Just fwiw, there are some characters missing and a few character building stories on the current crew but pretty much this.

As a book reader I can tell you I can't wait for the next book AND the next show.

I will also say one more thing is that currently I haven't picked up another book/series since I finished , because everything else seems so bleh ATM to me.

Just bought book 1.Going read all of them , buy them from i-books.

Very good , i like it .

Books are better than the show imo. Mostly due to great scenes that didnt make it and bad scenes added that arent in the books.

Couldn't this post be literally exactly the opposite and hold true for me? Lets try.

Yea.

Just start with book one. Like you don't want to read about Ned getting his head chopped off etc. There's a few things different in book 1/s1 but s2/b2 is way different.

If you want to skip any of the books, book 1 is the closest to the show. But you'll be confused on characters imo. I'd say you should def atleast read book 2 given how different it is.

That's funny cuz I'm the same way with TV shows now, ever since this show started all the other new shows just don't hook me and I even just stop watching TV for the most part as well unless other people are around. This show is so good that it just seems no point in bothering with other shows anymore.

I'll agree cause I loved boardwalk empire and I watched GoT like after i had started it and now ...I can't go back and finish it..

Luckily I was so invested in Breaking Bad that I couldn't quit it...

43 days later, I'm now a certified book reader.

I suppose I can't complain about waiting for "The Winds of Winter". I see the 3rd-5th books were published in 2000, 2005, and 2011. That's brutal.

I have read the three first books now and I think reading after watching is the best option as the reading experience doesnt get ruined by the show. Rather it enhances the viewing experience as it fills alot of holes. Although it is going to take alot of will power not to continue with a Feast for Crows and wait for the show that is 8 months away.

As for similarities you dont have to read book one as it is as close to a line-by-line adaptation you will get. Actually I'd say its only in Catelyn's chapters you will find scenes that aren't displayed in the show. In the third book they start to deviate alot and personally I don't like it as it shows that the things I did not like about the fourth season are all not in the book and vice versa (except ending of ep. 8).

That's not accurate at all Jake. There's a few distinct differences in S1/B1 and there's a lot of differences in B2/S2.

You should read B1 cause it's ****ing phenomenal tbh.

And lots of important prophecy in both...

I read it a year ago so maybe something I am forgetting but in terms of adaptations book to moving pictures it's probably the closest I have ever come across. Quite a few scenes in the show are added that don't exist in the book ofc but not much is cut or altered in a major way. Normally book adaptations feel stressed because a 2h movie cant give justice to a 400 page book but the show format helps there.

As far as b2 you are right though, it started to deviate quite a bit there and even more in b3.

And finally I agree with the fact that you should read b1 as well but it seems people are reluctant so I thought it would be a way to motivate them to read by not having to read as much.

Books 1-3 were pretty good. Book 4 killed it for me with a massive drop in quality and I hear the 5th book is just as bad. I don't need ...semi-spoiler edited out.... It really started feeling like the series was treading water. How many times is ...semi-spoiler edited out...? At least all that will get shortened in the series so I get the pleasure of the overall story without having to read hundreds of pages of pointless detail.

As far as reading the 4th and 5th books, I've said it again and I will say it until I'm blue in the face - there exists out in the world someone who has combined the two into one compilation that merges the things that happen at roughly the same times you can easily find the chapters listed in chronological order between both books. It made it far more enjoyable to read. Also many people have said that going back and rereading the last two books knowing that they're not going to get A Storm of Swords type action really helped them enjoy the world building of those books.

I personally really enjoyed the new POVs we got in those books

I read all five books for the first time since the 4th season of GoT ended. I noticed no drop in quality.

I liked 4 and 5 the most.

yeah its such a bad decision to start reading now if you've watched the first 4 seasons. You missed the best book and are diving into the worst one

It also seems like they will be done with most of the book material after next season so I have now made the decision to wait until after that one to start reading FfC and DoD in parallel.

About halfway through book 3. Book 1 was pretty close to the show, but as the best stuff (for me) is the political maneuvering and whatnot the book is way better as you get to hear the character's thoughts/motivations/viewpoints. Just read them all imo.

Good one i wonder how many readers loved this series ...i was forced to watch it movie then i am more toward reading this series ...i found out some things are missing in series when i was watching this..

I love both the books and the movies! I do find reading the books helpful for filling in a few details here and there.

Trailer is out now for those who are interested, cam version right now, official release cant be far away.

Regarding the discussion whether to watch the show first or read the books: I have seen the 4 series first and started reading the books afterwards. As a result, I vowed to myself to never ever watch a book adaption without having read the book first. One of the two experiences is spoiled and I would always choose to have the unspoiled "version" while reading, not while watching.

And I would strongly recommend reading all 5 books and not skip the first one or two. True, if you've seen the series first, it can get a bit tedious here and there as you already now what's gonna happen (which is another argument for reading first, watching second!). But for me, it would always feel a bit awkward having skipped books and I would wonder if they were worth the read and would read them anyway at some point, so why not invest a bit more time and have the whole experience?

I'm current on the series and just started the audiobook for Book 1. I'm only a few hours in and am already thrilled that I decided to take the plunge. Can't wait to chew through this during my commute. (1.5 hours per day roundtrip)