FINALLY finished it.

Assigned reading, aside from being excruciatingly boring, steals precious time from The List.

Anyway, onto the part where I review the book: it wasn't precisely what I anticipated. For example, the entire novel is composed of diary entries and letters written by the main characters - not Dracula, though. And no one utters the word "vampire" until page 165, and they're referring to the bats.

It was truly creepy, but towards the end of the book, the pace suddenly seemed to overdose on NyQuil and began moving at a sloth's pace towards the climax. (Why does that sound like a porno? Ahem, moving on.) Seriously, our jolly group of vampire hunters has deduced that Count Dracula is, in fact, a bloodsucker (took them long enough; I spent the first half of the book mentally shouting at the pages "He's a fucking vampire! Vampire vampire vampire!") and are journeying to Transylvania to go all Buffy on his undead behind. Great, but first we have to endure pages and pages of "and then we made our travel arrangements", "and then we purchased numerous fur coats because it's cold outside", and "we were all extremely patronizing to Madam Mina, because in case you've forgotten she is a delicate flower and her feeble lady-brain cannot handle the stress of this trip."

Let me discuss Mina for a moment here: after completing the book, I'm extremely tempted to pen a Dracula fan fic titled "Mina Harker: Vampire Hunter". She will be incredibly badass, don lots of leather, and slay countless vampires (first on her list: Carlise Cullen), and I suppose Jonathan can tag along too. I desire to do this because, throughout the entire book, I continuously awaited Mina to unleash her inner awesomeness, as I knew it was there. She's exceptionally intelligent - she's the one who figures out how Dracula is returning to his castle - is actually really brave, regardless of how often she claims she was scared senseless by the various undead happenings; and since she has a psychic connection with Dracula towards the end of the book, she's far more useful than Jonathan's whiny self. She needed to leave him and then flee with Van Helsing so they could battle vampires together.

It would look precisely like this

http://api.ning.com/files/RC0Zuusf3l-...

and it would be MADE OF AWESOME.

Why did it take me such a long time to read this masterpiece?

It's truly a classic for a very good reason, and now I have a deep understanding of why that is.

The writing is simply brilliant, with every sentence crafted to perfection.

The characters are not only engaging but also extremely intelligent, which makes them come alive on the pages.

Their actions and decisions are believable and add to the overall depth and complexity of the story.

I found myself completely immersed in the world created by the author, unable to put the book down.

This masterpiece has taught me the importance of taking the time to appreciate great literature and has left a lasting impression on me.

I will definitely be recommending it to others and looking forward to reading more works by this talented author.

I’m extremely glad that I finally got around to reading this. The way Bram Stoker formatted and told this story was truly fascinating and an incredibly fun experience. I found myself completely invested in Lucy’s storyline from the very beginning. Her character and the events that unfolded around her were captivating. However, I do think that after a certain point, it dragged on a little bit. It became a bit repetitive and could have been condensed.

Nevertheless, it was still a good read and definitely worth my time. It has its own charm and unique elements that make it a classic. I can see why it has endured over the years. That being said, I have to admit that I think I prefer Carmilla. The story of Carmilla had a certain allure and mystery to it that really appealed to me.

But still, Dracula is a classic for a reason. It has influenced countless works of literature and popular culture. It introduced us to the iconic vampire figure and set the stage for many vampire stories to come. So, even though it may not be my absolute favorite, I can still appreciate its significance and the impact it has had.

This book is truly an extraordinary account.

It mainly revolves around Jonathan Harker, who finds himself in a rather astonishing situation.

As he encounters Dracula, his reactions are filled with a mix of awe and wonder.

He exclaims, "Wow, this guy Dracula can fly? He's so cool and crazy!"

This simple statement captures the essence of his initial perception of the mysterious and powerful Dracula.

The reader is immediately drawn into Harker's world, sharing in his惊讶 and excitement.

It sets the stage for a thrilling adventure that will take Harker on a journey he could never have imagined.

With each passing page, we learn more about Dracula and the strange events that unfold around him.

This book is not just a story; it's an immersive experience that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.

Meh, it wasn't as great as I was hoping.

It really sucks too because I have a deep love for this beautiful little door stopper of a book. I used to hug it often!

Bastards! How could they make something so adorable that is now going to end up in the trade-in box?

Sigh. I truly adored the beginning. And don't get me wrong, it was still a good read....just not a fantastic one for me.

I'm glad that most everyone else in the world seems to have loved it

The author's review of "Dracula" is quite an interesting take. Shockingly, there wasn't as much vampire-related content as expected. Instead, it often read like a dull travelogue filled with emotions and an abundance of "bro love." All the men seemed to love the women, whether platonically or otherwise, to the extent of being willing to give their lives for the lucky lady who was Dracula's snack at the time. It was quite a love fest, but the author wasn't entirely convinced.

The portrayal of Dracula didn't exactly strike fear into the author's heart. Since Gary Oldman's beehived old woman portrayal, the author has been less scared of this character. In fact, Dracula seemed more like a host offering coffee cake and showing off his garage sale knick-knacks, while the cats got in the way.

The author also noted the prevalence of religious undertones in the story, which was a bit of a surprise. The idea of saving souls from damnation was a significant part of the narrative. However, the author felt that it wasn't the vampires' fault that they were damned, as they had once been humans targeted by other vampires. And poor Lucy's fate as a chew toy seemed rather unfair, especially since it was due to her being a sleepwalker.

The book had a large number of characters and frequent POV switches, which the author found a bit overwhelming. Most of what the characters were saying wasn't particularly interesting, so the decision to listen to the audiobook version was a good one. The author admitted to zoning out a few times and daydreaming about mundane things like getting the car's oil changed or what to have for dinner. But with so much superfluous information in the book, it didn't seem to matter much.

The first half of the book was described as unbelievably dull, with Mina fretting over Jonathan's lack of letters, Lucy getting mysteriously ill, and the doctor mooning over Lucy and watching a psychotic patient eat bugs. Renfield, the only character not constantly talking about friendship and loyalty, was the author's favorite. The second half was only slightly more engaging, with Van Helsing on the hunt for Dracula and various attempts to stop him. When Mina was finally brought into the loop, she showed herself to be a competent woman, much to the author's delight.

Overall, the author didn't find "Dracula" to be a fun read, but was glad to have read it and move on. It serves as a strange window into the past, reminding us that things could be worse. The author recommended the audio version with Tim Curry and Alan Cumming for those who might not have the patience to read the classic on their own.

Shockingly, not a whole hell of a lot of vampire stuff up in this bitch.


Mostly, it read like a dull travelogue with lots of emotions.


Bro love everywhere.


All the men loved all the women (platonically or otherwise) to the point they were willing to give their lives for whichever lucky lady was Dracula's snack at the time.


It was quite the love fest.


Quite frankly, I'm not sure I'm buying that, Stoker.







And Dracula?


Not since Gary Olman's beehived old woman portrayal have I been less scared of this character.






Welcome to my home. Allow me to get you some Entenmann's coffee cake whilst you peruse my garage sale knick-knack collection and trip over my cats...



So, I've come to realize that very few of the classic characters or stories even remotely resemble what you think they will based on their modern counterparts. And in my uneducated opinion, most classics just aren't all that much fun to read. They're boring and filled up with tedious shit that I don't care about, and certainly don't want to read about. <-- Scenery, weather, random feelings about the scenery or weather, etc..


I guess back in the day it was high fun to take walks, look at the landscape, and then go back home and write about it in your diary. And while I'm sure that sounds like heaven to some people who yearn for simpler times, the idea of reading about the nonsense of someone else's daily life makes me want to scratch my eyes out.







Something I was surprised by, although in retrospect I shouldn't have been, was all the religious undertones in the story. Ok, yes. I knew Dracula was evil and couldn't be near crosses and whatnot, but I didn't think about this being a casually religious story about saving souls from damnation.







Which, I mean, it's not like it was any fault of the vampires that they were dammed. At one time or another, they had all been humans who were targeted by another vampire as a snack. Vicious cycle and all that.


And poor Lucy seemingly ended up a chew toy simply because she was a sleepwalker.


Perhaps the moral of the story is that you need to make sure you aren't wandering around on moors at night so you don't get spotted by anemic monsters?







Speaking of Lucy, did anyone else notice how incredibly fucking lucky she was that every single guy in their group was a compatible blood type for her? All those blood transfusions! None of them even remotely hygienic or safe.


Forget supernatural demons who turn into bats - those transfusions were the scariest shit in this entire book.







Brace yourself, because there are a lot of characters and POV switches. Again, most of what they were saying wasn't all that interesting, so it made me doubly happy that I decided to go with the audiobook version of Stoker's tale.







And if I'm being 100% honest here, I probably zoned out a few times and daydreamed about when I needed to get the oil changed in my car or what we were having for dinner. But this is one of those books with a lot of superfluous information, so I don't think it hurt anything. I got the gist of it all okay without hanging on every word.







Fair warning, the first half of this book is unbelievably dull.


Mina writes in her diary about how she fretts over Jonathan's lack of letters from Transylvania & how hard it is to keep Lucy from wandering out the door at night, Lucy gets mysteriously ill & her fiancee gets worried, and the doctor dude (John Seward) moons over Lucy & watches one of his psychotic patients eat bugs.


Renfield, being the only character in the book who doesn't want to talk about friendship & loyalty every five minutes, was by far my favorite.







The second half of the book was only slightly more engaging to me, but at least there was a bit of urgency to it at that point. Van Helsing was on to Dracula, so garlic was being thrown over everything, stakes were being handed out like candy, and anything pertinent was being kept from Mina so as not to upset her delicate sensibilities.


And then when that backfired spectacularly, they cut her into the loop and she was able to do an old-timey version of what a competent woman looked like. They even compared her brain to that of a man! <--I love these old books. Really.







And what about Dracula?


Well, he was sort of this shadow figure that lurked around the edges of the book. You never really meet him. I know, right?! What about the whole Vlad the Impaler thing? How he fixated on Johathan & Mina for some reason?


Buzzz! Nope.







Ok, get this: Dracula had been sort of like a special needs zombie who was finally learning stuff - like math...and how to employ minions to carry his dirt around for him. Apparently, up to this point, he had just been harassing his neighbors and nibbling on Romanian women. This whole thing with Lucy & Mina was supposed to be his bid at going global.


Thank god for Van Helsing and his wacky foreign-man knowledge of urban legends.







I guess one of the oddest things that I realized about this horror story was that when Lucy & Mina started turning toward the dark side, they got sexy.


Yeah. Like, that was how you could tell they were creatures of the dammed. The men got all freaked out and weepy because their sweet, mild-mannered ladies lost their wholesome looks. They became \\n  wanton hussies\\n with throaty voices and pouty lips.


Holy shit, right? If that doesn't say something about how wackadoo things used to be, I don't know what will.


Innocence or else!







Anyway. This wasn't really a fun read but I'm glad I can finally say I've managed to put it behind me. Plus, it's one of those weird little windows into the past that reminds you things aren't as bad as they could be. I'd definitely recommend listening to the audio version with Tim Curry & Alan Cumming if you decide to go that route. The entire voice cast of this one really helped make it palatable for someone like myself who doesn't have the fortitude to read classics on their own.

I think a great deal has already been said about the book, with which I can concur.

It wasn't as terrifying as I had anticipated. Nevertheless, it was a suspenseful read as one was constantly braced for more horror to materialize, yet it didn't.

I found the beginning of the book, where Jonathan Harkness journeys to Dracula's castle, to be the most captivating part. The vivid description of the landscape, the native people, and the castle truly makes one expect dreadful occurrences.

Also, towards the end of the book, the landscape has a profound influence on the emotions. The male characters were, of course, extremely heroic, and the female characters required care and protection.

I believe this is typical of the era in which the book was written. However, I truly relished reading it. It's a powerful story with great suspense, but it has that little something extra that makes it a remarkable book.

And I had always known only some snippets of the story, which are now complete.

I want to suck your blood!!

What an amazing Gothic classic to listen to! The very idea of it sends shivers down your spine.


So, I finally took the plunge. I decided to take on the granddaddy of all vampire books. Thanks to a great recommendation from a friend named Terry on here, I chose to listen to this one instead of reading it.


This turned out to be a great decision. The characters in the audio book were excellent. Susan Duerden, in particular, was outstanding as Lucy Westenra. Her voice was beautiful and mesmerizing, truly bringing the character to life. All the narrators did a great job of differentiating each character, making it easy to follow along.


However, I didn't rate this higher than 4 stars. The reason being that Bram Stoker got a bit repetitive and tedious at times. The mention of boxes of dirt was used a bit too liberally in the story. But, to be fair, this was written in 1897. Did they even have editors back then? I've got to give him a break.


Well done, Stoker, on writing such a well-loved book that has withstood the test of time and public opinion. I mean, who doesn't love vampires or at least has heard about them? He basically created the legend. Or did he? Bau ha ha ha!


Fellow readers, if you haven't read this or listened to the audiobook, make sure to do so one day. Check it off your list. I don't think you'll be disappointed!

4.5 stars.

I'm more than happy to expound on why Dracula doesn't quite ascend to the lofty heights of a 5-star rating for me, but do beware of some minor spoilers along the way.

Surely, I can't be the only reader who made the incorrect assumption that this Gothic fiction masterpiece was penned by a Transylvanian and that the entire plot unfolds within the confines of Transylvania? Well, it does begin there, but the vast majority of the scenes are actually set in Britain, and it was written by an Irishman, Abraham (Bram) Stoker.

Dracula has been languishing on my 'to read' list for what seems like nearly a lifetime. When I reflect back, the delays had a great deal to do with the fact that the trailers and stills from the movies appeared rather silly and unconvincing to me.

I firmly believe that this novel is likely far superior to any adaptation. And speaking of imagination, the author truly invited me to let my own imagination run wild. He had a remarkable knack for creating an atmosphere of fear and dread. He accomplished this in an epistolary novel, using a combination of letters, diaries, and reports, and I really took a shine to that format.

I recently caught an episode of Joanna Lumley's travel series around the UK, and I nearly fell off my chair when she visited Whitby, a North Yorkshire seaside city with the ruins of a moody 7th Century monastery-turned-abbey, and reported that these were referenced in the story. This truly piqued my interest and promptly bumped Dracula up the list.

I really relished this read, albeit slightly marred by a couple of lulls in the text that seemed to drag on. There was also a touch of sexism, you know, the kind where it's like 'Off you go now, my dear, while the men retire to smoke cigars and talk men's business'. However, I was willing to be forgiving considering it was written in the Victorian era, and that's not to say there wasn't a gutsy female character who came to the forefront.

I think it's now high time to give the 1992 film, with Gary Oldman in the lead, another shot.

For this reread (one of many), I decided to listen to the Audible full cast version. Oh my, it was truly delicious!

The narrator casting was simply outstanding. In fact, I firmly believe that a more perfect narrator casting than Tim Curry as Van Helsing does not exist. His performance brought the character to life in the most vivid and engaging way.

The entire full cast added to the overall experience, making it a truly immersive and enjoyable listen. I found myself completely captivated by the story from start to finish.

If you're a fan of this particular work or just looking for a great audiobook experience, I highly recommend giving this Audible full cast version a try. You won't be disappointed!

So first things first, I must say that I truly adored this book! To be honest, I did encounter a few issues with it, but overall, my experience was extremely enjoyable.

I am a huge enthusiast of vampires. However, in my opinion, many of the new age vampires simply do not measure up to the older versions. For instance, the fact that Dracula is repelled by garlic and crosses and all those traditional elements, I really liked. It added a sense of authenticity and nostalgia to the story.

Moreover, it has been a long time since I read a book where I liked every single character. In this particular book, each character was so captivating and engaging to read about. In fact, at times, I completely forgot that all these diverse characters were written by the same author, as they were all so well-developed and distinct.

Nevertheless, my only gripe was that the last 100 pages were a bit of a struggle to get through. It felt as if the story just kept dragging on and on, and I was eagerly waiting for it to come to an end. But despite this minor flaw, as a whole, I really relished reading this book!

No man knows till he has suffered from the night how sweet and how dear to his heart and eye the morning can be. This profound statement sets the tone for a story that is filled with love, mystery, and a permeating sense of dread.

This classic vampiric tale takes the reader on a theatrical and tense journey through the tropes of gothic fiction. Every element of this book, from the well-developed characters to the atmospheric settings, is carefully crafted to create an unsettling image. The dark environment is shrouded in horror and turmoil, with vivid descriptions of the soil, water, fog, and snow that engage the reader's senses.

The epistolary manner of storytelling allows for a deep connection with the characters. It provides a way to enter their perspective, understand their interactions, and窥探 their thoughts. As each person's writing is gradually infiltrated by the count's appearances, it creates a captivating build-up of a villain-like character that maintains a sense of mystery and foreboding. It's like an overarching presence that manifests into various forms of reality.

My only criticism of this book is the pace. At times, some portions of the book felt particularly slow. However, this is not a drastic flaw, especially considering the emotional strength of the ending. Overall, it's a particularly eerie read and a classic that is well worth the time.