Review: A Game Of Thrones (audiobook)

Title: A Game of Thrones
Author: George R.R. Martin
Narrator: Roy Dotrice
Genre/Date: Fantasy/1996
Audio Length: 33 hours, 50 mins
Source: Audible Purchase
My Rating: 5/5

This is a fantasy series I have heard a lot of great things about, and I'm very happy that I began it. It was hard to begin another lengthy audiobook, but this production was fascinating and very difficult to put down. I liked it so much that when I was about four-fifths through it, I decided to begin all over again, just to make sure I understood all the characters and their families and histories. There is much to grasp here, and I knew I wanted to continue with the next book soon. Also, when I first began the audiobook, I had a difficult time understanding the narrator, Roy Dotrice. He has a distinctive yet somewhat gruff voice. But I grew to love his interpretations of the various characters, in particular the female ones. Now I think he is the perfect narrator for this book!

The winter is coming! And the seven kingdoms should be preparing for it. They have had many years of summer and only the old ones remember and tell the stories of winter. Instead all are focusing on who will be the new king and have power over the seven kingdoms. They are not realizing what is happening up north. The children of the forest and the undead with blue eyes are returning. This is where the armies should be amassing. Instead the Lannister family have seized power after King Robert Baratheon has been suspiciously killed by a boar. The Stark family of Winterfell are comprised of: Lord Eddard; his wife Catelyn Tully formerly of Riverrun in the South; Robb, the eldest of their 5 children at 14; Sansa the eldest daughter at 11 and betrothed to Prince Joffrey Lannister, a pretender to the throne; Arya, a spirited 9 year old girl (one of my favorite characters); Bran at 7 who succumbs to the treachery of Jaime Lannister; and the toddler Rickon. But not to be missed is Eddard's bastard son Jon Sno, just months younger than Robb, who is a Eddard's son by a mysterious woman no one ever talks about. Jon has gone to the wall protecting the seven kingdoms from the north to be a brother of the Night's Watch. Meanwhile, across the sea in the land of the barbaric Dothroki there is the only survivor of the Targaryen family, Daenerys, whose brothers and father, King Aerys, were killed years ago and their family's throne wrenched away by Jaime Lannister. She is from the family of dragons who no longer exist, but may return. She plans to come back from exile and reclaim the throne.

This story reads very much like historical fiction because the details are very accurate to what could have happened in the the middle ages in Britain. However, the magical parts add another level which is fascinating with the inclusion of dragons, the undead, the children of the forest, the trees with faces, and the dark magic.

This story relates each important characters' perspective, even through the eyes of a child, and it is done masterfully. I enjoyed all the varying viewpoints and would be sad to leave one part of the story, only to once again become intensely engrossed in another part of the story. This was a wonderful listen and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

Reading Plans for January 2012

I want to focus more on goals for each month and it will help me to end the year with most of the books I wanted to read finished. Time marches on and there are so many books I want to read, so a plan is the right step for me. I still want to read long books and not worry that I haven't read enough for the year and I will enjoy each book as it comes. And if that means I have to go back and reread or relisten to a portion, I will do it. It's not a race, but a pleasant jog through literature. These choices can change, but will help when I end up procrastinating not knowing which book to choose next. Most of the time I will just grab a non-fiction title because I find it easier to begin. I will try to change this with a monthly list. For now, I'm shooting for 6 titles per month which will get me to 72 total for the year. I think this is a more modest approach for me at this time. I would like at some point to read around 100 books per year and I will get there one of these years!

The Night Circus (audiobook) by Erin Morgenstern
The Myth of "Bloody Mary": A Biography of Queen Mary I of England by Linda Porter
A Clash of Kings (audiobook) by George R.R. Martin
A Thousand Pleasant Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

Review: The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers

Title: The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by
         His Fool, Will Somers
Author: Margaret George
Date of Publication: 1986
Genre/Pages: Historical Fiction / 930 pages
Source: Amazon Purchase for my iPad
My Rating: 4.5/5

This novel was written as though Henry is the author and Will Somers, his fool, has added his thoughts to the King's journal after Henry has died. This "autobiography" starts with Henry's first memories and ends with Will Somers asking the King what are his actual first memories, the day before Henry dies. This is an account of Henry Tudor and his reign of England with all the details of his relationships with his wives, councilors, courtiers, and family members. It puts a positive spin on Henry's decisions as king because this novel is told as if directly from Henry's viewpoint. Somers' notes serve to give the reader background information which Henry would assume, if he had actually written this autobiography, the people reading it would know and understand. I found the notes added by the fool Somers to be witty and informative.

From the beginning we can see that Henry spent very little time with his mother and that his father was devoted to Arthur, the oldest son and future king. This was very common for the children of nobility to spend years away from their parents and be raised by governesses and other tutors. It is also shown in this novel how gullible Henry allowed himself to be, having been tricked by many of the women in his life. Maybe this is because of his lack of a close female relationship growing up, in particular with his mother.


This novel focuses on Henry's desire to bring changes to the Catholic church in England, but not to change it so much so that Protestantism would grow out of control. It's interesting to me that Henry was really a Catholic at heart, but he did not want the Pope telling him what to do, or anyone else for that matter.  Henry did not like to follow the rules, so his philosophy was to get rid of anyone who tried to control him with said rules. Henry was brought up to be a religious man as an adult, and Arthur was to be the king of England. But it did not turn out that way, when Arthur died at the young age of 15. Henry studied and knew much about Catholicism; he appears to have been very religious with his attendance at daily mass. This was a given practice for all the nobility. It is ironic that Henry's personal goals (closing the monastaries and confiscating their treasures and divorcing whenever it suited him) would lead to the rise of Protestantism in England, but this may have happened anyway with the rise of it on mainland Europe. 


It is hard for me to understand how one minute Henry could absolutely love a person, such as Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell, taking their advice for many years and knowing them on such a deep level, and then completely reverse his feelings for them.  It is difficult to try to place oneself in Henry's shoes and see if you would be able to command their heads to be chopped off.

This novel is a very good narrative about the life of Henry. It made me feel sympathy for him, and I did not think that would ever be possible. This book accomplishes the goal of getting the reader in touch with what must have been the feelings of Henry, gaining insight into his fluctuating behavior.  I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and learned even more and with greater depth a knowledge of Henry Tudor, the man and King of England.

Review: The Pillars of the Earth (audiobook)

Title: The Pillars of the Earth
Author: Ken Follett
Narrator: John Lee
Publisher: Penguin Audio, 2007
Genre: Historical Fiction/ 40 Hrs 54 mins
Source: Audible purchase
My rating: 5/5

I read The Pillars of the Earth in 1989 when it was originally published and loved it. I received the sequel World Without End for Christmas 2007 and have yet to read it because I needed to reacquaint myself with the first book in the series, which I have finally done now. I am so happy I decided to go with the audio version, because I loved John Lee as the narrator. I will definitely look for other narrations by him.

Tom Builder, a master builder and stone mason, has a burning desire to build a cathedral. In the early 12th Century England, after the death of King Henry I, civil war breaks out between Henry's daughter, Matilda (Maud), and her cousin Stephen who succeeds Henry to become the new King of England. Henry's only son, William, had drowned after his ship sunk crossing the English Channel, and Henry insisted his daughter Matilda should be his heir to the throne. But the Barons did not agree to this and put his nephew Stephen on the throne instead. This story takes place during this time in history and incorporates the drowning of William and the political intrigue which determines who has power and control over the earldoms and control in the church.

Tom Builder and his family struggle to survive starvation and lack of employment and the lodgings which would go with it. Through a fascinating set of circumstances, Tom becomes the master builder of Kingsbridge Cathedral. Prior Philip is the monk in charge who has a burning desire to also build a glorious cathedral for the glory of God and through all the obstacles he creatively works to build his community of monks and the town of Kingsbridge.

I found myself immersed completely in the story with a strong attachment to the characters. I admired Prior Phillip's ingenuity and faith in God to help him achieve his goals. Tom Builder's physical and mental strength to lead his family and take care of them was exceptional. Earl William's cruelty was relentless. Aliena's work ethic and stamina in overcoming many atrocities was inspiring. Jack and his mother Ellen were very interesting characters too.

I also found the detailed descriptions of cathedral architecture and the various methods used to build a cathedral with the materials needed such as stone, timber, and glass, and the labor and time needed to complete the different parts of a cathedral, to be extremely engaging. Although, even if this may sound boring to you, the author inserts these tidbits on masonry and cathedrals throughout this engrossing story that I do not think it would take away from anyone's pleasure.

I will soon embark on the next book World Without End, and I am sure I will hear the wonderful narrator John Lee in my head as I read it.

Review: My Lady of Cleves

Title: My Lady of Cleves
Author: Margaret Campbell Barnes
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc., 1946
Genre: Historical Fiction/328 pages
Source: Paperback Purchase
My rating: 4/5

Princess Anne of Cleves has been selected by King Henry VIII to become his fourth wife after the death of his third wife Jane Seymour after childbirth. The king had sent his German court painter, Hans Holbein, to paint three princesses for him so that he could choose one of them to become his new wife and to make alliances with a foreign country for political purposes. Hans falls in love with Anne of Cleves and genuinely paints a stunning portrait of Anne, and the King of England chooses her from the three princesses. However, he is not too happy with her when they meet in person, and immediately he decides she is not anything like the English women he is very attracted to - ones who are young, subservient, tell him all he wants to hear, always complimentary of him, and of course, beautiful. Anne is not anything like this.  She is already 24 and on the heavy side. She is dowdy, plump, and doesn't speak English well.  She doesn't like to dance or sing. And she does not kowtow to him. The king likens her to a "Flemish Mare". From the very first meeting, he forms a negative opinion of her, and notices the lovely fourteen-year-old Katherine Howard who is being pushed by her family to catch the king's eye and keep it. 

I enjoyed watching Anne's attempt to become an English queen. She takes the advice of the Archbishop Cranmer to be herself, be more relaxed, become a little more subservient to the king, and to really show what she does have to offer to the king: her love of children, gardening, and other qualities which could bring stability to the king.  This is a turning point in her relationship with the king, especially when he sees how kind and natural a mother she can be to his little son, prince Edward. At this point however, the Howard family and especially the Duke of Norfolk have seduced the king with the coquettish, cunning, and beautiful Katherine Howard, so that it is too late for Anne to gain favor with the king. 

I was intrigued by her relationship with the German painter, Hans Holbein. He fell in love with her when he first painted her portrait, but then set aside his feelings for her when she became Queen of England. He never expected that her marriage would be annulled. Even though Anne was known as sister to the king afterwards, she was not allowed to remarry or leave England. However, she was very happy with all the property and annual money the king granted her. Also, Anne retained her strong relationship to the King's daughters, as she became known to them now as their aunt instead of stepmother.

The author's version of these historical facts are brought to life with Anne, King Henry VIII and all the other characters from this time in Tudor England in a forthright and pleasurable manner. I really enjoyed this intriguing story of Henry VIII's fourth wife.

End of Read-a-Thon Meme

1.Which hour was most daunting for you?
At around 10PM I was feeling very tired, so I decided to take a nap, but it lasted until 3AM. I then got up and continued to read(listen) until 8AM.


2.Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
I spent most of my time listening to The Pillars of the Earth which was awesome even though this is a reread for me. But the narrator is phenomenal - John Lee. This is my first experience with his narrating. It won't be my last.

3.Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
I think it's already perfect.

4.What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
The cheerleaders are excellent. It was so encouraging to read their cheers!

5.How many books did you read?
I didn't actually complete any book, but I made a huge dent in The Pillars of the Earth.

6.What were the names of the books you read?

The Pillars of the Earth - by Ken Follett; narrated by John Lee

• listened for a total of 12 hours and 51 mins.

The Autobiography of Henry VIII - by Margaret George

• read 21 pages.

7.Which book did you enjoy most?
The Pillars of the Earth

8.Which did you enjoy least?
I enjoyed both, but I had to drive for most of the day, so the audiobook was the apparent choice.

9.If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
I would like to be a cheerleader next year!

10.How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I will definitely participate next year as both a reader and a cheerleader.

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon

I will be participating in this, my first, 24 Hour Read-a-Thon. I am really excited and hoping I will be able to stay awake. It may sound a little boring that I am hoping to finish the 2 reads that I have already started, but they are both great books, so I'm looking forward to completing them! If by chance that I feel like a change, I'm going to look for a shorter read.  These are the two books I plan on finishing and where I'm starting with them at 8AM.

The Autobiography of Henry VIII - Margaret George

• starting on page 68 of 930 pages

The Pillars of the Earth (audiobook/reread) - Ken Follett

• starting at 19 hours and 32 minutes of 40 hours 23 minutes total.

I have a lot of driving to do today so that will be when I switch to the audiobook.

This should be fun!