I have not watched any of the tv series but have read bits about it. The book is a series of interconnected stories with different main characters. I preferred the stories with supernatural horror to the real-world horrors and wish things had changed more in the 70 years since the setting of the book. 

It took me a couple of tries to finally progress in the book, but I'm glad I did. I likely will read Destroyer of Worlds relatively soon as well.