Library and Lestat.

My new job is AMAZING! 

I feel like this. 

The people are so sweet (I'm the youngest...again. I guess I shouldn't be bothered, because you're never as young as you are right now), I'm surrounded by books, I got to help move/relocate the children's section so I got very familiar with the layout of things, there are MANATEE coloring sheets and posters (haven't used either yet, but that's coming...whether they know it or not), and the kids get so into story time that it's just amusing to be there and see their reactions. 

And then, as if being surrounded by books wasn't convincing enough to me that I "belonged" there, my co-workers asked two questions that solidified this in my mind:

1. How many animals do you have and what kind of tea do you like?

2. Do you watch much TV? If not, that's okay, as long as you've seen the essential films: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and The Princess Bride. 

AWESOME!

It's just a much better fit. There are things I miss about my old job, of course, but this just feels really right. 

I'm actually kind of excited. 

On that note, I wanted to do a book review on Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. 

This is one of those books that I've been meaning to read FOREVER and my aversion to blood and gore kept me from doing so. But then I was like, "I really want to read Dracula again, but I want to read it for the first time (did you know that if you read a book 6 times you can guess the ending??)." So I decided not to read Dracula again, and instead read what society has deemed a paragon of vampire fiction (but real vampires. Not the Cullens, amusing as they are). 

I actually really liked this book, and apart from one scene in particular (which I can't explain without major spoilers), it was not as gory as I had anticipated. Rice has that JK Rowling-esque quality of sucking (no pun intended) you into the story within the first couple of pages to the point that you don't want to put the book down. 

It's basically a story that takes place in the present day, when a young writer sets up an interview with Louis, the vampire, to write about his life story. He's skeptical at first, but Louis's life story is so flooded with detail (and various displays of vampirism) that he ends up believing...and rightly so. Louis's whole life is pretty tragic, but he finally reaches the point of death by depression, and this is when the vampire Lestat comes in and turns him into a vampire. Lestat basically wants Louis's plantation, and that's why he did it, but it ends up working out well for Louis as well, who didn't want any business living. Louis is a very sensitive, pensive, and melancholy vampire who spends a lot of time pondering if there's a God or not, and how he fits into that whole scheme. Also, he lives on rats. Ultimately, the slave workers on the plantation realize what's going on, so instead of going away quietly in the night, Louis burns his plantation. Still not sure why. At this time, Lestat turns a child into a vampire, Claudia, and he and Louis become her "parents." Obviously, this is problematic, because about 60 years in, Claudia realizes she'll never grow up physically even though she's mentally matured. 

Anne Rice is very ambiguous about the nature of Louis and Claudia's relationship, btw, but I tend to call shenanigans on that one. 

Without spoiling the story, Claudia and Louis leave Lestat for Europe where they hope to find more vampires (they also commit some more arson, because why not?). They do, in Paris. This part is creepy and it actually totally sucks plot-wise because I don't like the characters and I can't say why not without spoiling the ending of the story. But Louis and Claudia should have just stayed in America. They could've gone to the Pacific Northwest and taken up with a clan of sparkling vegetarian vampires....

...oh wait. 

Anyway, it was a really good vampire book, and I absolutely recommend it if you like that kind of thing. Nowhere near as good as Dracula, and totally different, but I'm glad I read it. 

Btw, if you're curious, you can read my Dracula synopses here: http://seaofsnark.blogspot.com/2011/11/dracula-part-i-when-in-transylvania.html