I watched the season without knowing anything about the books and expected not to like it at all, as swords/sandals/fantasy isn't my thing. I was immediately hooked on the first episode and am now reading the first book.
To be honest though, I know I'm getting old as the level of non-sensical sex in the show put me off a bit.
HBO has always included a substantial amount of nudity and sex in many of their shows (Rome comes to mind as one of biggest offenders/supporters). Unsurprisingly, sex and violence sells. I am not wholly against this, as there are scenes in the show that wouldn't work if they tried to hide or remove the sex. That said, I cannot watch this show during a flight and some of the nudity is a bit over the top.
To be honest though, I know I'm getting old as the level of non-sensical sex in the show put me off a bit.
Tyrion for the win.