Play Book Tag discussion

It's good to finally cross another classic off my TBR, but I have to admit a bit of disappointment. For the most part, this was a slog. I had previously only read four of the pieces in this anthology (The Raven, The Cask of Amontillado, The Masque of the Red Death, and The Murders in the Rue Morgue) and the first three are probably my favorites. I was not too impressed with the ones involving Dupin, the acknowledged first detective of literature that used deductive reasoning and was probably the precursor to Sherlock Holmes. Mostly the pieces read like someone too conscious of his skill with words seeking to impress. The almost endless descriptions, while they did superbly well in their intent of evoking an atmosphere of Gothic gloom, mystery and horror, after awhile just left me wanting more meat to the stories. These are tales certainly representative of their time, and would probably have been more enjoyable to me if studied in a college class that dissected them.

Mostly the pieces read like someone too conscious of his skill with words seeking to impress

This is why Poe had always gotten on my nerves-glad it's just not me