Skip to main content

Featured Post

Infinite Country by Patricia Engel | Thoughts

   Published : 2021   ||    Format : print   ||    Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆   What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the story of her family through the other protagonist, El

The Sunday Salon: An epic saga affair

The Sunday 
Salon.com

It has been a while since I did a Sunday Salon. I would like to say that I was busier than usual, but really, there was nothing major happening for me to report. I've been reading some, listening some, watching some, and knitting some, for the most of the past few weeks. Just as with every beginning of the year so far, my reading has been going very slow. I know it will pick up soon, if the past years were any indication.

The husband and I started watching Game of Thrones this past week. We are late to the bandwagon but not having any major TV to watch right now, we decided to start watching it. I'm a little more hooked into the show now than when I first started watching it. I don't really watch too many epic sagas - since almost every character has some meaty story arc, it takes me a while to remember everyone. I have to read a few recaps before I get the story straight. But, I LOVE reading epic sagas. There is usually a lot to love in them - strong characters with everyone getting a lot of page presence; a wide variety of emotions and motifs - happiness, sadness, triumph, disappointment, betrayals, complicated relationships, and others; a lot of growing up, coming of age, and decay into nothingness; engrossing plots; and cliffhangers. You can't really agree or disagree with anything. Stuff happens, just like in life, so move on. Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings are the only two sagas I remember reading. And after watching a few episodes of Game of Thrones, I'm finally convinced about reading the books. But Holy Mygodly, how much sex and curses this show has! (And I'm remembering not to get attached to any character, I know how Martin loves to kill them all.)

Much as I like reading epic sagas, I'm also picky about them. Most epic sagas tend to be fantasy-driven and not all fantasy worlds appeal to me. I almost detest reading anything supernatural, and the fantasy needs to be appetizing and not gross. It's usually a thin line and a very subjective experience. So it takes me longer to pick an epic series and dive in - I usually need some strong impetus to get there.

Last week, we got hit by a big snowstorm, like much of the US East. That was our big one for the season, and the biggest in the last few years. I worked from home two days last week and loved watching out my office window at all the happy kids sledding in the snow. We have a lot of slopes in this part of the country and the kids had so much fun picking a hill. While the roads and driveways are cleared, there is still a lot of snow everywhere else and it's not going to go anywhere anytime soon. After checking the weather forecasts, this does seem to be the last snow of the season, and it has been slightly warmer since. So are y'all ready for Spring?

Comments

bermudaonion(Kathy) said…
We got that snow too but I didn't enjoy it. I hope that's it for the winter!
Bryan G. said…
I'm not much for the epic sagas anymore. I used to be, read both Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter like you. I have the entire Game of Thrones series on my tablet, but I really have no idea when or if I'll get to them. It was a good deal and I couldn't pass it up, but also when you know he's going to kill (almost) everyone off and most of the characters aren't that likable, it's hard to get motivated to read it too.


As for Spring, I'm more than ready for it. Bring it on!
Hope you enjoy Game of Thrones! I watched the first season before reading all the books and fell in love. Be really careful where you look on the internet, there are just spoilers everywhere (I was spoiled just looking at a family tree). If you use this site, you can set your scope (how many books/seasons you've read/watched - the default is none), so it adjusts not to spoil you. Total lifesaver. http://towerofthehand.com/
Vasilly said…
I'm not ready for spring yet! Not at all. Feel free to send all that snow and cold weather out here! :-)
Lisa Sheppard said…
We just watched the first episode of Game of Thrones yesterday, too. Our son has been trying to get us hooked on it for some time and as soon as the Olympics are over I foresee us watching at least the rest of the first season. I really would hate to be convinced to read the books having just made a commitment to start the Outlander series. I would never get another book read if I read both of those monster series!
Ti Reed said…
I tried to watch Thrones once and it is not for me. However, just like you, I had some time on my hands for some TV watching so I started LOST. I saw the pilot once but was not impressed. This time, I was very impressed with the pilot. I don't know why it was more impressive to me this time around but I am just a few episodes in and hooked. Still watching Walking Dead and I am looking forward to tonight's episode!
iliana said…
My reading seems to be going so slowly recently. Probably due to me starting books and not finishing any! ha. That's great that you at least got to work from home and didn't have to brave the elements. We had a beautiful day on Friday - broke records as our temps got up to 84. So while I'm excited about Spring, I know our summer is not far off and then I'll be melting! :) Hope you enjoy your Sunday!
Diane D said…
Great that you could work from home. A nice perk indeed.
Kim Ukura said…
I am always looking up episode recaps for Game of Thrones while we're watching it. I lose track of characters really easily, especially with a series as big as this one is. I will have to do some reminder reading before the next season starts, for sure!
readingtheend said…
I read the Game of Thrones books because I was having such a hard time following the plot of the TV show. All the men with beards kept looking alike to me! I was having to get my brother-in-law to explain everything to me the day after the show aired ("And who were the guys shaving nipples together or whatever?"). I've got them mostly sorted out in my head now, I think.