Let me first say that the books are a lot like the show in some ways and completely different in other ways. The first book especially is very much like the first season. After that, the television series has seemed to stray further and further from the books, using bits of the mythology and plot but not really following the books as completely as the first season. I love them both so I am not going to say I like one or the other better. They are too different to even try and pick a favorite. The books have, however, made me appreciate certain things about the television series more. For instance, I love love love the character of Eric after reading the first seven books. I really liked him before. Now I LOVE him.
Charlaine Harris has created a world in the Southern Vampire Mysteries that is so intricate and awesome, I have to go ahead and give the first seven novels 5 stars each. The books are easy reads. I flew through them. They definitely not dumbed down romance novels though. There is a lot of political and social commentary in the subtext that can keep an anti-romance reader interested. For the romance lovers...there is a lot of sex. Vampire sex, Werewolf sex, shape-shifter sex, Fae sex...any kind of sex you can imagine. There is something for everyone!
I loved every book but my favorites were books 3&4: Club Dead and Dead to the World. You'll see why when you read them :)
