When I first started reading these books, my friend who recommended them told me that the author keeps surprising the reader.

While I’m not a big fan of fantasy books, I do love the movies and TV shows. Games of Thrones, the HBO show, has been a favorite of my wife and I since the third season (we watched the first and seconds seasons on demand and got hooked). The author George R. R. Martin was born this day in 1948 in Bayonne, NJ. As the oldest of three children, George liked to watch such shows as The Twilight Zone. In high School Mr. Martin wrote fan fiction based on comic books and even created new superheroes. During the Vietnam War Mr. Martin worked with the Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation as part of his alternative service, since he was a conscientious objector. The first story Mr. Martin sold was called The Hero. The story was sold to a science fiction magazine called Galaxy in 1971. In the 1980s Mr. Martin became involved in script writing. He was involved in the 1986 remake of the Twilight Zone and on TV shows. However, whenever he handed a screen in the producers would say: “George, this is wonderful, but it would cost five times our budget to produce it” (as told in a…

The characters, they are complex and three dimensional, as I mentioned none are “good” and none are “evil”, but complex human beings trying to stay alive and working for their own best interest.

About: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin is a fantasy novel which is the base to the successful TV show. This book is number on the series known as A song of Ice and Fire. 694 pages Publisher: Bantam Books Language: English ISBN-10: 0553103547 My rat­ing for A Game of Thrones —4 Buy A Game of Thrones from Amazon.com* More Books by George R.R. Martin Thoughts: I am not a fan of the fantasy genre when reading. I love the movies and TV shows, but the books just don’t resonate with me. I tried to read and listen to Lord of the Rings about five times and never made it past 150 pages. When the TV show came out, my buddy Ray gave me A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin to read. Again, I couldn’t get past 150 pages and gave it back. Sadly, a short time later, Ray passed away (he was 25 or so at the time) leaving behind a young wife. The author took his time telling the story, which is why I believe I gave up on reading the books. If you don’t know anything about the characters, you only start to figure out…

Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II’s Most Audacious General takes every gossip, rumor, and, historically discredited banality about WWII as facts

While visiting the blog River City Reading, I noticed a post about 21st Century Novels which were destined to become classics published by The Inquisitr (original post). As with any list, it is a point of contention and debate. I don’t feel that reviewers decide what is or what is not a classic, but the people do as well as time. After all, many books which we consider classics these days were serialized adventure stories in newspapers (The Three Musketeers for example). But first – here is the list: 15. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen 14. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 13. We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver 12. A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin 11. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini 10. The Help by Kathryn Stockett 9. Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron 8. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon 7. American Gods by Neil Gaiman 6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling 5. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson 4. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett 3. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold 2. The Road by Cormac…

Opposable Thumbs is informative, and I feel as if I somewhat got to know the two men, it’s easy to read and gets its points across clearly without much fluff

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett a smart novel in a complex world where humans can tap the consciousness of objects convincing them that they are different

Join Regal Literary in celebrating the ALA’s third annual National Bookmobile Day! In appreciation of our nation’s bookmobiles and the library professionals who keep them running, we’re giving away signed copies of THE NIGHT BOOKMOBILE and HER FEARFUL SYMMETRY by fellow bookmobile lover Audrey Niffenegger, international bestselling author of THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE. See more about the books below, and enter to win at http://www.regal-literary.com/contests/bookmobileday2012/. This sweepstakes ends on April 11, 2012. For contest updates, follow us on Twitter @regal_literary. Enjoy National Bookmobile Day, and best of luck! ======================================= The Night Bookmobile By Audrey Niffenegger The Night Bookmobile tells the story of a wistful young woman who one night encounters a mysterious disappearing library on wheels. This library includes everything, and only everything, she has ever read. Seeing her history and most intimate self in this library, she embarks on a search for the bookmobile. But over time her search turns into an obsession as she longs to be reunited with her own collection and therefore, her memories. The Night Bookmobile is a haunting tale both of transcendence and the passion for books, and features the evocative full-color pen-and-ink work of one of the world’s most beloved storytellers. Her Fearful…

Black History Month: The Storytelling Tradition Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alice Walker, Virginia Hamilton, and others speaking about the importance of storytelling in African American history: Muhammad Ali: The Man Behind the Myth: A look at Muhammad Ali (“the man behind the myth”) in a video interview with George Foreman, daughter Hana Ali, and biographer Thomas Hauser. Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy: Authors Remember the Civil Rights Movement Alice Walker and other authors speaking about their involvement in the Civil Rights movement Henry Louis Gates, Jr., on William Styron’s Controversial Novel: Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on one of the twentieth century’s most jarring literary events.