So, what did y'all think about Sookie?

[Naomi Hirahara]

Did you catch the first episode of TRUE BLOOD, the HBO series based on the mystery books of Charlaine Harris (the Southern Vampire series)? If so, what did you think?

(I personally was thrilled to see a colleague's work being adapted for the small screen.)

[I. J. Parker]

I hate vampire stories. They're juvenile.

[I. J. Parker]

Well, that started it all. Mind you, the sexual context has always been there. I saw somehwere that the author's book was too restrained for one reader. The whole concept is a sexual fantasy.

[Angela]

I loved it, but a lot of my blog friends were pretty critical. I think it's good to remind yourself that it's coming from another persons imagination. It could never lessen my experience as a reader, but it's just cool to see how someone else might be seeing things, especially coming from Alan Ball! It could have been really cheesy, I like where he's taking it though.

[Dawn M. Kravagna]

Hi. I was happy to see a colleague had a new show and it sounded intriguing. I was looking forward to watching it. But I turned it off after a few minutes due to the language and overt sexual references. I was a fan of Rome and The Tudors, so I am not turned off by something that is not G-rated, but it went too far for me. I think this will limit the audience, although the acting seemed to be great from what I saw.

[Elizabeth Zelvin]

I loved it. It was hard to refrain from spilling the beans to my husband, who watched it with me (eg, "About that dog....), and I was sorry they chose to end the premiere with a cliffhanger rather than giving it two hours and finishing the first episode. BTW, having treated myself to HBO so I wouldn't miss True Blood, I had just watched five episodes of Rome the night before, and I don't think the sex in that was any less overt. I tend to skim the explicit stuff in the books, too, but that's not the point of this delightful and wildly original series, which jump-started the whole subgenre of paranormal mysteries, as far as I know.

[J.D. Rhoades]

Love the books. The show, not so much. The guy who played Bill was really overplaying the ominous and threatening bit to the point where it was almost comical, and Ball spent WAY too much time on the kinky sex angle.

Hope Charlaine made a pile of money, though. She's a great lady.

[Elizabeth Zelvin]

I was so pleased to sit down on the NYC subway last night next to a woman who was reading Club Dead. I've met Charlaine only briefly, but she is so much "one of us" that I can't help kvelling. And right across from me was someone reading Jason Pinter, whose picture appears in Daniel Hatadi's photos from his NY trip (along with me and Daniel).

[Naomi Hirahara]

How fun! Yes, sometimes I go into the mystery section with my husband and go down the line of bookshelves, "I know him, I know her, I know him, I know her." He just rolls his eyes.

[Elizabeth Zelvin]

Kindred spirits, Naomi. But we already knew that. :)