Opinion: Long live the book

Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark. Photo/file

Putting aside the dreariness of the weather, I look forward to winter every year for one very nerdy reason.

It's the time of year my favourite show Game of Thrones is released each year.

We're now almost halfway through the seventh season of the show and it has been the highlight of my Monday for the last few weeks.

It takes a lot to get me interested in a TV show as I have a short attention span when it comes to anything on a screen. I'll usually pick up a book and read that while listening to the TV with half an ear, perking up with any interesting tidbits.

But, for me, Game of Thrones is different. It's a fantasy series with politics, violence, drama - and no happy endings. It's loosely based on the real-life events of the War of Roses, albeit with dragons and ice zombies.

One of the best things about the show is that it is based on a series of epic fantasy novels, my favourite kind of books. I'm one of those annoying people who can't help uttering "but, in the books . . .".

Not only is winter when Game of Thrones is released, it just so happens to be one of the best times of year to read a book. There's nothing like sitting in front of a roaring fire with your nose in a gripping novel, with the sound of rain pounding on the roof in the background.

It seems I'm not alone in loving a good book. The 2016 Pew Research Center survey on book reading revealed that 73 per cent of adults read a book in the last year.

Television and movies are becoming more and more a part of everyday life, but it's great to know the old-fashioned book is not being forgotten.

Long live the book.