A Nuisance of Ice & Fire: How to Deal with the Annoying People Who Read the Books

The scenario is probably familiar to any Game of Thrones fan who bypassed the years 1996 to 2011, and dived right into the good stuff HBO bestowed upon us: you start to nerd out over the television series, just for someone to adjust their glasses, puff their chest, and remind you how they’ve read the books. We talked about this recently – how being late to a favorite book, TV show, movie, or any fandom really, can be the worst thing in your entertainment-loving world. As someone who’s “read all the books,” I know how obnoxious we turds can be. But I understand! I’m on your side! Allow me to be your Inside Man, acknowledging his aggravating and unwarranted snobbery, and offering amends with some practical, take-home strategies for coping with this special brand of subtly frustrating condescension. First, let’s admit it – we’ve all been there, on both sides of the table. You put on your glasses and dropped a phrase about how you read that book, watched that movie, or listened to that rapper before they were cool. You said, “do the thing!” before Varrick did on Legend of Korra. I believe you, and congratulations! I mean it – congratulations, and thank you, because you were one of the early fans that preached the gospel that the rest of us eventually heard. Likewise, you’ve probably been on the other end as well, maybe beginning to read comics with DC’s The New 52 or starting that Wire marathon that was long overdue. You want to smack the jackass-version-of-you who preached the g…