George R.R. Martin's Texas A&M Visit

(Picture from TAMU Libraries)
About a week ago, George R.R. Martin came to Texas A&M University to present the library with its 5 millionth volume. Yeah, that's right. Our library now has over 5 MILLION books! How lucky are we?? And the secret little nerd inside me was doubly excited because the book Martin helped purchase for us was a first edition Hobbit, illustrated AND signed by Tolkien.



Anyway...I thought I would share a little bit about his visit...

First off, I feel as if Martin would be a very cool guy to talk to. He seems a little like an eccentric uncle. If you just asked one question, he would talk for hours, going off on tangents and just amusing himself. I can imagine him waving a hand at a velvet high backed chair and saying, "sit down and let Uncle George tell you a story." He spoke about his love for books and how he became such a voracious reader. Growing up, he always had a book with him, no matter where he went. A baseball game? A family reunion? Didn't matter.

He was even able to poke fun at himself. He talked about the time he first read Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring. He fell in love with it and then had to endure the excruciating wait for the next book. As most of you know, we've been waiting for the next installment of his Game of Throne series since 2011. The crowd laughed and clapped at his sheepish look.

Also, the man is a hoarder. He called himself a "pack rat" but we all know what that means. He can't throw anything away. He still has his first hardback book he received as a gift way back when. He has first edition comic books that are now worth $30,000! He tried to keep his TV guides, but his mother threw them away. He keeps filling up his designated book space no matter where it is. He build a home recently in New Mexico and he had a tower built specifically to store his books. A TOWER FOR BOOKS! In my mind it looks like this:


(I think this is motivation enough to become a best selling author...)

There was so much more that happened and I am so lucky to have been able to attend. It was an experience of a life time.