Bookery stuffs

  I'm late to the party, but am finally reading the Song of Fire and Ice books. I enjoyed "A Game of Thrones" but now that I'm a quarter way through "A Clash of Kings" my excitement is quickly dwindling. I find myself becoming annoyed by all the "extra" characters. There seems to be a lot of Genesis type of lineage crap to wade through. It doesn't seem the new and side characters really have anything to do with the main story line now, either.
  I will stick through to the end, because it's what I do. (Hey, I am almost finished with the Wheel of Time. So I can stay with a long winded series)
  Also, my favorite characters so far are Arya Stark, Jon Snow, and Tyrion Lannister.


P.S. No spoilers, please.