Apparently I don't have a lot of time to read these days. Or, more to the point, read anything that isn't in magazine format and therefore bite-sized and bathroom-friendly.

Which doesn't mean that I don't have a shopping list. I do. I'm not sure when I'll get to pick them up, but I will. And hey, if you get to them before me, please drop back here and let me know what you think!

Books In Stores Now:

Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand by Carrie Vaughn
Next book in the Vaughan's series about Kitty the werewolf. There is another one coming out in a couple of months, so I might just wait to pick them both up at the same time.

Outcast Season Book One Undone by Rachel Caine
This is the same author that contributed the Weather Warden series to my collection. I don't love all of her series - example: Morganville Vampires (the kind of heroine you want to shake) - but I'm willing to try this one out and see how I like it. Especially since I don't see another Weather Warden installment on the horizon any time soon.

Living with the Dead by Kelley Armstrong
One of my favourite authors. Bitten is still one of my top 10 books on the I'm-out-of-new-books-what-can-I-read-now? list. Because of that, I want it. Will I get it in hardcover or wait until the paperback comes out? That I can't say - depends how desperate I get for something to read once I'm done with everything else. But whether it's the hardcover version (available now) or the paperback version (probably out in about a year), I'm sure I'll get it.

Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong
I'm torn about this one. She is a great author. But much of this material was previously published online as a novella (although it's not up there anymore), and I read it back then. I might buy it anyway to support her, but ... maybe not right away. Sorry Kelley.

Books Out Soon:

White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison (due out February 13, 2009 on Indigo.ca and February 24, 2009 on Amazon.ca)
Well here is a surprise. I want the next book out in my favourite series, and I'm willing to buy it in hardcover to avoid having to wait. And it's being released at the end of the week -- woo hoo!!

Made to Be Brokenby Kelley Armstrong (due out February 24, 2009)
Finally! The next installment in the Exit Strategy series. I'm thinking I might need to re-read the first book in this as well in preparation. Always feel like I'm missing out on something when there is a lag of about a year between author releases. This series diverges from her Otherworld series, but I like it.

Kitty Raises Hell by Carrie Vaughn (due out March 1, 2009)
Clearly, there is a list of pre-orders in my immediate future. Follows on the last Kitty the werewolf book, above. This girl just doesn't catch a break ... but it does make for interesting reading!

Second Skin by Caitlin Kittredge (due out March 3, 2009)
The next book in the Luna Wilder, police detective/werewolf mystery series. Can't wait. I think I'll re-read the entire series in preparation for this next installment.

Dead And Gone
Charlaine Harris (due out May 5, 2009)
I'm almost afraid to include this on my list. The last few books in this series have been hit and miss. Plus I'm still cranky about the tv series True Blood. Does that mean I won't buy this latest book in the Sookie Stackhouse series? Probably not. Might I wait until it's out in paperback? I might well do that.

Speak of the Devil by Jenna Black (due out July 28, 2009)
Argh! I have to wait until the summer for the next installment in this series! No fair. Also no plotline spoilers out for it yet. Sigh. Patience patience ...

I know ... I keep posting about True Blood lately. Partly it's because I haven't been able to concentrate on reading a book in a while, and partly because the show is both slightly addictive and really annoying. It swings.

This past weekend's episode (#8?) was annoying. The spraying blood and the subsequent slaying of Longshadow was ok. But what's up with this Jason-Joy-Nerdy/Gay Vampire storyline? And the gooey Oh-Jason-I'm-So-In-Love-With-You business? I mean, sure, in the books Jason has a way with the female portion of the population but come ON! And kidnapping a vampire? Having sex in front of him while he moaned in agony? Give me a freakin' break.

Tell me Charlaine Harris isn't cringing as she watches. Her writing does not go down such cliched, groan-worthy paths. It's a lot more subtle with a healthy dose of irony. I really miss her light touch in this series.

Sure, I'm happy that one of my favourite series is being brought to life (or unlife - LOL) every week. And I hope its popularity helps Ms. Harris out financially -- she deserves it IMO.

But I prefer the books. You know -- the place where Sookie isn't a saucy whiner, where Eric's quips make you laugh, and where Jason is a highly-sexed idiot ... but not THIS much of an idiot.

Ok. 'Nuff said, for now.

And now it's time to start watching the US election results come in ...

True Blood does seem to be causing a stir amongst a number of friends and family. Several people have checked in with me to see if I've been watching and if I like it, given what they (think they) know about my taste in reading materials.

So what do I think?

Well ...

As you know, I'm a huge fan of the books. I have also been enjoying the series up to a point (this past week's episode being an exception -- I believe it was episode 6). But I'm having a bit of a mental jarring sensation while watching it. For those of you who are newly-acquainted with Ms. Harrison, I'll give you a bit of a crash course in how the show relates to the books. So far, at least.

Plot Point	True Blood (HBO Series)	Dead Until Dark (Book)
“V”	Drug of choice	Doesn’t exist in the books
People possessed by “demons”	Big thing with Tarra’s mother and, it appears, now with Tarra	Doesn’t exist in the books
Graphic sexual depictions	True	Not so much
Gothic, Anne Rice feel	True	False
Grandmother murdered	True	True

Character	True Blood (HBO Series)	Dead Until Dark (Book)
Sookie as telepath	True	True
Sookie’s rationale for staying in the house after grandmother’s murder	Unclear	Clear
Sookie losing virginity to Bill	True – happens after grandmother dies; very stylized and gothic and melodramatic	True – low-key; happens after grandmother dies but he is there to support her
Sookie having friends	True – in the series, her circle of friends include Sam, Arlene, Tarra and Lafayette	So-So – in the books, she is friends with Sam and Arlene … Tarra is a distant acquaintance/old friend, and Lafayette is just someone she gets along with at work
Jason as a horn dog	True	True
Jason involved in rough sex	True	So so
Jason as suspect in murders	True	True
Jason’s new girlfriend	Character created for tv series	Character doesn’t exist in the books
Jason as “v” (or other kind of drug) fixated	Exists only in the tv series	Jason, although a horn dog in the books, does not have a drug issue of any kind
Tarra as main character	True	False- she is a secondary, recurring background character in the books
Tarra as Sookie’s best friend	True	False – friend from childhood, but not a focal-point friend in the books
Tarra as strong-minded character who comes from a troubled background but who can take care of herself	True	False – Plays a character who comes from a problematic background who has daddy issues and tends to land herself into uncomfortable situations based on bad decisions she has made
Tarra with crush on Jason	True	False – no connection between Tarra and Jason in the books
Tarra, anti-vampire	True for tv series	False – she actually gets involved with a vampire in one of the later books who is a kind of “sugar daddy” for her for a while
Sam watching out for Sookie	True – but in a protective, guy, sort of from a distance way	True – more of a key figure in Sookie’s life; helps her to clean the house when her grandmother is murdered
Sam and Tarra involved	True for tv series	Sam and Tarra have no relationship of any kind in the books
Eric as a character	Dramatic, one-dimensional character (so far)	Key recurring character; has a very ironic sense of humour in the books
Arlene, anti-vampire	True	True

I’m going to keep watching – of course. But it’s an effort to suspend my disbelief and experience the series as something separate and different from the original book(s).

For those of you who want spoilers, it seems that each episode is following the path of the chapters of the book – more or less. If you can look around the obvious plot differences, you can read the book Dead Until Dark to find out what happens, who (else) gets murdered, and who the murderer is.

 

News flash!

It's not a book, but it is related to one of my favourite series of books: the Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris.

With Allan Ball (previously of Six Feet Under fame) heading it up and Anna Paquin starring as the lead female character, Sookie Stackhouse, the first book has been turned into season one of a new HBO show called True Blood.

Here in Canada, Season 1 will start airing on The Movie Network (TMN) starting on September 7 at 9 PM. (And for those of you who don't get cable, I'm sure it will turn up online pretty quickly as well). Given that I was addicted to Six Feet Under as well as this series of books, I'm going to try to keep my expectations in check ... but will definitely be tuning in to check it out.

Curious to read the books that started it all? I can throw my support behind the first three or four of them ... the last three were much weaker. Maybe Charlaine Harris was distracted by all the tv hoopla? ;-)

If you're in the mood to do some preparatory reading in anticipation of next week's show launch, here is what you'll want to look at:

Book 1: Dead Until Dark
my rating: @@@@

Where it all started. Except for me ... I actually read Living Dead in Dallas first. Liked it ok but it didn't really grab me. Until one day I guess I was hurting for something to read and picked up this book because I recognized the author. Sucked me in right away.

In case you're wondering, I've looked at the episode lineup for Season 1 of True Blood and it looks like it's based on this book.



Book 2: Living Dead In Dallas
my rating: @@@ 1/2

Based on my own experience, clearly this is not a book to read out of order. On its own it's ok, but you'll get a lot more out of it if you read Dead Until Dark first.

In this book, Sookie moves up a bit in the vampire hierarchy (much to her chagrin and discomfort). Wackiness ensues.




Book 3: Club Dead
my rating: @@@@

This book is good, but it's a bit more disturbing than the first two. You are reminded very clearly that Bill Compton is a vampire, and not a nice guy at that. Sookie still saves the day, but you wonder whether - given the same set of circumstances - whether you would do the same in her position.






Book 4: Dead To The World
my rating: @@@@ 1/2

Granted, I was already addicted to the series by this point. But that being said, it's one of my favourites. Without spoiling the book too much, Eric loses his memory and sense of self and Sookie (against her better judgment) helps him out.

To tell you any more would ruin it. All I have to say is that this is not the book to skip.




Book 5: Definitely Dead
my rating: @@@

Yeah ok ... so this is where the series starts to lose ground. It still has the mystery, and Sookie ends up with a new love interest, but ... I've only read it once so far. Which is the marker for me of a good book.







Book 6: All Together Dead
my rating: @1/2

IMO, this is the weakest book in the series. Huge disappointment. Weakest plot line. A few moments of Eric wickedness but otherwise it just didn't do it for me.

If you're a die-hard fan, then you'll probably want to read it just to find out what happens next to your favourite characters. But if you were to borrow it from the library rather than buying it, you wouldn't feel cheated by the experience.



Book 7: From Dead To Worse
my rating: @@

Ok, not my favourite. This is the most recent addition to the series, and in typical Charlaine Harris fashion (once she has written several books in a series) the passion has waned. Better than Book 6 -- I'll give it that. But it felt more like a visit with old friends rather than a gripping installment of a great series.

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted. More than a year. How does that happen? What have I been doing from May of 2007 until July 2008? How does a person lose a year in the blogosphere? It's not like I haven't been reading. Really.

I can tell you that I read each and every one of those books from my May 2007 post.

All Together Dead, by Charlaine Harris
This is, unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), a somewhat consistent type of book for Ms. Harris. I love her books. I have worked my way through all of her series. However, I have noticed that by the 4th or 5th book she seems to lose steam a bit. The writing is still good but somehow the storyline lacks ... something.

All Together Dead is no exception. In fact, I'd say it's the weakest book in the entire series.

But hey, on a positive note, in the time it has taken me to do this review the book has come out in paperback and is probably widely available through the library. ;-)

My rating: @@


No Humans Involved, by Kelley Armstrong
Now this book was MUCH better than the previous one I reviewed, above. Armstrong is a consistently strong writer and this book was no exception. There wasn't quite as much of the interpersonal, bittersweet angst that we find in some of her other books; it was also a bit darker than some of the other installments in the Women of the Otherworld series.

Have I read it more than once? No. Will I get around to re-reading it sooner or later? Possibly.

My rating: @@@


Demons Are Forever, by Julie Kenner
It's fluff. It's chick lit. It's marketed towards those Buffy (BtVS) fans who have (or are) grown up and living in the suburbs but are still thinking of adventures gone by.

With that disclaimer and attempt at literary superiority in place, here is the truth of it: I really like this series. It's part guilty pleasure and part ... nope, it's pretty much a guilty pleasure. But at least it's well-written if a little under-challenging. Works for the beach, on vacation, on a plane and even bathroom reading. Anywhere you can pick it up and put it down again without making a huge emotional or mental investment.

My rating for this book is allowing full appreciation for what it is.

My rating: @@@


The Harlequin, by Laurell K. Hamilton
Unfortunately, I just don't remember what I thought of this book. I remember it being better than the previous book, but past that ... it just didn't make much of an impression. Based on that ...

My rating: @@


Thin Air, by Rachel Caine
Such a good series. You have the romance, you have the angst, you have internal and external conflict -- and you have a female lead who kicks butt.

Don't start with this book, but do pick up this series. It's just so satisfying.

My rating: @@@@


There. It may not totally make up for vanishing for a year there, but at least it's a start.

Lists ...

Looking for something genre-related to read? What follows are a few of my favourite books ... in no particular order ...:

1. Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
2. My Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee
3. Burnt Offerings by Laurell K. Hamilton
4. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
5. Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

Bitten is the first book in the Women of the Otherworld series. It's my favourite.

My Silver Metal Lover is a stand-alone, although a sort-of sequel was released several years after this one.

Burnt Offerings is somewhere in the middle of the Anita Blake series. They're all good up to Narcissus in Chains; after that, they started losing their focus to become more of a crazy mass sex partner plus ick factor storyline and less of a kick-ass detective story line.

Dead Until Dark is the first of the Sookie Stackhouse supernatural mysteries. One of my favourite series - an easy, light read with a sense of humour. The later books seem to be losing their freshness a bit, but the first four are great and even the ones after that are readable.

Dead Witch Walking is the first in the Rachel Morgan series. I've really enjoyed every book in this series -- it isn't waning for me at all. The only one I wasn't crazy about was A Fistful of Charms ... but even that was well-written. It was just some elements of the subject matter that annoyed me.