To Read or Not to Read, That is the Question. #GameOfThrones

Cover art, Game of Thrones Book 1 by George R. R. Martin

I need some advice.

I’ve been watching HBO’s Game of Thrones from the beginning. While normally I read books BEFORE I watch movies or TV series, I came late to the Game (see what I did there?) and saw the season premiere and began watching the series before I had time to read. Ok, so I was busy reading baby books and have this weird need to finish a book before starting another one… but that’s not the point.

Once my husband and I began watching and enjoying the series, I knew I had to read the books by George R. R. Martin. I felt a little guilty for not reading first, but then I kept seeing all of these awful reviews on my Twitter feed; friends of mine were attempting to read the first book and having difficulty. I saw things like “dry” and “slow” and even “harder to read than Tolkien.” (Which was relevant to me since I’d read the Lord of the Rings trilogy before watching the movies.) This was also off-putting, and with a baby on the way, I decided to finish my baby books before digging in to Game of Thrones.

Once I began reading, though, I had a hard time putting it down. I’ve read Tolkien, and I gotta say… I don’t find Game of Thrones dry, slow, OR harder to read than Tolkien. Quite the contrary. But is that because I had seen the series already and I liked it? Is it because I knew I enjoyed the series and so I was having fun digging for deeper meaning in the books? Would I have felt the same way had I not seen the series first? I was reading daily on the treadmill or elliptical machine, and I’d even get up at 3am to get in another chapter or two. Of course, that wasn’t as difficult or obsessive as it may sound since I don’t sleep well these last weeks of pregnancy anyways, but still.

The Game of Thrones season finale was Sunday night, and at the time I had about 20% left of the first book. I purposely slowed at the end to be consistent; so far I’ve watched first and read later and decided to finish out the season that way. I didn’t want to “spoil” the season finale. Let’s just say that my husband and I were both shocked, excited, and wishing aloud that it were already Spring 2012 so that we could start season 2 already.

This is where my dilemma comes in. I have the rest of the books on my Kindle, loaded and ready to go. But… do I read ahead now or not? A lot of my friends have, and I normally would, except… I know that my husband won’t read ahead. He’s been enjoying the process of watching and then partaking in forum discussions the next day with those who are comparing the episode to the book to glean that deeper context, and he and I talk about what I’ve read, too.  He’ll be reading the first book as soon as he gets a chance for himself now that the first season is over, but he won’t read ahead even though we have the books.

What to do? If I read ahead, I may spoil that weekly excitement that my husband and I look forward to. A TV series isn’t quite like a movie; you don’t get the whole thing in one shot, it gets dragged out over a season and you only get a piece each week that keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting more and looking forward to next week’s episode. I’ve enjoyed experiencing that with my husband, especially since we rarely watch much TV unless it’s the Food Network or hockey. This is the ONE series we watch faithfully each week. I’ve liked not really knowing what was going to happen next, so we share true surprise, outrage, and lots of other emotions over the turn of events together. BUT… I may not be able to wait until next season to find out what happens next!

So here I am, stuck. Part of me wants to read ahead because I prefer books to film 9 times out of 10, and I almost always read before watching an adaptation of a book if possible. I appreciate the additional depth and understanding that a book provides that doesn’t always get explained as well in a film adaptation. I also want to read ahead because the suspense is killing me, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed book 1 and imagine I’d feel the same about the rest of the series, too.

However…

If I don’t read ahead, I won’t spoil that weekly excitement that my husband and I share, nor will I accidentally slip or give too much away as I read in a household where one person is most definitely NOT reading ahead. I also won’t sit there on the couch each week and spend all of my time nit picking at details or saying/thinking things like, “Well it wasn’t QUITE like that in the book,” instead of just purely enjoying the show for what it is. While the series has been pretty true to the book thus far, I always hate tearing a movie apart over little discrepancies from the book that distract me from the purpose of entertainment. I’m always prepared for a book to give me more details than film, which is one of the reasons I like to read first, but if too much strays next season it’ll be a huge distraction each week.

I guess I always have the option to read along; perhaps an episode or two behind, just to have the details fresh and pick up more insight from the book as I go. Normally I’d not give it a second thought and just read, but now that I’ve spend the first season watching first then reading second… I’m not so sure how I want to continue with future seasons and books.

What would YOU do? Would you “spoil” what’s going to happen next season by reading ahead or wait it out and read along later? If you’ve read ahead… how are you able to keep from discussing (or hinting at things; I don’t want to be “that guy”) around those who haven’t read ahead, and does it ruin the suspense of the weekly episodes?