What I'm Reading: A Feast for Crows

First, let's just start with the obvious. Here at Cupcakes and Karma we've got new avatars which will be accompanying all our posts. We might change these up from time to time, but the idea is to help make it a bit easier for you to see our posts and interact with us on the blog, on Twitter and on Tumblr. My avatar has a tiara. Not sure why, I was just told: 'the tiara suits you' so I've gone with that.  I'd like to say this is because I'm a benevolent princess, but it's probably because I'm high maintenance  My star earrings say I'm funky though. My hair is actually that colour red. Now, back to your regularly scheduled posts. 

Much as it pains me to admit this I was super late to the Game of Thrones book party. The thing is, my invite was't lost in the mail. Jenny has been raving about the Game of Thrones books for years. One Christmas she even gave me a copy of the book with a plea for me to start reading it as soon as I'd pulled off the wrapping paper.

But the book was so so so BIG. I know how stupid that sounds. But the book is big. My time is limited. Reading a book like A Game of Thrones could take me a month or more. I wasn't ready to give up that much time. I know how stupid that sounds. Trust me.

I packed A Game of Thrones away in my suitcase. I was determined to read it on the 8 hour flight back home to London. I never did.

Then came the HBO teaser trailer for the first season. ZOMG! I knew that I needed to read the book that had been languishing on my TBR pile for about a year (maybe more). 

I started reading it and then promptly put it down. I just couldn't get into the narrative. 

((Warning here be spoilers. Turn back now. You have been warned!!))

Then there was the first episode of the TV series. That episode! Zombies, kids going out windows, intrigue  . . . . I was hooked! I zipped through the first book in a month and carried on to read A Clash of Kings. 

Then came A Storm of Swords. I read that book in a week. I barely stopped to sleep I was so engrossed. My husband came home from work on a Friday evening to find me sobbing over my copy of A Storm of Swords. If you've read the books or seen the most recent TV series you'll know exactly what part of the book I was reading (hint: Red Wedding). He took the book away, put a bookmark in it and gently closed the cover. 'I think you need a little break from Westeros.' 

He was right, you know. I finished the book over the weekend and picked up a copy of A Feast for Crows. I got through the first 100 pages and just . . .  I was going through post Red Wedding withdrawals. My heart was a bit broken. It just wasn't in Westeros anymore.

So, I let the book fall back onto the TBR pile. Another book came along and another and another. Soon my little break was turning into two years away from Westeros. 

But every time I looked at A Feast for Crows, my heart gave a little stutter. I wasn't ready. 

On Monday morning just as I was setting out for my weekly commute I picked up my copy of A Feast for Crows. It had been a while since I'd read something solely for pleasure and that's what this was. Reading for  pleasure. I was hooked immediately and immersed back in the world of Westeros. Yeah, there are a ton of new characters. Yes, some of my favourite characters are gone. Where the hell is Tyrion and why do I have to wait an entire 800 page book to see him again? And Dany? And Jon Snow!! But those gripes aside, A Feast for Crows is fantastic, gripping and a perfect book vacation. Which is good because I seriously need a vacation and an actual holiday isn't in the cards for a while.

I fully expect to finish A Feast for Crows in the next week or two. I can't tell you how excited I am to be really immersed in the book I'm reading. It's been a while since I've read something that makes me feel like a true reader. Not a writer, not a fan, not a professional in the publishing industry, but a reader. Someone who reads books for the sheer joy of consuming a well-told story. 

I suspect I'll be onto A Dance with Dragons in the near future. I'm hoping my husband doesn't have to take the books away from me again. (No spoilers please). But, I'm certainly enjoying my time in Westeros. 

Are you reading (or watching) Game of Thrones? I'd love to know what you think. Either Tweet me @gennmcmenemy or leave a comment here on the blog.