Reading and Watching, June 2011

I'm going to be busy for a couple days, so I thought I'd go ahead and put up my latest reading journal.


Between the ending of House, Borgias, and Game of Thrones (forthcoming Sunday), I've kept my eyes peeled for some summer television shows for when I take a break from reading/writing.

Covert Affairs, USA. Season 2. In the "true confessions" department, I admit that I don't watch this sort of thing (I was never sold on Matt Damon as an action hero. These are the same folks who did the Bourne Identity series), and that the only reason I watched was because I've had a crush on Piper Perabo since her role in Coyote Ugly.

And in Season One, she wasn't entirely convincing in the role. However, by the end of the season, the story got interesting, and she was handling herself better in the action sequences. S2E1 was hit and miss with the action editing... the car scene was amateurish, unfortunately.

But, who cares? Sexy girl and a fun espionage storyline. They kicked off the season with a bang, rebooting the disappearance of the love interest Ben, got her back into the field bucking the system, and above all else, the supporting cast and story arcs are being nicely handled. I'm looking forward to the season.

White Collar, USA. Season 3. Guilty pleasure. I like the Ocean's Eleven vibe. I think they kicked off this season well, with Neal Caffrey (played by Matt Bomer), appearing to slide back into his old ways. What can I say, I'm a fan of the anti-hero, and between him and Mozzie (Willie Garson), it doesn't get more "unlikely savior". It'll be interesting to see how far they take the "this is the white whale of cons" arc, but all the same, it's off to a good start.

Burn Notice, Psych, Royal Pains. USA Network has the best summer line up on television. But, I don't watch THAT much TV.

I picked up The Hedge Knight - Second Edition [Graphic Novel] last week, as I find myself more and more excited by not only HBO's series, but also the release of A Dance with Dragons next month. Beautiful art, and of course, a great story within. Fascinating to read the prequels in light of all the buzz about A Song of Ice and Fire, and really, George R. R. Martin tells a good story.

It was only afterwards, while looking for the next novella (I've already read the third installment, The Mystery Knight, in the Warriors anthology), that I learned that The Hedge Knight (1st) and The Sworn Sword (2nd) were released in other anthologies. (Legends: Stories By The Masters of Modern Fantasyand Legends II: Dragon, Sword, and King, respectively.) I'm going to have to go back and get those now, because as much as I enjoyed the art, I love GRRM's prose and I want to read every detail of the prequel stories. (For those of you who have read through AFFC, you'll understand the interest in Dunk and Egg.)

While I'm on the topic...
- Win an autographed copy of ADWD.

Annnd, on the topic of epic stories brought to HBO - what about I, Claudius? (Nice catch, Adam!) That is also gonna be must see tv for me.

Turns out, in the Songs of Love and Death anthology that I've been reading, there's a huge easter egg for fans of Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart. Anafiel Delaunay's backstory! He and Rolande.

And finally, to complete my reading journal, I started upon R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing series, with The Darkness that Comes Before (The Prince of Nothing). I must say, and I'm not alone in this (based on the review blogs I read), that this is NOT a quick read.

I find it a little fitting that Steven Erikson does the cover blurb on this version, because after two pages, Erikson is exactly who I thought of. The styles are different, yes, but the density of the prose is similar.

Having said that, I'm 131 pages in and enjoying the story. At this point, though, I could only recommend this if you are a fan of Steven Erikson.

Oh, and while we're talking about R. Scott Bakker, three very esteemed book bloggers joined forces and did this interview of him recently.

That's all I've got for now. What are you reading?