Hello, everyone,

Welcome to the first Book Club thread... let's hope it works out and it's something we can all enjoy.

Due to time constraints, for the first month we are discussing short stories by Edgar Allen Poe. The format is open to any discussion you wish to have about the topic at hand, but if you're looking for something to stimulate some discussion you are welcome to use the questions below or come up with some of your own for others to answer.

Possible Topics for Discussion

- Which of Poe's short stories did you enjoy the most and why? What message did it send?
- Which of Poe's short stories were not so enjoyable and why?
-Poe has been called the father of science fiction on the basis of fantasies and hoaxes he wrote in his short stories. Do you agree with this analysis?
-Poe has also been called the father of the detective story. In reading any of his stories of detection did you notice the use of any literary devices that have been used subsequent to Poe's usage of them?
-Poe believed that a short story should concentrate upon 'a certain unique or single effect'. What examples of this did you notice?
-Julian Symons said, "Poe seems always to be trying to express something that he does not dare to say, and this sense of something unstated in the stories, of a final curtain never pulled aside, adds to their effectiveness." Do you agree with this statement, and if so what is it you think Poe is trying to express that he does not dare to say?
-Poe was known to be a heavy drinker. Do you think this had an effect on what or how he wrote?

Next Month

Next month we will be discussing The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. This selection was suggested by AWAKE&WATCHING.

If you have any book suggestions you would like added to the list please send me a pm.

Thanks,

Jackie

Well, in the original thread where I proposed a Book Club idea I posted a link to Poe's stories online.  If you have the time you could always read them that way ;)

Jackie

I enjoyed that as well.  I think Poe's writing of Legrand's explanation of how to break the cypher was well done because it explained it reasonably and simply without being a dry synopsis of how to break a code.  I also enjoyed that Legrand knew his friend thought he was somewhat out of his head so he screwed with him a little.  ;)

Jackie

Poe is one of my favorite authors

Poe's character Dupin shines as the archetypal detective Poe defined for the genre. To this day that archetype still holds. The story is so believable that one can still see it happening today, even with all our sophisticated search and forensic practices. All to often folks still forget to look at the simple and obvious.

You are welcome to read and/or comment on any of Poe's short stories.   You can pick and choose which in any manner you like ;)

Jackie

You picked a book I actually own.

My favorite is "The Tell Tale Heart" probably because the Principal at our elementary school read it to us in the 4th grade.  He had a deep booming voice, and when he read the part at the end about ripping up the boards, it gave me chills and scared me to death!!!!

I bought that book because of Mr. McGill, and I still have it.