Oh man. When you finish Season 3, we should talk about Sookie and Bill.

As for Jessica: Just the fact that she exists speaks volumes for how much work the show is putting in to fleshing out the world. Every series needs someone to notice how mad all the other characters are. (I'm thinking Jenks and Molly Carpenter.) But what they've done with Jessica, using her to really examine what being a vampire means in this setting, and how it changes someone's life... She's kind of our "everyman" vampire, and I love her for it. I very much doubt the books have anyone similar.