Ultimate Game of Thrones Book Tag

Since Game of Thrones is back with a new season (and everyone is in an uproar about Jon Snow), I think this is the opportune time to do this tag created by the Orang-utan Librarian. Thanks for tagging me, chica!

I love the Game of Thrones fandom, but I follow the book series rather than the TV show because 1) I don’t have HBO (boohoo for me) and 2) I’m still upset about the changes I saw in the 4 or so episodes I’ve seen of the first season. Really, I need to get over it and just watch the damn shows but it’s hard, so hard, for me to do that. I love the books too much.

But let’s forget all that and relish in our love for this fandom with this tag.

Part 1: Book Questions

“We do not sow”: A book you would not be willing to invest in.

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“The Ice Dragon” by George R.R. Martin, illus. by Luis Royo

Why did I read this book? Because by January 26 I was one book away from having read 5 books in the month and my competitive side kicked in and pushed me to grab something quick so I could round out the month with 5 books. Who am I competing with, you ask. Well, I have no idea. But that Goodreads reading goal I had set for myself at the beginning of the year sure niggles me.

Quick summary:

George R.R. Martin’s Ice Dragon is an illustrated children’s book set in an imaginary world about a young girl’s friendship with a legendary creature. It’s a bildungsroman since we follow the protagonist, Adara, as she interacts with the fabled Ice Dragon throughout her life.

Adara was born during one of the fiercest winters in her land and is considered a winter child both because of when she was born as well as her constitution. She is withdrawn, keeps to herself, and hardly exhibits any warmth toward others. Even her skin is cool to the touch. There is conflict between Adara’s country and the land in the north. As Adara gets older, the tension increases between the two lands and the war draws closer to Adara’s village. But with the help of the Ice Dragon, Adara just might be able to stop the war’s progression.

Wishes for my TBR Pile: 5 Books I Want to Buy

I’m super excited because I came home to find two 20%-off coupons from Barnes & Noble waiting for me in the mail. I can’t wait for the weekend so I can get to shopping. The following are books I’m eager to add to my TBR list. I’ll be honest here and state that most likely these books will be bought and placed on my bookshelf, where it will sit and collect dust for a few months before I actually read them. But I am a book-lover, a bibliophile at heart, so I can’t pass up an opportunity to collect more books. Though I am on a book-buying ban, I shall lift it for the weekend because—coupons!! Possible purchases might include:

The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (Bantam, Oct. 28, 2014)

“This lavishly illustrated volume is a comprehensive history of the Seven Kingdoms, providing vividly constructed accounts of the epic battles, bitter rivalries, and daring rebellions that lead to the events of A Song of Ice and Fire and HBO’s Game of Thrones. In a collaboration that’s been years in the making, Martin has teamed with Elio M. García, Jr., and Linda Antonsson, the founders of the renowned fan site Westeros.org—perhaps the only people who know this world almost as well as its visionary creator.”

“A Game of Thrones” by George R.R. Martin

I’ve always liked this cover best.

Reading a book for the first time is filled with moments of wonder. If the story is gripping, you spend most of the time wide-eyed, reading quickly, as if the words already set in the book could somehow escape you. Approaching that book a second time does not dim the wonder but neither does the wonder consume you as on the first read. Things you glazed over in your excitement to know what happens next begin to emerge.

Such was the case a few weeks ago when I read A Game of Thrones a second time. I was surprised at myself that I missed the blatant foreshadowing at the beginning of the story—the direwolf dead with the horn of a stag broken in its throat. Martin even referred back to that scene a few times thereafter and still I failed to notice it. I was too mesmerized then. Too curious and reading too quickly to pay much attention to details.

This isn’t surprising to anyone who has read the books in George Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, or watched the television show on HBO. The story centers on various characters spread across the kingdoms of Westeros and its neighboring lands. It is filled with twists and numerous cliff-hangers that will keep you both hooked and frustrated with GRRM since the character perspectives tend to switch from chapter to chapter.

Although I knew the ending and what would happen to the characters later in the series, I still anticipated the turn of every page. Again, I found myself staying up late, wide awake, and reading quickly to satiate my curiosity and desire for a happy ending though I knew better. I did not expect this of myself. I thought my second time through would be much calmer, as it usually is, but I was wrong.

The Sword as an Umbrella

If you are a Game of Thrones fan, you should check out Flavorwire’s post, The Absolute Geekiest ‘Game of Thrones’ Merchandise. It went up today. The merchandise listed ranges from shot glasses to book ends to refrigerator magnets to the Irone Throne itself.

My favorite is the umbrella that looks like a sword. Sooo cool!! I’ve always wanted a sword! If I get that umbrella, I would carry it everywhere with me. And I dare anyone to try robbing me. It would’t work. No siree! I would defeat the robber with my umbrella.

The sword that’s an umbrella.

 

Related articles

• “A Feast for Crows” by George R.R. Martin (zezeewithbooks.wordpress.com)

“Gift Ideas for the 8 Major Species of Science Fiction Fan” — io9

Here is another cool post that I found while surfing the net. This one is from io9, my new favorite website. It shows gifts ideas for those of us who love fantasy and science fiction and where to find them.

For the Game of Thrones, this pair of Converse is my favorite. The Targaryen colors are look great on it. Check out the other ideas here.

 

 

“A Feast for Crows” by George R.R. Martin

Cover via Amazon

FINALLY!!!

Oh my gosh, it took me forever to finish reading this book. I can’t even remember when I began to read it. It was such a drag. I had to take breaks just to get away from all the characters and conflicts and scheming and history lessons. They clouded my brain. While reading A Feast for Crows, I also read Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, The Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce, The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan, Body Language for Dummies (I had a crush on a guy and wanted to know if he likes me without having to ask him), and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.

I’m sorry to say this but this book was a bore for me. I was not interested in the characters presented in this book; however, I do know that in order for the story to work, we (the readers) do need to know what these characters are up to and also what is going in Westeros. These characters —Brienne, Jaime, Cersei, Arya (she is always interesting to me), Victarion, Samwell— are all able to paint us a picture of the bleak, dismantled land of Westeros. Winter is coming. The land is riddled with corpses and villans. People are scavenging for food to put away before Winter hits hard. But it seems that all, except maybe the Vale, will be unprepared for winter. And along with Winter will come the Others. I believe that their army of zombies will grow from all the corpses left over from the war.