Thursday, December 17, 2009

Was 2009 The Year of the Vampire?


2009 was a veritable treasure trove for vampire fans. Okay, maybe that's taking things too far, but the popularity of sparkly vampires sure did provide fans a lot to choose from. More books, more movies, more television shows. One could debate for untold hours about whether or not Twilight was good for the genre, but frankly, I'm burnt out just hearing about the franchise. I don't bat for Team Edward, and probably never will, but then again, I haven't joined Team Jacob either. What does that even mean?

Being a vampire fan, at least for me, means embracing (with your neck tilted back and a dreamy smile upon your face) this new found popularity and enjoying all the options. Think back to the years when a vampire novel was hard to come by and relegated mostly to the horror section. Yes, excellent books were out there (Yarbro, Rice) but certainly not as frequently as they are right now. A year ago the YA pickins' were pretty slim and now some of the best authors out there have contributed tales for the younger generation. Vampires are now cast, in books and movies, as the romantic hero. Works for me!

I, for one, am grateful. Vampires have evolved and I'd rather have too much to choose from than not enough. I can turn off the Vampire Diaries while setting the DVR for True Blood. I usually skip over the YA section but legions in the blogosphere have slowly changed my mind. Vampires and romance are like chocolate and cherries... I wanted to say something really profound but all I can say is Yum!

So I ask you. Was 2009 the Year of the Vampire? Are your senses on overload with all the vampire options out there? Do you wish all this attention would just go away? Or do you relish the vampiric feast before us? My book list for 2010 looks pretty packed and I am insanely happy with that!

4 comments:

Ida Brugler said...

Go with Team Carlisle. Thats what i did. When everyone was making thier shirts for the movies. I got a scrub shirt and went out on my own, Because I like to be different!
I am not sure if 2009 was year of the vampire.
For me on the vampire books I have not let myself be overwelmed. Out of the 200 or so books i have read this year. I about half of them were Vampires.
Authors like

LKH
Sherrilyn Kenyon
MJD
Michele Hauf
Kerrelyn Sparks
Angela Knight
Charlaine Harris
Gena Showalter
Susan Hanniford Crowley
Alyssa Day
Lynsay Sands

I did read the Twilight series but Breaking Dawn was the only one i liked.

A few more series and Authors i would have like to gotten to.
But hey, I guess i can cary that list over into 2010. And I am always looking for a new Author that can keep my intrest in a book. (which is hard to do)So i say keep writing! i need choices!

Michele Hauf said...

I think it kinda was the year of the vamp. Does that mean next year can't be the year of the vamp? Huh. I just think you can never put a good vampire down. They may fade away, and crawl back into their coffins for a few years, but they always rise again. ;-)

Anonymous said...

That's the great part about vampires- they are truly timeless. This year had a lot to offer and I hope 2010 has even more. And if the trend does shift, well, I know that the vampire will eventually come back.

Ida- That's a good list of authors. Most of them are packing my bookshelves to bursting. I haven't heard of Crowley- I'll have to look her up on the internet.

Ida Brugler said...

Anna, She has 3 e-books out.
Wonderful stories. I have listed them in reading order, also where you can find them at the bottom of the page. The reason i got the first one was it takes place on 9/11 and then i just had to get the other two after. the first and third are shorter stories.

When Love Survives

The Stormy love life of Laura Cordelais

A Vampire for Christmas


http://www.allromanceebooks.com/index.html