I have the books but don't know if I want to read ahead of where the series is.

I think the desire to do so will weaken over time. I've heard the books don't dramatize things as well as the show, and like a third of it is descriptions of food and clothes.

Also it's just trading one set of frustrations for another. It's not like the series is finished

nice poll

The current plan is for the HBO series to last seven seasons (maybe eight).

If that's the case, the TV show may finish before the books.

The 'Game of Thrones' Ending may Air on HBO Before It Arrives in a Book

Yes there are a lot of people eating Lamprey pies and such but to say it doesn't dramatize things well is a bit absurd.

Drama for the sake of drama which the show does isn't a reason not to read it.

What the books "might" lack in drama make up for in back story and detail of all the characters.

I will say that I enjoy the show as much as I did before even though I read the books ( and I didn't read them when they came out , I only did so from like Summer until Last Fall) , it didn't diminish it for me. Just because I know when winter comes doesn't mean its no less enjoyable to actually see how the writers and producers make it snow.

As long as you can keep an open mind about "TV vs Book" you would be fine, but there is one thing that's true, if part of the fun for you is "what the **** is going to happen next" that will totally be destroyed.

I will tell you what got me to read the books, after Ned died..I was like holy **** I gotta read these Things...never looked back.

I bought Game of Thrones today and will start reading after the U.S. - Ghana World Cup game. I was surprised it was slightly over 800 pages. I expected somewhere close to half that.

I am a show watcher who read the 1st book a while ago but havent picked up reading since.

If I want to read the books until the equivalence of the end of S4 on the tv show. How long should I read? Where are we now in the books?

An article I linked in another thread had this information:

Season 1 = Book 1
Season 2 = Book 2
Season 3 & 4 = Book 3
Season 5 = Books 4 & 5
Season 6 = Book 6

wow book 4 and 5 must suck if they think they'll fit into one season. i've been under the impression that those two books have the most content, not the least

SHOULD I READ????

Let's say I'm up to date with the show and wanted to start reading the books, where should I start to pick up the story where the show left it ?

I know there are many more characters in the books compared to the show, how confusing would that be for someone starting reading the book where the show left the story ?

that list it not entirely accurate. there was a lot of material from books 4 and 5 this past season.

Dynasty's post isn't totally correct, there have already been things from books 4 and 5 shown on screen and the show runners are changing a lot of stuff around so who knows what they'll do going forward. 4 and 5 have a lot of content but I get the feeling the show runners are going to skip a lot of it and start making up their own story.

They are actually messing with the book timelines a bit. Some stuff from later books have been shown. Book readers even got spoiled by the show at one point

I decided i'm not going to wait another 10 months for more GoT so I just bought the book 4 ! If there is anything story/characters related I should know to have a smooth transition, please feel free to PM me !

The thing about the books- and the one advantage to how long it's been between volume five and six- is that there are TONS of little clues and mysteries sprinkled throughout that can be analyzed to no end. It's not just the same plot outline that the show is following with detailed descriptions of food and clothes mixed in. There are many, many characters and side plots that the show can't even touch on. And they all tie into the bigger plots. Going back and reading the books after the show ends will still be cool, but you'll never have the chance again to be a part of the mass of readers who are taking this journey together and discussing and debating along the way.

I watched Season One, then started the series with Book One. And it definitely made the reading experience much weaker. I couldn't wait to start Book Two, so that all the little clues sprinkled in along the way wouldn't jump out at me.

If you want to read, I'd say pick up book three first. I think if some people start with the 4th/5th book they'd be fairly confused and probably wouldn't stick with the books as they're mostly world-building books that are slower to read. Also the 4th and 5th book happen in tandem pretty much so one will have a lot of characters you love and the other will have a different set of characters. That the timeline gets broken up like that is pretty bothersome to a few different people.

But book three is magnificent and grrm at his best, and if you're not going to start at book one (or two) then the third should be where you begin.

Book one/ season 1 really is the only book that would be boring after seeing it on television because it's such a close adaptation.

Just my .02.

Thanks Gizmo!

I would highly recommend starting at the beginning of book 1.

The story is actually a little different at parts in the books and you will love the changes.

The show is currently at the end of book 3 (my favorite book). It would be stupid to jump past the best part of the books because you have already watched it on TV and want to see what happens next. The first book will be a little boring because you are starting the story from scratch again, but you will be hooked and really glad you did once you are done, instead of finishing the series and then going back to the start of book 1 after you finish.

I listen to the books on audio. It is great for playing poker or driving in the car!

Looks like a 5:1 favorite to read. Gonna start on book 4 audio book.

Very spot on the show starts to diverge around mid s2 and then by s3 its pretty much coming off the rails ( not in a bad way mind you) but enough differences that not starting with book 3 ( atleast) 4/5 will lose you pretty quickly. You atleast need to read the last half of 3 since there is still stuff missing in the show.

I'd recommend starting with Storm (if you don't want to start at the beginning) because the book is so epic, also don't listen to Team Joff as the books blow the show out of the water, and I watched seasons 1-2 first before reading. I was like you guys I just couldn't wait.

Something to remember for people starting with Feast: Feast and Dance both happen chronologically at the same time, you might wonder why GRRM would do this: he typed out like 1800-2000 pages for one book so publishers were like bro.. We can't publish a book this big. Therefore the books are split, covering the same time period but different characters.

Y'all got some good tin foil people in the television thread, well there's rolls and rolls of foil for you in the books. So much theory and prophecy and history that just can't translate onto screen.

Read them guys, just do it.

I really cannot stress this enough. DO NOT start at book 4.

I watched the first 3 seasons on TV then started with book 1. When I got to book 4 I was a little confused about what was going on because they story opens up some new story lines and characters after the huge amount of action that happened in book 3, (seasons 3 and 4 for the TV show.)

If you really want to skip ahead start with book 2. Because book 1 seems like word for word the same as the TV show from what I remembered.

I will probably read the books after the show is over if there is enough divergence with something like some of those new storylines not being included. I've been told they're really cool, but have no idea if they will be in the show