My experience reading Game of Thrones so far!

Hello everyone! I hope you're having a great day!

The first thing I want to address is the Halloween Challenge! So yes, last Friday there should have been a new one! But with lack of participants and Halloween being tomorrow, it was determined to not create another one.

But do not fear! Halloween spirits are still here! You're still more than welcome to participate in the challenge if you wish!

A new challenge for everyone to participate in will be coming soon! So stay tuned for that!

Now onto the main topic of the blog!

As of late I have been reading Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin!

I'm sure most of you, if not all of you, have heard of these books. They're pretty iconic in the adult fantasy world, and well for most of the book world really.

Lots of books and authors have written books inspired by these. One that has a lot of similarities to them is Falling Kingdoms. Whether Morgan Rhodes got her inspiration from them I don't know. But after reading those before reading GOT I see lots of similarities!

But I just want to discuss my thoughts on the series so far. I'm not that far into it, I'm only on page 378 of the first one.

I purchased the book back in August. It was one of my goals to finish it before this year. It's not for the faint-hearted, and I knew that going in I was going to have to be super dedicated.

I watched the show on HBO here and there so I know the characters, I know something's I shouldn't (lol). But for this series that doesn't really bother me! It helps me more than anything.

Because there are so many characters, a plethora of subplots and everything in between. It's nice to have a reference to something's. Such as having a face to the name while reading. Don't get me wrong, you can most certainly go into this book blind! That's how many people go about it, especially because the book was published in 1996!

There is an appendix in the back that I reference to nearly every chapter. But overtime you eventually learn who people are, and you don't need to keep looking back. Characters come and go, that's a known fact about this books. Rule one while reading them is to not get too attached to the characters.

But for the most part, I've been learning who is who, what house, so on and so forth.

One thing I have found that I love about this book, is that you're allowed to make your own judgments and opinions on the characters. This book isn't in just one perspective, but lots of people's! And because of that, we're allowed to get to know everyone for all different views and angles.

*minor spoilers*

Lets take for example Robert Baratheon. If we just got Cersei's opinion on him, we would hate him! We would think of him a drunken fool that only loves hunting and having relations with multiple different woman. (All of which is extremely true ahah).

But if we only got Eddard's, we would think of him as a good friend, with a friendly personality with lots of depth. (Or in the beginning he would have thought of that).

Thats one reason why this book stands out to be so much. Having multiple POVS really allows us to get to know the characters.

I love this world. I love how descriptive it is, and how much there is too it. There isn't any other book out there that is just so full of life. It all seems so real. As if life way back when was really like this! With dragons and kingdoms at war.

I don't feel like I'm reading when I'm reading this book. It's almost as if a movie is playing in my head. Everything flows together, everything adds up. I love it! The words and vocabulary is amazing. Plus the way they talk is amusing. I always read the conversations they have in an English accent.

One thing I'm finding while reading this is how long it's taking me. I'm used to flying though books, but I'm only on page 378 and I started this last Tuesday. But it takes time to really read the pages, and to understand what's happening. With the constant flipping back to the appendix and the sheer amount of information getting thrown at you, it takes time. But I don't think it's a bad thing. It's fun. This whole book is just fun! Sad, scary and full of gore, but fun!

Its just so nice to be fully engrossed in a book series again. I read it every chance I get!

This might be random, but I love getting into series around the holiday times. Whether that's because the weather is getting colder, or just because I get a lot of time off, I don't know. But last year around this time I was just starting Harry Potter and falling in love.

I would have never imagined that I would be reading Game of Thrones! I think it's one of those moments when you realize how much you've grown as a reader. And I don't necessarily mean skill level when I say that. I mean just having pure ion for reading. Because as I mentioned, this series is a time commitment.

Working at a bookstore, being on this app, and talking with all of you had made me the reader I am today!

And here I am reading one of the biggest series out there!

If you're looking for a good series to read right now, I definitely recommend Game of Thrones!

I would say it's a good book for 15+ but then again it depends on maturity levels and such! If you're wanting something a little more timid, but going along with the themes of GOT, I highly recommend Falling Kingdoms!

Happy reading!

-Gwenreads :book: