By way of 10 notorious author spats [link] I came to this delicious review: [link]

If self-absorption, vague yearnings and a nagging sense of incompleteness are sins, then surely I will burn for all eternity, and I will save you a seat.

In "A Multitude of Sins," the characters' sense of befuddlement comes to infect, but never to enlighten, the reader.

At the top of the story, the protagonist offers an Awkward Pang of Simmering Dissatisfaction, which sounds suspiciously like the A.P.S.D. offered by the character in the previous story."

A man in a wheelchair cannot just be a man in a wheelchair; he must be a vehicle to help a lame metaphor get around."

The fact that modern literary fiction so often consists of an Awkward Pang of Simmering Dissatisfaction, some rhetorical props that indicate something ineffable and a closing Awkward Pang of Muted Epiphany is why I don't read much modern literary fiction.

So if I want to start a "Book Tropes" website for APSE and other things, do I need to stage a pseudo-cide here first?

Unfortunately, Raq is my real name.

"I cannot believe I missed all the Fast Eddie crap. I don't know how I dodged that one."

le nubian, me too. Now I must Google.

Please don't stage a pseudo-cide. You just came back!

You could name the site LAPSE. Literary ... whatever whatever.

I was looking for a good article on the Gus thing and couldn't find one. Is there one out there?

First, go here. Then go here.

Tonight I discovered that Community College of Vermont offers a class " The Vampire in Literature, Culture & Film". I am going to take that class.

YOU MUST. REPORT BACK. And tell me what their reading list looks like.

Speaking of vampires (shut up, there was a segue there), I am currently reading The Science of Vampires, and it's a lot of fun.

YOU MUST. REPORT BACK. And tell me what their reading list looks like.

And whether it's available for online auditing!

I must ask - is the course given at night?

6 out of 10 on the test, and I didn't recognize any of the passages, even though I have read several of the books.

Tonight I discovered that Community College of Vermont offers a class " The Vampire in Literature, Culture & Film". I am going to take that class.

Oh! I'm jealous.

I won't be able to take it until next Fall. Unless I want to start paying out of state tuition. But I think it may be the first class I take.

But it is offered as an evening class and this is the description:

Course Description:

In this course, students will examine the role of the vampire in literature, film and popular culture. More than any other archetypal figure, American popular culture is infused with images of the vampire. This course explores the origins of the vampire myth, its transformation into literary legend, its cultural and social significance, and its inception in literature, film, advertisements, television and music, as well as its broader cultural significance in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Essential Objectives:

1. Critically read, view, analyze, and evaluate selected works that employ and re-envision the vampire as an archetypal character. 2. Describe the cultural and historical context of vampire mythology and draw connections between its origins and its role in popular culture. 3. Describe the distinctive characteristics of vampire literature and film in terms of character, plot, imagery, setting, point of view, and symbolism. 4. Identify figurative uses of language such as irony, metaphor, and personification, and explain how they inform the meaning of works that feature the vampire. 5. Explore the role of individual artists, filmmakers, and writers in shaping the vampire into an iconic figure in American popular culture. 6. Write short reaction papers and analyses of selected literature and films.