When I decided several weeks ago to start an ongoing list of all the books I read I'm sure I was hoping it would reveal me to be a thoughtful and literary-minded reader but no, if these additions to my first list show anything at all, it's that I can't get enough vampires! Here's what I've read in the last fortnight:
Trueblood Omnibus by Charlaine Harris
1. Dead until Dawn
2. Living Dead in Dallas
3. Club Dead
Forget those insipid “vegetarian” vamps from the Twilight series, Trueblood’s vampires are sexy, seductive and dangerous... I recently watched – and loved - the first series of Trueblood on DVD and the books don’t disappoint. Telepath heroine Sookie Stackhouse is a sassy little miss and a great female character. I can’t wait to read the other six books in the series.
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson
The second book in the Millennium Trilogy, this book is less convoluted than the first and as a result, more readable, although it’s not pleasant subject matter (international sex trafficking). The “girl”, Lisbeth Salander, is strong, independent and resourceful but undeniably screwed up. Given what life has thrown at her though, it’s probably a miracle she's as normal as she is.
Interestingly, I read an article this week in the December issue of Vanity Fair which questions how much of Larsson’s fictional skulduggery comes from fact (who knew Sweden had such a dark underbelly?) and speculates that Larsson may have been killed by the extreme right, elements of whom he was known to have rubbed up the wrong way in his role as editor of Expo, a magazine not dissimilar to Millennium magazine in the books. His publishers, less romantically, put it down to a combination of over-indulging in cigarettes, junk food and coffee and an enormous workload.
The Children by Charlotte Wood
I found this story of grown-up children returning home after their father is critically injured incredibly thought-provoking, especially so soon after sharing Christmas with three generations of my own family.
Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
Since writing about the Trueblood omnibus above I couldn’t resist ordering the next five books in the Sookie Stackhouse series on Ebay. I am nothing if not obsessive about the things I enjoy!
The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
I've been hearing such fantastic things about this book that I couldn't help borrowing it from a friend earlier this week even though my "things to read" pile is already threatening to take over my living room. I'm only about a quarter of the way through this but it's pretty compelling. I'm looking forward to seeing where Tsiolkas goes with the story.
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