A Slew of Books: What I'm Reading

  As of today, I am reading three books. And yeah, I'm reading them all at the same time. It's cool, I've got a system worked out for reading.

Seeing as I love the show, I figured I'd read the book. Usually books and TV shows are quite different; sometimes the written word just doesn't translate to the screen very well. This book is not the case. Reading the book is like reading a very detailed script. I'm enjoying it so far (mainly because now I can remember the character's names when watching the show.) It's witty, full of drama, and beautifully written. George R.R. Martin definitely has a talent. I'm only about three hundred pages in, but already I would recommend it to anybody who is into the show.

Appeals To: Fans of GOT Show on HBO; LOTR fans, anybody into Dark Ages type drama.

Arise, O Phoenix is a love story set against the backdrop of 9/11. Josselyn Jeffrey, a newspaper reporter, and Cameron Burke, a Pentagon official, both reexamine their lives after witnessing the horror of 9/11. Josselyn and Cameron both recall their time together and clearly regret their disconnection.

Although I'm not very far in this book, so far it is very touching. Perspective jumps around from character to character, but Lisa Drucker does a good job of showing the emotions of so many different people; a journalist, an almost-victim, a firefighter, a firefighter's wife, and an artist. Lisa has talent, and I'm definitely planning on reviewing this book soon.

Bring Up the Bodies  is a sequel to Wolf Hall. I have a sick obsession with anything relevant to King Henry VIII, especially Anne Boleyn. Once again, I'm not very far in the book, but it's pretty good. It's a strange book, written as half biography and half historical fiction. Although I pretty much know a lot of the facts about Anne Boleyn's rise and fall, I love hearing other people's interpretations of both her and King Henry's character. Some see Anne as a conniving woman, other's as a victim of Henry's obsession with having a male heir (on a side note, I always found it amusingly ironic that his daughter Elizabeth became an incredible monarch, even though he was convinced only a male heir could rule effectively.) This book sees Henry as a boisterous spoiled young adult who is used to getting his way, but is still an effective (if dramatic) monarch. This book covers the three weeks of her trial for treason, adultery, and witchcraft, while Jane Seymour waits to take the crown. The Boleyns must face the numerous enemies they've made at court during Anne's reign. I'm excited about this book because most only cover Anne's rise and reign, and very rarely go into detail about her trial. 

So here are my books. If anybody has any recommendations, leave 'em in the comments!