a fantasy novel wouldn't be worth it's weight if there weren't dragons.  But they're extinct now.  Or are they...

A word of warning, without giving too much away, Martin is not afraid to kill off his characters so don't get too attached.  I've read stories of viewers angrily writing HBO declaring they would not continue watching the show after a certain character died.  Some of the character deaths are shocking and very unexpected.  But I like a book that can keep me on my toes.  Formulaic is boring.  And rest assured, he never kills off a character whose death isn't necessary to the story.  Small consolation, I know.

This book really got under my skin.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  The characters are deeply engaging and complex.  None are completely good and none are completely evil.  Some are tortured, some are honorable, some are loyal and all are power hungry.  To quote Cersei Lannister, "When you play the game of thrones, you either win or you die."  You said it, sister.

I have to give this one five bows. 

I couldn't put it down.  And unfortunately I have some other books I am obligated to read right now or I would be starting on the second book in the series.  On second thought, maybe I'll draw it out and read the second book just before the second season of the show starts.  That way I can spoil the story line for my husband again :)  Until next time fellow book nerds, winter is coming.  Err, um, I mean happy reading!

Releasing Gillian's Wolves by Tara Woolpy

The basic plot of Releasing Gillian's Wolves by Tara Woolpy is going to be familiar to you if you read the news.  Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Edwards, that pervert Anthony Weiner.  Ring a bell?  See where I'm going?

Our heroine, Gillian of the title, is a devoted housewife, mother of two adult children and wife to a cheating yet much loved US congressman.  Her husband's many affairs are no secret to her but she has chosen to turn a blind eye for the sake of her children, first and foremost, and for the the sake of her husband's career secondly.  The last thing she wants is her family's dirty laundry spread all over the newspapers and cable news shows.

But something snaps inside Gillian when she discovers a hotel key in her husband's jacket pocket one evening.  And a hunch leads her to discover her husband's newest lover is a twenty year old campaign volunteer.  Disgusted and finally fed up, Gillian decides that enough is enough.  It's time to start living life for herself rather than her husband.  And it's time to patch up the wounds her husband's ambition and infidelities have created in her family.

But why do those political wives stay?  Why do we always see them standing alongside their husbands smiling that tight stepford wife smile during those all too often press conferences.  The political husband was caught with a staffer, caught with a man, caught with a goat, whathaveyou.  Releasing Gillian's Wolves lets you in on a little of the "why".  Why?  Because it's often very complicated.  Would you rather live quietly separate yet together with your cheating husband or would you rather have your dirty laundry splashed all over the tabloids?  I can see now, a little, why they stay, especially when there are children involved.

Gillian's story is a story of redemption and courage.  50 years old and never having been on her own, she's scared to death of making a new life, let alone finding love again.  Having always lived your life for someone else, how do you even begin living it for yourself?  You'll cheer for Gillian as she finally stands up to her pig of a husband.  I did.  However, I have to admit, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.  Maybe it's from reading too much Lisa See and Anita Shreve but I was waiting for a tragedy to strike poor Gillian.  I was waiting for the evil husband to turn on her and make her life hell again.  I was pleased that that wasn't the case with Woolpy's story.  A happy ending is sometimes nice!

I'm going to give Releasing Gillian's Wolves four bows.  The subject matter was interesting and timely.  And it was a fast read.  Great pool reading material!  Happy reading, fellow book nerds!

*Please note, in accordance with FTC guidelines, I must disclose that I received this book for free from the author in exchange for a review published on my blog.  But you guys know me.  That didn't influence my opinion.  If I didn't like it, I'd let you know.

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen

This is yet another book I picked up because the author was going to be speaking at a nearby college (my alma mater as a matter of fact).  Unfortunately, as so often happens, life got in the way and I was unable to attend the speaking engagement.  Which is regrettable as she has an interesting story and I believe I would have enjoyed listening to her.

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress is a memoir of the author's life after her husband leaves her and she returns to her Mennonite parents house and community for an extended stay.  Janzen begins her story at the point where her life appears to be falling apart.  Her and her husband had just bought a giant, expensive lake-side home.  She had a complication-riddled hysterectomy (which she good-naturedly refers to as "The Year of the Pee Bag").  She was in a traumatic and life threatening car accident.  And, the icing on the cake, her husband leaves her for a man he met on a gay dating website (whom she hilariously refers to as "Bob the Guy" throughout the book).  Janzen takes a leave of absence from her job as a college English professor and returns to her parents home in California for a little R&R where she heals and reconnects with her Mennonite roots.

First I would like to say Mennonite does not equal Amish.  Funny.  I always thought it did and I spent the majority of the book in a state of confusion while the author spoke of her fondness for high heels and makeup and her family's cars and TVs and radios and such.  But she clears up the confusion in an appendix at the end of the book.  Apparently, Mennonites and Amish are similar but not the same, with the Amish actually beginning as an off shoot of the Mennonites because the Mennonites were getting a little too worldly. 

I have to hand it to Janzen.  She really pulls it together after so many bad things happen to her all at once.  And she does it with humor and grace.  I truly related to her story as I have had a string of misfortunes over the last few years and all I wanted to do was crawl in bed and stay there for the rest of my life.  I STILL feel that way sometimes.  And I can honestly say, I definitely don't have her courage to write a book about it.  So kudos to her.

As I've mentioned, the book is quite funny.  Janzen has a wonderfully charming, self-deprecating sense of humor that draws you in and makes you laugh out loud.  At one point she's musing about which clothing choices God would prefer, "shorts or jeans".  You gotta consider these things if you plan to go to heaven!

Janzen is admittedly a grammarian and vocab hound, as any multi-degreed English professor is wont to be.  So, that being said, get out your dictionaries, book nerds.  I have a dictionary app on my Blackberry and I used it often while reading this book.  She's better than word-a-day calendars.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit.  It was a light-hearted and funny read and I would definitely recommend it.  And best of all, she provides a Mennonite recipe section at the end of the book including some of her family's best loved dishes.  Some really sound delicious and I would love to try them out soon.  For this, I am going to give Mennonite in a Little Black Dress four bows. Check it out.  It's a fun read.  And until next time, happy reading!

The Arabian Nights by Anonymous

I recently came across this book in my local Half Price Books.  As I was giving the book a quick look over (as you often do in bookstores when trying to decide whether to buy a book or not), I couldn't remember whether this was another one of those books that I actually read or simply read about.  I'm still not sure as the stories were familiar yet not familiar.  Or perhaps my only recollection is from childhood memories of watching Bugs Bunny's 1001 Arabian Nights.  Can't be sure.



That Wascally Wabbit

Regardless, The Arabian Nights (or sometimes also referred to as 1001 Arabian Nights) is a collection of folk tales and fables set in the Middle East.  Think Grimm's Fairy Tale only set in the desert with genies and sultans.  It appears the fables have been passed down orally from generation to generation and eventually recorded for posterity, hence the Anonymous author.

We begin with the story of Scheherazade and the Sultan Shahriar.  The Sultan's first wife conspired against him making the Sultan distrustful of all women.  He vowed to marry a new woman every day and then have that wife strangled first thing the next morning.  It is unclear whether she got to have her Cheerios first or not.  This was the Sultan's solution for keeping his wife from committing treason against him.

It was the Sultan's right-hand-man, the Grand Vizier's, responsibility to bring the Sultan a new wife daily.  One day the grand Vizier's daughter, Scheherazade, presumably tired of losing all her friends to the Sultan, went to her father and asked to be submitted to the Sultan as a wife.  Understandably, the Grand Vizier was reluctant to hand his beautiful and intelligent daughter over to the Sultan to kill after one night of marriage.  But fear not.  Scheherazade had a plan.  The next morning, Scheherazade began telling the Sultan elaborate and interwoven stories in the hopes that she would entertain him enough that he would want to keep her around.  The stories she tells the Sultan are the stories of The Arabian Nights.

The stories are beautiful and exotic, like nothing I've ever read before, with flowery language and turns of phrase.  Although it does have a bit of a formal and stilted cadence that can become tiresome.  The stories are all different with different characters, and it sometimes becomes difficult to keep track of who's telling the story since there are quite a few stories within stories.  But they bring it back around to Scheherazade at the end to tie it up nicely.

On the other hand, the stories are quite sexist and violent.  The characters are quick to murder those who wrong or hinder them, as evidenced by the above story.  And the women are often portrayed as deceitful and evil.  Right out of the gate on page 8, the Sultan Shahriar says he "believed all women to be naturally treacherous" and therefore not to be trusted.  Sheesh.  One woman conspires against him and all of sudden we're all branded as traitors.  Yet, nobody ever said fairy tales (wherever they come from) are politically correct.  People are always conspiring and killing and doing all manner of evil.    Truthfully, none of them should be told to children.

I think I will give The Arabian Nights three bows.

It was a fun read yet not memorable.  Due to the short story form, it would be good for those times when your attention span isn't that long and you can put it down and pick it back up at any time without having to remember the storyline or plot.

Until next time fellow book nerds, happy reading!