I Love Hannibal Lecter!

Thanksgiving Break has been a wonderful chance for me to catch up on some much-needed reading time, and so far, I've been able to polish off nearly two books this week! (more than I expected, seeing as I only really read one or two books a semester during school!)

For those of you who follow my movie blog, Cinema Sweetheart's Film Reviews, you'll know that I recently watched the amazing Jonathan Demme movie The Silence of the Lambs. I loved it!!! So, over the Thanksgiving Break, I curled up on the couch with two Thomas Harris novels: The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal Rising. Mostly, my desire to read these books comes from my fascination with the creepy psychopath Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

I have favored movies and books that have interesting characters verses those with 2D characters and a really fast-paced plot. For me as a reader and amateur writer, the whole story really is about the characters. A plot is nothing without characters. While watching Silence, I found myself totally fascinated by the characters of Hannibal and even, to a lesser extent, Buffalo Bill. Basically, its not that I would want to hang out with these guys, ask them over for dinner (especially not Hannibal, lol), or really ever have any real interaction with them, but the character of them, the essence of these characters really intrigues me. I love to think about what makes these people tick, and for Hannibal at least, an answer is given in Hannibal Rising, where the reader literally sees what makes the infamous cannibalistic psychiatrist exactly what he is later in life.

So, far, I've finished The Silence of the Lambs, and I'm almost finished with Hannibal Rising. True, I'm reading the books out of order (the proper order being Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Hannibal Rising), but this is one series when that works out. Silence can be read on its own or in the context of the other books, and chronologically, Hannibal Rising takes place before the first book. I plan on reading the others as soon as I can acquire a copy ;)

N.B. Picture credit goes to Zzoi-Goi @ Deviant Art. You can find a link to her profile HERE.