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Exploring Sookiehood – A Review of The Sookie Stackhouse Companion by Charlaine Harris
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The Sookie Stackhouse Companion by Charlaine Harris
I have to admit to having a certain curiosity in what Charlaine could have to say about our gal Sookie Stackhouse that she hasn’t already shared in the many books and through the television series (although that is filtered through an Alan Ball sensibility). But The Sookie Stackhouse Companion is a comfortable journey into Sookieland that I think anyone could enjoy, but that the diehard fans will really get the most kick from.
There is a down-home feel to it, which suits the material just fine. You almost feel like you are settled into your favorite comfy chair with Charlaine right next to you chatting away. But then, if you love the Southern Vampire Series you probably already know that Charlaine is the queen of the first person narrative. So in a book of this kind, which is a collection of essays from Charlaine on our favorite barmaid, a short story that I particularly liked and even some recipes that fit the down-home atmosphere, it is just the right tone.
“Sookie and I go back a long way. We’re practically sisters.”
What better description could you want from the author of what has to be one of the more successful modern urban vampire tales. In her preface she starts with those very words, and she continues to tell us the evolution of both the characters within the book and the writing of it. It is a fascinating journey. I have to admit that if you want to see the map of Bon Temps, you may want to get the paperback version, or even better the hardcover version. My Kindle just wasn’t up to the task. Same goes for the recipes, by the way.
But those are my only complaints about the book, and it is really just a complaint that my Kindle (as much as I love it) is not always the perfect format for a book. If you are any kind of Sookie fan, you may want to get this one in paperback so you can thumb through for things like the trivia questions or “guide to the World of Sookie Stackhouse” which lists every character or place that has ever shown up in the books and when they died etc etc.
Sam Gets to Shine
Of course, the real bonus is the short story “Small-Town Wedding”. I must admit that Sam is one of my favorites in both the books and the television show. He is just such a great guy. So getting a chance to tag along with Sookie and Sam when they head out for his brother’s wedding back home in Wright, Texas was a treat. It is always nice when we see a character we have come to love get some attention, and this story does that well.
But it also shines a light on the whole question of just how some folks responded to the “”twoeys” coming out of the so-called closet. There is always more to Charlaine’s stories then what you read in your first take and this one I really love for what it is saying subtly in the background about tolerance. Especially of people whose lives you can see are different from yours, but that you don’t really understand. Nice job – Charlaine, from many of us who walk on that other side of the street.
Exploring Life in Bon Temps
One of the more interesting features of this Stackhouse Companion was the section called “Life in Bon Temps” which creates a timeline for each of the books from Dead Until Dark right up to Dead Reckoning. I guess we will have to wait for an update to see how Deadlocked fits into the timeline created here by Victoria Koski. For anyone who has a curiosity about the characters but has never read the books, it might be a good introduction.
Sookie Gets a Word In
Another fun section is where Sookie chats about all the strange creatures she has met. You have to wonder what a gal in a small southern town would make of all the odd and sometimes really frightening things in Bon Temps. But her plucky approach to so much of what happens around her is really shown off well here. She goes into the various creatures one at a time, and I felt like I really got to know her better here. It’s a great insight into a fascinating character.
All in all, I would say that if you enjoy the series you are not going to want to miss out on this book. The Sookie Stackhouse Companion Book is the kind of thing you might read through the first time, and then root through later. I know I have already bookmarked several of the recipes. And the trivia questions are just crying out for that True Blood Party when the next season starts.
So grab your own copy of The Sookie Stackhouse Companion right here – in paperback for those who want to read maps and stuff, hardcover for those showoffs who have real bookshelves and also maybe in Kindle for those of us who hate to part from our library, even just for an hour. You are gonna enjoy it!
Yummy True Blood Books – Eats, Drinks and Bites from Bon Temps
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This is just about the most perfect of the True Blood books to give to a real fan who loves to cook. Especially since that real True Blood fan probably already has just about every other of the True Blood books you can name!
But really, this is a fun book with lots of great pics, fun little stories from both the characters and the actors and best of all some tasty recipes you can whip up for that next hot vamp party!
Now if you have ever had a hankering for some good old fashion southern cooking, a friend of mine said that these recipes will do the trick! She should know she grew up in the Deep South. Personally, I like the drinks they have in the book. I can just picture Sam mixing me up one of them right now! That is a yummy picture for two reasons!
With over 80 recipes and 150 photos of some of the most drop dead gorgeous pics (and the food looks pretty darn good too!) you will ever see – this baby is a fun book. Mix up some Dead on the Beach cocktails and serve them with Stake and Eggs for your next True Blood party!
You know, Alan Ball says that True Blood is really a show about hunger, and thirst and desire. If that is so, then this is a book whose time has come. After all, in a show like True Blood it is only fitting that we have at least one of the True Blood books focus on food and of course drinks as the “main course” for our reading appetite.
Don’t think that a cookbook can truly reflect a television show/vampire romance series? Well guess again because, as you will see in the interview below with the big man himself Alan Ball, it is more than just a reflection of what goes on below the surface in Bon Temps. It is really, in many ways, the pulse point of the show. And really, if you need just one good coffeetable book to add to your collection of True Blood books (what, you don’t have a shelf dedicated to it?), this is the perfect one. Gift it for Christmas, buy it for your own collection or surprise a Trubie that you know. Then throw a party to try out all the food and drinks you have here. Now that would be a party worth planning!
You can grab your copy of Gianna Sobol’s True Blood: Eats, Drinks, and Bites from Bon Temps in both lovely and sturdy hardcover for your kitchen bookshelf or download it to your Kindle and take it everywhere!
Sookie Stackhouse Books in Order
Posted by: | CommentsUpdated December 2, 2012
Don’t you just love the Sookie Stackhouse books? For your convenience, we’ve listed the entire collection of Sookie Stackhouse Books below IN ORDER:
#1
Title: Dead Until Dark
Description: We meet: Sookie, a telepathic waitress; Bill Compton, a sexy vampire; Sam Merlotte, Sookie’s boss who has a secret; and Jason, Sookie’s womanizing brother. Check prices
#2
Title: Living Dead In Dallas
Description: Sookie gets called to Dallas to help locate a missing vampire; we’re introduced to the radical group The Fellowship of the Sun; Sookie almost loses her life. Check prices
#3
Title: Club Dead
Description: Bill disappears and Sookie sets out to find him; Sookie meets the hunky werewolf Alcide; Bubba, our golden-voiced vampire crooner, helps Sookie; Sookie learns that Bill has betrayed her. Check prices
#4
Title: Dead To The World
Description: Eric loses his memory and temporarily moves in with Sookie (yum); Jason is kidnapped; a group of dark witches comes to town. Check prices
#5
Title: Dead As a Doornail
Description: Someone is killing members of the local shifter community; Sookie gets pulled into Alcide’s werewolf pack politics; fingers point at Sookie regarding the recent disappearance of a female shifter. Check prices
#6
Title: Definitely Dead
Description: Sookie travels to New Orleans to close the apartment of a recently deceased relative; we learn the real reason for Bill’s betrayal; we learn more about Sookie’s heritage. Check prices
#7
Title: All Together Dead
Description: Sookie attends a vampire summit and dead bodies start piling up; Sookie spends time with hunky Quinn; Sookie attends an hilarious vampire wedding. Check prices
#8
Title: From Dead to Worse
Description: Sookie tries to help the vampire queen of Louisiana and ends up being targeted for murder; a werewolf war is brewing; we learn some secrets about Sookie’s background. Check prices
#9
Title: Dead and Gone
Description: The shifter community comes “out of the closet” to the world; a shifter is killed outside Merlotte’s; a new vampire king wants to use Sookie to his advantage. Check prices
#10
Title: Dead In The Family
Description: After enduring torture and the loss of loved ones during the recent war, Sookie Stackhouse is hurt and angry. One bright spot in her life is the love she thinks she feels for vampire Eric Northman. But there are still some Fae on the human side and one of them is angry at Sookie. Very, very angry… Check prices
#11
Title: Dead Reckoning
Description: Merlotte’s, the bar where Sookie works, is attacked and anti-shape shifter groups are at the top of the suspect list. While dealing with this issue Sookie gets drawn into Eric and Pam’s plans to overthrow their current leader, a plot that could damage not just the vampires, but Sookie as well.Check prices
#12
Title: Deadlocked
Description: It’s bad enough for Sookie to discover Eric feeding off of another woman. But’s it’s even worse when it looks like he’s being framed for the woman’s death and Sookie has to investigate whether he’s guilty or innocent. Aargh! And on top of that she has to team up with Bill, the ultimate Southern gentleman, to solve the case. This turns out to have it’s advantages (heh, heh). No, I mean it’s good she’s with Bill bcause there’s someone out there that’s gunning for her and she needs all the protection she can get . . . Check prices
#13
Title: Dead Ever After
Description: When former Merlotte’s waitress Arlene asks for her job back it’s not hard for Sookie to say no. I mean honestly, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed. What IS hard to understand though is Eric’s attitude toward Sookie. Why is he being so cold toward her? But that’s nothing compared to the horrific murder that occurs which Sookie gets blamed for. So when she’s eventually released from jail due to lack of evidence she makes it her business to discover the identity of the murderer. What she learns about the murder is bad enough. What she learns about Eric is earth shattering . . . Check prices
Charlaine Harris also writes short stories about our gal Sookie. Here are the books that include short stories about Sookie. These books are great because they provide additional insight and background information on Sookie, Eric, Bill and Sam!
Book: Sookie Stackhouse Companion (will be released August 2011)
Short Story: Small Town Wedding
Description: Sookie and Sam travel together to Sam’s brother’s wedding. The book also contains a section where “Sookie” answers common questions asked by fans!
Book: A Touch of Dead
Short Story: contains several, see below
Description: This book contains quite a few Sookie Stackhouse short stories: Fairy Dust, Dracula Night, One Word Answer, Lucky and Gift Wrap.
Book: Wolfsbane and Mistletoe
Short Story: Gift Wrap
Book: Many Bloody Returns
Short Story: Dracula Night
Book: Powers of Detection
Short Story: Fairydust
Book: Bite
Short Story: One Word Answer
Book: Unusual Suspects
Short Story: Lucky
Book: Between the Dark and the Daylight
Short Story: Lucky
Book: Death’s Excellent Vacation
Short Story: Two Blondes
Get Books 1-8 in the Sookie Stackhouse series instead of paying for each one individually. The complete box set is now ON SALE!