venetia_sassy | Entries tagged with author: george r.r. martin

*yawns* Yeah, not so much. I did transfer the contents of old wallet and handbag into new wallet and handbag (and found yet more stuff to throw away) but that was about it. (Also realised that if I could give up on carrying a water bottle my bag would be so much lighter ... but no. Not going to happen.)

*
Mum is halfway through A Storm of Swords and has declared the books 'addictive'. So far she thinks: Bran is her favourite character, Arya and Nymeria must be reunited and Sansa is stronger than she realises.

I keep wanting to ask her what she thinks of Character A or Plot Twist B but since I read the books all in one go, I can't remember what happens in which book and I don't want to spoil the surprises!

Current Mood: lethargic
Current Music: Enya ~ How Can I Keep From Singing?
Crossposts: http://venetia-sassy.livejournal.com/128707.html

There was an article in this weekend's Herald about Game of Thrones (which I still haven't seen because while it is now screening here, it's on pay TV. Which I do not have and do not want. DVDs please!) Nothing I hadn't heard before but Mum was interested and asked me if I knew of this G.R.R. Martin person.

Me: Yes, I have the books. I was rereading them recently ...
Mum: Would I like them?
Me: Uhhh, I'm not sure? The writing's not brilliant but it's a really good story ... you know how in fantasy novels, you usually get the good and noble hero and the good guys win? This is what might actually happen.
Mum: They get killed.
Me: And completely screwed over first. And don't get attached to any of the characters because they'll just get killed off.

I wound up digging out the first book for her to look at after dinner. She was finishing the newspaper and another book first but eventually I looked at the time ...

Me: Uh Mum, it's twenty past twelve.
Mum: Goodness, is it really?
Me: Why are you still up - oh, you've been caught. Where are you up to?
Mum: They're waiting to see if Bran is going to live.

Well, clearly she couldn't go to bed then.

And today she has developed a violent loathing for Joffrey and Cersei (though I have told her that Cersei and Jaime become interesting characters) and sniffled over Lady. I think this is going well. *g*

Current Mood: pleased
Current Music: Kris Allen ~ Written All Over my Face
Crossposts: http://venetia-sassy.livejournal.com/125391.html

Just finished my reread of A Feast of Crows and the thought that kept waving for attention was, this series could be subtitled How to Screw Up Your Kids for Life.

( The Lannisters )( The Starks )( Arryn, Tarly, Greyjoy )I'm trying to think of a good example of parenthood in the books ... I'm not coming up with anyone. I rather liked the Queen of Thorns (for all she called her son a dolt) but without more information I won't call her a good parent or grandparent just yet.

Current Mood: thoughtful
Crossposts: http://venetia-sassy.livejournal.com/116637.html

The last few days, I've barely seen daylight. Stupid sleep cycle. And I seem to have finally caught the Undying Cold from Mum. Or something along those lines. New and interesting - sore and swollen lymph node at the back of my skull. Ow. Mostly I feel very hazy and tired.

But Sunday was nice. We don't celebrate Easter, it's just a chance for us to buy some really good chocolate - which we did - and maybe some hot cross buns. This year, it happened that our neighbours invited us for fondue on the Sunday evening and that was fun. I'd never had fondue before. Of the various offerings, pineapple dipped in cheese was very good and pineapple dipped in dark chocolate was amazing.

Since then, the cold has hit and I've been slouching around, doing not very much except rereading all the Song of Ice and Fire books. I wasn't going to reread them until the fifth came out and that's in July apparently (finally. I've only been waiting a couple of years, I feel sorry for the fans who've had to wait for each book) but all the talk about the mini-series got me curious and I wanted to refresh my memory. I'm reading A Feast for Crows now.

I don't think my opinions on various characters have changed much but I have less sympathy for Ned, Catelyn and Robb than I did before and a bit more for Tyrion and Jaime (but I will never forgive him.) It's funny but the characters whose emotional arcs I'm most interested in are not necessarily the ones I most enjoy reading about. I'd like to see Sansa grow up and be awesome and I'd like to see Dany be magnificent but in the meantime I'm thinking, oh god, it's another creepy guy or it's another 'exotic' city ... can we get to the good stuff?

Current Mood: blah
Crossposts: http://venetia-sassy.livejournal.com/116454.html

I haven't seen Game of Thrones yet and likely won't for a while. It isn't screening here until July, on pay TV. Which I do not have. DVDs, I guess. Stupid Australian programming.

I admit, I'm not sure I'll want to watch the whole thing - although the previews look freaking awesome (PUPPIES!!!) I had Game of Thrones sitting on the shelf for a few months before I picked it up - and then I bought the rest of the series and read them all within about two weeks. Fascinating but ye gods, the unrelenting bleakness. Don't become fond of any character! If you're lucky they might just die, instead of being tortured, raped, tormented, manipulated, driven mad ... these books have ALL THE HURT. And no comfort. (Well, maybe, occasionally, there is a little, teeny, tiny crumb of comfort. Maybe.) But I did appreciate that in the books bad things happened to good people and the definitions of 'good' and 'bad' were ... complicated.

Yes, that ridiculous NYT review was utterly ridiculous

'Boy fiction'? The fuck? And why the hell would I want to watch Sex and the City? Not my style at all.

I direct you to an awesome response from pandarus.

Apparently some people are claiming the books are even 'feminist'. Are these books feminist fiction? Uh no. I wouldn't call them that. They are set in a pseudo-medieval Europe wherein woman are treated as inferior, the pawns and playthings of men. Within this framework, GRRM writes some wonderful three-dimensional female characters. Some are manipulated, others manipulate. Or both. These books have a vast array of characters. Among them are some strong, capable, intelligent women. Who are generally regarded as the pawns and playthings of men.

Does this make the books feminist? No, it just mean that GRRM doesn't save all the characterisation for the men and the women are more than one-note background characters.

That really shouldn't be so surprising. *sigh*

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: Fall Out Boy ~ I've Got a Dark Alley and ...
Crossposts: http://venetia-sassy.livejournal.com/115039.html

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
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3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

Consistently, predictably, dependably, unwaveringly ERRATIC

There's logic in here somewhere ...

I was going to be productive today

A new fan!

How To Be A Bad Parent

Blech

ALL THE HURT

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