Khaleesi, I'm halfway through A game of thrones. I didn't like the beginning much because there were no likeable characters so I decided to shrug and root for the Lannisters as the closest thing to magnificient bastards. But by now there are loads of awesome characters (you, Arya Stark, Jon Snow) and the book is delicious, though not nearly horrible enough yet (maybe something about that hound and that mountain...). I like the grey and black morality, the psychological realism, the varied cultures, the "toss the reader in and wait 200 pages to mention variable-length seasons" style, the descriptions (seriously, that guy describes food and clothes and it doesn't bore me). It sticks very closely to the conventions of fantasy for no discernable reason (I'd do away with the prologue and slip the plot-relevant bits elsewhere), but that didn't bother me past the beginning. Most people should read it.
[OT]
I decided to shrug and root for the Lannisters as the closest thing to magnificient bastards.
For your amusement: Damn It Feels Good to be a Lannister (Mildly NSFW, but shouldn't have spoilers if you're already halfway through book 1)
There was a recent discussion considering the idea of a monthly Book (later expanded to movies, links, etc) thread. The poll was pretty unanimous that this was A Good Idea (tm), so let's give it a try!
Post what you're reading or watching, and your opinion of it. Post recommendations to blogs. Post whatever media you feel like discussing!
I encourage minimal down-voting in the comments here, because this is a thread for sharing subjective experiences, and I would like people to feel comfortable posting their personal opinion without fearing a karma backlash. If you disagree with a person's recommendation, respond with a comment instead.
I think this is a post that lends itself to comment trees, so I will start one with the categories: Books, Movies, Other, and Meta.
I am interested in hearing if you all think it's a good idea to separate out fiction and non-fiction. (So that the Book thread doesn't have Discworld next to Influence, for example. Or so the movie thread doesn't have documentaries interspersed with rom-coms or what-not)
Poster's Note: Wheee! I made my first working link on the discussion post writing interface! I can learn stuffs!