Video: See how a scene from A Game of Thrones is translated from book to screen

This summer, HBO is teaming up with the New York Public Library for #ReadingIsLit, a celebration of stroytelling that will highlight books and series/movies inspired by books, all designed to get people to visit their local libraries. At the moment, HBO is making Game of Thrones, one of the most-watched book-to-show adaptations ever created, so naturally, some of the cast members are helping out:

I am suddenly possessed of a need to see a poster like this featuring the Hound with his nose buried in a cookbook about poultry, but that’s just me.

A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin is lending his expertise, as well. The New York Public Library asked him to recommend books that Game of Thrones fans might like, and he happily obliged:

• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien: “A struggle between good and evil in Middle-earth, following Frodo the hobbit on a quest to destroy the Ring of Power.”
• Watership Down by Richard Adams: “An allegorical tale of survival about a band of wild rabbits struggling to hold onto their place in the world.”
• The Once and Future King by T.H. White: “A retelling of King Arthur’s life from his childhood to the coronation, creation of the Round Table, and search for the Holy Grail.”
• Lord of Light by Roger Zelanzy: “In a post-Apocalyptic world where a few technology-endowed immortals rule the Earth, one among them, Siddhartha, dares to oppose their tyranny.”
• A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin

Martin also named his five favorite books from any genre. The Lord of the Rings stayed on the list; additions include The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy. I can see the influence of those works on A Song of Ice and Fire, particularly A Tale of Two Cities. In any case, that’s quite the summer reading list!

Finally, HBO put out a really cool video showing how a key scene from the very episode of Game of Thrones was adapted Martin’s novel A Game of Thrones. See how well they match up:

Humus, by the way, is “the organic component of soil formed by the decomposition of leaves and other plant material by soil microorganisms.” Thanks, books!

Next: Bid on oversized autographed Game of Thrones stamps for charity

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