Books I've Read

Now that summer's here, bringing with it all the heat and humidity, I find I'm reading more often and for longer periods of time. I've been hiding from the triple H's (hazy, hot, humid) by staying indoors near the air conditioner.

Right now, I'm eagerly awaiting my copy of A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin. It's the latest in his series called A Song of Ice and Fire and relates the tales and adventures of characters I've come to love in The Seven Kingdoms and abroad. I don't want to give away too many details of the stories because I wouldn't want to spoil anything for folks who haven't read the books yet. The characters are well developed and I found myself caring about many of them or heartily despising a few. That's how well and convincingly Martin writes. I've been shocked and saddened by sometimes horrific things happening to my favorites. I've celebrated when similar incidents happen to some of "the bad guys". Starting in May with the first book, A Game of Thrones, I reread (I'd read these books twice before) the books in the series. The others are A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords and A Feast For Crows. I was a little disappointed because many of my favorite characters didn't appear in the last book. That's because the story grew so large, Martin had to split it into two books. My favorites are in the book that I'm anxiously awaiting.

I'm almost finished with The Evening News by Arthur Hailey. As I began to read it, parts of it seemed familiar. I'm not sure I read the whole thing through. It may have been one I put down out of boredom. There've been a couple of places where I struggled to go on and sections I skipped because I was so bored. Don't get me wrong. I usually enjoy Hailey's books. This one is good in most places. It's the story of what happens when a news anchor's family is kidnapped by terrorists. Hailey's very knowledgeable about each of his book topics. The problem is that the information can be dry and it's not always presented in an interesting way. I'm hoping I finish it after I've received Martin's new book. I don't really want to start a new one. I'd really like to read Martin's book first but I can't be without a book to read either. Oh well.

I also read London by Edward Rutherfurd. I'd never read any of his books before because they were so dauntingly "big". I picked this one up at a library book sale and decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did! Rutherfurd reminds me of James Michener in that he centers in on one location and writes a story that takes place over hundreds of years. With Rutherfurd, the story of London, England spanned centuries and more. He started just before the Romans came to settle and ended in 1997. The characters and stories were richly developed and interesting. I loved the book so much I went to Paperback Book Swap and requested two more of his books. I'm looking forward to reading them.

The other book I read while waiting for Martin's book was Dead By Sunset by Ann Rule. She writes about some creepy sociopaths! This guy was a real "winner" in that he probably took his then 4 year-old-son to the ambush place he'd set up for his ex-wife. He beat her to death with something like a flashlight and then set her car to drift onto a nearby highway, hoping there'd be a massive car accident and her injuries would be attributed to that. Ewwwww. I picked this book up at the library book sale. Any time I see that Ann Rule is the author, I'll grab the book if I haven't read it. She's an excellent true crime author.

Now I just watch and wait for the mail carrier!