Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Summertime reads

There is nothing quite like summer reading. For practically my whole life (at least 30 years of it!) it's been a summer tradition to spend as much time as possible with my nose buried in a book. I'm not sure where this love of reading came from--no one in my family liked to read except me--but it's made my life immeasurably better and richer. Although I still live within 30 miles of where I was born, I've always felt like a citizen of the world thanks to the other lives I've lived vicariously through books.

So far this summer I have been on a journey through the seven kingdoms of George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones series. I'm somewhat surprised at how much I'm loving these books, given that I'm not normally a huge fan of fantasy fiction. Actually, I do seem to be reading more books in this genre lately. I guess there are some perks to working in a bookstore (even a corporate giant bookstore), one of which is getting exposed to genres and authors that I would normally pass on.

I'm glad I decided to give these books a try. The plot is exciting and keeps you guessing, the scenes are rich with vivid detail, and the characters are easy to either love or hate. There are kings, usurpers, and smallfolk, ladies and whores and treacherous friends, poisonings and beheadings and chivalry, and dragons! Summers can last for decades, but so can winters and darkness and cold. Wars are raging, houses are fighting for control of the realm, and winter is coming...

I love this series. It's a total escape to another world. Today is sunny and cool, perfect for lounging around in the hammock with A Feast for Crows, the fourth book in the series. I just got a copy yesterday. It's exciting to have a new book to enjoy on my day off!

  What are you reading this summer?

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