Thank Heaven for Gutenberg and public domain. When in doubt I can always read The Moonstone again.

Or Robinson Crusoe!

Signed, Just finished The Moonstone (and was very fond of Betteredge). Also, am a Huge Dork.

There's also the library for new books free, Connie.

I have to say that most of the book bub books are not good. Sometimes you find one you really like. For me: Lindsay Buroker's Emperor Edge books, A. Wendeberg's "Kronberg" books are the ones that totally got me.

I liked Buroker's Emperor's Edge books, although they're not brilliant. And the prequels/affiliated books read a bit too much like Bujold's Cordelia Naismith novels with the sharp bits filed off.

I bounced off the steampunk thing set in Alaska, though.

Instead, I recently read ALL of PC Hodgell's Kencyrath books, which are great fun. Classic epic fantasy, with really creative cosmology and cultures, and vivid, distinctive characters that you care about, even when they screw up royally because they're tired or lazy or selfish. Good stuff.

I love those books! I've been reading them since the first one came out. I also like that, in the middle of all this epic fantasy, there's humor (Jame's tendancy to fall off her horse, for instance).

This may or may not be the place for this, but I wanted to share: 40 Worst Book Titles and Covers.

Well, I'm on board with Eating People Is Wrong.

Y'all, I have been reading some columns on Pajiba about George R R Martin and the GOT books/series on HBO.

One author said that they wished GRRM would finish the series ASAP so it is his story to tell and not have to be finished by another in case he dies before finishing it. Another claims that his pitching to HBO a prequel series will help delay the filming of the conclusion of GOT to give him time to finish the final 2 (?) books.

For those of you who are fans of the novels (I have never read them, only have seen the HBO show), and keeping in mind authors' time, effort, and any responsibility they may have fans, what are your thoughts on the above?

On the one hand, I am of the position: it is his work, let him do whatever the fuck he wants. On the other, he sold the rights to HBO, and HBO needs closure. Oh well if the tv series finishes before the books do.

"GRRM is not your bitch" as the saying goes.

Not you personally, le nubian. I don't know your life, you might have him in your closet.

HBO can keep breaking each book into multiple seasons if they want. Those books are huge and packed with stuff that could be filmed.

Yes, GRRM is not my bitch. I will admit to being frustrated with all the things not the core series that he has been writing, but I would NEVER suggest that my frustration means that he should bend to my will (nor would I ever express it to him). I'm confident that 6 will come out before they get there with the show. I'm less sure about 7.

I hope that the series doesn't catch up to the books not least because I want to read it first. If they go to the prequel content (Dunk and Egg, I assume) as a stop-gap, then that makes it REALLY hard to finish, especially with the kids in the cast. I do think that they could easily take the next two books (which are concurrent) and make them at least 3 seasons. I think that, if they do catch up, then I'm sure George will have a lot of input on how things pan out on the show, as he's quite involved.