There are many varieties of Game of Thrones fans; read the books and then watched the show, watched the show and then read the books, read the books and won't watch the show, watched the show and won't read the books, etc. I fall into the second group which is rare for me but has worked out very well. That feels like blasphemy as a bookworm but really it is probably the more logical approach for me because I'm that Lord of the Rings fan that is still mad that Tom Bombadil wasn't in Fellowship. I read Jaws years after seeing it and loved the added nuance to a perfect film (highly recommend it). If I'd read the book first I know I would have been pissed that spoiler and spoiler didn't spoiler.
Back to Game of Thrones though. I had never read any of the books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series but I was very interested in the show when it originally aired. The problem was, I didn't have HBO. Subsequent seasons continued to pique my interest but then, on top of not having HBO, I felt like it would be difficult to catch up. I finally binge watched seasons 1-5 earlier this year and I absolutely loved it. I had to wait months for season 6 so I decided to read the books to fill the void. I bought all of them and began to read very quickly at first, delighting in those moments that the show had taken directly from the page because they were perfect. My reason for reading was to see the scenes that made me punch the air or cry in greater detail, with the characters thoughts and emotions behind them and in the first and second book that occurred often and I ate it up.
The third book however had so many differences that it took me a couple of months to read it, even though there were epic moments from the show about to happen I just couldn't get into it with the same gusto. It could have been my mood, (I wasn't reading anything else even though I was buying too many books to keep up with) but I think my attitude and motive for reading the books let me down most of all. If you read the books/watch the show hoping for a carbon copy you will be disappointed. The trick to getting the full enjoyment of both George RR Martin's books and DB Weiss & David Benioff's show is to treat the two as separate entities. I didn't realize this until the last quarter of the third book (even though I had been warned) and I know that my tunnel vision caused me to miss so much of the beautiful and profound writing of George RR Martin.
There were a few moments toward the end of the third book and beginning of the fourth that made me realize the err of my ways. Here are a few examples, they are not spoilery in any way but to leave even more mystery I'll leave page numbers, names of the person who said/thought it, and context out.
"When she opened the door to the garden, it was so lovely that she held her breath, unwilling to disturb such perfect beauty."
"A godswood without gods, as empty as me."
"Memories, the bones of the soul...the truth is in our bones, for the flesh decays and bone endures."There are many reason to consume both. They are so different but, they do complement one another. The books provide a better understanding of the history, characters, motives, and major events so that you can enjoy the show more fully in the moment. The show is an epic visual companion to the books and many of the changes made do make much sense for the format. All in all, one does not have to take away from the other so I recommend taking in both with an open mind. Happy reading and/or watching.
Happy Mrs Rory is not an accredited TV critic nor does she hold an advanced degree in journalism or film studies. She is simply an enthusiastic young woman with an unfinished community college education and an abiding love for television. Share her love tonight on pizzaboozetelly.blogspot.com.
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