Recommended Reading

Highly Recommended:

Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett

As ever, when I try to describe my love for Terry Pratchett, what comes out of my mouth doesn't sound like a book for adults or sane people. But I will try, once again. Pratchett is funny, silly and irreverent. He is witty and clever. He writes about witches with respect and humor. He builds stories about royalty and loyalty, and why the two are rarely rhymed in verse. He animates cheeses and corpses, gives the good guys bad tempers and vanity but good hearts, he shows us the thin line between them and the bad guys. He makes puns about everything.

In Wintersmith, he talks about the remarkable ability of teenagers to transform themselves into great people, regardless of where they start, or how silly they are along the way. This is a great YA book, a great read for those YA's parents, and fun for those riding along.

Recommended:

Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Grudgingly, I checked this out. Painfully, I started it. Then I read like a madwoman for hundreds of pages. My recommendation for this book came from a source who has similar, but not exactly the same tastes, so I was hesitant but willing. I was worried that it would turn out to be a typical "fantasy adventure" story, with sword duels and long marches on the open road, and manly men.

Yes, some of it is like that. But, there are also noble, conflicted heroes and heroines, family struggles, love, intrigue, and a little bit of the fantastical. I like the men, who have friends and families, I like the women, who, although a bit typecast rise out of their "wife of..., daughter of..." roles by the middle of the book. There are so many characters, and they are allowed a chance to grow, and so we grow with them.

Martin did end his book like a good cliffhanger on TV, (he used to be a screenwriter) enough resolved so we can talk about it, but enough left dangling so that we have to read the next one. Well, I'll bite. I'm off to read the next one.