November was not a high-volume reading month, in part because I couldn’t actually read for one entire week. The other reason is because I’m under George R.R. Martin’s spell, and thus most of my reading time has gone to his epic series rather than anything else. So here are the two books I finished this month, and the one I started.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Pictures of the Gone World — The cover here is a bit misleading; I’m actually lucky enough to own a second edition of this text, which I found in a used bookstore in Philadelphia last year. I’m always on the lookout for early editions of books, and this was a great find. All in all, I very much enjoy this brief collection, but what most interests me is the historical perspective. Work that was shocking and controversial in its day doesn’t have that same power in 2012. It’s strong poetry, to be sure. It holds up. But it doesn’t have that shocking immediacy.
George R. R. Martin, A Clash of Kings — I’m glad the reading ban didn’t begin when I was partway through this book. I loved it just as much as the first one, and loved following the continued plot. While some character arcs were more compelling than others, I didn’t come away from this 1,000-page novel feeling that anything was superfluous. When it was done, I immediately put a hold on the next book at the library.
George R. R. Martin, A Storm of Swords — This came ix at the library the day the reading ban ended, and I dove right in. So far, this book seems slower-paced than the first two, but I’m still enjoying it. It’s frustrating to be so busy and only able to read a few chapters a day, because I really want to see where this is going, but hopefully I’ll get some long reading hours in this weekend.
You said these were the books you read in November, but don’t you mean October, or am I losing my mind? Smile. Anyway, it sounds like a good reading list.