The Buffy Book Shelves

GUIDES TO THE SHOW

The Watcher's Guide
Written by: Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder

This book offers complete episode guides, quotes, scenes not seen on air, and exclusive interviews with the Buffy cast and crew. With the exception of some errors, this book is definitely worth the buy. There are tons of new pictures both color and B/W, and the information provided in this book is something every dedicated fan should know. I personally found this book to be very informative and a great resource for fans. (Even I have to look something up every once in a while.)

The Girl's Got Bite
Written by: Kathleen Tracy

This book is based more upon the actors and crew behind Buffy than the actual characters, providing quotes from those such as Joss Whedon and Sarah Michelle Gellar. It is an unofficial guide to the show, but provides episode guides for the first two seasons of episodes as well as many new pictures, although black and white. While this book isn't one of my favorite sources for information on Sarah Michelle Gellar and Buffy only because, as a dedicated fan to both Sarah and the show, I knew a lot of the material provided. However, it is an excellent source for those who aren't so dedicated. Even so, fans who spend all of their free money on Buffy merchandise, this is a good buy.

Buffy X-Posed: The Unauthorized Biography of Sarah Michelle Gellar & Her On-Screen Character
Written by: Ted Edwards

Buffy X-Posed comes complete with episode guides, cast bios, photos, and information about both the TV series and movie and their casts. Although this book does contain several errors (including an image of 7th Heaven's Jessica Biel in place of Juliet Landau) it does offer information and original pictures of Sarah and the rest of her Buffy castmates. Plus, bonus points for being the only book out there right now that lists my site, The Buffy Cross & Stake in it's web page listing.

Bite Me!: Sarah Michelle Gellar & Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Written by: Nikki Stafford

This is an great book filled with information and pictures of Sarah Michelle Gellar and the rest of the Buffy cast as well as episode guides and reviews. The book, as most of the others features Sarah Michelle Gellar but does contain bios for all of the other cast members, and both B/W and color pictures. It also features pictures from the 1998 Posting Board Party with the cast of Buffy.

Meet the Stars of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Written by: Stefanie Scott and Jan Gabriel

This guide does contain quite a few good pictures, but compared to the other books out there for the series, it's not as good. It does give an in-depth look into the star's lives before they got the roles on Buffy, and important information on their careers though. There are 16 pages worth of pictures, some new, some old. If you're a dedicated fan, who buys everything Buffy related, this is not a bad book to buy, but if you're not willing to spend all your money on every possible Buffy book, I would recommend the other show guides much more.

Buffy Chronicles: The Unofficial Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Written by: N. E. Genge

In addition to a complete episode guide, this book comes complete with behind-the-scenes information on the cast and crew. It contains pictures, mostly candid of the cast and crew. Although it's an official guide, and lacks that official information source, it does contain quite a bit of information on the show. In my opinion, the Watcher's Guide is a better buy, if you're just going to buy one book, but it is still a good buy.

Sunnydale High Yearbook
Written by: Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder

This book is only partially a guide to the show, but because of it's extensive picture coverage and information on the characters of the show, it's appearing on this page. This creatively designed book is by far no the best source if you're looking for accurate information on the show. The pages are covered with autographs from the characters and information that would appear if Sunnydale High were a real school. 80% of the information in the book is made-up, and the autographs most likely are not by the actors that play the characters. However, there are quite a few good pictures, including 12-pages of full-color pictures.