I'm still working my way through the third book, but as I understand it, books four and five (A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons) occur at the same time -- both picking up immediately after A Storm of Swords ends -- but taking place in different locations.
I've read that the original publication of a A Feast for Crows was met with some disappointment, with some fans being unhappy having to plough through a whole book before finding out what happened to their favorite characters after A Storm of Swords.
With this in mind, I was wondering if a different reading order might be permissible? For example, could someone chose to read A Dance with Dragons first? Or, even more audaciously, would it be possible to read both books simultaneously? I.e. A chapter from one book, followed by a chapter from the other?
Are either of these viable reading orders, or are there important reasons why A Feast for Crows should be read first?