"At the Bottom of the Garden" by David Campton / "The White People" by Arthur Machen (July 22-28, 2013)

[Tressa]

"At the Bottom of the Garden"
http://www.mail-archive.com/scifinoir...

"The White People"
http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/whtpeopl.htm

[Latasha]

Thx! I'll start on these after work!

[Tressa]

Bottom is a favorite short story of mine, but I've never read White People.

[Latasha]

Just finished "At the Bottom of the Garden." I liked it! What was Ineed? What would've happened if her parents hadn't intervened? I enjoyed this story! Just curious, how do u pick them out?

[Tressa]

That's the great thing about this story. It's fun to put Ineed together with the little tidbits of info. you have about her appearance. The furry teeth always scared me.

The parents ignoring Geraldine is troubling and sad. I guess the monster girl's name Ineed reflects her relationship with her neglectful parents. Or for the things kids want Ineed to do for them.

I think Ineed would have found a way to put her back together again.

I just Google horror short stories. This one is one I read decades ago in an anthology and never forgot. If you have any suggestions, I'd be glad to use them as long as they can be found online.

[Latasha]

yeah, I couldn't figure out her fury teeth!
I just finished listening to a Librivox recording of The White People. i'll paste my review in another box. but it was ok. I listen to it while I was at work and that 1st part about sin was very heavy!
some short stories I've enjoyed lately are: . I listened to the Librivox recordings so they are all in the public domain & should be available online. I have on my ipod:some E F Benson stories, The Beckoning Fair One

Man Overboard!some Nathaniel Hawthorne & various other short (ghost) stories.

[Latasha]

(the white people)ok, here we go. I listened to the Librivox recording of this story. I'm glad I did. if I had read this I doubt I would've made it past the 1st part. the recording is broke up into 3 parts. the first part Ambrose & buddy are talking about sin. I felt like that whole section was nothing but him repeating everything over & over and it was very heavy, not idea to listen to while you work!;) the 2nd part is the stories. I enjoyed this part very much. then the last part was Ambrose & buddy talking about the book and just the wrapping up of the story. I felt like the 1st section of the story and the 2nd one was completely different books. overall, it was ok. I would recommend listening to the audio version (just search for it on iTunes or Librivox.org) and skip the 1st & 3rd part.

[Latasha]

thx Tressa for doing this. I really do enjoy this section. I love short stories. I might not like all the stories but I enjoy reading them with you (and other members).I'll probably be participating in some of the group reads for august( I didn't want to start on a new one this late in the month). however,I did read a stir of echoes and look forward to what the pick for august will be.

[Tressa]

I'll read White People some time today.

Latasha, I've created the suggestion thread for next month's group read. I was a little late starting Stir of Echoes but I'm almost finished with it and will pop in to discuss it.

[Missy]

I just finished Bottom. I loved it. Although, I feel that the mom was so preoccupied with being a good spouse and mother that she completely lost sight and became the opposite. It made me a little sad and now I wonder if my kids view me this way. Hmmm... sounds like I should do something fun with them tonight LOL!!

[Missy]

I wonder if there is a picture/drawing of Ineed somewhere on the internet?

[Latasha]

Missy wrote: "I wonder if there is a picture/drawing of Ineed somewhere on the internet?"

that would be awesome! but I couldn't find one :(

[Ken B]

Missy wrote: "I just finished Bottom. I loved it. Although, I feel that the mom was so preoccupied with being a good spouse and mother that she completely lost sight and became the opposite. It made me a little ..."

I'm not sure if the mom was preoccupied or just a ditz. I'm going with ditz.

Nice story!

[Tressa]

Missy, when I saw the computer-obsessed preoccupied parents in Coraline, I cringed and make sure I don't get on the computer more often than I do things with my child. Ugh. I'd hate to be remembered that way.

[Tressa]

I skimmed White People and it didn't interest me at all.

[Tressa]

How many of you have read Kafka's "The Metamorphosis"? It's a long short story. It's one of my favorites. I could post that if you want.

[Missy]

Tressa wrote: "Missy, when I saw the computer-obsessed preoccupied parents in Coraline, I cringed and make sure I don't get on the computer more often than I do things with my child. Ugh. I'd hate to be remembere..."

I know. I'm being really conscious now of how much time I am spending with my daughters.

[Missy]

Tressa wrote: "How many of you have read Kafka's "The Metamorphosis"? It's a long short story. It's one of my favorites. I could post that if you want."

Let's do it! Post away!

[Tressa]

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...