I agree that the HBO Tyrion is a lot better looking that I pictured the book Tyrion to be ~ but Peter Dinklage does a great job playing the part.
I love Game of Thrones!
Last Winter while away from home I happen to catch a few episodes of Season One, which I really liked. After getting home I Googled Game of Thrones and saw there was a book series, I asked my Facebook friends if they had heard of the book series & what were their recommendations. All of them said the books are a must read ~ so I ordered (and read) all five books.
For my Mother's Day / birthday present this year I purchased Season One on DVD (we don't have HBO). Shortly after that, when our daughter came for her Summer visit, she showed me how to stream Season Two on my computer.
I give major kudos to the everyone involved with the HBO series . . . the casting was perfect, the acting superb, the story line is very close to the books. Although they did embellish on some things ~ but that is TV for ya.
Looking forward to Season Three and book six.