I am one of those people who usually like books much better than movie adaptations, and I had never heard of the series before, so I decided to watch it blind. I am really enjoying this TV series a lot. I suspect that if I ever get around to reading the books, I’ll start finding faults.
I’m capitalizing on alternative options.
I just ordered the books today because I decided I liked the story enough to want to learn more. By next season I suspect I’ll be in a different category.
I saw Season 1 and part of Season 2 before I read any of the books, and I loved the show. I’m busy with school and I have a ton of other books I’d been planning to read, so I was planning to keep watching the show and maybe read the books in a couple years (or after all the books are published).
But then I was on the bus one day and a few [del]assholes[/del] teenage boys sitting near my on the bus were discussing huge explicit spoilers from Book 3. So I figured, I might as well read the books. I haven’t finished all the books yet (just started Book 5).
It’s interesting, because I’m watching the tv show with my brother. He owns the first three books, but hasn’t read them yet because he wants to see the show first and remain as unspoiled as possible. He doesn’t even like to talk about his speculations about how the show will develop in front of me, as he’s worried he’ll get spoiled by my reactions to his speculation (even if I neither confirm or deny them). I get a lot of fun out of watching the show with him and seeing his reactions to events as they unfold.
I read all the books, when they originally came out, so its been many years. Any outrage I’d have had over HBO trimming subject matter is muted, since I don’t remember much detail of the first books.