
Lately I have found myself amongst those that are currently obsessed with vampires (and really aren’t we all, these days?). I was doing a little reading on Miss E’s Misadventures and in her introductory post she mentions “I loved vampires before loving vampires was cool. ” This quote completely sums me up as well. Growing up I always had a penchant for those things that go bump in the night, but it was in high school that I first discovered Anne Rice. My first foray into her world was with The Vampire Lestat, and then of course I went back and read Interview With the Vampire (we will not discuss the unfortunate movie adaption). Those books really launched me into the whole genre of vampire novels.

I even have most of them autographed.

And of course there were the movies too. Although the early films are excellent (Nosferatu, Dracula with Bela Lugosi), Bram Stoker’s Dracula is probably one of my favorites. As I mentioned in this post, I watch this movie every year on Halloween. But, up until a couple of years ago I had not actually read Mr. Stoker’s masterpiece. Shocking, I know. In fact, when Eric and I first met, one of our first long and late night phone calls lit on the topic of vampires and vampire books. I mentioned to him I had never read Dracula. On our third date, he came to pick me up and brought me a beautiful hardback copy of Dracula. I knew right then this man was a keeper! I did finally read the book in January of 2008. And it was wonderful. Really, such a well-written book that still holds up in every way 112 years later.
Oh, and we can’t forget TV series! Dark Shadows. I absolutely loved the 1991 remake of that series with Ben Cross. Too bad it was so short-lived. And I watched Buffy and Angel both while they were on, and then with Eric I watched all the seasons on DVD. Such fun!
I also read the amazing book The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. If you have not read this book, it is so worth it. What I love about this book is that it does, as it’s name may suggest, delve into the history of Dracula and the Turks, which I find oh so fascinating, while still giving you an edge of your seat suspense story.

But, of course now we come to the thick of it. When a friend of mine recommended to me that I read the book, Twilight, I was skeptical. But, being a lover of all things fanged, I gave it a shot. I literally read that book on vacation in a couple of days. I could not put it down. And the rest of the series was no different. I went to see the movie on opening night with the friend who originally recommended the books to me. And I was really impressed to see that the movie stood up well to the book. I thought the music, the actors, the cinematography were all wonderful. And above all, I felt like the movie really captured the feel of the book. I am anxious to see how New Moon unfolds with the change of director. (Of course I loved Golden Compass, having read those books too, so it should be really good.)

The love of Twilight books eventually led me to start looking for other ways to feed my appetite for new vampire books, and I was led to Charlaine Harris. I recently read book one, Dead Until Dark, and this was another one I couldn’t put down. So good, so fun, so entirely different from Meyers’ universe. I just picked up book 2, Living Dead in Dallas, last week so I am looking forward to more of Sookie and Bill. And that wonderful husband of mine bought me Season 1 of True Blood. So, I have lots to keep me busy.

As you can see in my sidebar, I have also started reading Dark Lover (book 1 in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series), which is also (no surprise) about vampires. And, although it moves away from the vampire storyline I have become obsessed with reading the Twilight fanfic, Wide Awake. Thanks to Mojito Maven getting me hooked on this, I cannot stop reading it.
I don’t know what draws me to the vampire genre, but I love it. Now, if I can just get Eric to watch Twilight with me…
Hey, thanks for stopping by! I am about where you are with SOOKIE… I will be picking up book 2 this weekend, and probably take #3 on vacay with me the next week. Its funny how so many of us are moving in the same direction… regardless where our orginal obsession started… it some how led us to S. Meyer… and then searching for more!
I didn't know you had another part to your blog. This was certainly a fun read! Wow, your signed books! I have to admit that Twilight was the first vampire book I've ever read..um, I've read that one 4 times and the rest of the entire series 3 times..and I won't embarass myself by admitting how many times I've watched the movie. LOL! Loved Dark Shadows!
Ive heard about Wide Awake a few times but Im confused when I go to that site…what is it exactly?
I loved Twilight but the movie ruined the whole series for me. Now I cant get those bad special effects and poor casting out of my head. My version of Edward is gone and I will never forgive them for it! ๐