50 replies to this topic

[Night Gathers]

During your first read-through I'd recommend reading all the chapters, for overall understanding and getting the maximized experience out of the books. It won't be the same if you go back after the story is finished just to check up on Dany; it'll feel like homework no doubt, especially if she's your least favorite. Not all the POV characters are as interesting as our favorite ones, obviously, but that doesn't mean some of our least favorite POV's aren't actually worth reading. You won't be able to tell yourself that you've read a song of ice and fire, if you literally haven't. Stay true to the story on your first read-through, and you'll most likely understand the overall plot so much more. But you're of course free to do it however you want, I feel the urge to skip certain chapters on a re-read sometimes, but would never do it during my first reading.

Edited by Night Gathers, 11 November 2012 - 03:38 AM.

[Valyrian_Goddess]

KhaleesiDany, on 10 November 2012 - 08:00 PM, said:

I adore you!

I hear so many people complain about them I thought hard about the structure of the book to find out why. Skipping chapters of characters in the mainland would put you out of information and would be a very bad idea. But Daenerys is not on the mainland. Some characters do not even know that she exists. Others do not know if she is alive or not. And whenever something happens to Daenerys in Essos, it takes time for the rumors to reach Westeros. So if you are reading Daenerys chapters, you know how sorely out of touch with her most of the characters are.

I gave AGOT to a friend of mine who is not a big fantasy reader, or a big reader at all really. I forced her through the prologue with her rolling her eyes the whole time, and I pushed her to read the first few chapters on her own. She had so many complaints about the language, the pace, the strange names, the unlikeable characters, everything, but I really wanted her to like the books. I told her to just read the Daenerys chapters, as they are a separate story. At first she was skeptical to read that way, but by the second or third chapter she was hooked. She told me she started to read just Daenerys and skipped everything else. She loved the story and went back to give the rest a try. So for people who like the mainland story but not Daenerys I recommend the opposite approach.

So I don't mean skip them as in don't read them (though you could.) I mean read them separately as one story instead of as interruptions to the mainland story. GRRM does this for you himself by splitting AFFC and ADWD. Those two books have an overlapping time-frame but focus on different characters that are not geographically linked.

Oh stop it you that's awesome if only my friends could bother reading a good book for a change...

[Buckwheat]

On your first read, read it all. On later rereads, you can skip pages and chapters if you feel they add nothing to the overall story, but I still would not recommend it since every detail you notice every new time you read will give you more enjoyment from the books.

Mednieks, on 20 September 2012 - 10:25 AM, said:

I`ve watched 2. season of Game of thrones tv series, could that be enough to know everything about her?

No. The TV series completely changed her story in the second season. It is not enough to follow her story in the next books, especially because they even changed the prohecies in the House of the Undying. At least read that chapter, it is excellent.

Also, your English is OK.

[Roderick the notdead]

He didn't write it in chapter 1 chapter 2...exc I read the storys I like first then go back for the reread they are different stories.I hear ya thay are boring but do get alittle better na not relly just read wen you can't sleep it's what I do.

[Distorted Humor]

I have only read though ACOK, and I actually the first time i tried reading it didn't like the Bran chapters,  But at least skim them, but I did find the chapters after them finding the abandoned city as rather boring till right at the end.

[GreyWarden]

If you're skipping out on Dany's chapters you're definitely missing out. Albeit, they deviate somewhat from what is going on in Westeros because she's pretty much half the world away, but I feel her chapters give us a break from the power struggle and show us another side of the GoT world; the more exotic, more magical, fantastical.

She is one of my top three favorite characters by far. I personally love her chapters and her character. If you haven't read the chapter where she ascends journeys through the House of the Undying, I strongly recommend it. Your mind will most certainly be blown (my favorite chapter, I think.) And if you have, well my friend....I do not know what else to tell you, other than that not everyone is meant to follow my Khaleesi

Edited by ENReal, 19 November 2012 - 10:49 PM.

[Rhaenys Sand]

Last chapters will be interesing, but you'll survive!

[badreligion]

No matter how boring it is, I would feel weird to skip a part of a book. That's just me though

[Esa1996]

Éadaoin, on 16 October 2012 - 12:25 PM, said:

Honestly, Jon's chapters bore me to tears and I remember skipping some of them. I went back and reread them, though. I soldiered on.

Jon chapters are my favorite chapters in the whole series along side Tyrion! How could someone be bored when reading them?

Also, I agree with the person above me. Don't skip anything.

Edited by Esa1996, 26 December 2012 - 12:58 PM.

[Trident full of Dogs]

I kept skipping her chapters in al 5 books. I think shes boring. Shes the most boring character in the whole series! More even than Melisandre. Seriously, whats so interesting about her? Shes a quen shes beautiful shes mother of Dragons... Okay but that was done in book 1. The dragons are very interesting by their own merit though!

[tarak1ng]

Try to read them, I'm sure they're instrumental to the story in some way (eventually). I have to admit, I do usually skim read her chapters at the moment, there's a lot of description in there and not a lot of plot. I do think the author is trying to develop her character in ACoK, which is good to see - whether or not she's particularly likeable or compelling is debatable.

Edited by tarak1ng, 19 January 2013 - 11:08 AM.

[Swimfan]

I feel with you.
In book 2 I also never liked her chapters but in book 3 they start becoming more and more interesting and important and if you look which title book 5 got there is now way you should consider skipping her ... don't you dare! She's Danerys T. Stormborne, Mother of Dragons blah blah blah

[Theda Baratheon]

Why on earth would you want to skip chapters? I feel really bad for people who actually do this or consider it.

[Theda Baratheon]

badreligion, on 28 November 2012 - 06:50 AM, said:

No matter how boring it is, I would feel weird to skip a part of a book. That's just me though

Same here.

[Simadhor_saan]

Titus Andronicus, on 10 November 2012 - 09:50 PM, said:

You can read however you want, but why anyone would read a book differently than the way the author intended the book to be read (for any book, not just ASoIaF) is beyond me...

Totally! I couldn't imagine just skipping through chapters even for the characters I don't like as much but then I find them all interesting. People seem to hate the damphair but I found his chapters really intriguing, being able to just keep building the picture of this world, it definitely all counts.

Valyrian_Goddess, on 11 November 2012 - 04:05 AM, said:

Oh stop it you that's awesome if only my friends could bother reading a good book for a change...

Sounds like you need to find some better friends

[Rolex Baratheon]

Dany in book 1: very good chapters like all else.

Dany in book 2: very good chapters like all the others, I loved ACOK best of all.

Dany in book 3: meh, very tolerable.okay considering the others are great.

Dany after that: so horribly boring. But I still never skipped a word of her chapters, doing so would make me not true a fan.

[Hierarchy]

I absolutely love Daenerys. Whether or not you read her chapters is completely up to you. If you don't like her there's little else you can do. I do however think she'll be important in the future . . . And she is a link to the history of the kingdom. I think that could lead up to some critical things.

I guess what I love about her is how she is portrayed. . . overcoming so much and soldiering on.

[Whoresbane Umber]

They are quite boring but i just hope in winds of winter she might do something

[Twhitt252]

Keep reading all the chapters. I have a feeling she'll have quite a role in the next two books and you'll want to know how she got there

[Patrek Stark]

to be completely blunt. If you  skip chapters you should just put the book down now. You will miss about half of the content if you start skipping chapters.