Touch of Dead and other matters

October is here, more than half way already. I didn't really notice due to minivac agenda... however, along with my thoughts, October is here again.

October is the month of convergence. No matter how much I try to avoid it, there's a happy little pagan that rejoices in me, there is also a bit of Judaism that squeezes in to bring spice to my Christian faith.

October is Sukkot and Tabernacles and being a stranger in a strange land and hoping to cross paths with people bound to change our lives. It is also a time of everlasting dusk and orange, black, crimson old and Irish. It also marks the Anniversary of my leaving New York and my promise to comeback in better shape than when I left. Nine years and counting, something tells me 2010 will bring me back to it in October to take in that particular smell, a mix of edge of winter, spark and mass transportation. It's hard to describe, and sounds nothing romantic, but it's there and belongs solely to the heart of New York. As of late, I just want it.

Anyhooo, I've been doing some light reading to deal with my True Blood separation anxiety, which lead me to pick up A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris. It's a short story collection taking place in the Sookieverse, sorta in between book whereabouts of Ms. Stackhouse. It is a fun read, like all things Harris, but as I read, I couldn't help but wonder how much has the HBO adaptation influenced her writing style, if only at an unconscious level.

Best example is perhaps DRACULA NIGHT in which Ms. Harris took the bold step ( and made my fangirl heart beat 3 times faster than usual) to give a shout out to Louis through no other than Pam.

By far, that was my favorite story, kinda a wacky retelling of It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, courtesy of the staff of Fangtasia and an Eric Northman shivering with antici... pation!

The fact that this particular incarnation of Pam is fiercely loyal, yet as not adoring of her maker as in the books and that Eric is a little bit somber and broodier than usual made it even funnier. This woman needs to have a talk with Anne Rice and send me straight to vampire heaven... LOL.

I did miss, and it will sound weird coming out of my mouth, the weres. I find Harris' take on high-end shifters fascinating and was looking for sorta of a Smoky Mountain Christmas at Hotshot instead of the Christmas bit GIFT WRAP, which in my opinion was the weakest of the shorts.

I'm done with my reading, and it's still October, although no one has told the State of Florida yet, 'cause it's hot and muggy and bright and I still need to wait a half hour for nightfall...