How Long Have You Been A Fan?

[Evrach]

Started late 1998 when the AGOT were first realeased in french. I remember well because I just couldn't wait for the next book so I checked on the internet at high school (internet was not the same as now at this date >_<) and discovers that ACOK was just about to be realease ! Then I just spent hours to convince my father to buy me a book in english on the internet (was only 15yo). that was epic ^^

Already f***ing 12 years o_O crap. The time is something strange...

[Stark Naked]

Bought AGOT when it first came out in paperback as a Christmas present for someone else. I picked it up because I liked the cover art of Jon and Ghost in the snow, and bought it because I liked the blurb on the back.

I read the prologue and the first chapter before wrapping it, and decided that this was probably the best fantasy fiction I had ever read. Needless to say, I kept the book, and have had to sweat it ever since waiting for the next one in the series to come out.

I guess I reread the whole series every year on average. For some reason, I have picked up AFFC by itself twice and read it without reading any of the others. I have never done this with any of the other books. In 2004, I read the whole series (as it was at the time) in the hospital while my father was dying. I wrote George an e-mail afterwards thanking him for the escape his books gave me at the time and he wrote me back a nice note.

On July 12th (or whatever day the book is delivered) I will be calling in sick to work. I'm taking my favorite folding chair, my tent, a pack of food and I'm going out in the woods where no one can find me. I will make a pot of coffee over the campfire and just sit and READ. I'm looking more forward to ADWD Day than I am to my vacation.

[Rodgex]

I have been a fan for about a few years at this stage, at least 4 I think. I was turned onto it by a friend who said it was a very good series. I saw the book in Waterstone's and bought it, then when I was bored I started reading it, I then promptly bought the remaining books and devoured them. Although, I have brought in a rule for fantasy books in that I will only read series that are finished, for obvious reasons...

[Merihathor]

I'm in my early twenties and started reading ASOIAF when I was around 15 I think. My dad was the one who discovered the series and he gave me the books when he was done with them. Now I am a rabid fan and he is not. I ran through the first three and then when the fourth came out I ran through that. Now, years later, I am fully prepared to run through ADWD.

I'm really excited and can't wait for July 12th. I live in NYC and I'm guessing there will be a bunch of fanfare and huge lines. I want to meet some ASOIAF readers but would rather not meet the more psychotic ones. Are there any special events going on in NYC around the time of the release of ADWD? What about something related to the HBO show? I don't watch TV at all and am definitely not paying any money for cable, let alone HBO, but I kind of want to see the show and see if I like it. I have a feeling I won't because I prefer to read than watch but I still want to give it a shot since I found out GRRM was very involved in the production. I'm also not too crazy about all the graphic sex scenes and just the general constant near nakedness of some people(I know I am probably in the minority here) and am a real wuss when it comes to bloody violence or torture on screen. Amazing that I like the books, huh?

Have any of you made any friends at events like this? I find myself craving ASOIAF companionship! I've even gone so far as to tell my boyfriend what the story is about, tell him the cliffhangers, and ramble on and on and on about what I think will happen but he doesn't have any ideas to throw back at me. No, he won't read the series, I tried. I told him there is lots of sex and it didn't work. I told him I would read it to him and it didn't work. I told him I would buy the audio version and it didn't work. I told him he could watch the HBO show and it didn't work. I don't think it's going to work.

Also, late question. How many times have you all reread the series? I've reread the last three books at least 40 or 50 times each. I've only read AGOT three or four times though. For the last year I've just been reading those three books over and over again. I read them in order, then in reverse order, and then in random order. I keep one of the books in the bathroom and one in the kitchen so I can read while bathing and cooking. It's gotten to the point where I can open any book to any page and tell you exactly what scene it is, everything that happened up to that point, and everything that is going to happen after. Please tell me I am not the only one.

I first read GoT in 1996 or 1997. My husband worked in a bookstore and had someone there recommend the book to him, so he in turn recommended it to me after he had read it.

I'm honestly not sure how many times I've reread the series, but I'd put it at 3-4 times, probably.

[Doom of Valyria]

I first read the books back around 2003, during my first year in college. The first three were all out, but I had to wait a while for AFFC - and, of course, I've been waiting all this time for ADWD. I've only been reading them for the second time now in preparation for the TV show and Dance in July, since, as good as they are, reading them all in a row is quite a massive undertaking. But that should show you how much I love them - I usually never read a book more than once.

[Tall Tyrion Lannister!]

Started reading them last year. probably going to re-read them in like may, before the new book comes out.

On t he release date i'll probably wait anxiously in my house then when the ups guy/ mailman comes i'll grab the book and start reading.

[The Sand Snake]

I've been a fan since about 2005 and read all the books immediatly. Then, as the years went by every once in a while I'd check into GRRM's website and see if ADWD was coming out and it never was. When i heard about the hbo show and a dance I read them all again(around feb) but now being on this site every day makes me want another re-read before the 12th!

[Grip]

I read the books for the first time in autumn 2009, so I am still relatively new to the series..

I havent experienced the long waiting game as many other fans, so my patience really hasnt been tested much..Looking forward to July 12th!

[Prince of the North]

I first read AGOT in about 2000. I then quickly devoured ACOK and ASOS and have been eagerly awaiting each subsequent book ever since :D

[Brandon the Epithetless]

I first read AGOT in 2007, and within two months have read up to AFFC. I re-read the whole series that same year and then I do a series re-read every year afterwards. I am a regular lurker in this site and others, and regularly check George's blog, but the announcement of ADWD release date and the upcoming HBO series has convinced me to forsake my lurking ways and join the Westeros forums.

[AquariumDrinker]

I read AGOT in '99 and rest of the books were read as fast as I could get them.

I had two friends recommend AGOT to me, but the cover and back cover didnt inspire me to pick it up. After finally picking the book up, I distinctly remember beginning Bran's second chapter thinking I had the book all figured out and then I was blown away by everything that followed.

[Timekeeper]

I got my start in 2000 or 2001, one of my sisters gave me a copy of ACoK for Xmas. I put it off for a few months, then decided "hey, I got a new book I haven't read yet, I think I'll correct that mistake". I ended up flying through the book, and then raged to find out it was the second book in the series. So I picked up AGoT and flew through that, then ASoS. That tided me over until AFFC's opening day when I devoured the book. And now I've been waiting nearly six years.

Conversion rate: two, possibly three interested in the series. At least one more is planned, hopefully more. I feel so dirty, getting folk hooked like this. No wonder drug dealers find customers eager for a free hit.

[Gaston de Foix]

saw the book in stores in 2003-2004 and read the blurbs. I remember thinking they looked boring and the names, Robb, Joffrey were stupid. I also remember thinking that it was a bit strange Joffrey the monster was still on the throne in book 3 of a fantasy series. I picked up them again easter 2006 when I was meeting someone near the Strand and she was late. Was browing fantasy so picked it up and read uptil Bran's fall. Met the person I was going to meet and got on a plane that evening. I could not stop thinking about AGOT on the flight so I downloaded AFFC as an ebook where I was. I read it, although it didn't make much sense, and then read the chapter summaries on the Tower of the Hand. Was completely hooked and wished I'd brought the books with me. I tore through the books when back in London. I discovered this website in 2007 when I was looking for info on the next book coming out and came here for the chapter summaries.

I'll follow the pattern I had with Wise Man's Fear. I'll download the book midnight on July 11th/12th. Will read it all night and will finish by mid-day. Then I'll come here and speculate about TWOW. I'm sure Ran will create a separate discussion forum character and subject wise.

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

1996. So it has been 15 years for me this fall.

[Teri]

There is a closely related thread about when we first discovered the series:

As far as the reread question, your score is on the extreme end even for dedicated fans. I generally read each book twice when it comes out, once very quickly and the second time more slowly in parallel with discussing it on the spoiled threads here. Then I just ignore them altogether during the long time between books. I do a full reread of the previous book the week before a new volume comes out, but I've never yet read three or more volumes in sequence. I will probably reread both Storm of Swords and Feast for Crows this time, starting in late June, since the gap between books has been longer, and also because DwD starts out following upon the events of SoS.

LadySansa, have you read GRRM's novellas? They're what first made me a GRRM fan, before Game of Thrones was even written. I especially liked Dying of the Light and A Song for Lya.

And like you, I am a reader who doesn't care for television. (Well, due to the influence of my boyfriend I sometimes now watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Real Time with Bill Maher, once or twice a week, but nothing else, and for more than twenty years the only time I had watched any television at all was the morning of 9/11 when the World Trade Towers went down. I don't even like watching video clips online, and will always search for a text-only version of any news story, speech or press release rather than clicking on a link of a video report about it.) I'm not even curious about the HBO series.

[Spaceman Hobbes]

I started reading AGOT in Oct or Nov of 09. So I haven't been around for too long. I actually spent an hour or too on a bus because my local indie store didn't have AFFC at my normal location. I got to the store, picked up my reserved copy of AFFC and then had the clerk tell me at checkout to savor it, because after this I'd be stuck waiting like everyone else.

Most prophetic bookstore clerk ever.

[Dunknegg]

I've even gone so far as to tell my boyfriend what the story is about, tell him the cliffhangers, and ramble on and on and on about what I think will happen but he doesn't have any ideas to throw back at me. No, he won't read the series, I tried. I told him there is lots of sex and it didn't work. I told him I would read it to him and it didn't work. I told him I would buy the audio version and it didn't work. I told him he could watch the HBO show and it didn't work. I don't think it's going to work.

Perhaps he's not "The One." :box:

How many times have you all reread the series? I've reread the last three books at least 40 or 50 times each. I've only read AGOT three or four times though. For the last year I've just been reading those three books over and over again. I read them in order, then in reverse order, and then in random order. I keep one of the books in the bathroom and one in the kitchen so I can read while bathing and cooking. It's gotten to the point where I can open any book to any page and tell you exactly what scene it is, everything that happened up to that point, and everything that is going to happen after.

or...perhaps YOU'RE not "The One"... :eek:

I first read GRRM back in the early 90's, but sort of as I read a lot of other SF authors at the time, not as a particular fan of a particular author. But around 1997, when AGoT came out in paperback, Linda convinced me to read it ... and the rest is history. :)

And we're all thrilled...Thanks Linda!

On the release date i'll probably wait anxiously in my house then when the ups guy/ mailman comes i'll grab the book and start reading.

I challenge everyone to greet whomever delivers ADWD to your doorstep and convince them to read it. I've managed to get a sister and wife interested, and am working on my father, mother, brother, uncle, and coworker at this time.

As for me, I picked up a copy at the library in the summer of 2008 after hearing rave reviews on a Dallas Cowboys message board(don't tell GRRM). I read each one twice and now am on my third time through by reading it to my wife. English is not her native tongue, so it is good quality time together that satisfies my hunger and helps her vocabulary. We are halfway through ASOS after which I'll give her a "break"(if she'll let me) and read AFFC by myself in prep for July. Each novel seems to get successively deeper in intrigue and I want to absorb as much as I can from these concurrent books to be better to explain the games being played.

My copy probably won't be delivered from Amazon until July 15 if I'm lucky, but that's ok because I'll be buried in work until then and unable to focus if I'm in close proximity to the text.

I appreciate all of you guys who have analyzed every bit of minutia to show me how true it is that "I know nothing."

[Xenophon]

My college roommate loved the books, so I gave AGoT a read over break in 2005, I think. I enjoyed it well enough, so I read the rest of the books later that year, but I didn't like them as much as the first book. Overall, I thought the series was pretty good, and clearly very well-written, but it wasn't exactly my thing (I've never been that big a fan of fantasy novels). So, I've been a fairly casual fan since then.

But when I heard HBO was making a TV series, I got more interested. One of the tings that had most impressed me about the books was how GRRM wrote in this (for lack of a better term) very "visual" way, where I really wanted to imagine the scenes, so I figured the books might translate really well onto the screen. When I saw the HBO clips and previews, I was blown away by how good the show looked. So now, I've registered here and am rereading AGoT so as to be able to better enjoy the series.

[Winter Fresh]

i started reading probably about a year or 2 before AFFC came out, and have been fervently recruiting new readers ever since :spank:

[Queen in the North]

I started about this time last year, but I'm already halfway through ACOK on my third reread. Not as obsessive as some people (like the OP), but pretty good for a highschool student who doesn't even own the books. Blasphemy, I know. ;)

I read an online list of the top ten fantasy novels, and this was number one, so I'd been meaning to read it for several months when my friend started reading it. I borrowed them from her as she read them, but she reads slower than me, so it was torture to wait a few weeks between each book when they were right there. I mean, it's one thing to wait when the book's not done, but quite another to have to wait between published books. (not being 16 yet, I can't drive myself to a bookstore, so my life sucks sometimes)

Edit: Oh, and I've recruited my friend (she's starting GOT tomorrow in preparation for the show) and am trying to get my mom to start them, but she's stuck halfway through Wheel of Time and has vowed never to start another unfinished series, so she may not read it.

July 12 is a Tuesday (WHY?!?), so I definitely won't get ADWD until the late afternoon if not the weekend. :crying: