Addicted to True Blood

Ok. I admit it. I am totally and ridiculously addicted to True Blood. Well, actually. Correction; I am totally and ridiculously addicted to the Charlaine Harris Southern Vampire Mysteries. Which is different. So very different. They vary so much I have to think of them as 2 worlds, sort of like a venn diagram.

I literally cannot put these darn books down. Every time I finish one and think, “ok, take a pause and go write a post or something.” Instead, I end up just grabbing the next book and starting to read. And I am a little sad that I only have 3 or 4 left. What in the world and I going to do with myself then?

It’s more than just enjoying the silliness of it. Though, I do have to say that these books are the best kind of mental popcorn there is; easy to read, fast paced, and so many fun characters.

The more I read though, the more I see that Harris is one sneaky southern lady. On the face of it, these are goofy romance-mystery-vampire novels filled with all sorts of supernatural craziness and a few random sex scenes.  But if you look a little closer, you see that she is dealing with some serious and universal issues.

It’s fairly obvious that most of the struggles the vampires face in coming out to the world parallel the struggles and injustices faced by the homosexual community, with a little civil rights racial inequality mixed in too. Watching the world adjust to the presence of such strange creatures, and the hatred people spring so quickly for something they don’t understand, is a wakeup call that we have a long way to go in our own world.

And Sookie struggles with some pretty heavy stuff herself. It’s something I imagine many people deal with. I know I do; questioning what makes a ‘good person’. We all wonder where the line is between your own personal survival and happiness and helping others. Obviously, I am no telepath struggling to build a life for myself while the whole world’s thoughts barge into my brain, or justifying to myself the killing of a fairy, but I can sympathize with wanting to help others while not knowing how to do it without sacrificing yourself. I think about that every time I see a homeless person asking for cash – I want to give, but I can’t really afford to, so how can I justify thinking of myself as a good person when I put myself before others that way?

The deeper Sookie delves into the supernatural world, the more Harris shines a light on our own – and I have to say I am impressed that these books hold a deeper meaning than most might think.

That, and I need a way to justify dedicating to much of my time to them!