Winter is still coming... very slooooowly. There's been, like, a frost.

Reading. I have been doing it. A lot.

A Song of Ice and Fire is compulsive. I started the series in January, I'm halfway through book four. And let's be clear, these books are tomes. My handbag is constantly weighed down by them but I cannot. Leave them. At home.

Characterisation remains amazing. I love that George RR Martin has managed to make me care about a character I hated in the beginning - Jaime's transformation from an arrogant, privileged young knight to a war-weary and unwilling leader is very sympathetic. Cersei's insane suspicion of everyone and pride in her ridiculous decisions make me despise her more with every word. And I just can't stand how absolutely wet Sansa is. STAND UP FOR YOURSELF, GIRLIE!

The constant changes of direction keep me guessing too. I think I know how to play the game then someone pulls off a massive bluff and I don't even know who I am any more. What's that? Where am I? Where the effing eff did that come from?! I'm itching to know why the Imp confessed to a crime he didn't commit; I want to know what the hell Littlefinger is playing at; Where has Arya gone; who the hey is Coldhands and where is he taking Bran; is Catelyn alive or dead?!

Compulsive. I must know.

Four books in though, and I do wish that winter would hurry up and come. Arya has crossed the country about five times and never made it back to the north. There have been about five weddings but no babies, about eight of the main characters have died so far, and we've met the Others (bringers of winter) once.

 I feel like I know where we're going, now we just have to get there. My theories:

• --Bran and Arya are going to hook up with Dany and ride some dragons
• --But first Samwell is going to meet up with Arya. 
• --Cersei is so going to die/go mental before this book is up
• --Brienne is going to help the Starks take back their realm. Duh. 

I'll have to go back to these when I finish book four. I bet the majority of these folks are dead. 

Anyhoo. I've loved the series so far, but I do think it needs to get somewhere or I'll lose interest soon. After watching the TV series of course. 

PS. I am ready to kill if I have to read that bear rhyme again. 

Winter is coming.

Hello, T'interwebs!
To continue with my reading theme, I bring you my thoughts on A Game of Thrones, which I devoured like an enormous black forest gateaux with eton mess on the side. To whit - ravenously and with relish.

I feel the need to add a disclaimer - I have not seen the Sky series. I WANT to see the Sky series though. My only knowledge of it was that the illustrious Sean Bean was in it, so I spent a lot of time trying to guess which character he was and putting his head on different people. This made the whole reading process very incestuous ad most people of the right kind of age had the same face which - considering the lineages in this series - was not entirely inappropriate.

For years I've steered clear from any high fantasy beyond Terry Pratchett and the occasional teenage magician saga for fear of becoming a whole new level of geek. But I capitulated this Christmas and, having heard some good things about the Song of Ice and Fire series, I decided to give it a whirl.

Anyway, enough waffle. Let's talk story.

Family Stark are the oh-so-serious lords of the north, whose leader, Eddard, helped put the current king on the throne. However, when the King asks him to come help out with southern political machinations, his family is torn apart because he's just not devious enough. His heir is left behind to protect the keep, another is sent north to guard the frontier between civilised lands and the supernatural border, his daughters join him to learn the ways of the court and his wife sets off on her own mission of revenge. War happens. It's awesome.

You may have noticed, I rather loved this book. The scope of the storyline is absolutely vast and the world in which it's set minutely realised. The shifting perspectives every chapter means I get to see the war from (almost) every side - I love the fact that I've ended up caring about certain baddies even when I'm rooting for the goodies.

The lore is immersive - I want to know what the warrior princess Nymeria did that impressed Eddard's youngest daughter so much. There are rumours and remnants of long-gone elves and dragons, and at least three fully realised religions/cultures, with other bits on the side.

In short, I loved it. I wish they hadn't killed certain characters off, and both sorry and excited that the next book should delve deeper into the supernatural (I liked the sense of mystery), but I finished it on the train into work today, and you can be damned sure that I'll be buying the next instalment on the way home.

Three other books on my 'need to read' list

• You can't read this book, Nick Cohen
• Room, Emily Donohue
• Lord of Chaos, Robert Jordan

End.

2012 book list

I read a lot. A lot. Mostly trash though. Joined a book group last year to up the class of book I read, time to start recording my thoughts on them

Book devourer

Books I'm currently reading/waiting to read:

A Game of Thrones - Loving it
Gone with the Wind - Not impressed so far.
Lord of Chaos

Ironically, none of these are classy at all. Gone with the Wind is awful, Scarlett O'Hara is just a horrible imaginary human being.

Books of note in 2011:

The Help - excellent

The Poison Tree -  Highly recommended.
When God was a Rabbit - Not bad at all
How to be a woman, Caitlin Moran - Highly recommended
We Need to talk about Kevin - Excellent
Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series - pretty cool
Dark Matter - spooooky
A whole bunch of Terry Pratchett, particularly:
Snuff - not bad, not amazing
I Shall Wear Midnight - great story, perfect end to the heroine's story arc