I can get hooked on these

Ever since I saw the trailer of Cirque du Freak, I knew that it was inevitable that I'll be reading these chapter books. We've all been fascinated by the esoteric and the unusual, and we just can't get our eyes off people who are, well, different in a weird, otherworldly way.

The chapter books by Darren Shan entitled Cirque du Freak can be very addicting. I've read the first book, A Living Nightmare, and I'm starting the second one. The books are a quick read. You can probably go through 3 of them in a day. Since there are 12 books in the series, I think you can read everything in a week.

While A Living Nightmare lacks a clear climax and a satisfying denouement, it does effectively lay the foundation for the the coming books. We get to see how two friends -- Darren and Steve -- attend a travelling circus of freaks. This is the pivotal scene of the novel, for without it, Darren wouldn't see, covet, and steal the vampire's pet spider, who would eventually bite Steve, causing Darren to come to an agreement with the vampire in exchange for a cure. Alas, the contract is a permanent one -- for Darren to obtain the cure, he must agree to become the vampire's assistant. The twist is that you can't become a vampire's assistant without being someone that is half-human and half-vampire.

I'd probably use the Cirque du Freak books as a respite from all the classic novels I've planned to read next year. After all, one can only have too much of Austen, Hardy, and James.