Tusen og ett liv

This started out as an answer to Sady Doyle's criticism of A song of Ice and Fire. Since she seems to be deleting posts disagreeing with her, I don't think I'll be bothered writing a comment on her blog at all. The essence of my opinions is that her insight into the book and also into the fantasy-genre seems to be limited. Her arguments or approach don't really hold up as anything but full of holes and spiteful. Starting out by accusing geeks of their inability to take criticism seems like the beginning of a well known suppression technique more than a just claim. Furthermore, to make her point, she omits lots of female characters with considerably stronger positions than her examples (Asha Greyjoy, Maege Mormont, the wildling women, the sand snakes etc.), as well as the fact that male charcters are projected to just as much hardship as the women. I wasn't going to get myself riled up over this, however. If Sady Doyle doesn't like my toys, that'

Since I’m still hanging in there after five books of a Song of Ice and Fire, I think I might be getting to a point where most og the likely outcomes of the series will be acceptable to me. If you, as a reader, can handle the death of noble Ned Stark, there is a chance of getting through the books.  Character deaths do not make an enjoyable read. It has been known to make me both sad and angry at times. Martin does, however, have a unique way of killing off characters without making me want to fling the book at him. He actually gets away with lots of things in his books that I'd not think possible beforehand. (Like redeeming child-killers Jaime Lannister and Theon Greyjoy, turning Catelyn into Lady Stoneheart, cooking the Freys into a pie and making it a good deed etc.) This just goes to show how good he is at twisting your expectations. There have been some serious blows during this series. Characters you really love are always hard to see go. The funny thing is how

"A personal and enlightening read!" Following along with Australian comedian A.J. Rochester as she lost a vast amount of kilos was actually really uplifting. Her story is honest, full of humour and also sometimes a bit sad. Everyone who has ever been on a diet will be able to recognize her struggles and triumphs. I can definitely recommend this.

A wonderful read!! This book is number 5 in a series, so I guess I would like to recommend you read from the beginning. A Song of Ice and Fire easily qualifies as the best told story I've ever had the chance to know. Martin's world is just so livid and engaging. The characters - their thoughts and reactions often seem like real people to me - they are that well described! It's a wonderfully detailed world that still doesn't fall into the trap of becoming difficult to comprehend. I've been enchanted with these books since the first chapters of A Game of Thrones, and have serious doubts I'll ever fall out of love with them. The only downside is that they are really hard to match. After having finished Swords I had trouble finding other books to read, just because I was still so into the world of Martin. They really are something that add to the fantasy-genre and I think they have also been a big part of moving the genre forward. My recommen

  A bit of a letdown, this one. I was hoping for a historical, factual account of the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth. This, however, was much too religiously based. All the Romans and the opponents of Jesus were intentionally vilified and described as ugly, grotesque perverts, while Jesus was portrayed very much as the sanctimonious figure Christians believe him to be. Also, sources like the apocryphal evangelists were blatantly overlooked, while sources from the Bible were overused. Historians like Tacitus and Josefus were barely mentioned. Not the historical account it promised to be.