Song of Ice and Fire Read-a-long week one

I love the HBO series Game of Thrones, but haven't gotten to read the books yet. So I decided to join Bookalicious's Song of Ice and Fire read-a-long. The goal for July is to finish reading book one, A Game of Thrones. For week one, the task is to choose your house. While I am not sure they will end up winning in the end, I have chosen the Starks because they are noble and honorable, while still being (mostly) awesome.

The Stark family sigil is a direwolf, and their motto is Winter is Coming. Which makes sense, since their family home is in Winterfell, where it's very cold, even in the summer. Imagine what it must be like when it's actually winter there!

Ned Stark is the Lord of Winterfell, head of the Stark house and father of the Stark children. He is very brave and honorable - unfortunately, sometimes too honorable.

Catelyn Stark is Ned's wife and the mother of Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon. She was too cruel sometimes to Jon Snow, Ned's bastard son, but she loved her children and wanted the best for them.

Jon Snow is Ned's bastard son. At the start of the book series, he is fourteen years old. Not much is known about his mother. Ned brought him to Winterfell to be raised alongside his legitimate children. He resents being a bastard and not fitting in entirely, and eventually joins the Night's Watch, which guards The Wall, a giant wall along the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms.

Robb Stark is the eldest of the trueborn Stark children. He is also fourteen years old at the beginning of the series. He has been raised to be his father's heir. Like his father, he is honorable and loyal to his family.

Sansa Stark is the older of the Stark daughters, and is eleven years old at the start of the series. She is very ladylike, and hopes to marry well. She annoys me a bit at the start of the series, but based on what I know from the TV show, I think I'll like her more later on in the series.

Arya Stark is the younger Stark daughter. She is nine years old when the series starts. Unlike her sister Sansa, Arya doesn't want to be a lady. She has no interest in sewing or pretty clothes and would prefer to learn how to fight with a sword. She was close to her half-brother Jon, who gave her a sword she named Needle as a parting gift before he left for The Wall.  Arya is awesome and one of my favorite characters from the series.

Bran Stark is seven years old at the start of the series. He likes to climb and explore which unfortunately gets him into a lot of trouble and he ends up crippled. After that, he forms a very strong connection with his pet direwolf, Summer.

Rickon Stark is the youngest Stark child, and is three years old at the start of the series. He is too young to have done much, but he's adorable. He names his pet direwolf Shaggydog - how cute is that?!

So which house would you align yourself with in the world of Westeros, and who is your favorite character? And if you are interested, be sure to sign up for the read-a-long!