Westeros is Coming!

Season three of Game of Thrones begins on March 31st. Aren't you excited? The magazines and internet are all abuzz with trailers and cast interviews! But the season premiere is still two and a half weeks away. While the wait for the next television season isn't quite the wait for the next book in the series, it can definitely feel like it for those of us waiting to see Joffrey's, um, shining face again.

• Check out this list of similar titles from the library. You can also come to the 3rd floor desk and ask any one of us for suggestions!
• Watch the first and second seasons!
• Listen to the each of the series’ audiobooks as read by Roy Dotrice, also known as the pyromancer from the television adaptation Game of Thrones on HBO. This could actually only take about 8 days, if you don’t mind listening to it night and day and never sleeping. However, that is not recommended.

Meanwhile, we're still waiting for the release of the sixth book in the Song of Ice and Fire series (from which Game of Thrones was adapted for television) by George R. R. Martin, The Winds of Winter. George R. R. Martin has estimated the release date as being some time in 2015... but it could be longer. There were six years between the fourth and fifth books. Here are some things that you could do between now and the release of The Winds of Winter

• Walk from one end of the United States to another and back, stopping along the way to see national parks and roadside attractions, eat venison jerky, and replace your shoes about every 1000 miles. Then, when you finally get to read The Winds of Winter, you’ll really appreciate all the horrible weather those poor boys up on the wall have to go through.
• Birth and raise a small child until about preschool age. This will eat up a significant portion of your time, and once your child is off at school, you will have plenty of alone time to read what is bound to be an enormous book. It’s win-win! And, if you decide to follow this suggestion, don’t let that toddler you’ve raised hear any of the audiobooks. These books are decidedly not kid-friendly.
• Get a college degree! I suggest an English or History degree. This will best prepare you to read and over analyze every one of the 1,200 or so named characters in the entire Song of Ice and Fire series. By the time you’re through, you’ll know them better than they know themselves. Since so many of them are such awful, twisted people, hopefully this won’t addle your brain.

But of course, the easiest thing would be to just read all the books again.