Stoker, Bram; Dracula "Buddy Read" (Start Date: June 29th, 2013)

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

     

Dracula, by Bram Stoker

The vampire novel that started it all, Bram Stoker's Dracula probes deeply into human identity, sanity, and the dark corners of Victorian sexuality and desire. When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula purchase a London house, he makes horrifying discoveries about his client. Soon afterward, disturbing incidents unfold in England—an unmanned ship is wrecked at Whitby, strange puncture marks appear on a young woman's neck, and a lunatic asylum inmate raves about the imminent arrival of his "Master"—culminating in a battle of wits between the sinister Count and a determined group of adversaries.

EXPECT SPOILERS!

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

~ “Buddy Reads” and the 7% Solution Challenge ~

     

With regards to the 7% Solution Challenge taking place within the Tower Teams Reading Challenge, the Mods have decided that you do NOT need to create a day’s worth of DQs to satisfy Category #4 - Books of the Month or any impromptu “buddy reads.”

As far as the current BOMs, the Mods would appreciate any help (and there might be a cupcake or two in it for your Team, if you do a set).

Note: We added start dates to the threads’ titles.

Requirement for 7% Completion
Nevertheless, we stipulate that members participating in that challenge need to give more than a two sentence statement. Something more than, “I loved it. But hated the cliffhanger at the end...” repeatedly, member after member.

One example we liked was a comment or two at the end of every chapter or two where people put these under “view spoiler” (view spoiler)[like this (hide spoiler)]. This is fine with us, though that makes it difficult to access for members reading on their phones.

Therefore, there needs to be some kind of designated stopping points for discussion - by chapters with view spoilers, as mentioned, or defined sections - agreed upon or defined by someone willing to make the suggestion.

If you like, you may reserve a post that refers the Mods to your comments.

Example (For this example, they all go to the same post; hopefully, you get the idea.)
Steven - link to my comments 6/10 on The Hobbit
Steven - link to my comments 6/12 on The Hobbit
Steven - link to my comments 6/14 on The Hobbit

[Sheila]

I am so excited! I did not realize we were planning this one for a Buddy Read.

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Shelia, I don't know how formal and informal this will be. You'll have to check with the other participants. I'm not sure, but Lisarenee may be interested in this one.

~LK

[Rachel]

If you're willing to open this up to "the masses" I know I would love to join in!

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Rachel, it is open to "the masses." Welcome!

[Rachel]

Awesome! Amazon Prime has promised me that it will be here by next week!

[Steven]

Steven from Mango Tango is joining in on this one as well, and perhaps my teammate Sheila is going to jump in too?

Just remember this is an INFORMAL buddy read and as there is no structure or set Discussion Questions, it probably won't fit the Mods' requirements for the 7% Challenge. AKA This one is just for fun! :)

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

It might, Steven. We Mods are discussing things.

[Steven]

Oh good :)))

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Info about the 7% Solution Challenge posted above.

[ilovebakedgoods (Teresa)]

Okay, I really need to find my copy of this book! It's around here somewhere, but not in the box I thought it was. I wonder if it's on a shelf, hmmmm. Glad I have time to find it, hehe.

[Monica]

I am going to look for my book tonight since this is one I have been wanting to read.

[Steven]

Don't forget, you can get a free Kindle version off of Amazon. :)

[Steven]

*represses his inner Grammar Nazi*

[Steven]

*dies the true death*

[Monica]

I believe I have the Kindle Fire edition already. Will have to look tonight.

[[deleted user]]

Oh! Can I join? This has been on my shelf for like 4 years.

[Monica]

I have it on my nook app on the fire. Now I can join in!!

[Lisa Kay]

❀ Oo ❀ wrote: "(when comforting a Grammar Nazi)..."

LMBO! Too funny.

[Sheila]

I am excited for this one! I hope I have time. I am have so many books to read right now.

[Steven]

This is an informal one, so you'll just read it at your own pace and then comment your thoughts and talk to others about it in this thread :)

Other buddy reads, the formal ones, have certain page/chapters on a set schedule, and someone posts discussion questions!

[Steven]

No worries! Hope you have fun :)

[Alexandra]

I'm in! *marks calendar* Been meaning to read it for such a long time.

[Rachel]

I started it at the first of the month since I had so many other things I wanted to read in June (including the behemoth that is The Passage). What do you think of it so far Lisa? I'm liking the way the book is set up with journal passages, letters, etc.

[Lauren]

Oh good this has been sitting on my shelves waiting to be read for ages :D

[Storm]

Oooh, Dracula! Definitely doing this Buddy Read! I've yet to get through the whole thing and it's been so long since I last picked it up.

[Ozana]

Me too!

[Sarah]

I am gonna try this book and hope to join in.

[[deleted user]]

Uh... I finish Dracula earlier today. I liked it a lot!

[Storm]

So... How does this buddyread thing work exactly? I mean I saw a thread about it and it seems simple enough but there have been no questions posted as of yet? Do I just post my own comments about the book as I go?

[Storm]

Alright, so I post the comments here then or is there another thread to do so in?

[ilovebakedgoods (Teresa)]

Post comments and thoughts in this thread, Storm.

[Storm]

Ok then, Spoilers ahead, stop reading now if you want to avoid them, since I havn't figured out how to hide spoilers as of yet. O.o

(view spoiler)[
Dracula – Chapters 1 & 2
Nothing much interesting happens here in these chapters except the spooky set-up of superstitions and it’s revealed that the Count has no reflection whatsoever and goes into a frenzy at the sight of blood. The most curious piece is the library in the Count’s castle shows he’s done quite a bit of research. Kind of makes you want to yell at John for not asking how LONG the count had been eyeing England, it isn’t easy to learn a new language, and far as it’s been shown, The count doesn’t get out much to encounter English-speaking peoples, and, being so ‘busy’ with the affairs of being a Count and all the tasks that come with it, where did he get the books and learn the language?! Think, man, think! (hide spoiler)]

[ilovebakedgoods (Teresa)]

Storm, if you click the "some html is ok" above the text box, it shows you handy html codes you can use, including the spoilers one. To make spoilers, you just type a < then the word spoiler and then type what you want to put in the spoiler brackets, then type a /> but do it all together. It does (view spoiler)[this (hide spoiler)] --

< this /> (but without all the spaces).

[Storm]

ilovebakedgoods (Teresa) wrote: "Storm, if you click the "some html is ok" above the text box, it shows you handy html codes you can use, including the spoilers one. To make spoilers, you just type a but do it all together. It do..."
Oooh, I see, thanks!

[Storm]

3 & 4
(view spoiler)[
Well, John knows what Dracula really is now. And we’ve met his three daughters... Or are they lovers? John calls them ‘Children’. At present, he’s trapped in the castle, and thinking up a way to escape, as this may be his last chance for all he knows, to die a man, via falling off a cliff during his escape attempt, or die at the hands of the Count and his trio of wicked women. (hide spoiler)]

[Storm]

5 & 6

(view spoiler)[Seems John’s dropped off the face of the earth, so the story continues with his bride-to-be Mina, her friend Lucy, newly engaged, and some residents of the town they’re staying in. Most of these two chapters was gossip, not much more. Mina received the last of the letters the Count had John write and date to be sent out later, she’s uncomfortable about his last letter, thinking it’s not entirely like him, which I can understand, everyone has their own ‘style’ of writing, but other then that, there’s also mention of an Insane Asylum patient’s strange ways through the eyes of his doctor, one of Lucy’s Suitors who, unfortunately, had not won Lucy’s heart for himself. (hide spoiler)]

[Storm]

7 & 8
(view spoiler)[A Mighty Storm comes up at the harbor, a ship is drifting mostly aimlessly but due to some strange luck, it beaches in the harbor, and a canine jumps off and bolts into town. Welcome to England, Count Dracula. Lucy starts doing some night walking – possible mind control? In any case, she becomes a feeding point for the Count while the madman in the insane asylum keeps on being insane, but ah, it’s reveiled that perhaps, he’s not as insane as he seems. He breaks out to speak to someone at the gate to Drac’s new home right next to the asylum, ding ding! Meanwhile, Mina gets a letter from mutual friend that John is, surprise! Still alive, although not too well at the moment, apparently he was taken in as somewhat of a madman himself due to his encounters and experiences with Drac’s castle and developed a ‘brain fever’ but he’s returning to himself slowly, and Mina’s gone to meet him in London to nurse if need bee her husband-to-be back to full health. (hide spoiler)]

[Lisa Kay]

Loving your updates, Storm.

[Storm]

9 & 10
(view spoiler)[Mina’s now wed to her John, who gave her his notebook, not wanting to be reminded of the past it contained, but he let Mina decide to read it or not. She chose not to, and wrapped it up in paper and ribbon and sealing wax, which she showed to her now husband and promised it would remain bound up unless absolutely necessary to him that it should be opened and read again.
Meanwhile, Lucy is still apparently a favored feeding point for our little vampire, she grows weaker and weaker, and needs a blood transfusion twice as a result before the good Doctor of the madhouse and an old friend of his, Dr Van Helsing, notice the bite wounds on Lucy’s neck. Van Helsing seems to know what they are, but the madhouse Doc is none the wiser. Seems Lucy’s getting ever closer to death, but how will it manifest? Just a death, or become a Vampire as well? The chapter ends with Van Helsing putting the smell of garlic all about Lucy’s bedroom, including in wreath form around her neck. (hide spoiler)]

[Storm]

11 & 12
(view spoiler)[Now these two are the most exciting I have read thus far! We don’t hear much from Mina, but what we do hear is that a mutual friend of her’s and John’s went to meet them and bring them to his home to stay with him in his last days, and left in his will that all his possessions be theirs, since he has no wife or children or grandchildren to give the things and home to. John also still suffers from his experiences at Dracula’s castle somewhat, but is getting better. Mina has not heard from Lucy in a while either, though considering the last few chapters that is no surprise. We also learn of a Wolf that escaped the zoo! It came back to the zoo as well, a bit worse for wear with broken glass in it’s skull. Keep that in mind, as we return to Lucy’s worsening condition it will show where the glass seems to have come from. Checking on Lucy again, we find that her well-meaning Mother chucked the Garlic, which might have had quite the hand in sealing her daughter’s fate. Also a hand in this, an urgent telegram arrived almost a full day late to the madhouse doctor, who was supposed to sit with Lucy that evening. Whoops…
During the night when no one was there to watch her, Lucy wakes, and calls for one of the maids. Who she gets after a few moments instead is her Mother, who, unknown to Lucy, is suffering a heart condition, and a shock could very well end her life. Our Favorite Bat decides to visit Lucy again, and this time, he brings a friend! A Big grey canine, which could be the wolf that had gotten free of the zoo and later returned. Since Dearest Mumsie was in the room when the Bat came round, thumping on the window, Lucy’s Mother was startled. A moment later, howls went up and here comes the wolf! Since Drac-bat can’t get in through the window on his own, he gets the wolf to break through the glass with his head. Poor wolf. Of course, the breaking window and canine head snarling and whatnot gives Lucy’s Mother a terrible fright, and her heart gives out, pinning Lucy to the bed until the maids finally come a running, due to the sound of the glass most likely and the wind and whatnot. However, the maids are of little aid, they fall to pieces when they see Lucy’s dead Mother, and are so scared by the wind (Or IS it the wind?) slams the door. Lucy seeing how scared they are, sends them to get some brandy or whatnot to calm their nerves. It’s been spiked though, and the maids are put into a sleep.
The Doctors arrive at almost the same time, but it’s much too late now. Van Helsing and the madhouse doc are forced to break in a bit after dawn and find that things are not well. Lucy’s condition continues to worsen as she makes the change from mortal to Vampire, which the docs can see between her sleeping and waking state. Vampire and stronger of health while asleep, Mortal and frail and dying when she’s awake. Until finally, in the presence of Lucy’s Hubby to be, she passes on, death finally claims her, and Van Helsing knows, to borrow a line from The Mummy, that ‘Death is only the beginning’ in this case. There’s more work to do! (hide spoiler)]

[Storm]

❀ Oo ❀ wrote: "You're flying through this one! I hope that you're enjoying it. I can't wait to start reading it this weekend, so that I can read your comments and start replying."
I have a bad habit of reading quickly a story that I've never read before, and sicne I only read the first few chapters the last time I attempted this and found them not to be as exciting as other's thoughts on the story had been, I set it aside for quite a long time, but since this came up as a buddyread and with the 7% challenge, I've forced myself past those boring parts that detered me before, and am quite enjoying the story so far! Truthfully though I started reading two or three days ago and typed up my comments as I went, waiting to see if questions for the buddyread would be posted, so up until abouts Chapters 5 and 6 or somewhere around those, they were pre-types, and now I'm currently posting comments as I finish the next set of two chapters. My copy of the book has 27 in total, so I may do a three-chapter post at the end, or a singular, not sure how I want to approach that as of yet. Guess I'll figure it out when I get there.

[Storm]

13 & 14
(view spoiler)[The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things…. Among them being of course, the continued thwarting of Van Helsing’s good attempts at saving Lucy from Being a Vampire herself! But there’s not much of that part save for the beginning and the end, so let’s continue onto the middle, shall we?

Mina and John spot the dear old Count during a walk about town, John gets a bit mad again from the start, but this relapse, only lasting about an hour far as I can tell and minor at that, is enough to make her pick up John’s travel book and read it. Not long after, she gets a letter from Van Helsing, wanting to ask some questions of the dearly departed Lucy. He comes, they talk, and in so doing, Mina gets the chance to ask about John’s travel book. Much to both her and John’s relief, Van Helsing concludes John’s not so mad, that all was true, and there is greater things to figure out. While he’s leaving, John gets him some copies of newspaper, among them an older one by a day, and with the story of the ‘Bloofer Lady’, a mysterious entity that’s been spiriting away small children from a specific area to drink their blood. This gets Van Helsing all upset, you see, and so when he arrives at his destination, he goes right to the madhouse doctor, and we get the startling conclusion in Van Helsing’s way, that yes, all his efforts thus far were for naught, and Lucy is among the damned of Dracula’s kind, a Vampire, or more accurately, a Vampiress. This he concludes, that Lucy is the Bloofer Lady, the one preying on the young children, their own punctures so much like the ones she had herself before her transformation was completed. (hide spoiler)]

[Storm]

15 & 16
(view spoiler)[These chapters were mostly about proof that Lucy is a Vampiress, and, yes she is, big surprise! The Madhouse Doc was forced to see proof first, later, all the men who’d given their blood to Lucy in her time of transformation were to do the same, see her for the monster she’d become thanks to Dracula, though they not know who has changed her as of yet, save for Van Helsing of course, the chapter closes with the final death of Lucy, and plans to find her master-vampire, the one who changed her, and to end the vampire’s evil ways together. (hide spoiler)]

[Storm]

17 & 18
(view spoiler)[The planning has begun, the players are informed, and one wayward madman seems to hold the scorecard of a larger game being played, for the chapters close with his pleading release from the asylum, though even at Van Helsing’s reasoning, the madman does not say why, he still has this thing about masters (Drac still perhaps?) and when all is said and done, he gives a most ominous warning about things to come. Also earlier on, a bat say at the window of the hero’s meeting room, and one seems to think it was listening in on their plans. Maybe so? Drac’s a clever old fiend after all, and the bat was not killed, but the bullet meant for it missed and the bat flew away. (hide spoiler)]

[Lisarenee]

Storm wrote: "So... How does this buddyread thing work exactly? I mean I saw a thread about it and it seems simple enough but there have been no questions posted as of yet? Do I just post my own comments about t..."

Storm, This was an informal buddy read which is something new to the group. There are only 6 moderators to the group, 5 of who are presently active, and all our Books of the Months are guaranteed to be read 'buddy style' read, but some of the group reads deemed "Buddy Reads" will be much less formal, with no questions. We (the moderators) just can't read that many books and do questions. Last month was the first time this happened (the informal buddy reads) so we're still piecing out how to handle things. Perhaps we can post general questions about the books which can be discussed within the group reads? I'll pose the question to the group and see what people think.

[Storm]

Lisarenee wrote: "Storm wrote: "So... How does this buddyread thing work exactly? I mean I saw a thread about it and it seems simple enough but there have been no questions posted as of yet? Do I just post my own co..."

If you don't wanna do questions for the informal ones that's fine by me, I'm just new as of the end of June and this is my first time doing a 'buddy read' so I wasn't sure what to expect or wait for or anything like that.

[Lisarenee]

Storm wrote: "Lisarenee wrote: "Storm wrote: "So... How does this buddyread thing work exactly? I mean I saw a thread about it and it seems simple enough but there have been no questions posted as of yet? Do I j..."

I plan to read this one later this week, so I'll be commenting on your comments then. I'll try to follow your reading schedule so I can comment on your comments when I reach that part of the book.

[Storm]

19 & 20
(view spoiler)[Well, it seems the first blow to the count has been made, and he has given back a blow, Mina’s experiencing a bit of the illness Lucy did during her transformations, the paleness and tiredness, but since neither she nor her John are speaking of anything to do with the Count, they’ve yet to see it. The Madman, who’s room we find is somewhere below Mina and John’s guestroom, continued to be in tie with the count, his moods being the tally by which the others are trying to track the count as best they can, but they’re not getting very far with it.
They also went into the abandoned house the Count bought, encountered a hoard of rats, and sent some dogs after them, and far as I understand, made the boxes of earth unusable to the Count, that was the first blow to him, and his return? Mina’s illness, though she’s not mentioned even in her notebook any bite marks, nor has any of the men noticed any, and Mina does not have any mention attached to her about a neck collar such as Lucy’s as she wore to cover her own bite wounds. The chapter ends, with knowledge that our resident Madman player, has been greatly injured. Wonder how it happened… I’m betting on self-infliction of his own madness, or by the Count. All in favor of the Big Bad Bat, raise your hands! (hide spoiler)]