I read all of the books, although it took me 3 tries over the space of several years to get more than 1/3 of the way through book 1. Once I did, I was hooked, though.
It's all basically "One Life to Live" with dragons and stuff. I went into it expecting a soap opera, so I haven't been disappointed. I love watching the show to see how they translated it to the screen.
Still and all, I really hope Martin wraps it all up before he kicks it!