A dash of magic, some adventure, and much more . . .

[DianaB007]

Hello, I'm Diana in California. There are 3 books that I have read over and over at
different phases of my life, and never lost interest, they are, "Dracula" by Bram Stoker,
"The Ceremonies" by T.E.D. Klein, and "Phantom" by Susan Kay. When I was a kid in
school, I gave up my lunch money to buy a paperback copy of Dracula, and snuck it
into my room (mom didn't like me reading horror). Never regretted going hungry at the
lunch hour that week.

I enjoy stories about ordinary people in ordinary situations who suddenly encounter the supernatural.
I love characters who discover their own personal power, enjoy Arthur Machen's loving descriptions
of nature, Arturo Perez-Reverte's beautifully woven stories, love books in journal form, fiction or fact,
love the adventure of a Patrick O'Brien novel on the high seas, or an island paradise by Jules Verne, poetry
and Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe, time travel stories, stories that show me a new world,
and a new way of life.

I hope I will contribute something of interest during my stay here.

Sincerely,
Diana

[Chris OConnor]

Hi Diana,

Welcome to the community.

I loved your story of giving up your lunch money to get your hands on a copy of Dracula!

[Pegasus796]

Hey Diana,
I wish I could appreciate Dracula the way you do. I bought a super annotated edition in the belief that Dracula would be the quintessential that I would adore and keep reading over and over. Never happened for me. I was too annoyed with his halting flow and jumbled lore. Not to mention the moon cycle (the annotations killed that) was really off. I did enjoy your lunch money story

Now "Phantom" by Susan Kay :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D You are my new best buddy. I don't know anybody in my circles who has read this book. It's one of my all time favorites and I was so happy I waited and bought the red hardback edition <3 I would love to talk about this novel with you Have you read the original, Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux? Are you by chance a phan?

Have you read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen? That is definitely one of those books that transports you and you wish it didn't end Just don't see the movie.

Happy Reading,
Peg

[DianaB007]

Thank you Chris, for the nice welcome. Yes, a few years later, I got into more trouble (with mom)
when I purchased Leonard Wolf's Annotated Dracula with my birthday money

Pegasus796: I understand that Dracula does have weakness's, such as, the incoherent ramblings
of Van Helsing, but when I was 13, I found the story adventurous, romantic, and sexy. I am also
a bit of a Victorian at heart. Yes, "Phantom" is extraordinary! Susan Kay did a magnificent job. I
did read the original Phantom of the Opera by Leroux, but found it a bit boring. I suppose that is because
I read Susan's book first, and so, well, you can imagine it seemed a bit lacking. Yes, I LOVE the Phantom,
and have tried to read other Phantom fan books, but none of them compared to Susan's. Yes, I would
love to talk about this book at length. I haven't read Water for Elephants, but I've been thinking about it.
I'll have to check that one out.

Got to get to work now, but would love to talk about these things more.
Diana

[Chris OConnor]

Now that we've met you please venture out to the other forums and join some of the discussions.

[Pegasus796]

Hey Diana,
I can completely understand finding the original Phantom boring after reading Susan Kay's. I'm so glad you mentioned the other phan books. I never got around to reading them because I kept getting the feeling they would be lacking in comparison after reading the reviews. I look forward to chatting more with you in future .
Peg