From the Bookshelf of Reading List Completists…

Dracula

Bram Stoker

Start date: March 1, 2020

Finish date: March 31, 2020

Discussion: Group Reads

Why we're reading this: March 2020 Completist Selection - Irish Authors Poll Winner
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What Members Thought

Mar 23, 2024 Michael Finocchiaro rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, classics, fiction, fantasy, novels, irish-19th-c

I can definitely understand why this is such a timeless classic. The epistolary format was a lot of fun because it forces the reader to really pay attention and fill in the blanks along the way. There is also the idea of the letters crossing each other and arriving out of order. I liked the heavy atmosphere (even if it was a bit overly dramatic, but then this is Victorian literature so I got over it) and the Count himself was fascinating. I was surprised that he is described at one point as havi ...more

29 likes · Like · see review

Oct 20, 2018 Jess Penhallow rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: uk, turkey, hungary, 19th-century, romania, boxall-s

After reading a few disappointing examples of late 19th/early 20th century genre fiction I wasn't sure if I was going to like the daddy of genre fiction but I actually did. I still don't think that this type of book is really for me but I can appreciate how this book influenced so many other books not only vampire or horror books but other genre books with the use of diary and letter entries, multiple perspectives and a 'five man band' to name but a few.

There were definitely moments when it dra ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Oct 21, 2020 Frances rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Prior to reading this book, Dracula for me was Gary Oldman in a bad wig, scuttling down a castle wall. I thought that Hollywood gave him a bad rep, and I vowed that I would get to the truth and set the record straight when I got the chance by reading “Dracula” of Bram Stoker. Well, I still don’t know much about Dracula. The book, as it turned out, is more about those who sought his undoing.

A friend had gifted me with the Kindle-in-Motion version, and I found myself looking forward to the illust Prior to reading this book, Dracula for me was Gary Oldman in a bad wig, scuttling down a castle wall. I thought that Hollywood gave him a bad rep, and I vowed that I would get to the truth and set the record straight when I got the chance by reading “Dracula” of Bram Stoker. Well, I still don’t know much about Dracula. The book, as it turned out, is more about those who sought his undoing.

A friend had gifted me with the Kindle-in-Motion version, and I found myself looking forward to the illustrations, like a child, as the characters did tend to ramble. I appreciate the epistolary style that the author used, but the characters did so like to hear themselves talk! It’s a good thing that 1 used shorthand, and 1 used a phonograph, or else they would have had cramped fingers. 😜

For a book that was written during its time period, it must have been quite amazing. Reading it now after having read over 100 post-apocalyptic books (zombies, tech that targets cells, etc) has desensitized me, I must admit. I wanted to read about a monster for Halloween Month, and I didn’t get a monster story. Instead I got a story about camaraderie.

At the end of the book, there’s a short note about Abraham Stoker that says his imagination as a child was shaped by vivid stories his mother told him about the 1832 cholera epidemic. Perhaps for him, he has always had this fear of becoming ill and wasting away -and this had influenced his writing. And perhaps this story is about how by helping each other, we can find a cure (or at least survive this illness). And maybe he found comfort in these thoughts. And that’s why this story is not about the monster but about the people. And perhaps this is why Dracula would be a good book to be reading this Halloween after all? ❤️

Merged review:

3.5⭐️
Prior to reading this book, Dracula for me was Gary Oldman in a bad wig, scuttling down a castle wall. I thought that Hollywood gave him a bad rep, and I vowed that I would get to the truth and set the record straight when I got the chance by reading “Dracula” of Bram Stoker. Well, I still don’t know much about Dracula. The book, as it turned out, is more about those who sought his undoing.

A friend had gifted me with the Kindle-in-Motion version, and I found myself looking forward to the illustrations, like a child, as the characters did tend to ramble. I appreciate the epistolary style that the author used, but the characters did so like to hear themselves talk! It’s a good thing that 1 used shorthand, and 1 used a phonograph, or else they would have had cramped fingers. 😜

For a book that was written during its time period, it must have been quite amazing. Reading it now after having read over 100 post-apocalyptic books (zombies, tech that targets cells, etc) has desensitized me, I must admit. I wanted to read about a monster for Halloween Month, and I didn’t get a monster story. Instead I got a story about camaraderie.

At the end of the book, there’s a short note about Abraham Stoker that says his imagination as a child was shaped by vivid stories his mother told him about the 1832 cholera epidemic. Perhaps for him, he has always had this fear of becoming ill and wasting away -and this had influenced his writing. And perhaps this story is about how by helping each other, we can find a cure (or at least survive this illness). And maybe he found comfort in these thoughts. And that’s why this story is not about the monster but about the people. And perhaps this is why Dracula would be a good book to be reading this Halloween after all? ❤️ ...more

15 likes · Like · see review

Dec 20, 2018 Tara rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, mythgard-academy, classics, fantasy

As with my recent reading of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, it is impossible to view this book inside a vacuum, and since Count Dracula has become a part of our society's mental furniture, I find it difficult to review the book on its own merits alone. You can see how the tone and content of this book would have been seen as both shocking and grotesque to Victorian audiences. And yet even in our "advanced" modern society, there is still something breath-takingly stark and terrifying about the cont ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Apr 25, 2021 Tara rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, fantasy, audible-owned, halloween-seasonal-reading

I don't feel as though I can add much commentary to the plethora of reviews out there for this book, other than to say its a veritable classic for a reason. If you've only see the movies, don't think you've gotten the whole story. This Audible version, which features a cast of actors reading each of the character's letters, diaries entries, &c, is simply fantastic. Alan Cummings as Dr. Seward is a particular stand out. It breathes a whole new life into the book. Give it a listen. ...more

1 like · Like · see review