I'm just glad I didn't read the GoT books.
You should. You're missing out on some great books. And, for what it's worth, knowing what's coming has not affected my anticipation of what we see in the series at all.
I really, REALLY hope they take a completely different, non-book route down the road, just to piss the book readers off.
Yeah....but GRRM has given them all of the inside dope on what's already happened in the books and the way the major plotlines will play out specifically so they can follow them. It's been their stated goal since the beginning to create a visual version of the books (so far, they've done a fair job of it).
wk