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Book/Genre of the Month > Dracula by Bram Stoker - June BOTM 2014

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message 1: by A, Crazy. (new)

A H | 7672 comments Mod
Thoughts on this book?


message 2: by Roseanne (new)

Roseanne I read Dracula when I was still in school. I remember loving it but I can't remember anything about it, after all it was 20 years ago. I am thinking about doing a reread.


message 3: by Arbaaz (new)

Arbaaz Khan (arbaazkhan1999) | 588 comments I always wanted to read it. But the only problem is that i tried it some years ago but i couldn't understand it clearly, thinking of reading it again.


message 4: by [deleted user] (new)

I read Dracula twice. Stoker's novel is outstanding and gives great insight into the Count. I first read it in high school and have re-read it in my 30's. No Dracula movie can compare to this outstanding novel!


message 5: by RachelvlehcaR (new)

RachelvlehcaR (charminggirl) I read and re-read this book over and over. This one and Frankenstein. Great book.


message 6: by Lisa (new)

Lisa Holtom | 85 comments loved frankenstein and just bought dracula. hoping it will be as good!


message 7: by Roseanne (new)

Roseanne My copy had both Dracula and Frankenstein in the same book. Have to say I liked Frankenstein more.


message 8: by RachelvlehcaR (new)

RachelvlehcaR (charminggirl) Frankenstein is better, in my opinion but Dracula is a good read too. Two totally different styles of books.


message 9: by Wanda (new)

Wanda Paryla (wandasparyla) | 3 comments I read Dracula about 20 yrs ago. I recently downloaded it to my Kindle. I am gong to reread it.


message 10: by Nathan (new)

Nathan This is my third time reading Dracula. I last read it about two years ago, so the plot is still pretty fresh for me. This time through I'm really focusing on the role of technology and cutting-edge science in the novel.

If this book were written today it would be a series of blog posts, text messages, tweets and emails with a few craigslist and Zillow ads thrown in for flavor.


message 11: by RachelvlehcaR (new)

RachelvlehcaR (charminggirl) awesome Nathan. That's great! It sure would. I really like that.


message 12: by Sheetal (last edited Jun 03, 2014 08:22AM) (new)

Sheetal Dash (SheetalDash) | 70 comments Dracula is not my favourite horror book. Frankenstein is much better. But Dracula has a special place in originality and terror. I read it about 2 yrs ago and remember every word of it.I did enjoy reading it and totally loved the characters.There is a good deal of controversy that it was fact and the letters were real too or atleast were inspired by Stoker's own experience ( I had read this in some website). My favourite character was Quincey Morris.


message 13: by Anuj (new)

Anuj Shrivastava | 472 comments one of the best and interesting classic ,which made me actually believe in dracula


message 14: by Nathan (last edited Jun 02, 2014 08:12PM) (new)

Nathan I'm reading along with the audiobook while at home and just listening to the audiobook when I can at work. I'm about 40% of the way through it already. It's hard to put down. The characters are so much fun. Right now, Dr. Seward is my favorite. His love for Lucy is so selfless and pure and his devotion to science and reason is so noble.


message 15: by Nathan (new)

Nathan This is the first discussion thread for me with this group. How do you all deal with plot spoilers? I don't want to inadvertently ruin anyone's read.


message 16: by Bloodyhell (new)

Bloodyhell Nathan - you can put a spoiler inside this html
<.spoiler.> spoiler <./spoiler.>

Remove the periods it should be like this
(view spoiler)

Hope this help :-)
Though I don't actually use it...spoilers are essential to a book discussion.


message 17: by Arbaaz (new)

Arbaaz Khan (arbaazkhan1999) | 588 comments I never read the dracula but i love the character anyway ;-) because i read the legends and myths related to it.


message 18: by Albert (new)

Albert Ayala (amayala27) | 12 comments Agree with you about reading a book after seeing the movie, especially an icon like Dracula.

But thought I would download a sample anyway, and saw that this particular copy is free:

http://www.amazon.com/Dracula-Bram-St...


message 19: by RachelvlehcaR (last edited Jun 04, 2014 03:07PM) (new)

RachelvlehcaR (charminggirl) Luke, I can see that but I'm a huge classic horror fan. I have a tattoo of Bela as Dracula, Boris as Frankenstein's monster, and Lon as the Wolfman. I do enjoy the book Dracula.

I would rather watch the movie first then read the book. Normally the books are better than the movies, however that's not always the case (ex. Orange is the New Black--read the book first).

I have bummed out so many times when I've read the book then watched the movie and the movie is nothing like the what I've read.

Bela will always be my one true Dracula, but Christopher Lee is a brutally good vicious Dracula.


message 20: by Nathaniel (new)

Nathaniel I could never get into the format of Dracula. Telling a story by way of a series of letters is unique and interesting but it messes up the flow of the narrative for me. Do you have any tricks that you used to get past that?


message 21: by Nathan (last edited Jun 10, 2014 08:29PM) (new)

Nathan I haven't had that problem myself, but I can understand how it could be an issue. A lot of my friends tend to dislike novels with multiple narrators/POV characters. The author needs to handle the shifts very skillfully to avoid confusion (I think Stoker does a pretty good job.)Still, it's definitely not a style that works for everyone.

If the problem is that you just don't find it enjoyable, I can't think of any tricks that might help, but if you're having trouble remembering who's narrating the section you're reading, you could try writing the narrator's name down on a piece of scrap paper and saying his/her name aloud at the beginning of each section. It might help to lock the current POV character in your mind.

The other thing you could try is listening to an unabridged audiobook version.


message 22: by Nathan (new)

Nathan I'm a little over half way through Dracula. One thing (of many)I'm enjoying is how Stoker uses his vast array of narrators to build suspense.

At this point in the book, Van Helsing has pretty much figured out what the Count is up to, but has yet to convince his fellow characters they need to take action. There have only been a few brief letters from Van Helsing himself. Mostly we see him through the perspective of others. This helps build tension for the reader. We know Van Helsing is right, but will he be able to convince his friends before it's too late? What does Van Helsing know that the reader does not?

It's all damned impressive. Stoker didn't just create one of the all-time great horror villains, he wrote a beautifully, carefully crafted novel that often still feels like a contemporary page-turner. I've not read any of his other novels and I'm curious to know if they're anywhere near as good as Dracula.

Also, Stephen King owes Bram Stoker big time. The structure of Carrie and the plot of 'Salem's Lot are clearly direct descendants of Dracula. Those were his first two published novels and launched what is probably the most successful literary career of the past half-century.


message 23: by Nina (new)

Nina (niisku80) I read the book in my teens, 15 years ago after i saw the moovie whut Keanu Reeves and I loved it. I'm considering reading it again this summer now that insaw that it is botm.


message 24: by [deleted user] (new)

I have read this book a couple times now. Once for pleasure, and once for school. I love the film version of it starring Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder, and searched it out once I had seen the movie. I love the epistolary style, because it lets you see the story from several different points of view.


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