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Oct. 11th, 2006

10:15 PM

"It's a very inconvenient habit of kittens ... that, whatever you say to them, they always purr." --Alice

Today, I should have broken out my jacket, but my denial refused it. It was chill, damp, and windy this afternoon when I left the house. "Ah," I said to myself, "October is really here."

I think tonight, I will watch South Park and Doctor Who (First Doctor) and work on some icons. I have one request for one, and I have a few others in mind. Maybe I'll pull them into reality.

Yesterday, I finished the Dark Tower. I felt... is multivalent a word? So many ways my heart was pulled, crushed, lifted, burnt, drowned, filled (in no particular order). I'm starting to listen to George R.R. Martin (

grrm)'s Song of Ice and Fire 1: A Game of Thrones. I'm about 2½ hours in and it's still in the character introduction phase, with the exposition, that which makes some stories so difficult to take in due to the scope. I have a good picture of it all, though, so I hope it will resolve into a storyline soon.

Comments

( 10 comments — Leave a comment )

trifthen

Oct. 12th, 2006 04:50 am (UTC)

Oh lord... if you're listening to Book 1 of Mr. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, you're in for a long and painful trek through unadulterated wastelands of gut-wrenching pain. I am not alone in saying I almost threw the third book across the room when I finished it six years ago. What started out as a trilogy has been dragged out into what he says will likely be seven books, the fourth of which just came out last year. What's worse, it's all so tantalizingly alluring.

I obviously won't spoil anything for you, but be prepared. Nothing goes how you think it will, nobody gets what you think they should, and everyone is hiding enough of the plot to make you tear your hair out in frustration. It's a long downward spiral, and you will become intimately familiar with every craggy outcropping as each hope and wish is dashed when most inconvenient. As they say in Westeros: Winter is Coming.

Oddly enough, you'll enjoy every minute. Welcome to the club. ;)

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mandydax

Oct. 12th, 2006 05:25 am (UTC)

My gods! Who suggested this to me?! DX

We'll see. I've always had a hard time getting into fantasy books. Maybe the audiobook format will help.

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jaka_talbot

Oct. 12th, 2006 02:28 pm (UTC)

I totally agree. It's a long hard trek through one of the best book series out there. Warning: It takes a lot of attention to understand everything that is going on these books. (They're a bit like Tom Clancy's in that way.) If you listen with half an ear while you're driving, you're not going to get it. If you have trouble you might have to really read them. I know that personally, I had to read them more than once to get all the details. (Which wasn't so hard, since I was tempted to read the entire series every time a new book came out. But I started reading these years ago.)

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ladypentacles

Oct. 12th, 2006 03:31 pm (UTC)

I disagree! It's not a long hard trek...it goes so fast and leaves you BEGGING for more...it's the best fantasy book every written in my humble opinion and while it is rich with political intrigue, every moment is a thrill ride that is not to be missed....

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mandydax

Oct. 12th, 2006 07:15 pm (UTC)

As Stephen King pointed out in his personal message on the audiobook version of Wolves of the Calla, with audiobooks, you can't skip over words. Every one is in your ear, so you don't miss a thing. It also frees the brain's visual areas for visualising the scene. It is slow, tho. About three minutes per page. Savory.

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mandydax

Oct. 12th, 2006 07:08 pm (UTC)

I'm listening at work while doing work that I've got down to the point that I don't need to pay too much attention.

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nix_guru

Oct. 12th, 2006 11:04 pm (UTC)

I have to agree with Trifthen. I have bought this series in hardback so that it can take the abuse. When I first read "A Storm of Swords" I got so angry that about once every other chapter I found myself slamming the book shut. (It was the only way to avoid the impulse to hurl the book as hard as I could at the wall.) Each time I would take about a ten minute break to cool down before opening the book back up to continue reading.

GRRM ranks up there with the likes of Tolkien. This is his Magnum Opus.

Take your time with it. You will hate it as much as I do. You will love it as much as I do also.

Keep this in mind. Everyone gets some. GRRM has no reservations about screwing his characters in the absolute worst way possible. Sometimes it is the character's fault, but more often things happen outside of the character's control.

I really suggest buying hardback editions. Paperback bindings were never meant to handle the amount of rereading that you will want to do with this series. :-)

I also recommend Eric Van Lustbader's "The Pearl" series. It is not as political and he is not as evil to his characters, but it is also quite good.

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mandydax

Oct. 13th, 2006 07:51 am (UTC)

I don't want to say what part I just got to, but yes, I did have to stop. I started to feel nauseous, too. It's an audiobook, so I must remember not to throw my Zen around. It takes enough abuse from my clumsiness.

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