Southern Vampire/ Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris

My friend Mary suggested the first book in this series to me. She told me it was like the Twilight series, but for grownups, because it is much funnier and much saucier. She was quite right. It is not as "romantic", although there is quite a bit of romance. The first book is Dead Until Dark. In it Sookie Stackhouse is a telepathic barmaid. She has many problems because of her ability. She knows too much and if she lets others know she can hear their thoughts, the think she is crazy. When Bill Compton, a vampire, moves into the area, he is perfect for her to date since he is dead, therefore no thoughts. The whole series is very good, I would love to have a week to sit on a beach and read them all. Much good fun!

Book 1: "Dead Until Dark"
Book 2: "Living Dead in Dallas"
Book 3: "Club Dead"
Book 4: "Dead to the World"
Book 5: "Dead as a Doornail"
Book 6: "Definitely Dead"
Book 7: "All Together Dead"
Book 8: "From Dead to Worse"
Book 9: "Dead and Gone"

Aside from being a great book series, I am told that HBO has made the first book into a TV series called True Blood. I have not seen any of it since I have no cable, but maybe someday.

My mother-in-law had recommended Charlaine Harris' other series' to me as well. I will try them soon and get back to you. For more information, check out her website.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

I read this YA book just for fun and it was a lark! I'm going to recommend it to my friend Meredith, as I think she will enjoy the word play. Synopsis from B&N:
"Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:
Debate Club.
Her father's "Bunny Rabbit."
A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:
A knockout figure.
A sharp tongue.
A chip on her shoulder.
And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.

Frankie Laundau-Banks.
No longer the kind of girl to take "no" for an answer.
Especially when "no" means she's excluded from her boyfriend's all-male secret society.
Not when her ex boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places.
Not when she knows she's smarter than any of them.
When she knows Matthew is lying to her.
And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.

Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:
Possibly a criminal mastermind."

Frankie masterminds so many great pranks that you find you want to be her.

Fancy White Trash by Marjetta Geerling

This book was absolutely hilarious. I found myself thinking that I couldn't believe a book could be so far out and yet so believable. Abby is 15 and lives with her two older sisters, her niece (daughter of oldest sister), her mom and Guitar Player (mom's new husband). All of a sudden Mom announces that she is pregnant. Oh, I also forgot to mention that middle sister is also 8 months pregnant (by Guitar Player, but before he was married to her mom). And possibly older sister is preggers too? So, Abby has come up with the One True Love Plan to keep her from ending up like the rest of her family. She is assisted in this major quest by her best friend, the boy next door who is adamantly trying to insist he's not gay. All in all, a very fun book. Aimed to teens, but great for adults too.

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

I had read and seen quite a bit of pre-pub hype for this book. May times when there is too much hype, the book is not all that good. That was not the case with this title. The Chosen one is about a 13 yr. old girl, Kyra, who has grown up in a polygamous sect of a cult. She has 24 brothers and sisters and her father has 3 wives. Suddenly, it is announced that the Prophet has had a vision from God and she is to marry her uncle, age 60, in 4 weeks time. While her father does all he can to fix things, the Prophet insists it must be so. So, it is up to Kyra to decide if she should save herself and never see her family again, or go about life as "normal" and enter into an incestuous marriage to a man 4 1/2 decades order than she, as a 7th wife. Excellent book, I was cheering her on and hissing at the bad guys.

Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber

I love the Blossom Street series by Debbie Macomber. This is the 4th book in the series and maybe my favorite. The book starts with Anne, who owns the bookstore on Blossom Street. It has been three years since her estranged husband passed away and she feels she is missing something in her life. She and three other widows gather on Valentine's evening and she comes up with an idea that they should each come up with a list of 20 wishes that they would like to do to revitalize their lives. Some of them are big and some are small. A couple of Anne's are to buy a pair of red boots and to see Paris with someone she loves. My only complaint about this book is that I want more. Macomber shares the major details of each widow's quest with us, but she could have made this into four books and I would have eaten them all up!

P.S. This book made me also seriously consider starting a list of my own 20 wishes. Maybe soon.