Sookie Stackhouse (Southern Vampire) Series by Charlaine Harris

The  Sookie Stackhouse (Southern Vampire) Series by Charlaine Harris is the basis for the popular HBO series True Blood.  The books focus around a telepathic waitress named Sookie Stackhouse who works as a barmaid in the northern Louisiana town of Bon Temps.  Each novel  follows Sookie as she solves mysteries involving vampires, werewolves, faries, and other supes (supernatural creatures).  The television series is only a rough adaption of the books, and characters who are very prominent (or still alive for that matter) may not be in the reading.  The HBO series also grabs different parts of different books and mashes them together, so while reading book 7 you may see something they refer to in the tv series around book 3.  There are a total of 10 novels in the series and an 11th is due to be released in May.  They are:

1. Dead Until Dark
2. Living Dead in Dallas
3. Club Dead
4. Dead to the World
5. Dead as a Doornail
6. Definitely Dead
7. All Together Dead
8. From Dead to Worse
9. Dead and Gone
10. Dead in the Family
11. Dead Reckoning (May 2011)

There is also A Touch of Dead, a compilation of Sookie Stackhouse short stories, and The Sookie Stackhouse Companion, which is billed as "the definitive guide to the world of Sookie Stackhouse", neither of which I read.

 I enjoyed this series.  It's not something I will probably read again, but the books were a good distraction from anything going on around me and often the books would pull me in so that I'd be up until early in the morning reading.  Luckily I borrowed the entire series from a friend and so as soon as one book was finished I could start the next in the series.  Some parts of True Blood are better than the books, and vice versa.  I'm not sure if it is because I watch the tv series but often the conclusion of some of the mysteries seemed a bit obvious.  I love being able to see everything from Sookie's perspective as the narrator, it lends to a greater understanding and appreciation of her depth.  Throughout the novels the concept of family is dominant, about cherishing and suffering for your family and those you love, family roots and ties, as well as base emotions such as desire and jealousy.  I recommend this series to Trubies, those who like supernatural fiction, and those girls with "blonde hair and big boobs".

3 out of 5 stars.