Kings and queens and feminism

I finished the first book of Game of Thrones eeh. It's been a while (well maybe a few months) since there's been a series that everyone around me is reading and I needed to hop on the bandwagon. I liked the first book, a bit complicated, but in that it-isnt-a-proper-fantasy-novel-without-at-least-ten-main-characters kind of way. Looking forward to the rest! And the TV show I can now watch in peace. One criticism with multi-character books which I have probably already mentioned, is that you always have favourites. You always have chapters you can't wait to read, and others you wish would just disappear for a while. Not everyone can have the best plotlines all the time and some characters you just connect with more than others, so its an unavoidable problem, but sadly one which only gets worse the longer the book is.

However, I did finish the book a little early, leaving a whole bookless train ride looming, and only Birdsong for company. Not very happy with that idea I decided to be spontaneous and actually buy a book! It's How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran, I'd heard a few good things and various reviews with 'You must read this now' kind of thing. It was good. Interesting and brutally honest and laugh-out-loud-on-public-transport funny. She has some very strong opinions, and while I obviously don't agree with them all, it's very refreshing to read/see/hear of a woman with such public opinions on a range of important issues. It kind of made me want to take to the streets and join a protest, so I think it's achieved its aim as well. It also made me think that I could, and really should, write more. When I read some of the things she writes, it just reminds me that I have so many thoughts like this. I have all these eloquent sentences trapped in my head that I want to write down. It's an internal narration of my life.

Reading by chapter

Obviously a lot of people. Maybe the majority of people? Either way, I just don't understand how they can do it. I normally fail to even see the chapter pages that seperate the awesomeness of a book. When I was away I had to read the Handmaid's Tale in frustratingly short bursts and my mum wouldn't let me be antisocial enough to finish it, even though it was amazing and I NEEDED to know what was happening.

I liked the book, but thought it didn't describe enough about how the society evolved and why, and all the rules and hierarchies. I suppose it does make it more realistic (its meant to be a diary) that the author didn't see fit to put in all this extra information I wanted and only commented on part of the really interesting stuff.

In other exciting news, I finally have my hands on a Song of Fire and Ice! Now I can watch the programme and stop being out of the loop whenever anyone talks to me.

I also started reading a thriller about OCD, but had to give it back because it wasn't mine (or the person I borrowed it from). Anyway, I need to stop buying/ acquiring books because I'm moving soon and they seem to have multiplied over the past year.

Hay Festival 2012

I've just got back from my first trip to Hay Fest, and it was fantastic. Everything about it was perfect - apart from the rain of course! The town is beautiful and so green, with a ridiculous number of bookshops. Really nice indy bookshops as well, with great finds to be discovered. There was a shop that only sold penguins: I'm not sure I've ever seen a more beautiful sight. I didn't have tickets for any authors events, but of course the people I did see had written multiple great books.

Books I did buy (I hadn't gone intending to buy books, but how could I resist?) were the Arabian Nights (see Recommended) and The Day of the Triffids, one of the last few Wyndham books I haven't read. I really enjoy his writing and of course the theme of worlds ending is right up my street, especially the way the books follow normal people in such extraordinary circumstances and looking at the human aspect such catastrophes would trigger.

Other non-literary purchases included a basket to keep my wool together in, and this travel purse;

I have to admit I've never read it, or even know what its about, it just looks so pretty, and since I'm going away tomorrow, seemed apt.