2025 Reading Challenge discussion

*Featured Buddy Read*
This buddy read is featured on the homepage and is pinned to the top of the September Buddy Reads folder. Otherwise it works just like every other buddy read!

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This thread is to discuss Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Pages: 488 pages

Length: 1 month (October)

Participants: Valerie, Beth, Mo, Lina, Lisa

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

Hi all, planning to start this at the weekend.

Hey Valerie, and everyone else :) I'll probably start it tonight, or at some point during the week.

Looking forward to reading it as an adult.

I actually started yesterday. Enjoyed the first part set in Transylvania- very sinister and scary, with plenty of menace and malice. It reminded me just how influential this novel was on later vampire stories.

I am looking forward to reading this with all of you (it will actually be my first time reading it). I will probably be starting at the end of this week.

I am glad you enjoyed the parts you have read so far Valerie!

Just saw this and will join. Will listen on Audible however and probably read along with ebook.
Will probably start in the week

I listened to a great cast reading a number of years ago, so I plan to ebook this time. Will start in a couple weeks.

This is the audiobook I read: . Alan Cumming read Dr Seward and Tim Curry read Van Helsing.

I found the first 70 pages or so riveting!
I have very vague memories of reading this (or at least starting it) back in the 90's so I'm excited to get really into it.

Hi everyone! I'm going to join in and will start reading this week.

End of chapter 12. Finding this a surprisingly easy read for a Victorian novel. It is a bit wordy but generally the pace is pretty good and is keeping me engaged. I sort of know the main outline of the story from films but there is enough that I don’t know to keep me guessing. A couple of thoughts (view spoiler)[ what on Earth do they see in Lucy that is so captivating? I know she’s supposed to be beautiful but she has no personality at all - or does that make her their ideal woman maybe? And what does Renfield have to do with it all? And how did Jonathan escape? (hide spoiler)]

End of chapter 17. Have flown through this part, it really had me gripped, mainly because it contains a lot of the story that was not familiar to me.
Two things really surprised me(view spoiler)[ how much Lucy is in the story as I only really remember Mina being central to the plot (she is obviously much the more interesting of the two women) and how little of the action takes place in Whitby. I assume that is where we are going next maybe? Oh and still wondering about Renfield. (hide spoiler)]

hey everyone! im going to join this group and start reading by tomorrow hopefully 🤞🏾 a certain hunger has me stumped

Finished. A highly enjoyable read which moves along at a good pace. Turns out there was a lot more to the story than the parts I had in my head which kept me engaged and reading right to the end.
(view spoiler)[ I was surprised and pleased to see what a central role Mina played. Far from being a weak and helpless woman, her ideas and determination were pivotal in events. An unusually strong and intelligent female character for a novel written by a man at that time (hide spoiler)]
Hope you all enjoy the book. I’ll be interested to see what you think.

I have now finished chapter 17, so was able to look at Valerie's first two 'spoiler'-marked messages - So far, I have also really been enjoying myself. As you said, I also find the pace fast enough to be engaging and am looking forward to where this goes. I also enjoy the 'medical' parts in the books (view spoiler)[ (e.g. the blood transfusions, the mental asylum and Dr. Seward trying and failing to fit the happenings into his normal logical categories of maladies/life). I also prefer Mina's parts of the story- because she is less of a fainting maiden and takes a more active part in the proceedings... Renfield's parts are also intriguing to me - I am interested in finding out what part he will be playing in the future. (hide spoiler)]
I think I might have never even watched a Dracula movie / so aside for the general concept this is all pretty new to me! Looking forward to the rest - and discussing it with all of you!

I have now also finished the book - and (view spoiler)[ same as Valerie, I also really enjoyed the central role, Mina played - and the way her character was portrayed in general. (hide spoiler)]. I really liked the book - and am looking forward to seeing what everyone else has to say about it!

Hi I'm only 3 chapters in so far, and am reading in audio and physical book format because I'm really hoping to finish by Friday as I'm watching an adaptation of Dracula then. Although thanks to the cold and headaches I currently have, it's looking less likely I'm going to finish by then!

But so far, I'm enjoying it more than I thought. I like the creepy atmosphere and the writing is a lot more accessible than I thought it would be.

started reading not so long ago… so far pretty confusing but interesting … im hoping it picks up

Just finished chapter 10. I think the first 3 chapters set in Dracula's castle have been my favourite so far, and I really enjoyed the dark and gothic atmosphere in those. The subsequent chapters slightly lost this atmosphere and weren't as engaging to me but now I can see the stories connecting, I'm intrigued to see where it goes.

Also I read that the book came out shortly after Darwin's The Origin of Species, so there was a lot of hysteria about humans v beasts in society at the time which has really changed the way I read and appreciate it.

Valerie wrote: "End of chapter 12. Finding this a surprisingly easy read for a Victorian novel. It is a bit wordy but generally the pace is pretty good and is keeping me engaged. I sort of know the main outline of..."

(view spoiler)[ I think Lucy is supposed to represent purity and innocence to make her transformation more horrifying. Unfortunately, especially with women and 19th century literature, I find purity and innocence often equals having no other personality traits. I just finished chapter 17 and I prefer Mina too. (hide spoiler)]

Lina wrote: "I have now finished chapter 17, so was able to look at Valerie's first two 'spoiler'-marked messages - So far, I have also really been enjoying myself. As you said, I also find the pace fast enough..."

I'm the same! I haven't watched any movies or adaptations and realised how little I know of the story, but I've quite enjoyed going into it blind so far.

Mansi, I am glad you are enjoying the book. And that is an interesting fact about it being published shortly after The Origin of Species- I had not read that yet- thanks for sharing! :)
And same, I also really enjoyed going into it blind - I am looking forward to watching a movie adaption at some point soon now though!

Mansi V wrote: "Valerie wrote: "End of chapter 12. Finding this a surprisingly easy read for a Victorian novel. It is a bit wordy but generally the pace is pretty good and is keeping me engaged. I sort of know the..."
I think the author shares our preference in type of heroine. I actually think he may be taking the p—- a little in his depiction of the other female character- it just seems so over the top and unbelievable.

Lina wrote: "Mansi, I am glad you are enjoying the book. And that is an interesting fact about it being published shortly after The Origin of Species- I had not read that yet- thanks for sharing! :)
And same, ..."

Same, I'm intrigued to see it in movie form. Although I just went to see a play adaptation/reimagining straight after finishing the book, and it felt quite underwhelming compared to the book. I think it was maybe too soon.

I realised how much the first person narrative through the journals contributes to the horror aspect of the book. In the play, since you could only see their reactions and not actually read them, it didn't quite hit the same.

Valerie wrote: "Mansi V wrote: "Valerie wrote: "End of chapter 12. Finding this a surprisingly easy read for a Victorian novel. It is a bit wordy but generally the pace is pretty good and is keeping me engaged. I ..."

Aha yeah the more I read on, I felt the same. I agree with what you said before that it seemed quite progressive at times in its portrayal of the female character of Mina. I thought he did a pretty good job at shifting voices for each character too, to the point I sometimes even thought Mina's part was written by a women.

I've finished the book and my final thoughts are that overall I did really enjoy the book, and the style of writing. It was perfect October read. However, I wasn't as engaged in the final third. (view spoiler)[ I'm not quite sure why or how to describe it but something about their quest at the end to find and kill Dracula almost felt a bit mundane but also childish, like it was a famous five or Scooby doo mystery? (hide spoiler)]

I was thinking about starting this book in a couple of weeks time. I’m so excited, as this will be my first time reading/listening to the story.

My husband started the “Interview with a Vampire “ series, but I’m not sure I’m ready to commit to that just yet.

I recently completed Jules Verne’s, “Around the world in 80days” and loved the performance on Audible. I’m sure another classic will be just as riveting.

Before I start, I want to finish “Impact Winter” books 1 and 2. I love how dark, yet surreal a vampire story can be, so it only makes sense to read the original “Dracula”!

Olivia wrote: "I was thinking about starting this book in a couple of weeks time. I’m so excited, as this will be my first time reading/listening to the story.

My husband started the “Interview with a Vampire “..."

I know others have also recommended other audiobook options above. I listened to the Penguin classics audiobook narrated by Mark Gatiss and thought it was quite good!

One thing that surprised me was the use of "modern technology" in the book. Mina has her typewriter; Seward records his journal by phonograph. Jonathan uses a Kodak camera! I had to break away from my reading to look up Kodak cameras; I learned that the first pocket camera was developed in 1895, so it being used in a novel just two years later quite impressed me. I guess Stoker was a bit of a tech nerd!

Aside from that... on one hand, it was hard to focus on the story because over the years, Dracula as a story and as a character has been depicted and parodied so much. That said, once I could compartmentalize and (to the extent possible) read this as fresh material, I was completely pulled in and enthralled.

Yes, Beth, I noticed that, too.
I think the 'modern technology' is supposed to emphasize the difference between the ancient Dracula and modern Britain - and what him coming there and taking over would mean.

I didn't notice at much when reading, but at the end of the Penguin edition, there is an essay by John Sutherland called 'Why does the Count come to England?' and he suggests it's because Dracula wants to come to England which was considered one of the most modern countries in the world at the time and invade it, to make modern vampires for the future.

Finished this evening and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, but also found it to be a bit boring in parts. If I picked it up to read a few pages here and there I found I would forget what was happening, lose interest and/or get distracted easily.
Buuuut when I really set the mood, got comfy, put on some spooky ambient music, etc and really gave myself the space to read chunks at a time - I enjoyed it more.
Would I read it again? Maybe in another 10-15 years.