Historian | 
pickAlthough the plot drags a bit and I have a distaste for epistolary fiction, the complex characters, varied settings, and political and historical commentary make this an interesting take on a Dracula story. I'm glad I had the audiobook to read alongside it, though, as I don't have the concentration I once had for such an epic story.
I‘m rereading this old favorite via audio. It‘s such a good narration. I‘m hoping to finish my reread and then read Dracula by Brad Stoker for the first time - like a buddy read.
for me its the historian with 740 pages…but i loved the writing and the research that went into the writing was amazing so it didnt feel like it was a long read and it only took me 1 month to finish :) @BookmarkTavern #sundayfunday
so-soDid we need another book about Dracula that feels not too different from the original? I‘m not sure I did. It felt overly long, and dragged in parts for me. I did like that many of the characters were scholars and that a good deal of the story is them researching, delving into old tomes in search of historic scraps about Vlad that others may have missed.
Overall though, I can‘t say I gained much from reading this.
@Texreader Thank you so much for this awesome #HauntedHollowSwap! The books are perfect and the goodies are awesome! Is that one of those paper towel alternatives? I can't wait to dig into all of these!
Thank you for hosting, @wanderinglynn ! #HHS
It‘s been way too long since Cj and I have gone anywhere that didn‘t involve a doctor‘s office. So, we decided to take a day over the weekend and explore our beautiful state. And of course I had to squeeze some time in to read by the water.
What did you do this weekend?
https://wildwoodreads.com/2024/10/22/a-northeast-alabama-fall-outing/
‘Tis the season for all things spooky. Did I need more spooky books? Nope. Did a YouTube video convince me to buy them? Yep. Anyhow, I‘m still trying to find a book that gives me the Dracula vibes that I love. So fingers crossed. 🤞
https://wildwoodreads.com/2024/10/16/a-halloween-haul/
A paranormal book rec for #hauntedshelf 🎃 one of my all time fave vampire novels and one that my mum is truly still not over
#skeletoncrew
This is my absolute favorite fall read. I highly recommend this for #hauntedshelf!
#Flerken @PuddleJumper
This is one of the best vampire books ever and it and Dracula share first place as my fave book. I strongly encourage reading it. But skip the audio. The narrators do not do the characters justice. #HauntedShelf #Letsgo @PuddleJumper @Catsandbooks #hexesandcrows
I am in such a reading slump. This spring and early summer has been a whirlwind, but instead of finding solace in a book, I am asleep before my head hits the pillow. My darling only child graduated HS last month and heads off to college at the end of the summer. Bittersweet summer this year at my favorite place on the planet. The tagged book has been my infrequent bedtime read this summer. Maybe I‘ll actually finish before the summer‘s over!
I‘m so disappointed in the audiobook. The 50-year-old woman‘s narrative sounds like a young teenager and the father, in a conversation with his daughter, sounds like a rote speech rather than a conversation. I‘m afraid the audio will undo my tremendous love of this book. So I‘m moving to an audiobook for a different book, and will try to fit in reading my old worn-out version of the tagged book. #Turkey #foodandlit @Catsandbooks
One of my very favorite books, I‘m rereading this one for #Turkey #foodandlit. But I‘m trying audio this time @Catsandbooks
1. I remember riding my bike to the tiny library in my small town and riding home, my new library books secure in the basket on the front. I would spend quite some time deliberating on my choices since I was only allowed to check out four—it was a tough decision!
2. Most of my books have come from bookstores, but a healthy amount from library book sales, as well.
3. The tagged book—and it‘s quite good!
#WondrousWednesday
We are back with a jam packed episode! First off, we discuss the massive 2005 hit, “The Historian“ by Elizabeth Kostova. We gave inklings that one of us didn't like the book and Peter details why. And we go from there. Enjoy!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4BA5kmuvztPZiDsW5fjOqa
Visited a cookies & coffee place earlier that had a mini-library. (It was the latter that drew me to the place more than the former. But the cookies were really good though.)
Was pleasantly surprised to see my favorite book there. 🩵
My absolute favorite #vampire novel. I need to pick this up again.
#scarathlonphotochallenge Day 21. @clwojick @staycurious
Team #BOOklovers @bookwormjillk
#tlt three-list Thursday
1) The Narrator (we never learn her name) in the tagged book
2) Diana in The Discovery of Witches (the books and tv show, which I‘ve been watching)
3) Max from the Chronicles of St Mary‘s
Want to play? @Catsandbooks @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick @TheBookHippie @TheSpineView @Eggs @IndoorDame
A young woman is plunged into a labyrinth where the secrets of her family‘s past connect to an inconceivable evil: the dark 15th century reign of Vlad the Impaler and a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive through the ages. The search for the truth becomes an adventure of monumental proportions, taking us from monasteries and dusty libraries to the capitals of Eastern Europe.
pickI‘ve seen such mixed reviews for this so I wasn‘t too sure but I loved it! I found it dark and was totally engrossed the whole way through. This is the abridged version which has made me want to listen to the full book now. I do think this story works really well as an audiobook
pickI‘ve been in a horrible reading slump the last couple of months. It took me forever to get through this book, but it was great. It seems some dislike it for getting too far into the weeds of Eastern European history but that was what made it compelling for me. Great reimagining of the Vlad Tepes/Dracula connection as if followed by academic historians. This book made me want to dig further into Eastern European history.
pickAs I have mentioned, I‘m super fussy with reading material at the moment. This book really took me away. The writing was great, the story brilliant. I think it will be hard to follow.
Going to spend the afternoon with this audiobook and some crochet.
pickA story about the history and horror of Dracula and a quest to find his tomb. Listened to the audio version. The narrators were very good. Rich with a lot of historical details, suspenseful, and a few scary moments. I read it when it first came out and decided I wanted to re-vist it again. This is not a fast read and you do have to pay attention but I enjoyed the stories within the story and found it to be as eerie as I remembered it.
Poor Mittens had an emergency surgery a couple of days ago. He's feeling much better but still getting all the cuddles he can when I sit down to read.
#readKY #catsoflitsy #fall #amreading #mittens #cuddles
This book has nothing to do with a #campfire, but it's absolutely something I could see myself reading around a campfire. Just to freak myself out. This is one of my favorite seasonal reads and I'll probably have to pick it up again this fall. There's something so satisfying about a slow burn, epistolary vampire story.
#OminousOctober #Scarathlon2022 #TeamSlaughter @clwojick @alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @eggs
"Are you trying to intimidate me out of my library book?"
#vampires #history #creepy #halloween #research #readKY #mystery #readingstamina #fall #coffee
"The very worst impulses of humankind can survive generations, centuries, even millennia. And the best of our individual efforts can die with us at the end of a single lifetime."
#creepy #halloween #dracula #folklore
Playing catch-up after being away from Wi-Fi the last week.
#LetterH #TheAlphabetGame
Loved everything about this book, a great read.
@AlwaysBeenaLoverofBooks
so-soVery informative. Long-winded, reads like a Victor Hugo novel--but shares a lot of historical facts and inspires wanderlust. It can get confusing on who's perspective you're reading when there's stories within stories within letters.
Here we go, another month spinning. This is such a fun and effective way to finally getting round to those long neglected books on the dusty tbr shelf.
Trying to think of ways to condense reading challenges, so this months picks include ones for my nature writing and read harder challenges.
@TheAromaofBooks
#bookspinbingo #bookspin
pickI read this book on the priviso it would be a scary read. Although it was an enjoyable read, it didn't have that fear factor
bailedNope.
Done.
I reached 47% and finally had to skip to the end to see if it was worth pushing through. I know this gets high praise from some people but I can‘t get around the plodding plot, cardboard characters, unexplainable coincidences, unrealistically detailed letters or the humorlessly non-threatening antagonists.
so-so#unpopularopinion This was such a big disappointment for me. For about 500 pages, I was enjoying it immensely, I loved the rich details, and the mystery kept me guessing. Between pages 500-600 I began to lose my patience, I felt like the author was artificially holding back information, tossing me bits and pieces, then making me read lots of unimportant stuff. During the final 100 pages, when the big reveal came, I couldn't believe my eyes 🤦♀️
Probably only going to get to this chunkster this weekend despite my high hopes of squeezing in two more reads before the end of the month. We‘re visiting family today and running multiple errands all day tomorrow, so my reading time will be much shorter than I originally hoped/planned.
Book 4 of 2022
“My dear and unfortunate successor”
I love a good Dracula story
#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain
(1) I'm reading The Historian. It's long and slow, but I'm enjoying it a lot 😊
(2) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Philip K. Dick
(3) Bluescreen, by Dan Wells
Thanks for the tag @DannyDan ☺️
Would you like to play @Ast_Arslan @JessBookNerd ?
#BookCoverChallenge
Day 140.
Here I will note 365 books (or as many as I will have before I get tired) that have shaped my taste in literature. No explanations, no reviews. Just the cover of the book.
I do not challenge anyone. You are all welcome to take part.
Day 15 of #21DaysofHorror
In my review of this I said that it was more of a historical fiction tinged with horror rather than a horror novel. I stand by this assessment. This was one of the most immersive reads that I have experienced. Recently someone on social media asked for a recommendation for a horror movie where the majority of the movie was the research scenes. I feel like The Historian is the perfect book recommendation for this question.
pickThis was a great reread/first-time listen. I really loved this book when I read it 4-5 years ago. I saw the abridged audiobook with full cast recording was available on Hoopla and thought it would be a great option for spooky season. I didn‘t mind it being abridged, since I‘d read the book before, and I was still surprised a few times since I didn‘t remember all the details of the plot.
#Scarathlon2021 #Screamathon #LittenListen #TeamHendrix
pick#FallTreasures - Slow Burn: I feel that this is considered a slow moving story by many. Readers seems to have a polarized opinion of its merit. It‘s love or hate with no middle ground. I thought that it was captivating not in a thriller sense which is maybe what most folks are seeking being that it is supposedly a vampire story. Its hypnotic trance is in the writing. It is lush and brooding.👇🏽
