Like so many others, I was so completely disappointed with the mess that was 2007's The Golden Compass, that I really wasn't all that upset that they weren't proceeding with filming the other two books in the series. In fact, I was wondering how they'd even film them, considering they'd so throughly removed the spiritual aspects of the story in order to make it "family friendly" and not offend any Catholics in the audience.
HBO, however, seems to be throwing that philosophy out the window, promising to remain faithful to the source material. The series—unseen—has already been renewed for a second season, so the possibility of actually seeing book 2, The Subtle Knife, on screen looks good.