I thought my opinion of Sarah Palin couldn’t be lower, but I just finished “Game Change.” I paid attention during the 2008 campaign, so this was mostly a trip down memory lane.
I have read/watched “Let The Right One In”(but not “Let Me In”). I liked it. Now I’m starting “Handling The Undead,” John Ajvide Lindqvist’s latest, a take on zombies, sort of. He really is Sweden’s Stephen King. Based on the first book, I think he has the potential to compare favorably to the American horror master.
I bought A Clash of Kings yesterday. I really liked A Game of Thrones. The story is very captivating and the writing is superb. I thought I had read others here say that the writing was not that great. I would strongly disagree. The descriptions of the scenery and clothing are succinct, not too drawn out. Martin doesn’t spend paragraphs describing inane details, yet the reader really gets the picture. And the dialogue is fantastic, too.
I agree on every count. As a fellow sci-fi fan, I’m curious about your take on the level of fantasy elements in the first book.
This morning I read the prologue to A Clash of Kings.
A Game of Thrones didn’t need to shove fantasy props down our throats. The political games and the military activity are interesting on their own. The fantasy element that does exist is small, the supernatural events are very few and far between, but it’s enough to make me wonder how that part of the story will unfold in the sequels. You know it’s coming, and it probably will even be brought into the forefront.
We’re flying to Australia tonight, a full 24.5 hours of travel time from SF to Perth, and I’d like to thank all of you for these threads. Trawling through them, and following the golden threads, I’ve downloaded 18 books onto my new Kindle. I think that will just about get me there and back! I’ll report back on some favourites upon my return in April!
Thanks, gang! 
Just finished Susan Cheever’s Louisa May Alcott, which I liked quite a bit. Bio with (social and literary) context.
Deeper than Dead by Tami Hoag.
Having just heard the author speak at my law school, I got Marc Howard Ross’s Cultural Contestation in Ethnic Conflict from the library. It’s pretty interesting - a collection of essays on how fights over culture and history can divide ethnic groups. He discusses the Protestant v. Catholic marches in Northern Ireland, the controversy over Muslim women’s head coverings in secular France, the battles over the Confederate battle flag, etc. He also mentions some success stories, such as how Spanish nationalism and Catalan independence sentiment were reconciled for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
Finished The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
About a 1/4 of the way into it I thought: Wow, yet another popular book that makes me wonder why I’m always on the outside looking in.
But 1/2 way in I was sucked in, and it just kept getting better.
I found it to be a well-written mystery with more than one sub-plot, and all of them kept me interested. I’m late to the party, but I recommend it.
You’ll also like the other two.
Did you want me to comment on that, or leave you to your own devices?
I’m approaching the halfway point of A Storm of Swords. But between my temporarily long work hours and the fact that I’ll be driving to work for the next few weeks rather than commuting by train, I don’t know how much reading time I’m going to have before May.
FWLIW, George R.R. Martin says the next book in the series is coming out July 12. I’m crossing my fingers: http://www.georgerrmartin.com/if-update.html
Wait – so you scoff when I post that, but NOW you’re hopeful based on the same info? 
Ha, so I was just thinking of a “what are you reading lately” thread and here is this one.
Just finished Nick Harkaway’s “The Gone Away World” picked up at the library on a whim. It’s a little post-apocalyptic, a little kung fu, a little military machination, a little band-of-raggedy-heroes vs. faceless corporation, and a touch of fantasy. Also, mimes. Really. There’s some good humor and nice twists here, and while much of the first 150 pages were a recap of the major characters’ youth and schooling that left me thinking “why are you telling me this” it does integrate later into the story. While I also don’t usually like the device of not telling you the narrator’s name, it worked here without seeming forced. It wraps up a little neatly, but satisfyingly.
I just started Memory and Identity by Pope John Paul II. It’s a book I’ve wanted to read for a while, but have been too immersed in work to start it.
We’re here each month, come back often!
I’m reading Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, about the group of enslaved women brought to an Ohio resort each summer by their owners. They have different levels of affection for them and some actually think they love them, but are beginning to contemplate escape. I’m about a third of the way through.
I’ve got more going on that I usually like but with Game of Thrones looking promising to be my next HBO series addiction, I had to add that to my Kindle.
So… right now I’m re-reading English Passengers by Matthew Kneale, although it’s taken a back seat mostly since the beginning of March. I’ve had my Kindle for almost a year and I had loaned the book to my ex-boss a month or so before he laid me off and never got it back. So it’s nice to know it’s sitting there on my Kindle so I can give Capt. Kewley a visit any time I want (and it’s UNLOANABLE!):mad:
Game of Thrones is pretty great so far, although some of the things make me go 
. Like putting a invalid on a two-year old horse…but that’s just me. I’m not into fantasy in general, but this moves fast enough with some pretty complex characters to really keep me interested. Actually, I’m having a hard time putting it down in general. I was warned that the author likes to be pretty brutal to his characters but if I have to read one more heartbreaking animal-related thread to this story, I’m going to beg for it to be a person soon.
I just finished Sunne in Splendor by Sharon Kay Penman and when I started this, I had no idea it was somewhat based on the Yorks and the Lancasters, so I think part of the reason I find it so interesting is because of the familiarity of some of the characters.
Lastly, I’ve got Flashman & the Redskins by George McDonald Fraser. Flashy is still a wenching coward. I am loving the Western setting although I’m ready for him to leave Sante Fe.
I am reading from my huge pile: Watership Down.
Its taken me 20 years to crack it open. So far, I like it.
See? See? Now he’s making me schizophrenic!