The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires

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But thing was, the first half of the book was boring to me. You get to know these stereotypical southern belles and learn about their lives. And the whole time I'm just wondering when we get to stake a vampire. Because vampires are the original serial killers, stripped of everything that makes us human-they have no friends, no family, no roots, no children. All they have is hunger. They eat and eat but they’re never full. With this book, I wanted to pit a man freed by all responsibilities but his appetites against women whose lives are shaped by their endless responsibilities. I wanted to pit Dracula against my mom. I really enjoyed the first 1/3 of Grady Hendrix's The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. It does a great job of setting up our cast of southern mothers who live these complacent, boring lives and decide to spice it up by organizing a book club that reads a mix of murder mysteries, romance, and thrillers. Despite the small-town charm and close-knit ties in Mt. Pleasant, Patricia finds her confidence broken again and again by people she trusts. How is her trust betrayed, both inside her social circle and beyond her community?

The novel is a charming testament to friendships and life’s imperfections, with dashes of rot and savagery to earn its keep in horror literature….It’s a rollercoaster [that]lands as a vampire story concreted in vileness and Southern charm.”— Fangoria I loved that Hendrix said he didn't appreciate what all his mother did for him until he got older and understood how much she sacrificed. That's so sweet. I mean that. I am not sure what the appropriate gesture is to make toward the family of the woman who bit off your ear, but if you felt absolutely compelled, I certainly wouldn’t take food.” But marriage changed all that. She's now a stay-at-home mom and with the way her husband treats her...it is a sobering thought, the life that's ahead of her.The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires” by Grady Hendrix is one hell of a ride. I’ve read Hendrix before and also enjoyed “The Final Girl Support Group” very much as his writing style, character development, plot twists, and all the creepy/scary situations are done very well. Hendrix writes Horror Comedy so well, somehow making it lighthearted, yet horrifying at the same time. It's really quite a skill. But that's the whole point. In the author's note, Hendrix states that he "wanted to pit Dracula against my mom". It's a nod to those women who carry out the majority of the childcare and household chores, as well as shouldering the emotional burden. And, hell, these housewives might vacuum their curtains and freeze 60 sandwiches at the beginning of the month for school lunches, but they have some serious claws. Patricia Campbell remembers what life was like before she gave into motherhood - she was an amazing nurse and strong-willed. You can listen to free, amazing, and did I mention free podcasts Grady Hendrix is the author of the novels Horrorstör, about a haunted IKEA, and My Best Friend's Exorcism, which is like Beaches meets The Exorcist, only it's set in the Eighties. He's also the author of We Sold Our Souls, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, and the upcoming (July 13!) Final Girl Support Group!

They also read In Cold Blood, Helter Skelter, and, after James takes over and they get overrun by men, Tom Clancy (who Patricia hates). as a preview, here’s a (relatively) cute version of aural invasion. it’s cute if you think, like i did at first, that it’s a ring-tailed lemur in some sort of cave but then OH NOOOOO! Patricia Campbell had always planned for a big life, but after giving up her career as a nurse to marry an ambitious doctor and become a mother, Patricia's life has never felt smaller. The days are long, her kids are ungrateful, her husband is distant, and her to-do list is never really done. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a group of Charleston mothers united only by their love for true-crime and suspenseful fiction. In these meetings, they're more likely to discuss the FBI's recent siege of Waco as much as the ups and downs of marriage and motherhood.Everything about the believability of this control narrative was horrific to read, but compelling. The knowledge that women were treated like this—real women, their lives utterly under their man’s thumbs. These were the monsters in our bedrooms. The serial killers of Helter Skelter and The Stranger Beside Me weren’t vampires, they were the husbands. Although there is one obvious monster at the center of the story, we learn that fear, dread, and terror come in many forms. Is there more than one kind of monster? What are the scariest elements of this story and why? You can listen to free, amazing, and did I mention free podcasts of his fiction on Pseudopod. He also does a podcast called Super Scary Haunted Homeschool. This was my first Hendrix and I LOVED it! Its a fun, energetic horror that is not my usual genre but was so engrossing to read. There are moments that make you laugh, make you cringe, gory images that turn your stomach and a couple of serious incidents. So light hearted is definitely not the word but it's definitely not your serious horror either. It throws all sort of stereotypes out there and I know that's one thing Grady has been criticized over. But for me it forms an important part of the time and small town culture of the book - it's uncomfortable truths that aren't meant to be altogether pleasing. I loved the women of the book club and the strange James Harris, and couldn't help imagining how our local book club would deal with the same crazy situation 😂This was one of the funnest audio books I have listened to! I had a physical copy gifted to me after I started but I just wanted to keep going with the audio as the narration was so brilliant. The strong southern accent and different character voices brings the small town community feel to life a b Codega, Linda H. (2020-04-07). "The Monsters They Married Are Men: The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix". Tor.com . Retrieved 2020-07-11.

The tone is wildly inconsistent. Speaking of satire... The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires tries to be funny. None of it felt funny to me. it's not an eek-scare book, but it has one of the best inspiration-stories i've seen. from the author’s note:When a handsome stranger moves to town, Patricia is intrigued and oddly enough, he seems interested in joining the conversation. Fabulous dialogue. “Between us we’ve been cleaning houses for eighty years,” says one woman to another as they contemplate cleaning up an extravagant bloody crime scene. “I think we’re up to the challenge.” Patricia and her pals weren't worried about how to pay for a yearbook or a present for a birthday party that their kids were invited to. They were worried about upsetting their husbands or adhering to a silly set of rules of propriety that most of us aren't boujee enough to even be aware of, much less feel the need to follow. A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.