Jayson’s Reviews > The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories > Status Update
Jayson
is on page 127 of 368
Notes:
(1) The one thing that stuck with me about this story, from the first time I read it, is that it's morally questionable. Lo and behold, Charlaine Harris uses the exact words "morally questionable" in her story introduction.
- At least she's self-aware about how it's not exactly kosher.
- She also uses the words "pretty creepy"... though to me it's more about people being pretty creeps.
(Continued in comments)
— Jul 20, 2026 12:55PM
(1) The one thing that stuck with me about this story, from the first time I read it, is that it's morally questionable. Lo and behold, Charlaine Harris uses the exact words "morally questionable" in her story introduction.
- At least she's self-aware about how it's not exactly kosher.
- She also uses the words "pretty creepy"... though to me it's more about people being pretty creeps.
(Continued in comments)
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Jayson’s Previous Updates
Jayson
is on page 163 of 368
Notes:
(1) This came after A Touch of Dead, meaning I've not read it before.
- Which is a weird feeling, you know, considering (between prose and audiobooks) I'm on my second round with the novels and my third with the short stories hitherto—this book makes three.
(2) In the intro, Harris says this is her "favorite Sookie story, hands down."
- I wonder if that also includes the novels?
(Continued in comments)
— Jul 22, 2026 06:25PM
(1) This came after A Touch of Dead, meaning I've not read it before.
- Which is a weird feeling, you know, considering (between prose and audiobooks) I'm on my second round with the novels and my third with the short stories hitherto—this book makes three.
(2) In the intro, Harris says this is her "favorite Sookie story, hands down."
- I wonder if that also includes the novels?
(Continued in comments)
Jayson
is on page 103 of 368
Notes:
(1) "He was trying real hard to keep his eyes off my tank top. I would have put on a bra if I'd known we were going to have company."
- Couldn't she just excuse herself and put on a bra then?
- Is it a more awkward situation or less to reappear with a bra vs. having a whole visit where being braless is a distraction?
- If only Greg had accepted refreshments, she'd have reason to leave.
(Continued in comments)
— Jul 19, 2026 06:50PM
(1) "He was trying real hard to keep his eyes off my tank top. I would have put on a bra if I'd known we were going to have company."
- Couldn't she just excuse herself and put on a bra then?
- Is it a more awkward situation or less to reappear with a bra vs. having a whole visit where being braless is a distraction?
- If only Greg had accepted refreshments, she'd have reason to leave.
(Continued in comments)
Jayson
is on page 73 of 368
Notes:
(1) I remember when I first read this series: I was so confused, thinking I'd accidentally skipped a book or otherwise missed something when, in fact, the critical events referenced were actually in this short story.
- Charlaine Harris addresses exactly this in her story introduction. Apparently, mine is the prevailing experience.
- Good on her for acknowledging how much she messed up.
(Continued in comments)
— Jul 16, 2026 07:45PM
(1) I remember when I first read this series: I was so confused, thinking I'd accidentally skipped a book or otherwise missed something when, in fact, the critical events referenced were actually in this short story.
- Charlaine Harris addresses exactly this in her story introduction. Apparently, mine is the prevailing experience.
- Good on her for acknowledging how much she messed up.
(Continued in comments)
Jayson
is on page 47 of 368
Notes:
(1) "I'm around five foot six, and Sam tops me by maybe three inches. He's not a big guy, but he's much stronger than a plain human his size, since Sam's a shapeshifter."
- Once again, Sam's introduced with Sookie talking about how short he is.
- Geez, even in short stories, poor guy can't catch a break!
- Well, if anything, Charlaine Harris is wildly consistent—her memory never fails!
(Continued in comments)
— Jul 13, 2026 10:30PM
(1) "I'm around five foot six, and Sam tops me by maybe three inches. He's not a big guy, but he's much stronger than a plain human his size, since Sam's a shapeshifter."
- Once again, Sam's introduced with Sookie talking about how short he is.
- Geez, even in short stories, poor guy can't catch a break!
- Well, if anything, Charlaine Harris is wildly consistent—her memory never fails!
(Continued in comments)
Jayson
is on page 23 of 368
Addendum:
(1) Okay, elephant in the room: it's been over six months since I last picked this up—or revisited this series at all.
- Normally that wouldn't matter for a book of ostensibly-standalone short stories, except that my updates hitherto have been really informed and reference heavy.
- So, sorry to say, if you're expecting the same depth of commentary, the series is no longer as fresh to me and ripe for recall.
— Jul 04, 2026 12:00AM
(1) Okay, elephant in the room: it's been over six months since I last picked this up—or revisited this series at all.
- Normally that wouldn't matter for a book of ostensibly-standalone short stories, except that my updates hitherto have been really informed and reference heavy.
- So, sorry to say, if you're expecting the same depth of commentary, the series is no longer as fresh to me and ripe for recall.
Jayson
is on page 23 of 368
Notes:
(1) "I hate it when fairies come into the bar. They don't tip you worth a toot—not because they're stingy, but because they just forget."
- I'll give them a break, they likely don't observe the custom in whatever dimension they're from.
- Frankly, the vast majority of cultures in our own dimension neither tip nor expect tips. Could be Claudine lived a while in Scandinavia or East Asia?
(Continued in comments)
— Jan 20, 2026 09:45AM
(1) "I hate it when fairies come into the bar. They don't tip you worth a toot—not because they're stingy, but because they just forget."
- I'll give them a break, they likely don't observe the custom in whatever dimension they're from.
- Frankly, the vast majority of cultures in our own dimension neither tip nor expect tips. Could be Claudine lived a while in Scandinavia or East Asia?
(Continued in comments)
Jayson
is starting
Introduction:
(1) Goodreads really needs to take into account front matter (Roman-numeral) pagination for progress updates.
- Just going by the official page numbers, it looks like I haven't read anything at all!
(2) Correction: "A Touch of Dead" makes up a third of this, not half as I stated before.
- My mistake was comparing the page count for each book, not accounting for font differences.
(Continued in comments)
— Jan 18, 2026 01:00AM
(1) Goodreads really needs to take into account front matter (Roman-numeral) pagination for progress updates.
- Just going by the official page numbers, it looks like I haven't read anything at all!
(2) Correction: "A Touch of Dead" makes up a third of this, not half as I stated before.
- My mistake was comparing the page count for each book, not accounting for font differences.
(Continued in comments)
Jayson
is starting
Notes:
(1) My first time through the series, I read "A Touch of Dead," subtitled "Sookie Stackhouse, The Complete Stories."
- Premature, it turns out, since that amounts to little-more-than half of what's in this "Complete Stories."
- I don't know why they didn't just come out with a "Part 2." Instead, now I have to re-read the "A Touch of Dead" stories for the third time—my current audiobook re-read included!
— Jan 10, 2026 11:00AM
(1) My first time through the series, I read "A Touch of Dead," subtitled "Sookie Stackhouse, The Complete Stories."
- Premature, it turns out, since that amounts to little-more-than half of what's in this "Complete Stories."
- I don't know why they didn't just come out with a "Part 2." Instead, now I have to re-read the "A Touch of Dead" stories for the third time—my current audiobook re-read included!
- Well, she's wrong on both counts. First, you don't have to be a Christian to know it's Christmas, it's arguably the most secular holiday. Simply being out and about during the holiday season would be enough.
- Second, Niall knows it's Christmas. Harris' introduction spoils how he's behind the whole Christmas escapade.
(3) "It was really hard to listen to his words since there was a lot of bareness that kept my eyes busy. I resolutely focused my gaze above his chest. Which was covered, not too thickly, with dark brown hair. Across a broad expanse. Not that I was looking!"
- This is an interesting contrast with "Lucky," wherein Sookie's was the chest drawing eyeballs. Sookie goes from ogled to ogler.
- Apparently, chest hair has the same magnetic effect as bralessness.
- It's yet another reversal of gender norms in these short stories—along with the male strip club in "Fairy Dust" and Eric essentially fangirling in "Dracula Night."
- The message being, women are just as susceptible to involuntary sexual disinhibition as men.
(4) It just occurred to me how similar this is to when Sookie found Eric bare-chested and vulnerable in Dead to the World.
- Could Niall have known about that, or pulled it from her memories somehow, and wanted to recreate it for her?
- Of course, in this case, Sookie has to do a lot more heavy lifting.
- Classic Florence Nightingale Effect at work.
- Later: Sookie brings up the Eric situation, so this indeed was conscious mirroring.
(5) "My brother had offered my land as a Were parley ground? ... What was Jason thinking, sending such a dangerous gathering my way? Not of my welfare, that’s for sure."
- Gee, Jason really gets thrown under the bus!
- They weren't kidding when they said Niall doesn't like Jason because he looks like Dermot. That's some strong emotional transfer.
(6) "I was practically vibrating with purpose."
- Significant, because it shows that it's not just sexual excitement, but also the fact that Sookie's doing something useful/helpful with her time.
(7) "He was wearing a leather vest and leather pants and motorcycle boots. He actually had leather strips tied around his upper arms, and leather braces on his wrists. He looked like someone from a fetish magazine."
- There's definitely an air of community theatre to the whole production. Especially in retrospect, knowing the ending.
- It's like a fairy's idea of a scary biker Were.
(8) Preston: "She really is lovely, and sweet as nectar ... I only had to use a touch of magic to get the attraction started."
- See, this is where the story does a sharp turn from passionate one-night stand to... well, rape.
- To say magic was used is to suggest that Sookie wasn't naturally attracted to Preston nor predisposed to sleeping with him.
- He essentially roofied her, or at the very least got her drunk, and took advantage of her in an altered mental state.
- Did they actually try to spin sexual assault into an act of kindness?
(9) "'He knew we do a little community theater, that kind of thing.' The Were looked unconvincingly modest. 'So I got the part of Big Threatening Brute, and Curt was Other Brute.'"
- Well, I was on-the-money about the community theatre!
- So, he's an actual Were, just not a biker—hence the fetish attire.
(10) "As he looked at Sookie's happy face, he knew he had given her a unique yuletide memory."
- Yeah, not cool! You don't mind-control your great-granddaughter into sex with a stranger.
- The ends don't come close to justifying the means.
- Perhaps fairies do this all the time with their relatives? If so, ew!
- Cultural relativism has limits!
(11) In sum, a decent, somewhat benign romance story until the end reveal... which just makes you groan and shake your head.