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    The Sookie Stackhouse Companion
    The Sookie Stackhouse Companion
    The Sookie Stackhouse Companion
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Sookie Stackhouse Companion

    Written by Charlaine Harris

    Narrated by Laurie Birmingham, Johanna Parker, Christina Moore and

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Fans of Charlaine Harris' #1 New York Times bestselling Sookie Stackhouse novels will find much to enjoy in this companion to the immensely popular series. Included are a never-before-published novella and an exclusive interview with Alan Ball, creator of HBO's True Blood. Sookie herself guides listeners on a behind-the-scenes tour of Bon Temps, a peek at the werewolf and were-panther communities, a glimpse through the racks of her best friend Tara's dress shop, and a look at Merlotte's-the bar where Sookie earns her living.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateAug 30, 2011
    ISBN9781449867096
    The Sookie Stackhouse Companion
    Author

    Charlaine Harris

    Charlaine Harris is a New York Times bestselling author who has been writing for over thirty years. She was born and raised in the Mississippi River Delta area. She has written four series, and two stand-alone novels, in addition to numerous short stories, novellas, and graphic novels (cowritten with Christopher Golden). Her Sookie Stackhouse books have appeared in twenty-five different languages and on many bestseller lists. They’re also the basis of the HBO series True Blood. Harris now lives in Texas, and when she is not writing her own books, she reads omnivorously. Her house is full of rescue dogs.

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    Reviews for The Sookie Stackhouse Companion

    4/5

    16 ratings10 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I loved this book. Since I’m just waiting to receive the next Sookie book on my mail, it was so good to read this recap of the previous books. It wasn’t boring at all! It made me remember so many details that I couldn’t possibly recall otherwise. As these books are so amazing, I usually don’t put them down until I finish them, which makes it harder to remember some details afterwards (also because it’s such a rich world!).The secret conversations between Bill and Eric are awesome (I’m repeating myself but I can’t put things otherwise). They made me laugh and bite my nails and giggle.The interview with Alan Ball was also helpful in understanding how and why TV series are the way they are. Most fans kept asking some variations of «why did you do this to our characters?», and it was fun to read how Alan dodged some of the "accusations".The recipes!!! I can’t wait to cook them! I bet they’re all so very tasty (though not so healthy…).In the end there’s an encyclopedia referring to all the characters and places in the books and short stories as well. Very handy.In sum: great useful book, and I’m so glad it was written!
    • 4/5
      Can a companion book for a long running series that will be ending in the next one or two books really be worthwhile to a reader? I had my doubts but was pleasantly surprised at what I found. My pre-order for this book was placed long before the release of Dead Reckoning and hearing that the series would be coming to an end. I found I was distancing myself from the characters when reading Dead Reckoning; most likely as a defense mechanism to deal with the grief. So when I got my notice that the book had been shipped, I found myself wishing I'd saved some money. But I'm glad I've got it. This book is loaded with information ranging from the author's writing career, to separate interviews with Alan Ball (TrueBlood) and Charlaine using reader's questions, Southern Recipes (definitely found a few I want to try), an unpublished Sookie story (Sam takes Sookie to his brother's wedding) , trivia tests (and I thought I knew the series fairly well - hah!) , a greatly shortened version of each book along with added personal correspondence between Eric and Bill as it relates to the happenings in each book. Not enough? How about a map of Bon Temps, a list of every character ever mentioned in the books and who they are. There are also sections on Sookie's take on vampires, the two-natured and fairies, an explanation for the Sookie and related short stories, and a section regarding the fan club. Whew! So did I find the entire book useful? Well no. Much of that will depend on how much you already know about the books and the author. Some of it was new to me or nice to know. Things like the "Readers Digest" version of each book wasn't necessary for me, although I did enjoy the personal communication between Eric and Bill that followed each story. And the chances are really good you won't sit down and just read about every character ever mentioned in the books, found in the last chapter of the book. It's obvious a great deal of work went into this section that takes up a third of the book. My only complaint with the format is that if you are trying to recall a character's name in a particular book to use in a discussion, good luck. You've got over 150 pages to wade through. The short story is definitely worth reading. Small Town Wedding takes place before Dead Reckoning and is roughly 76 pages long. It was obvious we'd missed something when reading Dead Reckoning, and the level of fear and anger that some are feeling knowing that the two-natured not only exist but live in their town is really showcased in this story and is important to the overall series. I enjoyed much of the information provided in the book along with the short story. It was definitely a worthwhile purchase.
    • 4/5
      I especially enjoyed novella, the interview with Charlaine Harris, and the plot summaries of each book. I read the books as they were published and sometimes it took me awhile to remember who all the characters were. The correspondence between Eric and Bill was a nice touch to tie the plot summaries together. Also, I learned about some short stories in the Sookieverse that I hadn't seen, and I loved the map. As series companion volumes go, this one is decent.
    • 4/5
      Let's see, what do you need to know about this one? I guess we'll start with, is it entertaining/enlightening? Yes, to an extent, about as much as you'd likely expect. Is it an "essential read"? Probably not. Why do I answer as I did? This book has one new Sookie Stackhouse novella in it, focusing on Sookie and Sam's long-awaited trip to his brother's wedding, where trouble awaits (of course). It offers as much entertainment and fun as you'd expect from a novella-sized mini dose of Sookie. The rest of the book is somewhat enlightening, but not anything I'd consider "critical," even for die-hard fans. There are mini-interviews with Alan Ball about the "True Blood" TV show, and with Charlaine Harris about the Sookie Stackhouse series. There's also a complete series timeline/summary section (complete through "Dead Reckoning"), which basically just repeats what is in the books but does give a solid actual date for all the events, and an alphabetical index of all the characters and entities in the series, which could come in handy if you forget who someone is or something. There's also series trivia, a recipe section, and some short essays about the Charlaine Harris fan club, Sookie's experiences, all of Charlaine Harris's writings, and so on (including a definitive guide to where the short stories fit in the reading order/timeline). There's also a map of Bon Temps, and a Stackhouse family tree. They're a little fun, but not really necessary.Really, that's about it. So, unless you're dying for every single variation of every scrap of info you can get, you'd likely only truly be strongly interested in the novella. If the book is worth it to you just for that, then go for it. The rest of the content is nice, but not anything to weigh a reading/purchasing decision on, unless you feel a strong need for an alphabetized character index or whatever.I do hope nobody misunderstands me though. I think this companion book is quite well done for what it is, and they did a good job putting it together and giving fans the info they may want or need, with some extras, just as any good series companion book should do. However, like all such books, the need the majority of fans will feel for it is probably somewhat low. It's the kind of thing most will likely borrow from somewhere or someone to flip through once, but won't necessarily add to their keeper shelves as readily as they might with the main series books.I hope this made sense, and helped a bit.
    • 4/5
      If anyone is hooked on the Southern Vampire Mysteries or wants to be, this would be a good book to have because it summarizes the plots of all 11 novels and gives brief bios of all the characters. When a series gets this long it's hard to remember what happened to everyone, and this is a handy reference. The book starts with a little novella about Sam and Sookie's trip to a wedding and is filled with the usual violence and shifter interactions. Sookie just gets stronger and more in control. There's an interview with Alan Ball, a chapter about the Charlatans - Charlaine Harris's fan club- and even some down home southern recipes. The famous Bellefleur chocolate cake is here, who'd a guessed what it's made of. Recommended for die hard fans or those just wanting to check out the series.
    • 4/5
      The Good Stuff * Enjoyed the latest Sookie novella included. It was such a nice story that shows the love and respect that Sam and Sookie have for each other * Love the recipe section filled with tons of fun southern recipes with familiar True Blood names. Will be making the Perdita's Bread Pudding with Bourban Sauce (My fav dessert) and Portia's Sweet Potato Pie in the next couple of weeks * The "Life in Bon Temps" time-line is a fantastic addition and will be handy as a quick read before you read the new stories in the series. Basically it gives you a synopsis of each book with some often hilarious "Secret Dialogues of Bill and Eric" at the end of each synopsis. * I totally geeked out with the Map of Bon Temps and the Sookie Family Tree * Love the way Charlaine Harris turns a phrase. Some of the stuff that comes out of Sookie's mouth makes me LMAO * A good background piece on Sookie's thoughts on the various paranormal beasts that she is surrounded by. Not really new stuff but a good summary * Again not new, but a nice little background to Charlaine's various literary works * Nice having everything in one placeThe Not so Good Stuff * Trivia section really is only for true fans who pay attention to every little detail -- which I guess wouldn't be me as I had no idea to many of the questions * The section on the Duck Pond, couldn't figured out why it was included. I understand the need to mention the fan clubs, etc -- but I really could care less about the author and why she became a fan. No offense, I am sure she is lovely, but it was not neededFavorite Quotes/Passages"Some women have long careers as bridesmaids; I had a long career of being a pretend girlfriend.""I didn't say anything, but I could sort of understand feeling sympathy for someone who'd suddenly discovered his wife changed into a different creature. Of course, shooting that wife was a gross overreaction, but watching your wife transform into a dog ... That would shake any man."Who should/shouldn't read * Fantastic for the long time fan and those new to the series * Will have to buy a copy for both Melanie and my niece Tanya * Not really for fans of the TV show as it mostly deals with book Sookie and not Alan Ball's take on the characters3.75 Dewey'sI received this from Penguin in exchange for an honest review
    • 4/5
      Rating: 3.75* of fiveThe Book Report: Exactly what the title says: a companion to the series of novels through book 11. Character synopses, book synopses, Q&A with Miss Harris, Q&A with Alan Ball who created True Blood based on the characters in the novels, a chronology of the whole canon including short fiction. Plus an original novella!My Review: For all the non-novella material: Nicely done, no surprises.The novella, "Small-Town Wedding", sees Sookie on her way to the much-delayed wedding of her boss Sam Merlotte's younger, non-shape-shifter brother to a fully human girl in small Wright, Texas. Sam's mother Bernie was shot by her second husband when the shape-shifter community came out the way the vampires did, and Bernie hasn't been forgiven by the town since it all came down, not least because her second husband was popular and is now in jail.Sookie is, as always, walking into a fireworks factory while givin' off sparks. She arrives lookin' all prettfied and Sam's various womenfolk start the grill to roast her history and plans out of Sookie. They seem disappointed that she's not the future Mrs. Merlotte, but they don't even get halfway down the sad ladder because the wedding's being used in a bitter and cynical way by evil Fellowship of the Sun-ites to test how hard and how effective it will be to get mobs to protest and prevent shifter marriages.The wedding takes place, the evildoers are thwarted, and tolerance is barely, barely winning the day. But Harris's larger message, that folks with spare hatin' time need to find themselves some useful work in this life and start makin' the world a better place, resonates strongly with me. It is a commonsensical response to the world that I wish more of humanity shared. Harris's vampire and shifters and other supes are stand-ins for all the glorious variety of humanity that exists, and the responses of the good or the bad characters to that variety is so real and so nuanced that it almost hurts to read. Harris doesn't let one single character or person or group off any hook, she just shows her readers what the other side of the argument is really thinking and feeling, good and bad. She works on the assumption that understanding lessens anger.Know what? She's right. Dammit to hell!
    • 2/5
      I enjoyed the short story at the beginning. I also didn't mind the review of past books to refresh my memory before I read the newest book in the series. I didn't care about the trivia, recipes and all that stuff though.
    • 4/5
      A great book for those obsessed with the Sookie-verse. Contains a synopsis of each book and short story, questions and answers from Charlaine Harris and Alan Ball, and an A to Z guide of who is who and what in the verse.
    • 5/5
      Charlaine harris best work is the sookie books and here not only do you get a recap of the whole series, but some short stories as well including what happened when she went to the wedding with Sam! Can't recommend this and the sookie series enough!