Search results matching tag 'vampires'

Celebrate Teen Read Week Oct. 17-23

KickinLibrarian@evpl — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 16:50:00 GMT

**The Teen Read Week Contest will end Sunday, October 31 at 5pm. Make sure you vote on the Teens' Top Ten in Central's Teen Zone.**

Books with Beat @ EVPL! October 17-23. Stop by the Teen Zone at Central Library during Teen Read Week and check out our Books with Beat! Pick up books and other materials about poetry, music, and more or listen to an audiobook. You can help pick the 2010 Teens’ Top Ten by voting at the display located in the Teen Zone. If you vote, you will be entered to win a Visa giftcard! Stop by today and find a page turner that you can read or listen to, just for the fun of it!

Sunshine & Bloodsucking Fiends

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:20:00 GMT

I've avoided Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series and put off trying Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series but I haven't steered clear of all vampire novels. Several years ago, I read Sunshine (see also) by Robin McKinley after a friend recommended it. It was so good I picked it up and read it again recently. Rae, or Sunshine, as she is known to her family and friends, had a fairly ordinary life baking for the coffeehouse her stepfather owns, spending time with her family and her boyfriend, Mel, who cooks at the coffeehouse. Her world is very much like our world, at first glance. The differences are written in a little at a time. Sunshine wasn't expecting to run into vampires at the lake, but she knew vampires existed. People protect their homes and businesses with wards and charms. There is an FBI-like organization that focuses on finding vampires, werewolves, etc. I'd love to tell you about the plot, but I don't want to risk giving anything away. Sunshine is a very detailed, dramatic and sometimes funny. I remember the first time I read it, I was almost sorry to reach the last page. One thing I must warn you about before you read Sunshine, is that since Sunshine is a baker, you may find yourself craving various muffins, pastries and especially cinnamon rolls while you read.

After I re-read Sunshine, I remembered I'd been meaning to read Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story by Christopher Moore. So I finally picked it up and read it. It's not nearly as good as Sunshine, but it's also completely different. Bloodsucking Fiends takes place in San Francisco, California. Tommy and Jody neither one have ever been particularly lucky in love until they meet each other. There's a catch, though: Jody is a vampire. In fact, their relationship begins because Jody finds out Tommy works nights stocking at a Safeway, which means he's free during the day to run errands for her. Tommy and Jody's nontraditional romance get rocky, wild and dangerous. As with any Christopher Moore novel, there are funny moments and disgusting, disturbing moments... sometimes simultaneously. If you like it, there are two sequels, You Suck and Bite Me.

Robin McKinley's website: http://www.robinmckinley.com/

Christopher Moore's website: http://www.chrismoore.com/

Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter ---- better than it sounds

this.is.not.here@evpl — Thu, 27 May 2010 03:43:00 GMT

Yes I know it sounds awful. But------surprisingly it held my interest. I downloaded the book Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter from Overdrive and listened to it on my mp3 player. There was just enough historical information so that it stopped short of being totally ludicrous. Once you got past the vampire backstory where Abraham Lincoln was avenging his mother's death not from the alleged "milk sickness" but actually from a vampire's bite, the tale became quite the page turner. Grahame-Smith has produced a novel full of action, suspense and intrigue. It even touched on the mysterious disappearance of the Roanoke settlers who vanished without a trace. In fact that story provides a bit of sympathy for one vampire in particular who saves Lincolns life and then helps him identify and destroy the bad vampires.

The author Seth Grahame-Smith also penned Pride and Prejudice and Zombies which I have not read. Now if anyone ever read any of my earliest blogs you will find that I am really afraid of Zombies. Especially flesh-eating Zombies. I walked out of the movie Dawn of the Dead in the mid 70's and most recently after about 10 minutes I walked out of Zombieland. I guess the reason I'm not as afraid of these vampires is that they attack very quickly and violently and just as quickly they are destroyed with one blow to the head by Abe's axe. Whereas zombie's are just so slow and sneaky and dare I say it ----eat the living. So Gross!!!!!!!!

New Moon?!? I think I prefer the Old Moon...

E-Ville Librarian@evpl — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:52:00 GMT

New Moon fans answer me one question. Did you all honestly think the first two movies were good? Between mediocre green screen acting and the general lack of anything going on, I found myself thoroughly bored. I'll keep it real, I read the books and didn't care for them either, but the driving force behind them was the internal struggle of the protagonist (that means the hero, in this case Bella). However, without using the voice over (this isn't a French movie after all) I don't know if it would have been possible. The only interesting thing I found during the 130 minutes (!!!!) was the very last sequence of scenes that introduced the baddest group of Vampires around, the Vultori. I have to admit Dakota Fanning as Jayne was an excellent casting call, as she handled the character's seething menace nicely. However, all-in-all I fear there will be another slow-paced movie before the end of the series sees the light of day. Good thing teenagers everywhere will continue to subsidize another sleeper before the action finally kicks in.

Cursed

HipChick@evpl — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:19:00 GMT

The Pire family was perfectly happy living on Nostfer Avenue. But, when the new neighbors move in, things change quickly. The Wolfson's stay up all night, they lock their windows, and they love sunshine! What's a happy vampire family to do? They are too different in too many ways to get along. Little Pire Bram writes to his Grandfather in Transylvania, "Dear Vampa...mom asks if you can get the guest crypt ready for us." This story is a funny book for Halloween, but also could be used to talk about differences, acceptance and finding common ground. Much to the dismay of the Wolfson's, who are not who they seem, the vampire family moves out. It is so hard to find good neighbors. Check this one out, you'll love it!

"Let the Right One In": a Swedish vampire flick

MediaPhile@evpl — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 21:58:00 GMT

A Swedish vampire flick, you say? Impossible -- there is no such genre!

But here it is in the flesh. And it turns out that it not only netted a whopping 97% rating on rottentomatoes.com but "Cloverfield" director Matt Reeves is making an American version to be released in 2010.

So is it worth all the hype? Well, yes and no.

I am of the opinion that American filmmaking is so good that it is hard to find a "foreign" flick that rivals our productions technologically -- in cinematography, editing, special effects, sound quality, etc. Our acting and directing techniques are also quite polished. And, of course, a ton of money is poured into most American productions, and money talks in alot of ways.

That said, this film -- in Swedish with English dubbing -- has a striking and inventive plot, an increasingly forbidding atmosphere, and two marvelous child actors -- the blonde (almost Albino) Oskar and the dark mysterious Eli who moves in next door. So what if some of the minor characters can't act and the set designs shout of production on a shoestring? It is still a really cool flick and I can't wait for Reeves' version due out next year!

By the way, the movie is based on a bestselling Swedish novel, Låt Den Rätte Komma In by John Alvide Lindqvist, who also wrote the screenplay for the movie.

Twilight Series not part of my Highlights

E-Ville Librarian@evpl — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:03:00 GMT

I have to say up front I listened to these books on audiobook, so no skipping the repetition. I wanted to like this book for being a huge success for the publishing world and furthering the public's interest in such fantastical goings on, but couldn't get past the juvenile nature of our protagonist Bella. I gotta say it is a good thing Edward can't read her mind, because he may be bored by her unoriginal shallowness. Aside from the fact this young lady can easily accustom herself to mythical realities, she isn't a very bright character. Let's keep it real, it took her half of book one to even come to the realization that the love of her life is a vampire, even after he stops a truck with his bare hands, never comes out on sunny days, has hypnotic eyes, has a clan of "siblings" that are extraordinarily beautiful, and can read other people's minds. In fact, it took the other man in her life, werewolf Jake, to tell her what they are before she even realizes it. Is there anyone in the United States who has never seen a vampire movie or read an occult book? As soon as someone stops a truck barehanded, I know something is afoot. When I find out the local hotties are Nosferatu, you better believe I'm gonna believe in every fairytale I've ever heard. The naive nature of Bella does not jive with what I believe would be nearly everyone on Earth's response to nightmares walking into their life. But I guess that is why the story is about her.

The entertaining aspects of this series are the new legends Meyer creates through the frame of this strange romance. Indian werewolves, the vampire equivalent of the Cosa Nostra and vampire wars in Mexico are all just side notes to a 100-year-old man (albeit a vampire) making the moves on an 18 year-old. Where's Nabokov when you need him? Keepin it real, there are a few well-crafted characters who are interesting enough to warrant continuing with this series. Still keepin it real, I'd be very surprised if Stephenie Meyer had the skill to create another world that could pull as many readers as this one has, if not for her new-found fame. I haven't seen the movie, but I have to wonder how entertaining it could have been. With near-to-nil action and gloomy scenery, a truely forbidden (by the law) romance is all we're left with. How long can chaste kisses keep the attention ofthe 21st Century set? Is Chivalry cool again?

Bottom line, this could have been way better. Interesting tidbits aside, this is a creepy May/December whose only horror lies in the amount of rehashing of everyone's feelings.

"Called Out of Darkness: a Spiritual Confession" by Anne Rice

MediaPhile@evpl — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:34:00 GMT

I have long been a fan of Anne Rice's legendary vampire and witch series so was intrigued enough to pick up this short autobiography. Rice describes the reasons behind her return to Christianity after 38 years as an athiest.

She details her parochial school upbringing in New Orleans and her strong attachment to Catholicism that got derailed during college and subsequent years living in the San Francisco area.

Her discovery 10 years ago that she had Type 1 diabetes, followed by the death from cancer of her beloved husband Stan 4 years later led her to resolve that she would only write works praising God.

Thus she began her "Christ the Lord" series of biographical novels. First came "Out of Egypt", in 2006, followed by "The Road to Cana" this year.

Visit Rice's website for more information on all her works -- as well as further explanation of her changed world view. Wikipedia also has an informative article.

"Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

myzticrhythmz@evpl — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:09:00 GMT

Okay; I admit it. I have never liked vampires. From a very young age, I have been really very scared of them.

So when the Twilight books came out, I was reluctant to take them on. Sure, Harry Potter had his Dementors, but you could be pretty sure Harry would come out okay. With vampires, though, you never know.

But folks kept requesting the books, and other adults were telling me how good they were. So, as if drawn by the proverbial apple on the cover, I bit.

This is a well-written book for teens that has some appeal for adults as well. Bella is the quintessential misfit, the new girl at school. When she sees Edward, she is instantly enthralled by him, as are most of the other girls. That Edward and his family have a somewhat "unconventional" lifestyle doesn't seem to bother Bella. How the vampires cope in the human world, as well as with other supernatural beings, kept me reading on, and also sets the stage for other books in the Twilight series.

I'm glad, ultimately, that I read Twilight. The author has a very lyrical style, and seems to deal with the supernatural in ways that people can relate to - it's not gory or sensational. And, setting aside my cynical-adult hat for a moment, I have to say that the misfit teen/grand, eternal passion theme had a familiar, wistful resonance for me, as well.