A Song of Ice and Fire

I read the first book a few years ago, loved it and immediately bought the second. But somehow, it's never been the right time to start reading it. Until this week. Is it because season 4 of Game of Thrones has just started? Possibly. I didn't watch seasons 2 or 3 of the show - I found the unrelenting violence a bit much - but I did watch s4e01, and thought I would have a better idea of what was going on if I caught up with the books.

Recommending books

I find recommending books harder than recommending restaurants. If someone goes to a restaurant I love and doesn't like it, well clearly they are wrong, but c'est la vie. But if someone doesn't like a book I have recommended, well, that tears at the heartstrings.

The books I have been recommending most vocally, of late are:
Longbourn by Jo Baker
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K Jemisin
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

So far, these recommendations have gone well, but one person only gave The Night Circus 3 stars on Goodreads. I wanted to shake her by the shoulders and ask why? But sadly, her review made it very clear. She just didn't love it as much as I did. I must learn to be as philosophical about books as I am about restaurants. Of course, a long time ago I stopped recommending my favourite restaurants to some people because I knew they wouldn't love them as I did. I should adopt that for books, rather than go through the pain.