I guess all I’m asking is, for people who’ve read all or some of the books (I’m 2/3 through the second, and really enjoying it), do you think you are you enjoying watching it as much as you would if you haven’t read any books?
With the way TV series end, I want to know what happens, now. I guess what I’m asking is, will I let myself down if I read ahead and know the story before I’ve seen it?
I’m wondering the same thing myself. Well I haven’t read any yet, so I’m trying to decide if I’d appreciate the surprise in the books or the series more. I suspect the books, but I do already have a lot of books to read. I haven’t seen the last episode of season 2 yet anyway so I probably won’t come back to this thread till I do.
If you read the books you will end up wishing you could find out what happens next, you are just going to increase the wait from one year to half a decade.
No, don’t read ahead. There is no conclusion yet and some things will just piss you off.
I’m one book ahead, and it seems like the story lines are diverging more and more. Additional characters here, deleted characters there - it’s starting to feel like two related but separate series. So, I think I’m gonna read ahead.
How could you not read them? I don’t know how all the tv show only people have been able to restrain themselves, I wasn’t able to put the first 3 down.
That said the last couple will likely piss you off and the fact that there is probably another 5 year wait for the last two books will drive you crazy anyway.
As far as seeing the TV show after reading the books I’m don’t think I’m losing anything because of it. They’re changing some things, some of which I enjoy and some of which are just mind bogglingly stupid (how dare they…;)), but I love the anticipation of what they’re going to show and seeing how someone else has interpreted the stories.
I’ve read all the books and only seen the first season, but I’d recommend reading ahead. The books are just so good. The TV show, in comparison, is ok.
Optimistic, are we ? 
I don’t really mind waiting for the last couple books, as it may take me a while to get there. I read at a pretty good clip (good thing they weren’t written slowly :D), but I don’t get a chance to read as much as I’d like, and they are pretty dense. By the time the series is caught up to the books, I probably wouldn’t have to wait too long for the next book.
Basically, do you wish you’d either seen the show first without reading the books, or are you glad you read the books and are now seeing the show, or does it not really matter that much.
Not from a “I already know what’s gonna happen” standpoint, but well, yeah I guess that is it. Does that take away from the show?
I’m not talking about deleted or added characters. To me, that’s just what production companies to to make a show a little more watchable.
Having read the books has not diminished my enjoyment of the show, but generally i am not someone who minds spoilers in the least. Either way one or the other is going to be spoiled and there is no way to know which way would have been the more enjoyable one since nobody can experience both.
That makes perfect sense. If I’m gonna watch and read anyway, what’s the difference?
Thanks Digital.
Another thing is that the books are really the way the creator meant for the story to be told, the show while incredibly good has to make sacrifices for the sake of things like budget and book/tv translation. Sometimes this is very obvious.
If you’re going to read the books, I strongly recommend you start from the beginning again - I think you’ll enjoy the later books much more if you have read the first two. There are differences between the books and tv show, and you might be confused if you just start with book 3. Also, there’s great stuff in the first two books that didn’t make it to the show for budget/timing/story reasons.
Book 3 (a) already exists, and (b) is frickin’ awesome. So I think you should go ahead and read it immediately. Books 4 and 5 are generally considered to be much less good, so I strongly suspect the TV version might end up being the definitive version in most people’s minds of what happens in them.
I enjoy both, but feel that the books are better than the show. There’s far more meaning and nuance in one book than can be fit into 10 hours of TV. Therefore, I think you should read the books first. You get more out of it that way. And then when you watch the show, you can accept that you’re seeing only half of what really happens, and your memory of the books fills in the rest.
I watch with my wife, who has not read the books. She’s constantly asking “why did X do that? It makes no sense!” And I can only answer “Because what you didn’t see is that X also knows that Y did Z, and is angry about it, but is keeping quiet and plotting revenge!” Or whatever, that’s not a specific example. No spoiler.
On the other hand, aren’t there bits that GRRM said he would do differently if he had the chance? For instance, I thought he mentioned somewhere that he would have made the Stark kids older if he knew then what he knew now. And indeed, the TV Stark kids seem a bit older than the ones in the books.