A SONG OF FIRE AND ICE

Most people know this book series as Game of Thrones.  For us nerds Game of Thrones is the first book in the Fire and Ice series which consists of 8 books, 5 of which have already been published, the other 3 over the next few years.  The HBO show Game of Thrones, is in its second season and so far, with minimal exceptions, is following the books as they develop, one book per season.  I would recommend reading the books though, don't rely on the show to give you all of the information.

I started reading the series right after the first season ended.  It was extremely helpful to read it and really understand who was who and what their relationships with each other are.  But it goes way beyond that.  These books are DENSE.  I can read a 300-400 page book in a few days.  It took me a month (each) to read the first two books, and the third, which I wanted to hurry up and read because I saw that some elements from it may be in this season of the show, took nearly two months. 

All of that said, this is one of my favorite book series, perhaps even surpassing (gasp!) Anita Blake, mostly because of the deep mythology and world building that Martin does.  The stories that he weaves are the most expansive, rich, detailed, and imaginative world I think I've ever read.  Like I said, it's a commitment, and I happily commit to it every time I read one of the books. (I have number 4 waiting for me on my Kindle now!) If you want just a fun, escapist story, this is not for you.  Is it all of those things, yes, but it is also so much more. 

50 SHADES OF GREY

So, uh, yeah, this happened. 

I'd heard that 50 Shades was a fanfic inspired by Twilight.  You know how much I like vampire books/movies/etc.  Zombies, not so much, although there have been a few "vampire" books that were more like zombie books, but, story for another time.  Since I'd heard about the Twilight connection I went into reading this expecting a teen angst vampire book.  Let's ignore for a second that I just happily expected a book I was reading to be that. 

50 Shades is about Anastasia Steele (seriously) who meets a gorgeous billionaire (of course) named Christian Grey.  Up until their meeting I was curious who her vampire lover would be, and a gorgeous billionaire isn't bad.  He's very mysterious, like any good vampire.  He has secrets, which, of course he does, he's a vampire.  Oh, he likes to get kinky, don't all vampires.   He wants her to sign a non-disclosure agreement, and who wouldn't, being a vampire and all.  It was about, perhaps, a fifth of the way in when I realized, this is not about vampires.  He's all about BDSM.  I think that's the acronym.  I'm at work and there's NO WAY I'm looking that up on Google.  Basically, he's a Dominant who wants to find a Submissive. 

I learned more than I would ever need to know about this lifestyle while reading this book.  It is NOT for the faint of heart.   But don't get turned away by it either.  It's a very interesting story, which, I found well written.  It's a trilogy (another vampire misdirect) and after I finished this book I immediately ordered the next. I'm very curious about how this is going to play out. 

I would recommend this book, but don't read it as your first "romance" novel.