What We're Reading: Kathryn

"Lighthearted, amusing vampire mystery" doesn't have to be an oxymoron! Fans of HBO's True Blood are sure to find the mystery series the show was based on just as dark and fun.
The Southern Vampire Series (or the Sookie Stackhouse series as it has come to be known) is written by Charlaine Harris. The first season of True Blood, very closely mirrors the first in the nine-book series, Dead Until Dark, published in 2001. The books are narrated by Sookie, a charming, funny and endearing barmaid, who just happens to be a telepath. She encounters a whole new world after The Great Revelation - when vampires officially reveal themselves in the United States and attempt equal status. They are helped out into the open thanks to TrueBlood (a synthetic blood for vampires to drink, and also the inspiration for the show's name). TrueBlood understandably eases the minds of vampires' potential sources of food - the living.
Harris manages to make vampires, shape-shifters, werewolves and witches, living in rural Bon Temps, La. along regular human counterparts, so entertaining you won't want to put the books down. The first season of True Blood, created and produced by Alan Ball (Six Feet Under), came out on DVD this week. The second season debuts June 14 at 9 p.m.