Books
Dead Until Dark, The First Sookie Stackhouse Novel, by Charlaine Harris. This is the novel that the TV show True Blood is based on and lord it is terrible (and enjoyable.) I believe that Charlaine Harris could best Stephenie Meyer in a writing contest, but it would be a close call. However, unlike Twilight, a lot of shit happens in this book including a healthy dose of sex and violence. In one scene Sookie discovers her Grandmother brutally murdered in their kitchen and a couple of pages later she loses her virginity to her new vampire boyfriend (as you do). Basically, I highly recommend it.
Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld. Prep is difficult to describe because the story is so seemingly simple. A girl from a middle class family in the Midwest gets a scholarship to go to a fancy prep school on the East coast. It is a brilliantly written book and one of the most realistic books I've read about being a teenager. The main character's angst is believable and never overdone. Her behavior is so realistically teenagery that I actually cringed and at one point had to put the book down. Anyway, the story is much more complex than I am able to describe (incorporating class, race and gender issues) but it is a great book and you should read it (although it doesn't contain any vampire sex).
TV Shows
True Blood. This show is total crack. I have watched two seasons of it and I have no idea if I think it is a good show. Is it well written or well acted? I don't know and I don't care. It is incredibly addictive for much the same reasons the book is. However, it works even better in the tv show because the insane levels of sex and violence (and the tv show adds much more of these, especially the sex) are so much more visceral. Ula and I would get this on netflix, one disc at a time and proceed to watch every episode on the disk the day we got it. Then we'd wait desperately for the next and do it all again. If you like to be entertained and you like naked people, this is the show for you.
Friday Night Lights. This show is about high school football in a small town in Texas and it rocks. The 4th season is currently on demand and it is so fucking good. Unlike True Blood, I can confidently say that this is one of the best written and best acted shows on television. The relationship between Coach Taylor and Tammy Taylor is bar none the best relationship on TV. I do not know anyone who likes football less than I do (maybe Ula?) but that doesn't stop me from being obsessed with a show about high school football. I have probably watched 10 times as many football games played by the fictional Dillon Panthers than I did of my own high school's team when I was a student (sorry SLO Tigers!). I believe this show appeals to everyone (I was initially convinced to watch it after reading a review in Bitch magazine) - men, women, gay, straight, black, white and Tim Riggins' fans.
That is Tim Riggins, and I love him.
I was going to write about music and movies, but I'm exhausted.
