Vamps and Shape-shifters and Telepaths,oh my!

True Blood

When Charlaine Harris crafted the tale about a telepathic waitress and her vampire beau, I doubt she knew that she was starting a craze. HBO soon caught on, and began turning the series into a television series called True Blood starring Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse, Stephen Moyer as Bill Compton, Sam Trammell as Sam Merlotte, and (the super attractive) Alexander Skarsgård as Eric. The show is about to start it's sixth season on June 16th, and has an avid fan base (who doesn't like attractive men... oh, and blood). I've just finished the first book in the series, Dead Until Dark, and hope to work my way through the rest of them, possibly watching the HBO series as I go.

Sookie as Rogue

The series begins with the introduction of a vampire, one of the undead - who have recently been legally recognized as existing, though excuses were made for their existence - a Bill Compton. Bill has recently moved to a small town in Louisiana with the intention of "mainstreaming," or basically not eating humans. Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress that just so happens to be telepathic (meaning that she can hear people's thoughts... basically an X-Men character... oh... wait...), develops a fascination with Bill because she can't hear his thoughts. You would too if you were barraged by the darkest secrets of your creepy neighbors all the time. His "silence" is welcome (and by that she means his heart isn't beating. But it's not... see what I did there?... I give up.) 

Eric, Sookie and Bill

Bill complicates things for Sookie in a town where already she is not entirely accepted, though she may have lived there from birth. His existence, and her budding love affair with him, is looked down upon, by the residents of Bon Temps. As their love grows into something very unusual - an unselfish bond between a vampire and a human (Bill sounds like a parasite.) - a series of seemingly vampire-related attacks rack the town of Bon Temps. Murders of people close to Sookie, and the suspicion cast on her brother, forces her to use her gift to attempt to track down the killer. This gift also brings her into contact with a powerful vampire named Eric who'd like to use her for himself. Sookie seems to instantly become the most desirable thing in southern Louisiana, because her boss, Sam, also craves Sookie's attention, and makes her aware of it through his hazy thoughts. When Bill leaves town, Sam reveals to Sookie that he has supernatural gifts as well. He's a shapeshifter, and he wants to protect her. Unfortunately, his protection doesn't seem adequate, nor is the security vamp Bill left to watch over Sookie. She is attacked, but makes it out alive, and the identity of the killer shocks everyone. After all is said and done, Bon Temps, Louisiana seems like it will go back to normal again. Bill has gained a position of power, and Sookie is healing from her bruises and broken bones. I guess I'll just have to see what happens in the next book in the series, Living Dead in Dallas!

Current Books

Meaning of flowers

Hey! Okay, so, I'm going to list the books I'm currently reading, and I'll attempt to work through blogs concerning all of them.

1. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
• This one chronicles the life of an eighteen year old girl who had issues inside the foster care system while growing up. She discovers, through various means, that she can touch other people's lives through the meanings of the flowers she gives to them.
2. Henry IV, Part I by William Shakespeare
• This chronicles the tales of Henry IV and his son, also named Henry. The younger Henry doesn't quite live up to what his father, or basically all of England, thinks he should act like in order to inherit the throne in the future. Both go through a series of actions, following two different plot lines  culminating in one epic battle.
3. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris


True Blood

• Harris' book is the premise of HBO's popular TV show True Blood, which follows the life of telepathic barmaid, Sookie Stackhouse, and her beau, Bill Compton, in a very southern, small town in Louisiana  Interesting twist - Bill's a vampire, and there are a series of vampire-related murders going through their small town. Both Bill and Sookie's brother are suspects, and Sookie is set out to prove their innocence through any means possible.
4. A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1) by George R.R. Martin



The Game of Thrones

• Another HBO television show, Game of Thrones, covers this series of books, set in the Medieval era, following the battle over the Iron Throne which was usurped after a huge country-wide war by one Robert Baratheon. After years of ruling the kingdom, he dies and  his wife, a member of the wealthy and powerful Lannister family, is discovered to be guilty of sleeping with her brother leading to the conception of Geoffrey, the bastard king. Whenever a member of the Stark family, Ned (also the Hand of the King), confronts the queen, she has him killed, leading to his family and their allies aligning against the Lannister king. Other factions claim their right to the throne, and full-on war ensues.
5. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld



Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld

• Yet another dystopian teen novel, Uglies is set in a time where, upon your sixteenth birthday, you are made over, through total remodeling surgery, to be a Pretty. Tally isn't sure she wants to be a Pretty, who seem to be empty headed thrill seekers, and when she meets another Ugly, named Shay, she discovers that there may be more to her city than she thought. Bad things can happen, even in a place filled with Pretties.
6. Glamour by Penelope Fletcher



Forest Fae

• In another dystopian novel (God! There are a lot!), Rae Wilder thought she was human... but do humans run as fast as the speed of light? Do they sprout wings and shimmer? No, Rae discovers that she just might be Fae - she might be a demon girl - what she's been taught to hate. She enters the world outside the Wall, and walks straight into a civil war - not just between the humans and demons, but within the factions of demons. Dealing with blood bonds, love and friendship is bad enough for a young girl, but being called upon to support an entire race? Rough stuff. 
7. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Gatsby is fantastic, sexy and mysterious. He throws huge parties in classic twenties flapper style, but there may be more to him than meets the eye. Nick is sucked into his world, along with a few of their mutual friends. Gatsby's way of life could lead to great connections, money, power, and everything Nick doesn't have. Or it could lead down a path that Nick would rather not even think about. Death, drama, love, mystery... The Great Gatsby pretty much has it all.

The Great Gatsby by Baz Luhrmann

That last is in honor of the upcoming movie premier, and it's more of a refresher, as I've read it already once. I'm attempting to finish books 1 through 4 of A Game of Thrones by the end of this summer, as well as the entirety of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. I may also work my way through The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, though I've already finished The Hobbit by that same author. If there are any suggestions on books or movie/book duos that you'd like me to review, comment in the below section! Thank you, and see you soon!