But, what's all of this got to do with a blog about books? Because some of the best TV shows on right now are based on popular book series. We all are familiar with books being brought to life in the movies with varying levels of success, but a developing trend right now seems to be turning popular books series into TV shows. Case in point: Gossip Girl.
I adore this show. It's pure teen soap and more than a little trashy, but I can't help but love it. Based on the popular teen book series of the same name, the CW network show follows NYC, prep school teens from the upper east side who are the children of NYC's most elite, with the exception of Dan and Jenny Humphrey and their friend, Vanessa. The book series is even trashier than the TV show so don't let your young ones read the books if you don't want them to read about teenagers drinking, bed-hopping, and worse. The books and the TV show both follow the lives of these teens through an anonymous teen gossip blog called Gossip Girl, who seems to see all and know all. I actually like the show better than the books, because the show gives the characters a lot more depth, making them more complex and less like caricatures, which the books tend to do. I especially love what the show has done with the Chuck character, especially with his relationship with Blair. Both the show and the books are highly addictive, and the books can be read in the same amount of time as an episode of the show.
The CW network is hoping lightning will strike twice this fall when it premieres another TV show based on a popular teen series, The Vampire Diaries.
The Vampire Diaries is a series of books written by L.J. Smith. These books were actually first published in the nineties, but were recently republished, due, I'm sure, to the unbelievable popularity of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. The books center around two vampire brothers, Stefan and Damon, who are in love with the human high school girl, Elena. Stefan and Damon have fought over the same girl before, which led to them being turned into vampires. While Stefan is repulsed by his vampiric nature and tries not to feed on human blood, Damon embraces the vampire life and has no qualms about feeding off of humans. I recommend these books to anyone who has finished the Twilight series and wants to read more books like Twilight. The series has all of the angst and romance of Twilight, and it's also pretty clean of gore, sex, and language. I like the Twilight books better because the characters are better written and I was much more into the relationships of Twilight than I was of the ones in The Vampire Diaries. Still, I enjoyed both series, and I am very excited about the TV show. This is the same network that brought us Buffy the Vampire Slayer after all.
If you liked Twilight, but still would like to read an adult novel, I would recommend the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlane Harris. I read the first book, Dead Until Dark, recently and really enjoyed it. There are a lot of similarities to Twilight, but has more adult content. This series was recently made into a TV show as well: True Blood on HBO. Season One recently came out on DVD and I watched the first two episodes this week. Not for those with delicate ears and sensibilities, but so far it follows the book exactly. I might post a more detailed review later when I've watched more of the show.
Until next time,
Julie
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