Irregular Reading

You know, I have noticed over the last few years that my reading habits have altered quite a bit. For one thing, I don't read nearly as much as I used to. I think this is largely because, with a few exceptions, I don't like reading during my daughter's awake time. This is partly because I want/need to keep an eye on her and interact with her, which is hard to do when my nose is in a book (I get really immersed when I read and tend to become completely oblivious to my surroundings). Also though, it isn't as enjoyable for me to read because I am so easily distracted, I have a hard time sinking into the story. Then, a lot of my child-free time is spent doing other things I can't do when she's up and about (and playing video games).

That isn't to say that a good enough book won't get me to find a way to read read read, however.

Case in point:

Even though I am about halfway through the final Eragon book, Inheritance, and knew that I would have at least some quality reading time when I went on my trip last week, I did not take the book with me to California. This is because the book is freaking huge and I really did not feel like trying to lug it around in my carry-on, weight-wise or space-wise. So instead I took a stack of comic books and my shiny new Kindle, which I hadn't really taken out for much of a spin yet (even though it is already crammed full of books for me to read).

I finished the comic books about halfway through the flight out and then fired up the Kindle and pulled up The Secret Garden. I started reading this to my daughter at bed time, a chapter or two a night, last November. But right around Christmas she decided she wanted to start interacting with story time and we've been reading her picture books together instead. I knew it was coming, but I wasn't really expecting it to happen in the middle of an awesome book. Silly me. Anyway, the book was available as a free download from Amazon (huzzah for public domain!) so it was one of the first to get loaded on my Kindle. I love love love that story, it is one of my all time favorites, so I really wanted to finish reading it. I finally got the chance this past week.

Not too long into the return flight, I finished that book. Then, I scrolled through my Kindle for a bit deciding what to start reading next, knowing that I probably wouldn't finish it before I got home and returned to Inheritance (not to mention A Clash of Kings, which I am reading along with Leigh over at Tor.com). After a little bit of waffling, I decided to give The Hunger Games a try. I have been wanting to read it for well over a year now, and with the movie so recently in theaters, it has been more on my mind than ever. Plus, it was right there at my fingertips. Easy decision, really.

But back to my point. I got about a quarter of the way through it on the flight, and even though I have had plenty of other stuff to do since I got home, I made the time to keep on reading this story. Because ohmygoodnessitissoamazing. I mean, I knew that it would be good. Several fellow readers close to me in whom I have complete trust have recommended it highly. Also, the internet discussion of it has suggested at its wonderfulness quite clearly. It's one of those rare series that I have recommended/gifted to people even without reading because I believed the people who told me it was so good. But wow, I was not prepared to not be able to put it down. It is rare that a book gets me like that these days. It is quite a wonderful treat, to be honest.

I finished it up on Tuesday and immediately dropped a few dollars at Amazon to pick up the other two books in the trilogy, but I am hoping I can make myself wait to read them. I still have some other books to finish. Which, now that I think about it, is another way my reading habits have really changed over the last few years. Outside of school, which I don't really think counts for leisure reading, I have never been one to read more than one book at once. This past week I had three going. That's more than a little bit insane to me. Still, a good story is a good story, right?

Do you have any weird reading habits? Have you noticed yours changing over the years as life presents you with new and differing circumstances? What books have you picked up and just not been able to put down?

I can't help but wonder how my habits will change further over the next few years. As my daughter gets older, will I be able to revert back to my old reading habits a little bit more? Will I start juggling even more books as I try to pre-read anything she wants to get her hands on to make sure it is appropriate? Hmm...I definitely look forward to seeing where this road I am on takes me to next, that's for sure!

In the meantime, well, today I get to take myself out for a lunchtime movie date. Guess what I am going to see?

Winter Reading List

Holy cow, my book pile just keeps on getting bigger. It's ridiculous, it is. Sigh.

I finally finished reading George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones, first in his A Song of Ice and Fire series and the source material for that apparently awesome television series that aired this past spring (whoo! I finally get to watch that now, don't I?). I took it slow, reading along with Leigh Butler over at Tor. Two(ish) chapters a week. It took a while.

I am really not sure if I will be able to hold back on the next four books though. That ending. Man. I mean, man.

Currently, I am reading Brandon Sanderson's Elantris. I will probably do a write-up of my thoughts on that when I finish it in the next week or two. It is pretty spectacular so far, and the ball has just started rolling downhill.

Leigh's ASoIaF read-along is on hiatus until January. I am thinking once I finish Elantris I might try to squeeze in the conclusion of N. K. Jemisin's Inheritance Trilogy, The Kindgom of Gods (it just arrived on Tuesday, much to my delight). After that I want to wrap up Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle with Inheritance, which has been hanging out in my pile for about a month.

Probably I won't get finished with those two before Leigh starts up with A Clash of Kings, but I figure I can stick to the read-along schedule on that until I do. Then I can just plow through the rest of Martin's insanity. It will be like ripping off a band-aid, I suspect. Yeesh. That man. Not very nice to his characters. It's kind of delicious and terrible all at the same time.

After that...well...who knows? There are oh so many to choose from. There are worse problems I can think of.

Does anyone else have this kind of insanity going on in their bookshelves? What are you guys reading? (Please for the love of Pete, no suggestions though, I am full up at the moment!)

Winter Wrap Up(s)

I find it amusing that as we start approaching the winter season, I have the song "Winter Wrap Up" from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic pretty much permanently stuck in my head. That song is all about "cleaning up" winter to make way for spring, but dang it if I'm not wandering around the house humming/singing it all the frickin' time lately.

If you're at all curious about the new My Little Pony series, but don't want to go so far as to watch an entire episode to make up your mind, go ahead and check out the clip below, of the aforementioned song. It features pretty much every character Ponyville (full on chorus-style musical number), and it pretty much embodies what is so awesome about this series, I think. I mean, there are plenty of other songs that appeared throughout the series' first season, but "Winter Wrap Up" is the one that all of the bronies keep bringing up. I don't blame them one bit, either. Darn thing is catchy.

Anyhoo, if you find yourself tapping your toes and digging the tune, then I would definitely recommend checking out the show (new episode tomorrow morning!). If you find that it totally isn't your thing, well, now you know you can just move along. (Bonus feature: Totally Tennant-inspired Doctor Who pony at about forty seconds in!)

Anyhoo, all of that just to say, hey, look, winter is coming! (Oh hush Ned, we know already, geez.*)

Despite wandering around the house singing a song about the oncoming spring to my daughter, I am actually starting to get excited about the cooler weather--mostly about the wardrobe shift brought on by its arrival. I try to purge my closet at least twice a year--once after the warm weather wraps up and once after the cold--and my last cold-weather clothing purge was pretty massive. So I've been building up my fall and winter wardrobe bit by bit over the last month or so.  I mean, don't get me wrong, half of the time I will still be wearing my standard novelty tees (just over a long-sleeved tee or under a hoodie). But the other half I get to look and feel a little bit more put together with sweaters and some nicer plain tops.

I am also going to give vests a whirl this year. I've picked up a couple of fleece zip-up vests and a really swanky shawl-collar knit vest that I am in love with. In addition to the sweater I am currently making, I also have some yarn earmarked for a nice vest to make for myself. I also have these waiting in the wings already:

Manos Vest by Cori 2009.

Summer Top by Cori 2009.

Yes, yes, I know that second one is called "summer" top, but I realized last winter that it actually does really well over a long-sleeved tee in the winter time.

I've also got this sweater that I finished up last fall:

Lady Grey by Cori 2010.

Not to mention the fact that I have yet to give my Doctor Who scarf a good breaking in. So yeah, I am, for once in my life, ready for the winter to get here. Then, in a few months when I still can't get "Winter Wrap Up" unstuck from my brain, I'll probably be more than ready to welcome spring, eh?

*I think a random A Song of Ice and Fire reference is totally called for in a post discussing the eminent arrival of winter, don't you?

I Know What I Think It Looks Like, How About You

It seems clear to me from all of the internet chatter I have been mostly trying to avoid on the subject (in an effort to prevent spoilers), that HBO's Game of Thrones series has thus far been a huge success. That is awesome. I honestly can't wait until I am able to watch it. I am happy for George R. R. Martin, for fans of the series (book and television), and even for HBO. It sounds like Game of Thrones is setting the gold standard for adaptations of fantasy series to television in the same way that The Lord of the Rings films did for movies. Kudos to all involved.

An interesting (and not really unexpected) result of this success has been renewed chatter about getting a favorite series of mine adapted to television. Fans of The Wheel of Time have long wanted to see Jordan's creations brought to life on screen. Mostly the general consensus has been that it has to be done via a television series rather than a movie or set of movies, because that would be the only way to do it justice. WoT supporters have been keeping a watchful eye on HBO's venture with the adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, hoping that if done right, and successful, it would be the evidence needed to bring forth the long-desired WoT series. With only one book left to go, it is an easy thought to get excited about, I'll grant you.

I'll admit, my husband and I love to play the WoT casting game with each other. One of us is frequently pointing an actor or actress out to each other and saying, "Wouldn't (s)he make a perfect _______ (insert character's name here)?!?" Between the two of us, we have a fair chunk of the series' cast picked out, hypothetically of course. The fun part about this game is you can pick anyone, which includes people who are no longer with us or a certain person twenty years ago. But we've never been able to settle on a Rand, or an Egwene or Nynaeve. That's...telling, I think.

The more people start to talk about how awesome it will be to see WoT brought to the screen, the more I begin to think that it would be better if it didn't happen. At least...well. Let me explain.

I don't think the world needs a live-action WoT series. I think that if we were to get a television adaptation, we would be best served for it to be an animated one. Yes, that's right, I would prefer a cartoon.

Okay, wait, wait, hear me out here, okay?

Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson filling in his shoes) has always been extremely descriptive of people, places, clothing, buildings, everything in this world. WoT fans are notoriously prickly about attention to detail. These two facts, coupled together, mean that anyone trying to make a live version of this series is going to be going up against a huge challenge to get everything right. I'm talking about casting--from hair color and eye color and height and age--to costuming to the sets to the props themselves. Not to mention some serious makeup challenges. With casting alone, any network is going to apply pressure to get a few big names in there, and even with everyone's dream casting games, just shoe-horning a celebrity into a role has the chance of ruffling a lot of feathers and could easily ruin the whole project for a lot of people.

The effects budget on a live-action series would be insane. Think about all of the magic that happens in this series, and think about how Jordan describes it. Even if the VFX crew managed to capture the feel of that action just right, they would have to replicate it how many times in each episode? Also, think of all of the creatures in this series. Trollocs. Myrddraal. Grolm. Draghkar. Gholams. Maybe, maybe, they could pull off the Trollocs with some guys in heavy prosthetics, but...there's a lot more going on there than Trollocs. Then there's the Aes Sedai appearance of agelessness. I don't think that will be achievable through makeup alone. That's gonna take some CGI to get right.

Forget getting the sets exactly right, for a moment. The sheer volume of different sets and locations, indoor, outdoor, cities, country, desert, blight, that also would be a huge challenge budget-wise.

When it comes down to it, despite fans' continued dream casting, casting this series will be a bitch. It is going to be almost impossible to find the perfect people to play the primary characters. Not to mention the number of people who are in it, who play important roles but only pop up once every two or three books? Someone is going to be hard-pressed to resist the urge to cut characters, combine others, and change around plot lines to reduce the number of recurring roles. That ticked me off enough in the Harry Potter movies, and that was only seven books, and nobody they glossed over was my favorite random character or anything. Actually, I take that back. I am still pretty miffed that there was no Charlie in the movies dangit. They try doing that with WoT and I promise you there will be an uproar.

Also, I don't think there is a horse in existence capable of portraying the sheer awesomeness of Bela. Just ain't gonna happen.

I suppose that it could be done completely green-screen a la Sanctuary. But look, as much as I love Sanctuary, and I really do, there is a level of cheesiness to that show due in large parts to the CGI. It works for what it is, but for WoT, that would not go over well at all. It just wouldn't.

So, yeah, I would like to see an animated version if we get WoT on our televisions at all. I'm not talking the kind of animation of regular cartoons. I am thinking more the modern video game style of animation. Have you seen the cut scenes of some of today's video games? They are beautiful, and gritty, and real, and fantastic, and perfect for Jordan's imagined universe.

With an animated series, there would be no need to try to find people or places to fit Jordan's descriptions. The artists could just render them faithfully from the books themselves. Sure, everyone sees the characters a little bit differently in their heads, but I guarantee you this way would be much much more satisfying across the board than trying to find real people to fit the fantasy. Also, voice casting with the required big-names will ruffle a lot less feathers as well.

You know what I would love to see? I would love to see an animation pioneering powerhouse like Pixar and a gaming animation master like Bioware sit down and animate up the prologue. I bet that would be enough to convince the masses.

I'll be honest, I have no idea how cost effective an animated series would be, but something tells me that in the long term, and when it comes to satisfying fans and getting The Wheel of Time world right, it would be more than worth it overall. Think about how absolutely groundbreaking such a series could be for the world of animation as well! There isn't anything animated out there like what a WoT series has the potential to be.

Maybe I am wrong, maybe there's someone out there who can bring us a live version of this series that will be as satisfying as Game of Thrones. If it happens I'll be the first person to apologize for saying it couldn't be done. But until then, I'm gonna stick with hoping that it's an animated series if anything. I'm also going to wish really hard that people will direct their ideas about the next big fantasy series to make the jump to television elsewhere. Nothing will kill the idea of a WoT series faster than a badly done WoT series.

I Really Don't See The Point In Being So Mean

So it was announced last week that George R. R. Martin is finally, officially, done with the next book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series. The manuscript is by all accounts massive but it is still on track to be ready on time for the scheduled July 12 release date by all accounts.

This announcement was of course met with much joy and celebration, but for every article I saw reveling in the news, the comments were full of people bitterly stating that they would believe it when they held the book in their hands, and not until then. Lots and lots of bitter, angry, and often mean comments. From people professing to love this series and claiming to be eager for the release of the next book.

I don't get it. I really, really don't.

Okay, yeah, it's been six years since the last one came out, and (the hypothetical) you has been waiting (clearly not patiently). You feel (with arguable levels of justification) that you've been burned about this before.

But, well, so what?

The book is actually finally coming out. That's a good thing, right? You've probably already preordered your copy and/or are planning to attend a midnight release party at your local bookstore (you know there are gonna be some of those). So, shouldn't you be, at the very least, cautiously optimistic rather than cranky and disbelieving?

I mean, come on, it is just a book series. Seriously.

I remember at last fall's Brandon Sanderson signing for the latest The Wheel of Time book meeting a guy in line who was decrying his desire to get into any new book series' that weren't finished in case the author "pulled a Martin." (He was also more than a little cavalier about Robert Jordan having the audacity to die before he had completed his book series, despite the fact that the man managed to make arrangements to see the series finished after he had passed on.) His attitude about the situation kind of made him lose all credibility in my eyes (and made me think, at least a little bit, that he was kind of a terrible person).

I am given to conclude two things about this vocal subset of George R. R. Martin "fans" from their behavior regarding this series. The first is that they must not have read any other book series before every volume was published. More on that in a moment. The second is that they really don't have any grasp on how the publishing industry works. If the first book in a new series doesn't sell well because people are waiting for the second book to come out before they start it...there will be no second book, and so on down the line. The publishing house is under no obligation to pay the writer to complete the series if people stop buying the books halfway through just because they feel it is taking too long in between releases. Duh. I could list three or four series off the top of my head that I have read which will likely never get concluded because they just didn't sell that well. I am not happy about that, but they are just stories, my life goes on. Sure I am curious about what might have happened if the story had been completed (as I am when a television show I like gets canceled before it is given a proper conclusion), but that's what my imagination is for.

But seriously, six years? That's the gripe? That's really nothing. It is a little high, but not unheard of.  Let's look at another series for example, shall we? A wildly popular one (arguably more popular than Martin's series), even.

Stephen King's The Dark Tower Series
The Gunslinger was released in 1982.
The Drawing of the Three was released in 1987.
The Wastelands was released in 1991.
Wizard and Glass was released in 1997.
Wolves of the Calla was released in 2003.
Song of Susannah was released in 2004.
The Dark Tower was released in 2004.

Five years, four years, six years, six years, one year, less than one year. That's an average of a little over three years between books, sure, but the average doesn't really mean anything when you are waiting for the next book, does it? And two of the books had a six year wait. Those last three, I will also note, came after King had his near-death-hit-by-a-van experience, after which his writing output increased exponentially. Meanwhile, from 1982 to 2004 he put out, not including The Dark Tower books, something like 43 other books and short story/novella collections. Forty. Three. Even if you haven't read anything by King, I'm sure you've seen his books in the store--those suckers aren't short.

I've been a fan of King since before I stopped reading The Babysitter Club books, and even though that well predates my awareness of the internet, I don't recall any sort of fan outcry at the delay between books in the series or at the fact that King was writing any books other than those in the series.  Except, of course, for when he was hit by that van, when the collective fandom was going ohgodohgodohgodhe'sgonnadieandwwe'renevergonnafindoutwhathappens but well, that's sort of understandable, isn't it? Even then, most of the concern was for King's health more than for, you know, the books he might or might not have written.

But when George R. R. Martin blogs about working on a project that is not A Song of Ice and Fire, or about doing something that isn't writing at all, his "fans" cry out in anger.  They seem to feel like because they have started reading his series and want to know what happens next, he is somehow obligated to keep doing nothing else but write that series until it is finished to their satisfaction. Look, that's just not how the creative process works. But higher authorities than myself have already spoken to this subject and how ridiculous that mindset actually is.

It seems to me as if these people could care less about Martin as a writer. They certainly don't want him to be successful, if they did, they would be pleased to see he has more in his wheelhouse than one series. They also don't seem to appreciate that this series is indeed Martin's intellectual property. He is willing to share his playground, certainly, but it is still his. The "fans" do not own the world of Westeros.

I mean, I know that this very vocal group of the "fans" are probably the minority and that the way the internet works exacerbates their presence. But I am still of the mind that if you don't have anything nice to say...well, you know. So I am really perplexed as to why this (hopefully) minority is so vocal. What do they hope to achieve with this? I mean, seriously, if I was Martin, I would be tempted just to write a short story killing EVERYONE off and call that the end of the series, just to get them to leave me alone. Geez.

It just seems to me that if (again the hypothetical) you have been moaning and groaning about how long this book has been taking to come out, you would be happy that The Powers That Be are finally confident enough to announce a release date, a "for reals this time the book is actually done" release date rather than a tentative projection based on previous experience (which should always be viewed as subject to change). Being mean about getting the news you've been wanting to get just seems counter-intuitive to me, I guess.

But hey, I've got lots of books to read while Martin writes something he thinks we (and more importantly he) will be happy with. Maybe these people just don't have anything better to do?

How sad.

Apparently It's The Bomb-Diggity

So Game of Thrones, the television adaptation of the first book in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, premiered on HBO this past weekend. I didn't watch it, of course. I don't have HBO, for one thing, and I am only eight chapters into the first book of the series for another.

Still, good lord, I want to see it. I am having a hard time resisting the urge to just buy the season pass on iTunes, tiny non-television-sized computer monitor be damned.

All of the reviews I have seen (that I haven't been able to read, which is killing me just a little bit) seem to be pretty glowing. People that I actually know who watched it have been raving on Facebook about the awesomeness, and several writers and webcomics creators I follow online have been singing its praises as well. The show did so well that HBO even officially renewed it for a second season. After only one episode had aired. Wow.

Everything points to this being a series that is not only awesome by all measurable standards, but also something that I will really and truly love.

Still. I'll be good and wait. It is hard enough not devouring the first book, rather than just reading two chapters a week along with Leigh Butler, who is doing a read-along on Tor's website. But what I have read I have truly enjoyed, even when I have been appalled by the events unfolding on the page. Especially in these last two chapters. Wow. The people were not kidding when they said that Martin is not kind to his characters. I have only had one chapter from the perspective of a certain character and I am dying to get back to her again, because I am quite concerned for her welfare. I already know that not a lot of good happens to her from the not really spoilery comments I have seen online, but still...

I am not sure I will be able to keep my willpower in check as far as reading the books goes (I have already demonstrated that I have precious little of that particular attribute), but I will wait to watch the series until after I have read all of the first book and probably some of the second. Just to avoid spoilers as much as is humanly possible.

So, even though I haven't yet actually seen this show, I am gonna go ahead and recommend it. If you like fantasy, if you like epic story-telling, if you like War of the Roses type succession battles, if you like gorgeous costume dramas, gorgeous British men, or if you like a damn good story that is well-told, then this is for you. Sunday nights on HBO, tune in. Or, if you don't have have HBO or would just rather read a book, get thee to a bookstore! A Song of Ice and Fire, first novel, A Game of Thrones.

You'll thank me later.

Ginia Bellafante can suck it.

The Year of Multitasking

It all started innocently enough. I decided that 2011 would be the year that I finally jumped into the craft of knitting, in addition to my already existing mad crochet skills. I already have two completed projects (a pair of slippers and a hat) under my belt. I thought the easiest way to maintain balance would be to alternate between knitting and crochet projects. This worked for a while.

But then I started on THE project, you know the one, I've mentioned it often enough. Yes, I am talking about the Doctor Who scarf. Good lord, for such a simple and straightforward pattern, this thing managed to completely derail me. I would find myself going for a whole week without doing any knitting or crocheting, pick up the scarf for a day or two, and then more days of not doing anything. Blame it on the tediousness of the super simple pattern, blame it on February, whatever the reason, I was not happy with my crafting lethargy.

THEN I looked at a calendar and realized, holy cow, there are quite a few people in my life having babies in fairly short order! People that I actually do want to make baby blankets for. (The count is now up to five, good gravy.)

I have always preferred to just work on one project at a time, only occasionally taking a break if I had a specific very small and quick project that needed to get done, and then going right back to the main project once finished. But I finally had to face facts and admit to myself that a) if I want to ever actually finish the Doctor Who scarf, I can't just put it in a drawer until I feel like picking it back up again, I need to keep it going, and b) if I want to get all of those blankets done in a timely manner, I needed to get started on them pretty much nowish.

So, I have come up with a solution. Monday through Friday I will work on baby blankets. Saturday and Sunday I will work on the scarf. I put this plan into action a week ago, and so far I am pretty pleased with the results. This past weekend I made some decent progress on my scarf:

Doctor Who scarf as of March 17, 2011.

I felt much less pressure while working on it this weekend and once more found myself actually enjoying the project. Excellent. Goal achieved, huzzah! I have come to terms that this is a project that will get done when it gets done, and I am okay with that. Besides, it is starting to get warm here anyway, I won't need it until October at least.

I also have been plowing along with Baby Blanket Alpha:

Baby Blanket Alpha as of March 15, 2011.

This photo was taken Tuesday night, so I have actually made a bit more progress than what you see. It is about a third of the way done after less than a week of work. This bodes well for baby blankets!

Speaking of finished knitting projects, that hat I mentioned earlier is indeed the Jayne hat that I took with me to Seattle to work on. I started it on the plane on Friday morning and finished it as we were leaving the airport Monday night. I worked on it in between panels on Saturday and while waiting in line for our photo op on Sunday (causing me to now really want a couple of these). I am pleased as punch with how it came out, even though the entire time I was making it I worried that it would be too small. But it actually fits just right!

Jayne Hat by Cori 2011.

Pattern: Jayne by Heather Hill (inspired by Joss Whedon's Firefly)
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Bulky by Brown Sheep in Autumn Harvest, Sunburst Gold, and Rust
Needles: Size 10.5 (US) Circular and DPN

Modeled by moi.

Note: Jayne hat also looks good on mini-Browncoats.

So, I have already been discovering the necessity, benefit, and possibility of multitasking in the crafting aspects of my life. If you had asked me a week ago I would have told you that was more than enough, thank you very much. I have enough going on in general without doubling up in each different area.

Then Leigh Butler announced that as of tomorrow she will be starting a new series of posts for Tor's website. I have long enjoyed her Wheel of Time re-read posts, and she has captured my interest with her writing style and turn of phrase. Tor is apparently pretty pleased with her as well, because they asked her if, in addition to her weekly Wheel of Time posts, she would be interested in doing a series of re-read posts for George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.

Here's the thing though: Leigh has never read the series. Not because she didn't want to, but because her devotion to Wheel of Time has sucked up enough of her time and energy that she didn't want to dive into another vastly epic and intricate series that is sort of taking its time to get finished. It's a testament to Martin's writing that fans are so vociferously annoyed at waiting for the next book in the series (which finally has a hard set release date for this summer), though it would be nice if they would go about expressing their desires in a more polite way. But I digress. The point is, Leigh decided she would be willing to give it ago, though instead of a re-read series, her posts will actually be a read-through. Two chapters a week.

Now I, like Leigh, have also had this series on my radar for quite some time. I too have hesitated to jump into it, though unlike Leigh this was because I already have enough other books to be reading that I don't need to jump into yet another big long addictive series (sadly, even though I have been reading at a pretty steady pace this year, my book pile has still only grown larger since last I showed you a picture). But. Two chapters a week? That really is not an unreasonable task. I read way more than that even on my slowest reading weeks.

So, I have finally, at long last, broke my hard and fast rule about reading more than one book at a time. Going forward, in addition to my regularly scheduled reading pile reading, I will also be reading A Game of Thrones (the first book in the series) along with Leigh. If I enjoy it enough, then I will pick up the next book when I am done.

My copy came Tuesday morning and I read through the prologue and first chapter that day. Can I just say, I really kind of want a direwolf now.

This also has the added bonus of ending up saving me about forty-five bucks (well, thirty six if you subtract the cost of the book) next month. I was planning to subscribe to HBO's forthcoming television show based on the series on iTunes (we haven't had any of the premium movie channels since I stopped working for the cable company and I refuse to add any just for one series). But since the first season is supposed to roughly cover the first book, I don't want to watch until I have read the first (and maybe the second as well) book completely through. So, I will probably just end up watching it on Netflix instead once I've finished my reading. Huzzah!

As a second added bonus, I won't be tempted to read the comments section on Leigh's posts (something that can suck up a great deal of time and often make me quite irritated at other people and the world in general). Since most people who will be reading her posts will have already read the entire series so far, she hasn't forbidden spoilers in the comments. So in order to avoid the risk of finding out something I don't want to know until I read it, I will just know to stay away. Excellent.

Hmm, maybe this multitasking thing is gonna work out for me after all.