[Books] A Song of Ice an Fire - start with book one or skip?

[Zatheyll]

Too much is different from the series from the books. I watched GoT season 1 before picking up the book and I learned so much more from the first book that reading later on you will not understand how it got there or why it's happening if you skipped the first book, let alone the second. Definitely start with book one.

Anyways.. it's a waste to not read a book you already have. It's like watching the first Harry Potter then refusing to read the book that's been gifted to you just because you "know how it ends". Then wondering what the hell is going on in book 2.

[Idoru]

Book 2, on the other hand, is not the same as season 2. Many events were changed or left out and some important characters were missing.

Those missing characters (or at least some of them) have been pushed to season 3.

Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have said that they would delay the introductions of several key characters first appearing in A Clash of Kings until the third season. They did so because of the large number of characters already introduced in season two, and because they couldn't afford to have people "waiting around" for their characters to become central to the plot.

And I would definitely recommend reading all the books, there's so much more depth to the story.

[Eorayn]

Always start with book one.
There is nothing more irritating than reading payoff without knowing the setup.

[Zaelsino]

I'm not so sure about GoT. Off the top of my head, the only thing you'll really miss is the Rhaegar/Lyanna backstory and the whole Tower of Joy thing, which isn't referenced at all (or barely) in the show. Season one follows book one rather faithfully in that regard. Oh, and the Hound/Sansa...

I'd recommend reading Thrones anyway, but if you're pushed for time then there's no harm starting with Clash. The show took quite a few major deviations in S2.

[drwelfare]

I started with book 2 because I cant find book 1 at the used store, it lined up good