What to read after the Sookie Stackhouse novels? 

-If you liked the supernatural side of Charlaine Harris’s books, check out the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs.  It deals more with werewolves and skinwalkers but still some vamps and other supernaturals.  I just started the first book and completely love it.  I believe there is books about different characters that show up in the Mercy books too.  Plus I love that Mercy lives in Finley, Washington.  I have totally been there!

-If you liked the hot, romance side, check out the Vegas Vampires series by Erin McCarthy.  I read this series in the last couple years and completely loved it.  It is a really fun, easy read.

What should I read after Twilight?

-If you like love triangles, check out The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith.  The first book actually came out in 1994 so long before Twilight.  The first two books were okay.  The second two got me hooked.  I loved the latest two.  Can’t wait to see what will happen next!

-If you are looking for another great young adult supernatural series, check out The Immortals series by Alyson Noel.   Another great series is the House of Night books by PC and Kirstin Cast if you haven’t read them already.

-For older readers (aka, maybe like 20 and older), the Jane Madison books by Mindy Klasky.  Total chick books about witchcraft.  Neko is one of my favorite book characters ever. 

What should I read after the House of Night novels?

-If you are looking for young adult, again I’m going to say The Immortals series by Alyson Noel or the Vampire Diaries.   

-For those looking for a little more action than romance, The Mortal Instruments trilogy by Cassandra Clare.  Absolutely amazing storytelling on these ones.  It has the whole angel thing going on that we see in HoN.  The entire series was hard to put down and even though it had an ending, I wanted more because I loved the characters so much.  I feel like this series could be read by guys or girls.  There is only a touch of romance which honestly, most books have that anyways.

-Again, for a little more action, the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld.  I’ve only read the first one but like it so far.

Non-series books about supernaturals.

-Anything by Neil Gaiman.  Note: I would not say young adult for any of them.  I read most in college and think that if I would have read them younger, I would not have understood them very well.  Gaiman is absolutely amazing.  Every book and story completely pulls me in.  My very favorite is Neverwhere.

-Devilish by Maureen Johnson.  Young adult novel that was a totally enjoyable read.  I’ve read more of Johnson’s work and really enjoy it.

And if you like comics…

-Check out my very favorite comic series, Fathom.  It falls in with a lot of these books I think because it is about a girl that was normal(ish) but then ends up sucked into a super natural world…an underwater one.

          “Yeah, ’cause we think you’re like Rachel on Glee,” Shaunee said.  “Super annoying, but she has to be in the show ’cause sometimes she comes up with good stuff and kinda saves the day.”

Alright, this quote jumped out at me for two reasons.  The first, most obvious one is that I love Glee and love Rachel. 

The second is that it was a pop culture reference.  I always wonder if I should put them in my own writing or not.  I’m an admited pop culture junky so tend to want to lay them on heavy.  It is a risk because if your readers don’t know what you are talking about the majority of the time, you might lose them.  It is also kind of like putting a time stamp on your book.  When I read The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith, I know no idea that the first part of the series was written nineteens years ago.  It seems so modern. 

Lately, I’ve been going by what genre I am writing to figure out how much to throw in.  For example, my crime book has very few.  Off  the top of my head, I can only think of a few clothing ones to show that my main characters is a designer kind of girl.  It aids to the overall story.  For another book, I am having the character work in a club.  It is much more light feeling and I think the pop culture stuff is fitting. 

I wish I had marked the page in Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris that had the best pop reference ever.  It was something about Sookie hearing Jace Everett’s Bad Things.  For anyone that watches True Blood, it is the theme song.  I thought it was so clever of her to put it in there.   An extra treat to all of us that are big fans of both you might say.

I was very excited that this week I got to go see a Q and A with one of my favorite authors, Charlaine Harris.  As you might already know, she is the author of the Sookie Stackhouse books (along with many other books) that the HBO show True Blood was based on.  Her most recent book, Dead in the Family, just became a best seller as well.

Alright, so what were people asking….

I asked her about advice to writers.  A couple other people did as well and each time she said write a great book.  Kind of a given so not the best advice ever.  She did talk about her writing processes a little though.  I found it interesting that the first book was not written thinking it would be a series.  She said that when she is stuck she thinks about who will show up at Sookie’s door than goes from there.  Interesting advice.  I could definately see that as being a good writing exerise.

She got asked many questions about True Blood.  I liked that she agrees with the show writers decision to deviate from the books so that even if you read the books, the show is a surprise.  She said this season she is looking most forward to see what they do with the Fae.  Yes, they are showing up in season three! I’m excited for Alcide. 

Harris said her favorite scene from the show was the pie scene after Sookie’s grandmother passed away.  Lots of people at the q&a asked food related questions.  Harris laughed that the meaning of the show was pie.  She didn’t know the secrets of Lost but the secret of True Blood was pie. 

She also said that she wishes she would have written a character like Jessica.  She loved that character.  Jessica is the vampire that Bill was forced to change on the show. 

As for favorite books, Harris said she enjoyed writing Altogether Dead a lot.   That was the one in which Sookie goes to the vampire summit with the Queen.  Harris said it was fun to get to come up with a way to blow up a building. 

A few people asking questions and a few in line said that Dead to the World was their favorite.  That is mine so far as well.  I think it is because I’m Team Eric all the way.  It seemed liked most the crowd was as well.  In the series, Bill definetely turns into a bad-ish guy or at least kind of a jerk.  Eric has his romantic moments which I love. 

Of course, someone asked her about Stephanie Meyer and Twilight.  I think she had a very good opinion on the subject.  Obviously, vampire books are going to have things in common.  She wrote her first Sookie novel five years before Twilight so obviously she didn’t rip it off.  Harris said that she was proud to see any female making a living in writing and being sucessful.  I completely agree with her on that.  Again, I find it interesting how people are so negative on Twilight.  In line I overheard a girl complaining about how awful of a writing Stephanie Meyer was.  She pointed out she was no Virginia Wolfe.  Of course she isn’t!  She never tired to be.  She wrote a fantasy book for teens.  There is no comparing the two.  Plus the girl in line also mention how she read the entire Twilight series twice.  If the books were so awful, why read them twice and see the movies to compare?  If a book makes you want to read it twice, it is a good book.  At least that is what I think.

I know there was lots of other questions that Harris answered but those were a few that stood out to me.  I can’t wait to start reading Dead in the Family.  I’m almost done with Burned by PC and Kirstin Cast so I’ll start it after I finish that one.

Here are a few pictures I got of Charlaine Harris.  Sorry they didn’t turn out very well.

           Okay, with all that said, I just heard about Daniel Craig saying that he wanted James Bond to have a same sex scene.  http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/craig-wants-gay-bond-scene_1014906

         The fundamental problem I have with this is that James Bond is a very specific character.  Ian Fleming introduced him in his 1953 novel Casino Royale as a sauve ladies man.  The films have lead even more into this image by putting an ephasis on the Bond Girls.  This is a character that has existed for over sixty years.  Why would you change that?  I bet Fleming was rolling over in his grave when Craig said that.

          I’m not against movies or televisions shows changing characters if there really is a reason to.  The only example I can think of off the top of my head is hearing that the writers of Glee changed the character of Curt after meeting the actor and falling in love with him.  His character fits perfectly and it doesn’t fell like the show is just doing that to push the envelope.  That is when it bothers me.  Why do we have to force something? 

           Changing James Bond character isn’t going to do anything for supporting human rights.  It is just going to feel like they are trying too hard.  I mean, add in all the male on male and female on female stuff you want but leave Bond alone please.  I mean the two basic parts of him are that he is a spy and he is a ladies man.  Why not give him a new job while you are at it?

          I  guess this kind of comes down to how much a movie or book can deviate it’s characters from the books before it becomes a big deal.   My feelings are pretty mixed on the issue.  I bet I’m not making much sense as I type because I’m going back and forth.  I think if you are going to change the character, have it make sense.  If any of the people on Gossip Girl have same sex relationships that they didn’t have the in book series, fine.  It could fit in with the story.  If some of the vampires on True Blood go same sex, well they better anyways because that is definately in the books.  If Harry Potter has a scene making out with a boy, I don’t feel like that would make any sense. I don’t know, what does everyone else think about this?  Where is the line for changing a book character?

+++++++Contains a some spoilers for the Sookies Stackhouse novels+++++++++

****Seriously, I’m not trying to ruin anything.  Read the books before reading this****

          I’ve always been the kind of person that once I start a series of books I like, I tend to read them straight through.  The Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith certainly has me hooked right now.  Insert cheesy vampire reference about biting in to the series here.

          In the first book, The Awakening, we are introduced to the love story between the vampire Stefan and the high spirited Elena.  The Struggle introduces the third part of the love triangle, Stefan’s brother Damon.  In The Fury an unknown threat looms over the city.

          The fourth book, Dark Reunion stands out against the other three for me.  The main storyline is that yet again, there is an unknown treat looming over the city.  The huge different between the other books and this one is that the main character completely shifts.  In the first three, Elena is the center of the story even though it is an omniscient third person point of view.  Dark Reunion shifts to being focused on Bonnie who is one of Elena’s best friends.

         The shift is natural when you read in within the series.  The Fury ends with Bonnie writing in Elena’s journal which sets up for her to take over in the fourth book.  Since we are still gettings lots of different people’s view, the story is still told similar to the others. 

          I found this shift is the center character interesting because I really can’t think of another series that did the same thing.  If anyone else knows of one, let me know.  Harry Potter books all centered around Harry.  The Twilight Saga centered around Bella although I guess the last book did have a huge shift in perspective.  Hmmm.  Maybe that idea came from The Vampire Diaries since they were written almost 20 years ago.  I’m not being serious about that last one.  I think that lots of idea in books overlap and a lot of times, it isn’t intentional.  I know that when I wrote 60 or so pages about a girl and Greek gods, I had absolutely no clue that Percy Jackson was out there with the exact same concept.

          Sorry, I’m getting off point.  Sometimes a series is all told from different people, like the Vegas Vampire books by Erin McCarthy are each centered around a different person even though the same characters are present.  Wasn’t the Babysitters Club books written that way too? 

          Like I already said, in the series, this shift worked.  LJ Smith was taking a risk getting rid of the character she had attached her readers to but it definitely worked.  This made me think though, how will that work for the tv show?  I still haven’t watched it.  I fully intend to buy the dvd when it comes out so when that happens, I’ll blog again with comparisons.  I don’t know how close the book and the show are but I have a feeling that even if they are close now, they will not follow the story line of moving Elena out of the way.  It just wouldn’t work as well on tv. At least I don’t think it would.  It is kind of like how New Moon the movie had to find a way to put more Robert Pattinson in because fans are so obsessed with him.

          Guess we will have to wait and see if Vampire Diaries makes it that far on tv.  Kind of like we have to wait and see what True Blood does with Bill.  After the first few books Bill fades out to a minor character and Eric becomes more prominent.  I hope so much that True Blood sticks with the books.  Eric’s character is so much more interesting and funny and charming.  So far on the tv show they have showed a little of that but I want more.  Plus this season I am excited to see Alcide. 

         Hmm, maybe I see why people always associate me with being vampire obsessed, lol. I hate when people say that but I guess it is kind of true.  I think I’ve always loved supernatural books.  Then of course I got hooked on Buffy and Angel.  Oh Angel.  And Spike.  Okay, I’m going to stop typing now since I’m going off on too many tangents.

   Well finally I caved and decided to read The Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith.  I used a date a guy that made fun of me so bad saying that I would love the show.  Note, I never watched it.  I forget what it ran the same time as but I had something else I loved to watch.  Plus I didn’t want him to be right.  He did admit to watching and liking it though.  Anyways, the book caught my attention the other day and honestly, once I started, I couldn’t put it down.

          As stories go, it wasn’t anything groundbreaking.  Vampire love triangle.  Hmm, seen that in lots of books.  Personally, I was a fan of the Eric, Bill, Sookie one (team Eric).  The flashback’s in Smith’s book are an interesting way of setting up the story. 

          So far I have only read The Awakening.  It was basically a lot of set up for the other stories from what I can tell.  We get some story on all the main characters and it sets up some town drama.  It got me hooked so I can’t wait to start the next part of the series.

          The Awakening reminded me of The Immortal Series by Alyson Noel.  You’ve got the new kid that is dark, mysterious a from Italy.  Someone like him followed him.  Actually come to think about it, in the third Immortal book, Shadowland, a sort of brother like character shows up and trys to steal the girl.  The main character is a girl that is super pretty.  Popular in one case but not in another.  Noel’s series is more original though in my opinion.  I absolutely love her books and can’t wait for Dark Flame.

          As for the tv series, I am currently trying to find the episodes online.  If someone knows where to find them, let me know.  I only see the latest four.  If I’m going to watch them, I want to start from the beginning.  Once I watch, I’ll try to do some comparing stuff. 

          So, what is your favorite vampire book? 

          So I’ll admit, the first few Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris did not really catch my attention.  The first two books I thought were okay but they did not stand out to me.  I found them entertaining but I thought the television series was doing a better job at really filling out the story.  Obviously, the show varied a lot from the books but it did it in a way that stayed true to them.  Does that make sense? Anyways, I ended up deciding to pick up Club Dead as a fast read.  I am now completely hooked on the series!

          Club Dead really picked up for me because there was more than here is Sookie and Bill and here is a problem happening.  It made it, here is Sookie and Bill is gone but Eric is there and another guy and Sookie has tons of stuff to deal with.  I absolutely love what a strong character she become in this book.  She basically kicks ass.  Plus I think Harris really caught on to Sookie’s voice in this novel.  It came alive more than the previous books in my mind.

          The next book, Dead to the World was actually my favorite in the series so far.  Hate to spoil this to all the Bill fans out there, but he’s out and Eric is in (at least for this book) and I absolutely love it.  Pam also starts to have more personality in this book.  This book was funny, sexy, and a story that I could barely rip myself away from.  Now I’m only two books (plus the short stories) away from being completely up to day.  I’m actually quite sad about that.  I want more!

          Besides the books,  I can’t wait for more True Blood. I liked both seasons so far (yes even the crazy Greek stuff in season two) so am interested to see if it will follow the book.  If so, I think the book is going to get better and better.  Before I wrote this, I decide to see if I could figure out where season three was going.  Let’s just say, big question mark at this point.

          I tried not to read too much since I don’t want to spoil the season for myself.  I have never been one to read television spoilers.  The anticipation of watching it each week is better.  I found two sites that said a little bit and interestingly enough, the said complete opposite things.  First was IMDB.  It has episode one listed as “Pack of Wolves”.  There is two other titles for episodes listed two but it has no details on any of them.  This makes me super exicited because Club Dead introduces us to the super sexy werewolf Alcide.  He sticks around for more of the books too.  Plus, who doesn’t love a werewolf/vampire/girl with weird mind power love triangle?  Sorry, I had to referred to Twilight at least a little.  I bet you anything that people will say True Blood is copying Twilight even though Club Dead was out years before Twilight.  

          Personally, I really hope this is the way that the story goes.  It makes sense with the ending of last season, if I remember right.  Could Bill have suddenly disappeared because of A) vamps trying to get his computer disk, B) Lorena calling him, or C) the Queen showed up?   All of these (well minus A, since we don’t know about his computer stuff yet) would fit with the last season plus the book.  Plus didn’t I hear rumors about Evan Rachel Woods showing up more in season three.  Sidenote to anyone that has read the books, how perfect is she for that role?

          I also found a site that listed news about a girl being cast as Crystal.  This makes me super hopeful for the show following the books.  She doesn’t actually show up until Dead to the World but she is definately a big(ish) character. She is a character that is meant to be disliked but not exacted hated. I think seeing her on screen will be funny.  Maybe the show is going to roll two books into one season. I’d be okay with that because I can’t wait for more Eric! Plus that would make Quinn show up sooner too. He is going to be someone super hot, obviously.         

          Another site I found that I can’t remember the name of listed episode one as “Mine”.  It then gave really long details on every little thing that happens in this episode.  I scanned through it (again, not wanting to ruin it for myself) and found that it was giving a completely different story than Club Dead.  There was something about other vamps trying to take Sookie and Bill saying “She mine.” There was a lot of stuff on Layfette and Tara.  Layfette is not in the books at all so it would seem if they are focusing on him that they are getting even further from the books. 

          Only time will tell I guess.  What do you think will happen in season three?  Have you read the books?

        So I’ve noticed that at least half the traffic brought to my site from searches are people trying to look up information on Callisto from Living Dead in Dallas by Charlene Harris.   I actually know a lot about Callisto in Greek mythology (I have a cat named Callisto and tattoo based on the myth even) so here is some information I know and comparing it to the book.

          The book describes Callisto as a maenad. Maenad translates in English to the raving ones.   The name refers to females that follow the god Dionysus.  He is basically the god of partying, drinking, and some madness.   There was different types of maenads ranging from women who follow him, women who do not and therefore go crazy since he demands worship to devine beingings.

          In Living Dead In Dallas, I would say Callisto would definately fall under the category of devine being.   Her being in the wilderness, changing into an animal, and demanding worship are all evidence of this.  I think nymph might be fitting as well since they are known for all the things that I just mentioned and usually are associated with a certain god or godesss.

          In actually Greek Mythology, Callisto is a nymph that is loyal to Artemis or Diana, the goddess of hunting.  Callisto took a vow of chastity like all of Artemis’ nymphs.  There are tons of different versions of the story. The first that I heard was the Callisto was the most beautiful of all the nymphs. Naturally Zeus decided that he wanted her.  She and Zeus fell in love but kept it secret . Months later it was discovered by Artemis that Callisto was with child and thus she was banned from serving the goddess.  After giving birth, Hera was still hellbent on killing Callisto and her son Arcas.  She turns Callisto into a bear and demands that Artemis shoot her.  Zeus decides to hid Callisto in the stars so she cannot be harmed.   She ask Zeus to save her son as well.  Not being able to turn Callisto back into a nymph, he turns Arcas into a bear as well.  These constellations are today known as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.   More commonly, the big and little dipper.  This is my favorite version of the story.

          The most famous version of the story is told by Ovid.  His telling is with the Roman versions of the gods so Jupiter, Juno, and Diana were the main characters besides Callisto.  In his version, Jupiter turns into Diana and rapes Callisto.  Diana finds out Callisto is pregnant and when asked about it, Callisto not knowing better tells Diana it is her fault.  Callisto is banned and gives birth.  Juno is mad and decides to change Callisto into a bear. Jupiter hides Arcas.  Sixteen years later Arcas has turned into a great hunter and comes across a bear that he shoots.  Zeus saves her by putting her in the stars and does the same to Arcas, making him a bear as well.  Juno is insanely  jealous so convinces the titan Oceanus to make it so that the two never touch his water.  This makes them appear that they never set in the sky.  They are always visable from certain places on earth.  Since the world has moved around since ancient times, in Greece, Ursa Major actually does dip a little under the horizon now. 

         One of the moons of Jupiter is named Callisto.  Galileo is known as finding the existance of this moon but another astronomer named Simon Marius claimed that he found them first.  He was the one that named the moon Callisto after the story of Jupiter and Callisto.

          Callisto was also a character in the television series Xena the Warrior Princess.  In the series, she was not related into the greek myth.  She was a human that Xena attacked her village when she was little.  She because tramatized by this event and thus goes completely crazy.  If I remember right at some point on the show she did become a goddess. She was always by favorite character. 

          There is also an X-man character named Callisto.   She appeared in the comics in the 80’s.  Her drawings always remind me of Joan Jett with an eye patch for some  reason.  There isn’t anything related her to greek myth what so ever.  She also appeared in the second X-Man movie.  She was the girl with tons of tattoos that can sense what others powers are.  The actress that played her is one of the twins on Heroes.

             Hope this helps people that were looking for information on Callisto in the Sookie Stackhouse novels.  I love greek mythology in general.  Oh and here is my tattoo that is the constellation Ursa Major.  The words are lyrics from the band The Higher.  The song is called “Movement.”  Eventually I might add the lyric “Give your immortality to me, I’ll set you up against the stars” which cames from the song “Red Wine” by The Hush Sound.  The tattoo was done by the Traci Manley at Infinity Tattoo in Portland, OR.  She is awesome.  I have another one from her too.

http://www.infinitytattoo.com/portfolios.cfm?artistID=24

Sorry this picture is a little blurry.

As requested by KonstantinMiller, here is some more thoughts on tv shows verses books. 

          I came across this on YouTube and thought it was quite fitting.  I loved that Stephen Moyer has read quite a few of them.  It seems weird to me that the other two stopped.  More so that there reason’s for stopping was that they wanted to take their characters in their own direction.  Those two characters were not present in the least in Dead Until Dark. 

          In Season Two, Tara is staying fairly close to her character in Living Dead in Dallas.  In the book she is Sookie’s friend from high school that is dating a guy named Eggs.  Yeah, that matches perfectly.  Towards the end of the book we see them in a situation similar to the party scene that was in S2 E3 of True Blood.  Tara’s reaction to the party seemed to be similar in the two.  Like she was there on her own accord but it was making her uneasy.  The writers of True Blood are doing a good job of filling in Tara’s story for us.

          As for the Maryann character from the show, she is deviating a long way from the novel.  In the book we only see her as what she really is which they haven’t competely covered that yet. If you have seen interviews or read any, they have been openly discussing that though.  In the books Sookie and Bill leave to Dallas and something obviously happens between Sam and Callisto. Maryann’s name is Callisto in the book.  I don’t know why they changed it.  I liked Callisto better since the tattoo on my rib is actually the Callisto constellation from my favorite Greek myth.  I named my cat at my parents’ house that too. Anyways, in the tv series they are obviously going to have Bill and Sookie leave soon.  Following with the rest of the tv show, the writers are finding themselves trying to write stories about what is happening in Bon Temps completely on their own.  It is going to be very different from the book but I think as long as they keep the characters in tack in isn’t going to bother me too much.  Plus I love Sam don’t mind seeing more of him.

          Another book series that is now on tv that I realized I have read is Gossip Girl.   I think I’ve read about five or six of the books.  I do intend to someday finish them.  They are extremely fast to read.  Perfect for a break after a lengthy or dense book.  Like True Blood, the show Gossip Girl is staying fairly close to the books.  The characters are there and some of the story lines are but we are seeing lots of differences too. 

          Some characters are completely different. Eric van der Woodsen for example is the older brother that has a thing with Blair in the books but a younger gay brother on tv.  Aaron Rose appears in the books as Blair’s stepbrother who has a crush on her. On the show he is a random dude that Serena dates.  I actually didn’t watch most the second season so I don’t know if they did more with him or not.  The parents play a lot more into the television show as well.  I really like the story the tv producers came up with Rufus and Lily.  Personally I wouldn’t mind if they show mostly focused on them. 

          The spin off doesn’t sound all that appealing to me though.  Maybe I’m just getting old and teen drama’s aren’t as much my thing.  Although I did absolutely love Priveledged.  I think it got canceled already though.  Very sad. The main character was attempting to be an author.  It is another show based on a book.  How to Survive the Filthy Rich by Zoey Dean.  Maybe I will try to find it next time I’m at the book store.  It would be interesting to compare how a book series converts to a tv series verses a single book being made into a tv series.  I do have Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell but haven’t read it yet.   Ah the list of books I want to read in the near future.  I really do have stacks and stacks of them.  Just call me Alaska Young.

Then last night before a work meeting I stopped at the bookstore.  My boss asked me what I bought and I said Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs then explained that it was the series that Bones was based on.  Again, no  one around us seemed to have any clue that the show was based on books.


Why is that? Maybe it is just because I’m such a huge bookworm but I usually pay attention to if a show is based on one.

Especially with True Blood, I have noticed people complaining about it not sticking to the books.  Personally I actually have no problem with that.    I feel that in any case (tv or movie) that there is two ways to do it; you can recreate the book or you can use it as a reference.


In the case of the Sookie Stackhouse novels, the reader really is only getting Sookie’s side of the story.  We don’t see any backstory with Jason, Sam, or any of the other characters.  When you are making a tv show, there has to be more than one storyline going or it gets boring.  The shows writers do a great job as far as I’m concerned with using the characters in a way that is true to the books while still making there stories better for tv.  


Furthermore, I don’t think the books are necessarily amazing pieces of literature.  They are more of a fast and entertaining read.   Along with that though, I think it takes an enormous amount of talent to write a book that is successful and a number one best seller on the New York Times list.  I fully admit, I have every intention of reading the whole series because I do really enjoy them. 


With Bones there is a far bigger gap between the show and books.  Sure the main character is named Temperance (which I named my cat after by the way) and she is a forensic anthropologist that works with the FBI but that basically ends the similarities.  I don’t see people complaining about how different those to are though.  Maybe it is because they are so different that people have an easier time seeing that the tv show is just using the books as a starting point.


The Tempe books are extremely well written.  I don’t read tons of crime series but I do think that Reichs’ novels are among the best I have come across.  They are written on a high reading level but are so good that I can’t put them down so end up finishing them in days.  The story comes together in such an interesting way in each novel.  The show writers do a good job at bringing that element into the episodes as well.


So what does everyone else think?  Have you read a series that had a tv show based on it?  Do you think True Blood or Bones is completely ruining the books or doing them justice?


On a sort of related note, I noticed the other night that the last four books I have read were Deja Dead, Death Du Jour, Dead Until Dark, and Living Dead in Dallas (currently reading).  Do you see something in common? Maybe I should read something not so morbid sounding next, haha.  Actually next I will definitely be reading Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs.  Maybe after that I will go for something less dark sounding.