[Lazortag]

As someone who has only read ~300 or so pages of the first book, but is a big fan of the show, I have to say that deviating from the books like they have is not a good idea. My wife has read the books and is quick to tell me when something in the show isn't canon, but usually I can tell because those scenes are written badly. When they add dialogue or situations that weren't in the books, the actors' performances just seem more awkward and the writing isn't great (for example, many of the scenes where daenerys is in qarth, and the conversations between arya and tywin). Having not even read the books I find myself really wishing the writers didn't change so many things unnecessarily.