The Dusty Bookshelf discussion

Starting this topic for discussion about the book, the movie, the book vs. the movie..yadda yadda!

I'm looking forward to 'sinking my teeth' into this one. So much good press, I hope it delivers!

I'm looking forward to it to, it's waiting at the library for me as we speak. I've started it before, but school got in the way.

I started it last night...and I'm hooked already! I think it's gonna be a good read!

I've heard it's good. Is it really? I haven't read nor watched the movie.
Should I get the book from my dusty shelf and start to read it too? It's been sitting there for over a year but I've kept delaying it.

I've delayed for a long time...now I'm not sure why. I'm enjoying it! I'm only about 30 pages in....so we'll see. But, I say...hey join us! If it's good we can swoon together...if it's not, we can be snarky together! :)

Well...as it stand right now (which isn't all that far, a wee bit into chapter 2?) I can't say that Lastat is ever going to give me any vapors! He's kind of a big jerk...that's all I have to say about that! We shall see...now Louis on the other hand...cound have some vapor qualities! :) (for me, anyhow!:)

I use too many exclamation marks!!!!

I read this book so many years ago, and I would love to revisit it. I was glad to hear that she is back to writing horror/fantasy novels again.

Hi Eric! We'd be happy if you want to pick it up and join us:) The more opinions we have the better the discussion!

Alright, so I'm making my guesses...this is what I do. Mr. Lastat here is gonna prove to be a Mr. Darcy??? I'm betting here...that he's got reasons for being so, well just plain ole mean! I get that he's a vampire...but, Louis isn't mean...but then again, he *kinda* had a choice...maybe Lastat did not??? Hmmm. We shall see, we shall see.

Seeing how enthusiastic you are April I think I'm going to start and read it now. I'll come back later to say my opinion about the first chapters.

That will be fun.. I found my original paperback copy - the pages have turned yellow! Talk about a dusty bookshelf! Started it and already feel the power of the vampire and fascination of his "deciple"!

I'm about 35% done....and I have to admit...I'm on Louis' and Claudia's side here! WHY!?! I guess on one hand it's great that Lastat just IS...but, I'm a why person...so the how's and why's that the other two ask, I get it!....And can I just say, I LOVE the whole 'interview' thing...the boy sitting there just chattin' it up with the vampire! Totally having fun with this book! But, I will say, I hope there is some mystery unraveled....For the main part it's just working through daily life as a vampire and a good amount of killing (I'm glad she wasn't too graphic:)...now on to see...can they leave, or must they stay, always, with Lastat?!?! hmmmmm......?

So....I do have the question...WHY is everyone who's read this book....enamored with Lastat...I'm still on the train, that he's a jerk??? I guess I'll have to see if he's 'redeemed' by the end...but as for now...a big fat "Jerk Of The Year" award to Mr. Lastat!

i watched the beginning of the movie when i was in 5th or 6th grade ...i dnt remember much... but i remember the title cause my dad walked in while the vampires (or some else, i dnt remember) were in the middle of some rituals tht included taking the girl's clothes off...(!!!) and that was awkward and i dint know what to do so nervously switched off the main power of the computer... :/

Hahaha!~ Totally made me laugh Lilaboti!!!! :) I know what you mean...I'm almost 40 and still don't know what to do if mom or dad walk in on a risky movie! :D

I watched it when I was a teen-ager 16/17 I think...hard to remember now...and really all I remember is the little girl (must've mad some sort of impression)...but I keep picturing Kirsten Dunst...and I didn't even remember Antonio Banderas is in it...so it'll be a fun re-watch when I'm done with the book! But now that you've warned me that there's nudity...I'll have to make sure my mom and dad are nowhere around! (oh, and that the kids are in bed too! :) heeheeheehee!!! :)

lolll...ye the kids...mind them...:P you dont wanna be that parent for them too... a movie memory with nudity and their parents.. :P total awkwardness... :P

i wish i had the book in hand ... makes me wanna read it now...have fun, darling...

Thanks Lilaboti! I'm enjoying it!

So....anyone else reading this book?!~ Wanna know what I hate...when I'm reading at night, and no matter how intriguing, suspenseful or absolutely amazing a book is I CANNOT stay awake to read . . . no matter what! Ya! That is what happened last night...

I do have this to say...WHAAAAAAATTTTTT!!!!! (view spoiler)[ So here's me reading and wondering where is this book gonna go now. I'm only half way through and Louis and Claudia kill Lastat! Ya...I said they KILLED him...now what, right...well I was still interested and I'm cruising through...because Lastat was not my favorite creature to begin with. No great loss as far as I was concerened...so what happens...I start slipping into sleepy land and I read..."then he saw him...Lastat was standing in the shadows"! WHAT He's baaaaaack! I guess it's true, you can't kill a vampire!!!! So anyway, this is where...even after reading this AMAZING turn of events, I could not keep myself awake! (hide spoiler)]

So needless to say...I'm not sure WHY I am here updating...when I should be READING! :) LOL!!! Hope you're all having fun with this book! I don't remember much from the movie (with the exception of the general jist)...so I'm to totally new ground here! Weeeeeeee!

I never read the book, but I did watch the movie. Not sure I have the stomach to read the book. I am interested to see how the discussion goes. Hope no one minds my stalking you. :) (but just on this thread)

Stalk away Amanda:) I'm not sure I have the stomach to watch the movie again...now that I have a 3 year old daughter...the movie little girl totally creeped me out when I was a teen-ager...and the book little girl is 10 times creepier then I rembering the movie making her....she's a peach! But then again, it's not really her fault??? There are totally wacky things going on now!

@April I loved this novel and enjoyed what I've read of the series so far. I'm not one who was ever that enamored with Lestat as an actual likeable character BUT (view spoiler)[ hang in there, somehow he manages to grow on you. I even found myself caring about what happens to him. (hide spoiler)]

Stefan wrote: "@April I loved this novel and enjoyed what I've read of the series so far. I'm not one who was ever that enamored with Lestat as an actual likeable character BUT [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I think it's because of Louis...and how he feels about what they did to him....I can kind of see that now...and possibly feel sorry for him...but there has to be more to that story...I'm not sure if he's dead for real yet or not....he's been killed, came back and now burned (hide spoiler)] But, I can see that! Maybe:) Right now I'm dealing with some creepy stage actors...(although I don't think it was all an act!:) hmmmm......

So when he says he 'loves' Armand, umm....does he mean LOVE?

Speaking of love, I'm totally in love with this book...even though it's a tad creepy in many parts...wait...that's right, it's a vampire book..it's supposed to be creepy! I'm about 75% done and I'm wondering if this is gonna leave me hangin'...cause I don't see this rappin' itself up in another few chapters...and I've got a spoiler question...that I don't really want to know the answer to...I'll figure out myself, so it's just hypothetical... (view spoiler)[ IS LESTAT REALLY DEAD...can it be, really...he has to come back right!? There was fire, but . . . . Eekkkk (hide spoiler)] I can tell, I'm gonna have to read the Lastat book...I'm just gonna have to!

OK...all! Where are you? Anyone else still reading? Thoughts...likes, dislikes....

OK! I finished:) I liked it. Am I going to read the others...I think I need to know more about Lestat. I really did enjoy reading it, but it was hard for me, after reading Twilight, to REALLY get into the vampires that still go to sleep in coffins during the day! It was a sad book...Louis is a very sad kinda guy. I liked him, but he was pretty depressing. I guess that was the point of his story. (view spoiler)[ I liked when the boy wanted to become a vampire...because he would do it RIGHT...that Louis felt he had failed! As if the whole point of telling him this was so that NO ONE would WANT to be a vampire, cause it sucks...litererally! Hahaha! Crack myself up!:) Anyway, poor, poor Louis! (hide spoiler)]

Okay, I finished the book this weekend, and it started catching me a lot more once Claudia showed up. The more characters there were at a time, the more it interested me, probably because Louis just bored me,he seemed to be the kind of guy who drones on and on and thinks they are much more interesting than they are. For me, Louis was the least interesting character besides the nameless boy interviewer, so I wished we got to see the other characters, mostly Claudia and Lestat more, but that wouldn't have worked with the format. It was a good read overall, and I will go on and read at least the next one in the series. It looks like it will be more interesting, and it doesn't look like it's from Louis's pov. I'll be starting the movie soon, but knowing me I'll probably watch it in chunks. I'm curious to see what they do with it, especially with the "love" stuff. That is the thing I found creepy, and I know that part of that is coming from a modern perspective, but it seems like everyone is saying that they "love" everyone else, and lots of touching... I know that the book is set in a very different time, and that kind of thing was more acceptable and likely had different meanings, but it creeped me out at times, mostly when it was directed at Claudia. The word was just bandied around too much for me.

Yay Jennifer!

I agree with you. I got bored with Louis..I didn't start out that way..but he was just to depressed and always complaining! I did like the book...and I also had the same questions about the "lovin'" I am a pansy and could not finish the movie...it was a bit to, well just to bloody..and when they got to Claudia..couldn't really hack it..so I turned it off. (Now I had seen it as a teenager, never having read the book, and I liked it...not so much now...ahhh well, things change!:)
Now...I will admit to you..I have no idea about the rest of the books...but I enjoyed Lestat (I'm almost finished with it:) much better than Interview! Lestat is a pretty interesting character..and it goes into his life..and being 'made'! Much more interesting...(even though there's still some lovin' going on!:) Anyway, hope you enjoy the movie...If you read Lestat...you can post here! It would be interesting to see if share the same perspective..that the second book "The Vampire Lestat" is better than the first! :) Congrats on finishing it up!

Well I finally got around to reading it on my nook. And I loved thought the book was way more enjoyable than the movie.

I finished watching the movie today, and overall it seemed fairly faithful to the book overall, some changes but nothing that made me mad. The movie benefited from having less of Louis's whining, and the costumes were beautiful. And now I may actually pronounce Louis's name correctly (I know what it is supposed to be, but I keep on reading it as Louise, Lewis and Louie depending on that moment). I must admit that my favorite moment was (view spoiler)[when Lestat made a quip about having to listen to Louis's whining for several hundred years after he attacks the boy who gave the interview in his car when he listens to a bit of the tape. (hide spoiler)] All in all not a bad watch, but not one that I will be repeating soon.

I think I'm the outlier in this group - I hated it. I thought it was sooooo boring. It was so painful and long and there was no real action. Sigh. I really wanted to love this book!

I liked this book, but honestly, Louis just whine whines whines. Shut up Louis. I feel pain for Cluadia. and I absolutely love Lestat.
The second book, The Vampire Lestat was much much much better in my opinion. Just because it doesn't have Louis whining and you really do get to see the real Lestat, not the evil, shrouded version of him Louis makes you believe in.
Alexia, give the second book a shot. It's not boring. But keep the third around because it ends on a cliffhanger.

Here's a quote from the second book I really love:
"In spite of all the refinements of civilization that conspired to make art--the dizzying perfection of the string quartet or the sprawling grandeur of Fragonard's canvases--beauty was savage. It was as dangerous and lawless as the earth had been eons before man had one single coherent thought in his head or wrote codes of conduct on tablets of clay. Beauty was a Savage Garden.”

A bit about what Lestat is really like:
"Maybe I'll obey the rules. Some of them, anyway. What are you going to do if I don't by the way, and haven't I asked you this before?" --Lestat

"You are the damnedest creature! You make me think of the old story about Alexander the Great. He wept when there were no more worlds to conquer. Will you weep when there are no more rules to break?" --Marius

"Ah, but there are always rules to break." --Lestat

"You are an imp, Lestat, you know it? A brat." --Marius