Books and Such

I've been reading a lot more lately. I've finally jumped on the vampire bandwagon and started reading....
Dracula.

That's right, Dracula by Bram Stoker. I've never read it before, and I decided to participate in an online read-along/knit-along that's reading Dracula for the book and knitting something red for the knitting portion. It's technically not supposed to begin until January 3, but I'm cheating and starting early. So far I've read the first four chapters. It's intriguing and suspenseful and nothing like I expected. Although, my expectations were not very clear, anyway, as I'm not a big aficionado of the vampire genre.

My limited exposure to vampire stories includes watching the movie Interview with the Vampire while in college (which is also a book, but I haven't read it) and reading the books Bloodsucking Fiends and You Suck by Christopher Moore (both subtitled A Love Story). I never had a strong desire to watch Interview with the Vampire when it originally came out, but one night my room mate and I walked into our dorm lobby and people were watching it. We saw enough to get intrigued, but didn't finish it then since we'd come in about half way through the movie. We rented it at some later point and watched the whole thing. Good flick, but not enough to make me obsessed with vampires. I read the Christopher Moore books, because I'm a Christopher Moore fan. If you've never read him, I highly recommend Fluke and The Stupidest Angel. I also thoroughly enjoyed Lamb: the gospel according to Biff, Christ's childhood pal, but that one might put some people off more than the others. It is very tongue-in-cheek, but I didn't find it offensive in a personal-attack-on-my-religion kind of way at all. Just remember--it's fiction. It's not meant to be an accurate representation of history.

I know the current vampire book craze is Twilight and its attendant sequels. I haven't read them. And I really have no intention of reading them. I've heard lots of people say they're wonderful (I've also read some not so complimentary reviews), and they just don't sound that interesting to me. Part of it is my natural inclination to resist things that seem overly hyped. I resisted Harry Potter for a long time for that same reason. Anytime a bunch of people come up to me and say, "You have to read this book!!!!" my response is, "No I don't; and you can't make me." I did eventually read the Harry Potter books after seeing a couple of the movies and enjoying them. And I liked Harry Potter. But, I saw the movie previews and thought the movies looked good. I liked the movies, and so I read the books. The previews for the Twilight movies don't interest me, and so I don't feel compelled to read the books. I'm just not that into the whole vampire thing.

Anyway, while poking about online, I discovered the blog Words, Words, Words. The author of said blog is hosting a Victorian Literature Challenge for 2011, and since I'm already reading Dracula, I thought I'd participate. Here are the details:

This challenge will run from 01 Jan 2011 - 31 Dec 2011.
Participants can sign up at any time throughout the year.

Read your Victorian literature.
Queen Victoria reigned from 1837-1901. If your book wasn't published during those particular years, but is by an author considered 'Victorian' then go for it. We're here for reading, not historical facts! Also, this can include works by authors from other countries, so long as they are from this period.

Literature comes in many forms.
There are so many Victorian reads out there, including novels, short stories, and poetry. One poem doesn't count as a 'book': pick up an anthology instead!

Choose your books.
List your books before you begin, or pick up titles along the way. It's up to you! You can review them if you choose to, but it's not necessary. If you don't have a blog, that's fine! Link to a Facebook, or a page somewhere where you can list what you've been reading. If you can't link up, no problem - feel free to just comment and enjoy.

Spread the love.

Post the reading challenge on your blog - make your own post(s), or stick the button on the side of your page. The more the merrier, after all. Let's build a big community of Victorian literature lovers!

Choose from one of the four levels:

Sense and Sensibility: 1-4 books.
Great Expectations: 5-9 books.
Hard Times: 10-14 books.
Desperate Remedies: 15+ books.

I've decided to participate at the Great Expectations level. Here are my books:

1. Dracula by Bram Stoker
2. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
3. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
4. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
5. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
6. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
7. Villette by Charlotte Bronte
8. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
9. The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells

Depending on how things go, I might bump up to the Hard Times level, but for now I'm satisfied with this list. Anyone want to join me? To participate officially you can sign up at the Words, Words, Words blog (linked above), or you can just read some Victorian Lit with me and post comments around here. I think I'll make Wednesdays my book update day. I'll post about what I'm reading or just finished, and you all can contribute your thoughts and suggestions as well. Happy reading!