Books
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My suggestion would be to read the first three without any influence from the show because they are pretty damn good reads. Books 4 and 5 aren't as good, so once you get there, it probably shouldn't matter much.
I will say the show focuses on certain things way too much (hey it's HBO). The visuals are pretty great, but the execution of the story is meh to me. Just one man's opinion.
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As an additional recommendation, I would suggest that when you get to books 4 & 5, to read them together; i.e., a chapter from 4, then a chapter from 5, and so forth. You should have about 1/4 of book 5 left when you finish book 4, which you can then finish solo.
It's unwieldy and feels a tad ridiculous, but Martin originally intended them to be a single book. For a variety of reasons, that didn't happen, and he split them in a manner that grouped (in my opinion) the most loathsome characters into book 4, making it a less enjoyable read. Also with how interwoven the storylines are, 4 feels slightly incomplete when read alone. Reading the two together ameliorates both issues. There's a note from the author somewhere in 5 giving a bit of an explanation about it.
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First 3 are great, pacing slows down dramatically in the next 2. They almost feel like they're a combination placeholder/tidying up of loose ends.
I have to admit, I've become a bit disenchanted with the series over the last decade or so.
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First 3 are great, pacing slows down dramatically in the next 2. They almost feel like they're a combination placeholder/tidying up of loose ends.
I have to admit, I've become a bit disenchanted with the series over the last decade or so.
I would tend to agree with this. First three are great to read, but in retrospect, I almost wish I hadn't bothered with the last two. The thing is, I liked the storyline of 4 and I wish he had just continued those stories instead of having two books that generally didn't move the story that far forward. I did not like reading 5. But, I think I may have liked it more if I read it the way Chris suggested with 4&5 at the same time. Unfortunately, I read 4 right when it came out, so I did not have that option.
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I did the same and really didn't enjoy 4, but with a six year gap to publication of 5, I had forgotten a lot of the details in the various storylines. I decided to reread it as a refresher and did as I suggested above. I found it much more enjoyable the second time around.
Game of Thrones was published in 1995, and at the rate he's going, Martin probably won't finish the series until 2025 or so. It's got to be tough to work on the same thing that long and still get excited about it. I suspect that if the series hadn't turned into such a massive phenomenon, Martin just would have moved on to something else and maybe never finished it at all.
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Harry Harrison has died. The world of SF is less without him.
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currently reading sincerity by R.Jay Magill Jr. & just looking at the pictures in Lost New York by Marcia Reiss
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Currently reading:
A book written by the author of the short story "Fire in the hole" which the tv series "Justified" was based on. It's basically a few of the tv episodes written as short stories.
Where it gets really weird is that Raylan Givens also features in two other Elmore Leonard novels that were written about 15-20 years ago. But like all good heroes, Raylan doesn't age.And a few years ago Elmore Leonard wrote a couple of books featuring a Carl Webster a US Marshal in the 1930's. But at the moment I can't remember if they were related.
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My current reading:
Don Delillo at his best. So, so good.
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^great author
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^great author
Indeed. Libra blew me away. Utterly brilliant book with the most impressive sense of tension and atmosphere I've read in a long time. I didn't know a great deal about the Kennedy assassination prior to this, but Delillo's portrayal of Lee Oswald is compelling.
Now getting into:
I really enjoyed Ford's The Sportswriter and this one is proving to be great as well.
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You may like this too Giles: http://www.amazon.com/City-Fishing-Jerry-Dennis/dp/0811703576
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Just got "Time Out, Country Walks, Vol 1 - 52 Walks Near London". The walk that Sugar Mountain did at the weekend is in it, so needed it. Thanks SM….
Great stuff! The directions can be overly detailed and sometimes tricky to follow but most of the routes I've done are wonderful so it's well worth it.
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The 14.3 miler took me and my brother about 5 and a half hours to do with a short pub break included. Once you're on the South Downs Way, you can motor along at a decent clip should you wish (we walk fairly quickly by most peoples' standards I think).
We only started walking at 13.15 so an earlier start would give plenty of time in daylight.
