Game of Thrones
I am still totally hooked on this. I just love seeing how beloved characters (or for that matter, hated characters) are translated from the book to the screen. I almost don’t need to watch the action since I already know what is going to happen. In the HBO adaptation some characters completely meet my expectations and look just as I had imagined them, such as Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister, and Maisie Williams as Arya Stark. Most of the others come fairly close to what I hoped for, though Sunday night we met Ygritte who is much more light-hearted (and also cleaner) than the angry earthy girl that Jon Snow falls for in my imagination. But of course I will give her a chance.
Currently Reading or Not Yet Blogged
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman. Done, blog post coming tomorrow or the next day.
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway. Done, post also coming soon.
Miss Timmins’ School for Girls by Nayana Currimbhoy. A surprise find on the library shelf. Really really good.
Eagerly Anticipating
The Passage by Justin Cronin. Two friends recommended this to me independently, in the context of an e-mail conversation about guilty pleasure reading (more on which later). Vampires, but well written, they say. We shall see.
Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel. Hooray, my boyfriend Thomas Cromwell returns in the sequel to 2009’s Wolf Hall.
Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd. This was reviewed in Sunday’s New York Times Book Review. Boyd writes just the kinds of books I have been in the mood for lately and this one is set in London and Vienna during World War I, which is a bonus, as my Downton Abbey-inspired WWI phase persists. I have also been most generously provided with a free review copy of the book, so I had better get moving, preferably before I begin either of the books mentioned above.
Guilty Pleasure Reading
I polled a group of avid reader friends about whether or not they have a weakness for certain plot devices or themes and will overlook bad writing (or at least relax their standards) when partaking of said theme. If you want to weigh in on this, leave a comment or send me a message. Can you just not resist a book about art theft, for example? Let me know.
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
2 comments:
I read 'Waiting for Sunrise' last month and thoroughly enjoyed it, however, I got the feeling from an interview I heard Boyd give that he thought it was going to be his great Booker winning novel. Entertaining though it was I think he's deluding himself.
I'm impatiently waiting for the library to forward a copy of 'Bring Up The Bodies'. I do so hope it isn't going to disappoint. But I'll be interested to see what you make of 'Waiting for Sunrise'. I enjoyed it but think he's written much better.
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