So I did struggle for a long time with the DO I OR DO I NOT READ THE GAME OF THRONES books… In the end I decided to read the books because I knew I would still love them. I mean, whenever I hear they are making a book or a graphic novel into a movie that I love I am still super excited.. See: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy as example. And since HBO showed Game of Thrones is gonna be top quality, I decided to just get the books and take the plunge.
So, the first book, Game of Thrones, was a great read. It was good to see that the TV series did not really go in strange directions compared to the book, nor did it cut out huge parts of the book or even change major things (in the show). But by reading the book everything came a little more alive… I understood motives a little more, things just seemed to come together better. I would compare it by saying Game of Thrones HBO series was standard definition, but the book was like rewatching it in super High Definition and notcing a whole host of other details.
I devoured the second book and now I just started the third book.
So I would recommend them, absolutely. Especially now you can get the first 4 books in a set for just $20. The fifth book just came out this week too so there's lots of reading ahead.
Amazon set:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/034552 ... 878&sr=8-1