Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme that was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is now currently being hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and give the reasons why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice

Blurb from Goodreads

This is the story of Louis, as told in his own words, of his journey through mortal and immortal life. Louis recounts how he became a vampire at the hands of the radiant and sinister Lestat and how he became indoctrinated, unwillingly, into the vampire way of life. His story ebbs and flows through the streets of New Orleans, defining crucial moments such as his discovery of the exquisite lost young child Claudia, wanting not to hurt but to comfort her with the last breaths of humanity he has inside. Yet, he makes Claudia a vampire, trapping her womanly passion, will, and intelligence inside the body of a small child. Louis and Claudia form a seemingly unbreakable alliance and even “settle down” for a while in the opulent French Quarter. Louis remembers Claudia’s struggle to understand herself and the hatred they both have for Lestat that sends them halfway across the world to seek others of their kind. Louis and Claudia are desperate to find somewhere they belong, to find others who understand, and someone who knows what and why they are.

Louis and Claudia travel Europe, eventually coming to Paris and the ragingly successful Theatre des Vampires–a theatre of vampires pretending to be mortals pretending to be vampires. Here they meet the magnetic and ethereal Armand, who brings them into a whole society of vampires. But Louis and Claudia find that finding others like themselves provides no easy answers and in fact presents dangers they scarcely imagined.

Originally begun as a short story, the book took off as Anne wrote it, spinning the tragic and triumphant life experiences of a soul. As well as the struggles of its characters, Interview captures the political and social changes of two continents. The novel also introduces Lestat, Anne’s most enduring character, a heady mixture of attraction and revulsion. The book, full of lush description, centers on the themes of immortality, change, loss, sexuality, and power.

Why I Want To Read It

It is the start of a new work week, for those who had to report to the office. Thankfully, today has been declared a holiday in the Philippines since November 1, which falls on a Tuesday, is already a holiday. This is in commemoration of All Saints Day. I can’t believe that October is already done. Woah. We are left with two months before we welcome a new year. Time does fly fast. Where did the time go? But as the curtain slowly falls on 2022, I hope that you all get repaid for all your hard work this year. I hope that all your prayers get answered. With the start of a new week, I hope that your Monday went on the right note. I hope that the rest of the week will go great for everyone. More importantly, I hope that you are all doing well and are in a good state of health, both in your mind and body. My biggest wish, however, is for COVID-19 and monkeypox to be finally eradicated. With this, I remind everyone to be diligent in observing minimum health protocols. I wish that everyone will have a great week ahead!

To kickstart the blogging week, I am posting a new Goodreads Monday update. In the past two months, I have been focusing on ticking off books from my active reading challenges. As most of these books are under American literature, the past two months have been an immersion into this vast literary territory. I am currently reading Richard Powers’ Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Overstory. This is my second book by the American writer. The book is also part of my 2022 Top 22 Reading List. The Overstory will also serve as my final book for my two-months immersion into American literature. However, with Halloween looming, I am going to feature a book that has elements of horror, Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire.

If there is one literary genre that I have been intentionally avoiding or one that I am fully averse to, it would be horror fiction. I am definitely not a fan of the genre. With my obnoxiously playful imagination, I have learned to avoid the genre. I did try dipping my fingers in some works of the genre, including one by the king of horror himself, Stephen King. Another writer who has established a reputation for being a horror fiction writer is Anne Rice. If my memory serves me right, it was during my university days that I first encountered Anne Rice. Her works did catch my attention but I also knew that they are works that will take years for me to be convinced to read any of them. Interestingly, I have read the first four books in Charlaine Harris’s The Southern Vampire Mysteries (Sookie Stackhouse) and the only reason I was not able to complete the series is that our university library doesn’t have the complete series.

But anyway, I always do make leeways. Reading, after all, is about stepping out of your comfort zone. Just like with young adult fiction and with the Sookie Stackhouse series, I do occasionally make exceptions. In the ambit of horror fiction, Anne Rice is one of the writers quite renowned for her oeuvre. What better way to sample her work than through one of her most renowned. I am just hoping that I get to obtain a copy of the book. How about you fellow reader? What books have you added to your reading list? Do drop it in the comment box. For now, happy Monday and, as always, happy reading!

Advertisement