Alessandra is reading…

Dracula by Bram Stoker

The horror classic that brings you through castles and across waters, we’re introduced to a monster from the viewpoint of several individuals who are affected by Dracula. Find the full summary here.

I found that Dracula was easiest to read with no distractions around. Though there were a few times where I had no idea what I just read, I decided to keep going because I may have taken longer to read this.

I was surprised by the ease of understanding something written so long ago, yet at the same time Dracula is a challenging read. This is what draws me to books that have been published before the 21st century; I like seeing what I can understand and what are some new things I could potentially learn or imagine about the past (given whether it’s a fiction or nonfiction read). 

Also, I love the artwork that was used for this edition. It’s Man and Woman Contemplating the Moon by Caspar David Friedrich. I love the art on book covers; and for some reason it’s especially so cool to me when a book cover has art that wasn’t originally intended for that novel. That’s just sometimes that the novel tells an unexpected story in the novel that wasn’t originally told in the artwork. (Does that make sense at all? Who the fuck knows…)

On a side note, I’ve been avoiding publishing this review because my imposter syndrome and anxiety increase when I review an older book. It makes me feel like I’m back in a high school English class, where I would get so much anxiety because I never understood all of the things that we would have to digest in the literature we read. Where we’d have to write out and discuss themes, map out where the denouement happens (I never got it right – and I also never spell it right, to this day), etc.

More on reading and reviewing older works soon…For now, read on.