"You are all about the eye -candy!"

I recently finished watching Game of Thrones on HBO and I really enjoyed it! They did a pretty good job of adapting the book to a series, which is to be expected when you have the author as an executive producer. I love the opening credits - the theme and the visuals are just amazing ("wheels within wheels" as the author quotes in the pilot). The Wall was really well done. Great job with showing how windy it was up there. The only real disappointment was the "Others" or the "White Walkers". I thought they could have been done better. I was surprised by the amount of nudity and sex, even though most of it is true to the story. There isn't a lot of that on basic cable (at least not on the shows I watch). It's interesting to hear Martin's pronunciation of some of the character's names, like Tar-gar-ee-en instead of Tar-gar-yen, Cat-lyn instead of Kate-lyn, Teer-eon instead of Ty-reeon, and the pronunciations of Daenerys, Viserys, and Cersei.


Here's what I think about some of the HBO characters - this is coming from the perspective of someone who is approximately 200 pages away from finishing A Dance with Dragons and has read all of the previous books many many years ago (I'm going on what I remember of their characters):

Eddard Stark - Not surprising. Can't go wrong with Sean Bean!

Catelyn Stark - She does a good job of playing this strong female character (the knife scene!).

Robb Stark - Not what I imagined but he's doing a pretty good job. Love the accent; hate the dye job (I think Catelyn has the same one, but it doesn't bother me as much).

Sansa Stark - She seems a more toned down version of the Sansa I imagined. I expected more tantrums and selfish, whiny-girl attitude. It'll be interesting to see her grow into the character though.

Arya Stark - This girl is no horse-face. She's absolutely adorable and doing a fantastic job! One of my favorites.

Bran Stark - A pretty good likeness. It's also be interesting to see him grow into his character.

Rickon Stark - Isn't this kid supposed to be 3? Whoever's playing him seems too old.

Jon Snow - A pretty good likeness, but he does this weird thing with his eyebrows. Coupled with the pouty lips, he has this constant whiny expression that's a bit annoying. It's as if he's trying to act with his face.

Theon Greyjoy - Love him (again that accent!). For the role he'll play in the game, I think he'll do a good job.


Robert Baratheon - Pretty good job, although he could have been more boorish. And I'd often hear Mark's "Full Monty" character when he talked. I guess that's just his voice.

Cersei Lannister - I think she's pretty good. Although she does this weird always-frowny expression, almost opposite to Jon Snow.

Jamie Lannister - Very handsome. I think he's cast well. Where are the white cloaks of the Kingsguard?

Tyrion Lannister - I think Peter Dinklage is doing a really great job, but I can't help but feel that he's playing a more serious Tyrion than I imagined. His expression at times makes me think of his serious loner character in The Station Agent . I imagined Tyrion had a smile to go along with that sharp tongue, but that's just me.

Tywin Lannister - I thought Christopher Lee would be perfect for this role because of his voice. He did the voice work for King Haggard in The Last Unicorn and that's exactly who I imagined when I first encountered Tywin. Having said that, this Tywin Lannister is scary (cold eyes and stone face). I think he'll make a great Tywin.
Joffrey Lannister - Much like Sansa, a more toned down version of what I imagined. Not hysterical enough, but still good.

Lord Baelish - Great job of playing the ever-plotting character. That scene with the prostitutes was just over-the-top.


Daenerys Targaryen - Love the white hair! I think she's doing a good job. She seems much like a girl playing at being a woman and a leader but maybe that's how she's supposed to be. For now.

Viserys Targaryen - He was great. Exactly as I imagined: slender, egotistical and wretched. Still love that golden crown scene. Love the white hair.
Khal Drogo - Best when he had little dialogue. When he had more to say, he was over the top. Great makeup though.

Jorah Mormont - His voice is really weird, like he's having trouble delivering his lines. Aside from that, he's pretty good I guess.

I was surprised that my sister wasn't remotely interested in watching, even though she read the book, and that my brother watched every episode with me. It was amusing to see how upset he was that King Joffrey's head didn't end up on a pike by the end of Season One and that Season Two isn't due out until next April.


I took the "What will you miss most about Game of Thrones?" quiz twice a few days ago and apparently, I was all about the eye-candy. I'm glad to say that after viewing the entire series, I took it again just now and I am "all about the drama". I also just took the "What house do you belong to?" quiz and I'm glad to say I belong to the honourable House Stark. It was confirmed again that if cast in the series I would be a "badass" Stark, "any Stark will do!" Woo hoo!

Cambridge Latin Course!

Caecilius 

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyyoung/100065457/latin-to-be-included-in-the-english-baccalaureate/

I took Latin classes in high school because someone told me it would be useful for working in the medical field. Back then, I wanted to become a doctor. I wanted to help people.

This past summer I worked with a librarian who also took Latin in high school and through university. He told me he was in the last class to learn the Classics at his school. As we talked more, he mentioned that they learned from the Cambridge Latin Course books and as he started quoting phrases from the books ("Caecilius est in horto") and listing off names of characters, it all came flooding back to me: Caecilius, Quintus, Matella, Grumio, Clemens, Cerberus, Pompeii, my high school Latin teacher (holding her baby!), my classmates, the fact that Allan won the Latin award... Pieces of my history coming together.

We learned from the Cambridge Latin Course as well. The stories took place in Pompeii and taught us basic Latin phrases as well as Roman history through a fictional cast of characters. Although the stories could be quite silly, as our young-looking simply-dressed teacher repeatedly admitted and apologized for, learning Latin was a lot of fun. I felt like I belonged to an exclusive club (by OAC, there were about 6 of us left), learning a language that no one spoke, and a door had opened to the fascinating world of Roman history - everyday life, slavery, coliseums, Spartacus, military tactics and weaponry, and, of course, Alexander. The story of Mount Vesuvius' eruption was particularly fascinating (all those petrified bodies!). For the longest time heading off to Italy to see the ruins at Pompeii was at the top of my international travel list. In University I took a first year Classics course, but that was it for me. Latin and Pompeii eventually became a memory.

I'm so glad that librarian reminded me that the books were from the Cambridge Latin Course. In an effort to potentially obtain copies of the books, I had a look at the website. I checked out Explore the story for unit 1 and to my delight I could easily figure out the story! I'll admit it was a pretty simple story. The Stage 1 vocabulary and Meanings activities were fun too! I think I'll check out more units. After looking at the Wikipedia page for the Cambridge Latin Course, it appears that we only learned from Book 1 in high school (none of the other characters or stories ring any bells for me). The only Latin phrase I truly remember is atque et vale (I used it in my grad quote). If I remember correctly it means "so long and farewell", or something to that effect.


I think Latin was an introduction to what would become a love of history and historical fiction. It probably lead me to Jack Whyte's A Dream of Eagles series (The Skystone was awesome!), and after reading this Telegraph article by Toby Young, I think it probably has helped me with my reading comprehension and vocabulary. It would be a treat for more young people to be exposed to Latin. It opens up a whole other world to the learner.

First person narrative

Cover image: Google Books

I'm currently reading Edeet Ravel's A Wall of Light, third book in her "Tel Aviv trilogy". I realize I'm reading the trilogy out of order, having passed over Look for Me. I wasn't sure I was going to continue with the series after I found Ten Thousand Lovers interesting but a little annoying. What was annoying? The fact that it was a first person narrative.

Truth be told, first person narratives turn me off a lot of books. Maybe the constant "I, I, I" of the first person just grates on my nerves. I'm not 100% sure. It may be because everything gets filtered through the protagonist's perspective, which can be very limited. Of course you can still draw your own conclusions about the character and the world around them based on their thoughts, what they say to other people, and their actions in the same way that you would if the story was written in the third person. However, to me, third person narratives feel more objective... broader, more all encompassing. Ultimately it's the protagonist's voice that determines whether I like the book.

I am really enjoying A Wall of Light. A first person narrative, told from the perspective of three different people, in the past (the 1950s and 1980s) and in the present, giving insight into life in Tel Aviv. After reading the back cover, I had certain expectations of how the story would unfold: a deaf woman, a rape, and later a sexual awakening. The protagonist is not at all what I expected but I like her. I like the quirkiness of the characters, the flow of the story, and the commentary on Israel, Israeli's, Palestinians, Jews that came from Europe to Israel... What it's like for real people, through their eyes, and not the eyes of North American media.

Who's your favorite character and why?

Cover of copy I own

I've wanted to try blogging for a while. A library technician in this day and age needs to be comfortable with social media. But what to write about? How to fill the empty space of the blog.. with what content? And what to name it?

It's logical to have a focus but I can't decide on what that focus should be (hence for now, "Jack of all" trades, master of none). So I've decided I will experiment; let life inspire me and let the blog run its own course. 

The other day I saw the following scribbled on the door of the washroom stall that I tend to use at work: Who is your favorite Game of Thrones character and why? I'm sure the writer was referring to the HBO series, which I've never seen but now I'm curious about, but I recognized the reference - having read every book in the series except the last (which I'm reading off and on as I get it from the library) - and I felt excited. I knew my answer right away: Tyrion. No contest. Why? Because he's clever. Crude but clever. Everyone loves an interesting underdog. You can't get more interesting than a clever but crude royal imp with a healthy appetite for the ladies. He makes me laugh and I root for him.

Cover of 1st copy I read

I still remember picking up my first copy of A Game of Thrones from the paperback rack at my local branch.  From the first few pages, I was hooked. I loved the characters, even the ones that were supposed to be the "bad guys". They were so well rounded that you felt for them, understood their motivation. Whenever I hear the second movement of Hovhaness' Mysterious Mountain, I remember it was playing in the background as I read about the treacherous assent toward the Eyrie and Tyrion's imprisonment in one of the dreaded "sky cells": open to the air on one side, above the clouds, and sloped down ever so slightly so the prisoner feels in a constant state of unrest, as if he could roll out and fall to his death at any moment. Such imagery.

The first book was by far the best, but I own every copy in the series except the last which I plan to purchase once it comes out it paperback. Hope watching the HBO series doesn't ruin my mental image of the books.

Cover images from George R. R. Martin's official website under Song of Ice and Fire cover art.