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Game of Thrones fans, anyone read the book series? If so, worth the read or should a fan just stick with the HBO version?

Game of Thrones fans, anyone read the book series? If so, worth the read or should a fan just stick with the HBO version?

Jewelie #questionnaire

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102 Answers

Kimberly

I can’t wait for the tv series to come back on! I started the books and can’t even remember why I stopped was that long ago xx

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Mindy

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Joseph

You know how books are 100X better than adaptations? These are 10,000X better

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Mindy

Agree 100%

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Marsha

I’m listening to it on you tube. It’s pretty good.

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Lori

I loved the books

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Dani

Books are sooo good! Better than the show

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Sarah

The books are amazing.

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Denise

Read the books….worth it!

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Tracy

Read!!

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JewelieQuestion author

You all are very convincing! Lol. Ok, then… should a reader start with Book # 1 (I’m assuming this one first) in the series or Book #0.5?

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Dani

@Jewelie #1

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Tracy

@Jewelie Book 1

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JewelieQuestion author

@Tracy, thank you!

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JewelieQuestion author

@Dani, thank you!

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Tracey

I absolutely LOVE the books!!

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Norma

Loved the books!!

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Amy

Books are amazing!

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Kim

Definitely worth the read.

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Amber

If you can stomach waiting for Martin to finish the final 2 books, it’s worth it to enjoy the tv series BEFORE reading the books so you can enjoy both.

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Kat

I personally couldn’t get into the books, but know many people who loved them.

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Arlene

❤️❤️❤️ the books!!

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Rosemary

Well worth a read

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Greg

Skip the latest .05. Not worth the read.

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Sharon

Read the books. Won’t watch the series

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Smyrna

Yes please read. You will find a number of things that doesnt match the series. I finished all the books before I watched the series and i first found it difficult to find the parallel because everything has just been shortened, characters who didnt do things in the book did it in the series. Such confusion until i just came to accept the series will never match the books.

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Mary

@Smyrna characters were too old

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Trista

My coworker loved the books.

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Wendy

Reading the first book now. Loving it. Haven’t seen the show yet. I was told to read the books first.

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Christine

It was super helpful for me watching the show first then reading the books – it helps having names to faces 🙂

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Dell

I’ve read the books but I prefer the show. I’ll probs not finish reading the series (if GRRM ever get around to completing it) once the show ends.

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Cindi

I LOVED the books!!!! So worth the read!

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Crystal

I absolutely loved the books but I have never watched the series.

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Edie

yes, definitely worth the read.

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Melanie

On my goal/TBR list for the year

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Kate

The book is the best it’s way better than the show. I mean I love watching game of thrones on hbo but the book is timeless. Indeed

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Marita

Loved the books!

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Ellie

I loved the books BUT George RR Martin told HBO how the story ends so the show and the books will end the same. Having read the books first, when watching the show I kept thinking “man they left so much out” but now that the show is almost over I realized Martin had a lot of extra characters and side stories that in the end didn’t matter which is now kinda annoying b/c his books now just seem unnecessarily long. It’s like every idea he has gets thrown in the book and now he can’t finish them.

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Sarah

Booooooooks!!!

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Emma

Love the series but read the books 3 times

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Heidi

Books are better

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Nikki

The books are better, but at this rate they’ll probably never be finished ??‍♀️

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Jenny

I heard that he’s not planning to finish them and just complete the story through the TV show.

It’s why I’ve stalled on book 3

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Nikki

@Jenny really? Well that’s disappointing ??‍♀️

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Kathryn

@Jenny Really? I’m going to be so mad if that’s the case!

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Jenny

Only what I heard on the internet…Not sure if it’s 100% true, but it certainly slowed down my reading of the series

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Nikki

I really hope he continues the books, because there are unfinished storylines that the series hasn’t even touched on.

Although at the rate he’s he’s going he’s going to have to live for another 40 years to do that.

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Dannielle

What’s wrong with the game of throne books? I heard they are good but has he now finished the book series yet

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Nikki

@Dannielle there’s meant to be 2 more books in the series, I think.

It’s definitely not finished. The tv series has overtaken it.

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Dannielle

@Nikki I’m guessing they didn’t think the TV series was going to take off the way it did

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Beau

Loved the books x

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Sally

The books are wonderful. Series was very true to them at first

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Jason

check out the tales of dunk and egg trilogy. it takes place 100 yrs before roberts rebellion.. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms contains the first three Dunk and Egg novellas:

The Hedge Knight
The Sworn Sword
The Mystery Knight

i highly recommend as plays into whole narrarive

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Kylie

I loved the books but I found they were a hard read

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Rebecca

They’re hard going but so so worth it

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Sarah

Lots of names and details but I thought well worth reading

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Jessica

Books are great and I love them, but they are heavy so be prepared for that. I usually read lighter things as I read to reduce stress. I read a young adult series when I finished to get away from all the war, death, and intrigue. I actually have them all on tape now and have listened to them several times through in addition to my initial read. I think that it helps if you’ve seen the show as it’s hard to keep all the characters straight at first.

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Lisamarie

yes, i agree. it helps that the books contain a register with all the characters and how theyre related. its like multiple pages long 😀

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Jessica

@Lisamarie Sure is, except you can’t read too far ahead or you find out who dies. I.E. My hubby was reading the register in book two before he finished one and found out about the first shocking death. Whoops.

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Lisamarie

yeah i didnt think of that, thats a good tip! 🙂

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Liz

They’re amazing ?

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Lisamarie

ive started reading them in english, which is not my native language, and i find it very difficult to read. especially because each chapter puts you in the middle of the plot of a different character and theres been things happening since you last read of that character (plus he tends to use more “fancy” thus difficult words in the first page of the chapter). maybe go for your mothertongue with that one and prepare for very long, detailed descriptions. its also best to read them when youre confident, youre gonna finish them all in a row without long breaks in-between and have the time to do so. theyre as you probably know very long with tons of plot and characters and its hard to keep track if youre taking long breaks from reading it. keep in mind, its like 10000 pages altogether.
with that said, ive only gotten to the third book so far but i love the world he created, all the detailed imagination that comes with it. you get to dive deep into the got world, spend more time with amazing characters like arya and get a better understanding of all the fantasy elements that are going on. if youre into very colorful and descriptive books that create a huge fantasy world that is very authentic, this will be the perfect book for you 🙂

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Becky

I am on book 5. They are hard going but very good and have bits in them that the series missed out!!

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Janne

A true fan should read the books! ? But I also really love the series! I advise you to read the books in your native language, because they are not that easy and pretty long. However, if you mainly read English you can certainly try it. I read them in Dutch, my native language, and some names were different but I know them both in Dutch and English because of the series so I don’t feel like I have missed something by not reading them in the original language. The plot, the world and the characters that G.R.R. Martin created are most important.

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Emma

The books are amazing. I read them all before the series came out. Definitely read, but be prepared to be frustrated that they just stop. And are unlikely to ever be finished.

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Marie

The books are great. A little different than the show but better in my opinion

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Serena

I have done both and I found that reading and watching helped me keep track of all the characters. I have also been able to take my time reading the books bc they are long and can get overwhelming at times. Both are great.

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Becky

I loved the books definitely heavy reads but worth it you’ll understand it a lot easier since you’ve already seen the show

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Trish

A great read! And differs from the show in some ways.

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Melissa

@Trish I’m going to wait till after this season then I’m going to read them.

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Trish

@Melissa lol that’s smart. But remember, it is different than the books. In some ways.

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Melissa

@Trish that’s what I’ve heard. I’ve heard some seasons aren’t even based on the books and someone told me they were really hard to read.

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Trish

@Melissa they can be, and they did change some major things. But all on all good read

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Melissa

@Trish I usually do better if I watch the show first. If I read the book first I tend to pick the movie/show apart.

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Trish

@Melissa lol me too!

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Michelle

First season stays really true to the 1st book, the other seasons have some differences from the books but both are brilliant x

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Muhammet

reading is always better than watching if you like reading about details. if you read them you might catch a lot of details and these details make you so curious about what happens next

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Lucy

Yes I read them all really brilliant but I will say quite hard in the beginning to get used to all the different names but once u get into them u will not be able to put them down I drove my whole family mad my head stuck in the book the whole time

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Carole

Never watched it and never read it…..just my opinion

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Dave

Got through 2.5 books and gave up. Love the series!!

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Kayla

I’ve read all the books and the series are now further on than the books. I really enjoyed them but it makes me mad with the series when things happen in the books that don’t happen in the show ?

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Luisa

I have read the series and they are worth it, although slow and sometimes frustrating

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Nikki

Books are awesome, show too, but read the books!!

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April

I read the first book and it took me months to get through (I can usually devour a thousand page novel within a few days). It was extremely slow and lacking for my taste. I may give the 2nd book a go just to see if it picks up, but as of now, the books don’t seem to be my cup of tea (heartbreaking since I love reading, but, is what it is)

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Robin

Same ^^

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Atiya

Just finished A Dance with Dragons. I recommend reading the books then watching the series

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Zul

My suggestion is to Wait a couple of years before starting to read them (if you watched the tv series first). Let your memory fade.

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Maggie

I read the books first and would have never sat through the show if I hadn’t. The show doesn’t do the books justice, probably the worse case of this ever! The books are absolutely phenomenal! He does an amazing job of creating a whole other world and makes you love/hate different characters to the extreme. These books are written masterfully! I highly recommend! Best series I’ve ever read! Yes, totally worth reading!

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Rochelle

BOTH

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Mary

The books are so much better. I do like the show, but just tell myself it’s a different story.

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Kathryn

The books are looooong, but SO SO SO much better than the series in my opinion.

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Tina

love GOT but never read the books, but i planned to once the show is over..i hear there are some differences in the books so i think its worth reading.

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Theresa

read the books, so much better than the tv adaptation

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Jo

I love the books and have reread them several times because they are so dense. First time, I devoured them as fast as I could. The second time I meandered through them enjoying them slowly and the third time I read them for detail. I enjoy the show too but I don’t compare them – two different animals! If you enjoy dense descriptions and details, including every dish of a meal, you’ll love the books. If you like a lot of action and political intrigue, you’ll like them too if you skim over the details like a couple of my friends did. If you want to add a depth to the character on the TV show, I think you would like them too.

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Barbara

Last series airs in April can’t wait

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January

I do both.

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Regina

Isn’t he still working on the last book?

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Ellie

@Regina I wish it was the last book lol he’s working on the last 2 books of the series

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Regina

@Ellie I’m waiting to read them when he gets finished. Reread some of them.

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Chloe

I watched the series and then tried reading the 1st but couldn’t get it to it ?

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Erin

I’m almost done with the books, they’re great!

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Elizabeth

I read all of the books and did not watch the series. I love reading fantasy and liked the books, I found them bit depressing.

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