Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge

I posted yesterday, about the fabulous giveaway Melissa is holding over at her site… but I forgot to mention that what’s even better about it is that it’s a tie-in giveaway to BethF’s Sookie Stackhouse challenge.

I added it to my “Reading Challenge” file on my desktop – even added the first book – but just realised that I forgot to actually sign up for it! So thanks to BethF for commenting on my last post and making me realise it :)

The Rules:

1. Between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, catch up on Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series. No matter if you're starting with book 1 or book 8, you have a year to read all about Sookie. Read Sookie in print, listen to the audio, read an eBook -- format is not an issue.
2. Sign up using Mr. Linky. Put your name in the top box. For the bottom box, please use the URL that links specifically to your blog post about this challenge, not to your blog's home page.
3. After July 4, I'll create a post with another Mr. Linky where you can link your reviews so everyone can read them track your progress.
4. If you don't have a blog and want to join in, sign up in the comments here. Later, let us know about your progress by leaving comments on the review link page.

 

The Books:

• Dead Until Dark
• Living Dead in Dallas
• Club Dead
• Dead to the World
• Dead as a Doornail
• Definitely Dead
• All Together Dead
• From Dead to Worse
• Dead and Gone

Let me just check my notes…

Twilight: Director’s Notebook Catherine Hardwicke
163 pages; 2009 published

Yep. I read another Twilight related book. I know you’re not likely to believe me, but I’m actually not a big Twilight-er. That would be my sister, I’m just the one who can’t let a book pass through the house without reading it, no matter what it is.

It was actually a pretty good (and very quick) read actually. There were some pretty interesting little tidbits about bts-Twilight, with a sections on location scouting, shooting, stunts and costuming. However, the very best thing about the whole book was the layout. In fact, if I was rating the book on the layout alone I’d have to go 5/5, 10/5 even. It was gorgeous, and the compulsive notebook-keeper in my practically swooned.

 

Over all, give it a read if you’re a big Twilight-fan. It was interesting, but you’d probably get the same info by watching the movie’s audio commentary and reading a few online articles/interviews. 3.5/5

Rapunzel's Revenge

Shannon and Dean Hale

Illustrated by Nathan Hale

144 pgs; published 2008

Everyone knows the story of Rapunzel, right? Locked away in a tall tower by an evil witch until the day a handsome, hair-climbing prince comes along to rescue her. Well. Not in this version. For starters, this Rapunzel’s got spunk; she’s not going to just hang around waiting to be rescued. This girl’s out for revenge; revenge against the evil witch who kidnapped her, forced her parents into slavery, and named her after a lettuce.

But Rapunzel soon learns that life outside her tower isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and that seeking revenge may be harder that she had anticipated. Mother Gothel’s magic and greed has affected all the surrounding lands, leaving the population poverty stricken and distrustful. This idealistic hair lasso-er, however, may be just what they need to set things straight.

First of all, I have to say that Rapunzel’s Revenge is hilarious. It has infused its text and images with so much humour that I laughed out loud through the whole thing. I love a good story retelling and this one was even better than I had expected. If you enjoy fractured fairytales then I’d definitely give this one a read. 4.5/5

Other Reviews
Have you written a review for this book? I would love to include it, comment below and I'll add your link!

Dead Until Dark
Charlaine Harris
326 pages; published 2004

For a second I felt ashamed at calling Bill to rescue me: I should have handled the situation myself. Then I thought, Why? When you know a practically invincible being who professes to adore you, someone so hard to kill it’s next to impossible, someone preternaturally strong, that’s who you’re gonna call. (255-6)

Sookie Stackhouse lives in the small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. Her life is ordinary – she lives with her grandmother, works at the local bar, and has a brother who lives nearby. Problem is, despite her lifestyle, Sookie herself is anything but ordinary. Ever since she was a young girl, Sookie has had the ability to read the minds of those around her.

Normality never sticks around for very long though – at least not with a character like Sookie in the lead. Bon Temps starts to wake up with the revelation of the reality of vampires (they’re “coming out of the coffin”). With the development of a viable synthetic blood, vampires no longer have to feed on humans to survive, and many are seeking a more human lifestyle.

When one such vampire, oh-so-scarily named "Bill", moves to town and, incidentally, next door to Sookie, her life suddenly gets turned upside down. Bill is tall, dark and handsome - and definately dangerous - but, most appealing of all, Sookie cannot hear his thoughts. Around, she does not have to endure the aching strain required to simply afford people their privacy. She is free to just relax.

But when a local woman dies under suspicious circumstances, Sookie finds herself dating a prime suspect. At what cost does her freedom come?

Vampire romances are a dime-a-dozen at the moment. Everywhere you turn you find yet another one creeping up behind you. Despite this, I found Dead Before Dark, the first of the Sookie Stackhouse series, to be an enjoyable light read. While still maintaining the romantic coupling of the moment - a (relatively) normal human girl with the dark scary vamp - it does mix it up a bit by ensuring that she herself is not entirely normal. Sookie doesn't belong in Bill's world ... but she doesn't really fit in her own either.

Harris' writing was a little slow in places; I felt like I was wading through it at times to get to the next part. Having said that, I would still recommend it to fans of the genre. Harris' humour comes into play quite strongly, leaving the book with a slightly oddball air to it, only to be effectively cut down when some of the darker elements come to the surface.

A fun read, the sequel of which I'm looking forward to reading. 3.5/5

Other Reviews

• Lightheaded at Everyday Reads
• Becflies at Librarian-ism-ish
• Trisha at eclectic / eccentric
• Trisha at Trisha's Book Blog

Cold Skin
Steven Herrick264 pages, published 2007
They named me Eddie
after Mum's father
who died before I was born.
'A quiet, stubborn bastard,'
says my dad.
I'm not sure if he's talking about
Grandad or me.

Eddie, eighteen, hulking and trapped in school, lives in the backwater town of Burrugo. Nothing ever happens there, ever; the most you can hope for is a chance to get a job working in the local coal mine - and even that, his father won't allow. Life in the small town is thrown upside down, however, when Colleen, a local teen beauty, is found dead by the river. Suddenly every one - everyone - is a suspect.

Problem is, despite the size of the town, no one really seems to know their neighbours terribly well, or, in same cases, they know them a little too well. Every suspect is clouded by years of prejudice and ill-opinion. Is Mr. Butcher, the slimy high-school teacher, the perpetrator? Perhaps Les Johnston, the handsome young miner? The suck-up Mayor? Albert Holding, the local war-time 'coward'? Or maybe his son, Larry, known to have a crush on Colleen?

Told entirely in first person verse, each 'poem' continues the story and adds yet another perspective to the mix. Certainly an interesting read. 3/5

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Mark Haddon
272 pages, published 2003

An immensely moving book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time gives an insight (both haunting and humorous) into the life of a family dealing with Asperger’s Syndrome. Narrated by fifteen-year-old Christopher as he takes on the mystery of who is responsible for the midnight murder of the dog across the road, the day to day happenings of his family are cast into a remarkably difficult light for him.

Originally intended as a children’s story, Haddon’s unique novel is a good read for anyone of any age who wants a exceptional insight into an interesting mind. 4/5