Monday, February 14, 2011

Winter is coming.

Wow, how does one follow an epic like Yank "F'ing" Justice? I remember seeing that damn show as a kid and at one point my brother was a hardcore monster truck fan. Just goes to show that you never know what is going to explode into pop culture at any given time (like the end of the vampire mythos, I am looking at you "Twilight", I never would have thought that I would support book burning...)

Ok on to the subject of this post.

I read quite a bit, in a normal year it ranges in the 50 or so books. So I find it hard to fathom that I had not read George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. With all the talk about the upcoming HBO show based on the first book "A Game Of Thrones" I decided that it was about time I checked it out. I am incredibly happy that I did.




If you have not read this book, do it and do it now. Even if you don't like the fantasy genre check it out. The character development and story progression are amazing, and the setting is extremely well thought out. I will not go into the synopsis because the book has been out for 15 years so the interwebs has had plenty of time to take care of that. Now I am really looking forward to the show, of course I do have a completely hetro crush on Sean Bean but that is for another day...

Some other books I am going back and checking out are "The Dresden Files" by Jim Butcher, "Discworld" by Sir Terry Pratchett, and the "Sookie Stackhouse" series by Charlaine Harris. So far I am really digging on the wizard for hire Harry Dresden, kinda puts one in the mind of a PG rated Cal Mcdonald (from "Criminal Macabre").



"Discworld" is just fun all around. Sir Pratchett is great at off the wall humor that flows well within his own world. If "A Game of Thrones" is a little too high fantasy for ya, then perhaps you will enjoy some fantasy that does not take itself seriously at all.


The "Sookie Stackhouse" books are what the HBO show "True Blood" is based on. Now as much as I hate the "Twilight" series, I was very reluctant to dip my foot into that pool again. (Yep I read the first "Twilight" book, I like to have some knowledge of what I hate so it is not just blind rage.) Although Harris is light years ahead of Meyer in all aspects of literary skill, it is still not my cup of ale. I have just never been a fan of vampires as care bears, Count Orlok is how a vamp should act.

So there ya go, my attempt to class the joint up a touch and focus on some reading that does not have pictures of people in capes. So how about you gentle reader? Have any recommendations for good books? Throw them in the comments or on That F'ing Monkey's facebook page. Let your F'ing voice be heard!! <-- Me thinks that is going to be my catch phrase, kinda like "Excelsior!". Whatcha think?

5 comments:

  1. Tried three times to get into Game of Thrones, I just can't seem to plow through. It makes me feel like incompetent at reading or something.

    I have, I think, nine Dresden Files books. It's definitely time I got back into those.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I still have Game of Thrones in the drawer of my nightstand. I think I got about 4 chapters into it. It is dense. I think it is just the sheer number of characters that get thrown at you so quickly.

    Currently I'm reading Those are Real Bullets aren't They?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yeah I will admit that Thrones is a very dense read. However when you get through the first round and a half of characters you get a feel for them. That is when you just can't put the book down. So power through and be rewarded for it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well, this is encouraging. I used to be an avid reader to the point I finish a harry potter book in two days, spending 4-6 hours straight reading LOL. But Game of Throwns killed me. I think I have ADD as a result of the internet.

    I will make an attempt again to read it, I just couldnt get past the insane amount of detailed character introduction. I got 3-4 chapters in. I'd fall asleep every time I started.

    I am still looking forward to the show. Have been for a while.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Can't wait for this show. This will be the next series I read after I'm done with the Wheel of Time series.

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails