Tha game doesn’t really link back to the books at all if I remember correctly other then setting up the characters and relationships

^Yup, play the game first if you want to. It already gives brief references to events or characters in the books. Reading the books first will enhance the experience but it's not required. I played the Witcher trilogy before even knowing there were novels and I'm having lots of fun reading now. Things unclear in the games are now being explained in detail to me nwn

Oh, and the comics are great, check them out

I played the game, then read the books, then played 1, 2 and 3, then listened to the audio books then replayed 3 XD so by all means lube yourself into the world with the games it really helps make the story's easier to digest

I think that reading only The Witcher ( the short story), The End of the World, A question of Price, Last Wish and Much More ( novella) is enough. The total is something like 200 pages