Reading
I can think of no higher praise for the book I'm currently reading, George R.R. Martin's "A Storm of Swords," than to recount that while leaving for work the other day, I realized I had left it behind. "I nearly forgot my people!" I said to myself as I went to retrieve it.
The first two books in the series are of course worth reading and are of course absolutely necessary for understanding what's going on in this one. So it all depends on your appetite for history that didn't really happen, with elements of fantasy thrown in for good measure. I think it's very, very well done.
I have to admit, I can't read history. I find that I'm always worried that a date or a name or an incident that was mentioned on page 35 will be mentioned again on page 900, and I'll have to wrack my brain to remember what the writer is talking about. Fictional history is easier because I know there won't really be a test.