Koach_Bot

The discussion about Split Cherry Tree was interesting as usual. Ratings for the story and chat were as follow: Entertainment Value: 1,3,3,3,2,5 for an average of 2.8 Artistic value: 3,2,4.5,3,2,2 for an average of 2.75 and for the rankings of the chat discussion itself, we used the following scale: 5--One of the most enjoyable times I have ever spent in chat. 4--A really enjoyable chat, as good as chocky chip cookies with milk. 3--A nice chat, time well spent. 2--Better than a sharp stick in the eye, but not by much 1--I may swear of chatting forever as a result of this experience. the values given were: 3,3,3,4,4,4.7 for an average rank of 3.6 Grip promises to return next wee to take over her duties as moderator. A zip file of the record of the chat is attached.

We had a spirited discussion of the story. Although we did not feel that this was a particularly great short story (see our ranking below), we did have a very good discussion. As is often the case, the discussion was rated more interesting than the story itself. Our ratings for entertainment value ranged from 2 - I would not recommend this story, to 5- One of the most engrossing stories I have ever read..the average score being 3.6 - a little better than average. Our ratings for artistic quality ranged from 2 through 4 and averaged 3...about as average as you can get. The ratings for the enjoyment of the chat averaged 4.1- almost Yay! A zip file of the chat record is attached.

Reserved for log

Well I was really sorry to miss this chat but can tell from the log those that participated really enjoyed it -- Red Chief is such a fun story to talk about. Here is how the rankings stacked up: Interest/Entertainment Value: 4 (4,4,4,4,4) Artistic/Social Value: 3 (3,3,3,3,3) Discussion: 3.5 (3,3,4,4,3.5) I was sorry to see B & Stormy had thunderstorms that kept them away as well ... Many Many thanks to Smiley for leading the chat. My knees are intact. grip Ranking Scales: Interest or Entertainment Value: 5--One of the most engrossing stories I have ever read 4--Very entertaining, I would recommend it to my friends 3--A good read, I might recommend it to people whom I know share my interests or tastes 2--I would not recommend this story to others 1--A really bad read, I am sorry I wasted my time with it Artistic Value (Social/Emotional content) 5--A work of art, pulitzer prize material. 4--A significant contribution to literature 3--Well written 2--Pretty Forgettable 1--Garbage Discussion - we have an unscientific scale, just 1 (ychh!) to 5 (yay!!) and have just started having this ranking. Any ideas about specific traits on the scale to rank by are welcome.

Had a few latecomers ride in on Saturday 7-21 to discuss The Rocking Horse Winner by DH Lawrence, but when you're in a horserace, someone always comes in first, and someone last. Fun chat as always while we primarily examined the characters and their motives in this classic, sprinkled with facts about the author's life and a currency conversion over time making us all starry-eyed for a few minutes as we thought about $ 6 Mil would be like. I think the general conclusion was that - Our Chat is Priceless ! Here is how the rankings stacked up: Interest/Entertainment Value: 2.6 (2.5, 2, 3, 2.5, 2.5, 3.5) Artistic/Social Value: 3.18 (3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4.3, 3) Discussion: 3.85 (4, 4, 4.3, 4, 3.5, 4.16, 3) See you when I see you -- Keep Reading and Suggesting ! grip Ranking Scales: Interest or Entertainment Value: 5--One of the most engrossing stories I have ever read 4--Very entertaining, I would recommend it to my friends 3--A good read, I might recommend it to people whom I know share my interests or tastes 2--I would not recommend this story to others 1--A really bad read, I am sorry I wasted my time with it Artistic Value (Social/Emotional content) 5--A work of art, pulitzer prize material. 4--A significant contribution to literature 3--Well written 2--Pretty Forgettable 1--Garbage Discussion - we have an unscientific scale, just 1 (ychh!) to 5 (yay!!) and have just started having this ranking. Any ideas about specific traits on the scale to rank by are welcome.

I ponder Poe - delighting people perpetually Well... we left no stone unturned during our discussion of The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe. Koach presented a rock solid theory regarding the Montressor Motive, while Picker chipped away at the concept of a wine cellar in catacombs. We had a fair amount of dissent which made it a wonderful chat. (I think you'll see the rankings support that). In the end, we realized that nothing is cast in stone and that adds to the fun of the chat. I think the other MAJOR contribution to the great chat was our new regulars - z and FF ! In case you missed it at the end of the chat, I posted a few youtube's of the story - one an animated musical the other a very fair and entertaining portrayal of the story. Here they are again. 1. 4 min 2a. http://technorati.com/videos/youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DtDdxpxb3l-Y 8 min only part 1 ! 2b. http://technorati.com/videos/youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DODWyEJMcr2Y part 2 Here is how the rankings stacked up: Interest/Entertainment Value: 4.1 (4,5,4,4,4,5,4,3) Artistic/Social Value: 4.1 (4,5,4,4,5,5,3,3) Discussion: 4.85 (5,5,5,5,5,4,5) (I'm going to check but unless you hear otherwise - this was our best ranked story and chat to date!). See you next week - bring a friend !! And if you were new this week, next week you won't be! Share the reading - you can each read every other word lol. grip Ranking Scales: Interest or Entertainment Value: 5--One of the most engrossing stories I have ever read 4--Very entertaining, I would recommend it to my friends 3--A good read, I might recommend it to people whom I know share my interests or tastes 2--I would not recommend this story to others 1--A really bad read, I am sorry I wasted my time with it Artistic Value (Social/Emotional content) 5--A work of art, pulitzer prize material. 4--A significant contribution to literature 3--Well written 2--Pretty Forgettable 1--Garbage Discussion - we have an unscientific scale, just 1 (ychh!) to 5 (yay!!) and have just started having this ranking. Any ideas about specific traits on the scale to rank by are welcome.

Thanks to both the observers and participants in our discussion of 'Soft Boiled Sergeant' by J.D. Salinger. The chat actually had continunity for me and was not punctuated by disconnects - Hooray ! I learned a LOT from the guys about military slang and how things really were back in those days (circa 1935-1940). I salute every one of you. Here is how the rankings stacked up: Interest/Entertainment Value: 3.6 (2,3,5,4,3,5,3) Artistic/Social Value: 3.3 (4,3,3,3,4,3,3) Discussion: 3.3 (4,4,4,3,2,2,4) Hope to see you next week and as ever, I really look forward to these discussions. grip Ranking Scales: Interest or Entertainment Value: 5--One of the most engrossing stories I have ever read 4--Very entertaining, I would recommend it to my friends 3--A good read, I might recommend it to people whom I know share my interests or tastes 2--I would not recommend this story to others 1--A really bad read, I am sorry I wasted my time with it Artistic Value (Social/Emotional content) 5--A work of art, pulitzer prize material. 4--A significant contribution to literature 3--Well written 2--Pretty Forgettable 1--Garbage Discussion - we have an unscientific scale, just 1 (ychh!) to 5 (yay!!) and have just started having this ranking. Any ideas about specific traits on the scale to rank by are welcome.

Thanks to all participants and observers for a different - yet fun - evening in #Readers_Corner ! While we missed Koach of course, somehow we managed to take breaks on time and followed our general 1.5 hour discussion format ! I really enjoyed reading the classics that were shared and our interpretive discussion thereof ... with the very special treat of Justin sharing some of his personal writings. I also have to say it truly made me smile toward the end when Stormy acknowledged that he might just like poetry afterall ! When asked whether we might want to repeat this kind of event sometime, all (who spoke) were in favor. I have to attribute other silence to either distraction or dissent - but in any event we will do this again sometime before the end of the summer. Any additional comments or suggestions regarding timing, format or content are indeed welcome. Thanks again so much ... log link: PS: We may have a budding poet ... Elizabeth Fire Fly ... stay tuned for her progress

Our Chat on June 16 was attended by about a dozen people with some much more active than others. My inability to hold a connection contributed to a slow start, but as usual, by the end - we wanted more. An interesting title, all the readers quickly found this was not, in fact, a serious Love Story but a humorous piece. There was a quote by Jo I had promised to highlight but it would be, in fact, a spoiler (pardon the pun) for the ending for any of those that might want to read the story. There was very little published about the author which kept us light on the

Thanks to all who joined us for our discussion of The Ice Palace by F. Scott Fitzgerald. (we missed some of our regulars Stormy & B, but welcomed a new chatter-Jo). Although Francis Scott was pretty well lambasted overall (note the rankings) we had a VERY active discussion and opinions ran North to South and South to North (wink). In fact, we may introduce a new ranking to include ranking the discussion itself - because although we were not enamored by this tale, we had a GREAT chat ! As one person said, it's amazing how many DIFFERENT ways we found to dislike this story lol. If you missed the discussion - you also will want to understand why we might say we chatted like cats and dogs - by reading the log With 8 very active attendees, the rankings for this story were: Personal Enjoyment: 2.62 (3,2,3,2,2,3,2,4) Artistic Merit: 2.5 (4,3,2,2,2,2,2,3) Be sure to also check the additional postings Star has made - very interesting reading. We do not have a chat planned for 6-2, but will resume on 6-9. The story for that day will be announced sometime after the 2nd. Hope to see you then, regards- grip Personal Evaluation (Interest/Entertainment Value) 5--One of the most engrossing stories I have ever read 4--Very entertaining, I would recommend it to my friends 3--A good read, I might recommend it to people whom I know share my interests or tastes 2--I would not recommend this story to others 1--A really bad read, I am sorry I wasted my time with it Artistic Value (Social/Emotional content) 5--A work of art, pulitzer prize material. 4--A significant contribution to literature 3--Well written 2--Pretty Forgettable 1--Garbage

It was very fun for me to be back in attendance at a Readers Chat after missing several weeks unavoidably due to travel. I want to thank Smiley once again for his willingness to step up and lead the discussion last week in my absence. Our discussion last night about The Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge seemed to parallel, in its own way, the very manipulation of time that Bierce achieved in the story. Some slower moments with the pace quickly changed by people typing over each other. Attended by 10 chatters with 6 voters, the rankings for this story were: Personal Enjoyment: 3.5 (4,4,4,2,3,4) Artistic Merit: 4.1 (4,4,5,4,3,5) Although not the favorite story of several, there seemed to be a general agreement that the writing was worth the read and admiration for the author grew with successive reads. Koach provided a link where you can view the twilight zone episode that showed the French 1962 Canne Film Festival award movie. I watched it last night after the chat and found it remarkably and enjoyably reflective of the story. The link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqqsKEdlFvA&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2Fsearch%3Fq%3 DOwl%2BCreek%2BBridge%26hl%3Den%26pwst%3D1%26start%3D10%26sa%3DN Read, Research, and see you at the next chat ! grip Log Link: http://koach.com/Attachments/Owl_Creek_Bridge_Log.zip Ranking Scales: Personal Evaluation (Interest/Entertainment Value) 5--One of the most engrossing stories I have ever read 4--Very entertaining, I would recommend it to my friends 3--A good read, I might recommend it to people whom I know share my interests or tastes 2--I would not recommend this story to others 1--A really bad read, I am sorry I wasted my time with it Artistic Value (Social/Emotional content) 5--A work of art, pulitzer prize material. 4--A significant contribution to literature 3--Well written 2--Pretty Forgettable 1--Garbage

THe chat on The Five Orange Pips was interesting, but we all missed our fearless leader Grip. This was our first discussion of a Sherlock Holmes story, and some chatters felt the story was perhaps a bit too long. The story was unusual in some ways, we were all in agreement that the ending left a lot to be desired, there is something a bit unsatisfying in a story where two completely innocent people are murdered and the guilty parties are not captured and brought to justice. The fact that Sherlock Holmes figures out who committed the murders doesn't help when they drown at sea instead of face hanging. We are now rating our stories on two factors, entertainment value and artistic value as follow: Entertainment value--- 5--One of the most engrossing stories I have ever read 4--Very entertaining, I would recommend it to my friends 3--A good read, I might recommend it to people whom I know share my interests or tastes 2--I would not recommend this story to others 1--A really bad read, I am sorry I wasted my time with it Average rating for The Five Orange Pips was 2.6. Artistic Value--- 5--One of the most engrossing stories I have ever read 4--Very entertaining, I would recommend it to my friends 3--A good read, I might recommend it to people whom I know share my interests or tastes 2--I would not recommend this story to others 1--A really bad read, I am sorry I wasted my time with it Average rating for this story was 2.8.

Our discussion of this story NEVER had a pause or dull moment. We may have digressed a few times (reference the part of the log where we speculate how long it REALLY takes to cook a frozen leg of lamb and our very yummy talk about cheescake) but the conversation flow was fast and furious. Although my connection failed repeatedly for the last half hour of the chat, Koach managed to capture and send to me the votes based on our new ranking system. We will now give stories 2 rankings - 1 based on personal level of enjoyment and the other based on artistic/literary value. The rankings for this story were: Personal Enjoyment: 4.3 (5,4,4,4,5,4,5,4,4) Artistic Merit: 3.5 (4,3,3,4,4,,3,3,3,5) It is kind of funny to realize that we spent the entire allotted time for the chat discussing the story, and uncharacteristically never really branched off into a real discussion of the author (except the enlightening moments about his true inspiration for the story). Enjoyed it and sorry I was only a sporadic participant at the end with the connection issues. Additionally, I apologize for the delayed posting of the log. Read, Research, and see you at the next chat ! grip Log: http://koach.com/Attachments/Lamb_to_Slaughter_log.zip New Ranking Scales: Personal Evaluation (Interest/Entertainment Value) 5--One of the most engrossing stories I have ever read 4--Very entertaining, I would recommend it to my friends 3--A good read, I might recommend it to people whom I know share my interests or tastes 2--I would not recommend this story to others 1--A really bad read, I am sorry I wasted my time with it Artistic Value (Social/Emotional content) 5--A work of art, pulitzer prize material. 4--A significant contribution to literature 3--Well written 2--Pretty Forgettable 1--Garbage

We had a different kind of chat on Sunday April 22. 8 active chatters spent the first 30 minutes discussing "They're Made of Meat" by Terry Bisson. The overall ranking for the story was 3.8, based on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being 'the best'. Star provided a link for a visual - a short film of the story (7 minutes) ey%27re+made+out+of+meat%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=uswhich by now has been enjoyed by all. Additionally, Koach provided this insightful link highlighting an interview with the author: http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue366/interview.html Following the standard 5 minute break, we then discussed "Sleight of Hand" by Simon Haynes (our first Austrailian author) for about 30 minutes. The overall ranking for this story was 3, based on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being 'the best'. Following the individual story discussions, we spent our last segment of time comparing the 2 stories. At its conclusion, we rated the format of the evening itself on the following scale: 3 - It was fun, I would like to see it again 2 - It was so-so, I may or may not attend a chat in this format again 1 - Ugh! No - it just didn't work for me and would prefer it not be repeated Six of the chatters gave the format a '3', while two chatters ranked it a '1' indicating they prefer a single story and author for more in-depth research and discussion. We then discussed maybe repeating the format with 2 stories by a single author sometime. Sorry it took so long to post this, most of you know I've had horrible computer problems this week. NOTE our day and time change for the next chat ! grip

We had 8 active particpants and the average ranking was 4.25. A very lively discussion ! The viewpoints about this story from what happened to the main character at the end, the "time of cognizance" of certain events for the characters to a complete 'conspiracy theory' were as varied as each of us. I know I changed my mind several times during the course of the chat about what I thought. The time of writing was very critical to the discussion acknowledging the way things were then vs. today. Although we did not spend much time specifically on this, for some interesting reading regarding skin pigmentation I offer the following: Full text of 2002 Scientific American Article entitled "Skin Deep": http://www.direct-ms.org/pdf/VitDGenScience/Jablonski%202002%20Skin%20color.pdf Summary of several cited articles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_skin_color Check out the log to see who thought what about this as a 'chick story' Another great Sunday Night ! g Log: http://koach.com/Attachments/Desirees_Baby_Log_4-15-07.zip Individual Rankings for this story were: 5,5,5,4,4,4,4,3 Ranking Scale: 5

Well, last night you might say the #Readers_Chat moved through the same phases as symbolized in our story, with the exception that our final 'room' was sleep. We had 12 particpants and the average ranking was 4.4 Our own parallel to the story continued, as the inexorable passage of time left us - in the end - wanting more. The time flew as we examined the symbolism and writing style (supplemented with detailed passage reviews) of Poe and touched on his life and influences. An interesting question was raised by Smiley during the discussion that may prompt further research and discussion on this forum: <Smiley> I am wondering if there was some political motivations for him to protest isolationism during the 1840s. Could he have been advocating engagement in the Mexican War (rather than isolation) ? Additionally, a few links of note for reference were posted (and you are encouraged to provide more with a brief explanation of the link): <Star> this was a good article: "Ebola-Poe: a modern-day parallel of the red death?" Vora SK, Ramanan SV - Emerg Infect Dis. 2002 Dec;8(12):1521-3 http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol8no12/02-0176.htm (free full text of first medical analysis of The Masque of Red Death) <Stormy> http://www.poedecoder.com/ The Poe Decoder is a project started by a small group of Poe enthusiasts to make criticism and information on Poe and his work available on the Internet A wonderful, robust discussion with multi-party participation ! Loved it - you guys Rock ! g Log: http://koach.com/Attachments/masquelog4-8-07.zip Individual Rankings for this story were: 5,5,4,5,4,4,5,5,3 Ranking Scale: 5

What an interesting chat last night and a real mixed review and opinion of the story. We had 8 active particpants and the average ranking was 3.5 Interesting discussion points involved the author and the narrator's gender and whether a woman could tell a story as a man (and whether she was telling the story as a man) believably. We also had fun discussing our favorite passages, their meaning, and debating the likeability of several characters. There was a lightbulb moment for me when I learned Aphrodite and Venus were the same. I also learned why I have such a deep down affinity for the sea and beaches (Thanks Smiley). Here are some additional reference links provided by Koach, Star, and myself: Koach: http://www.unl.edu/Cather/life/bios/woodress/mcclure's.htm Star: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst;jsessionid=GQgZVx1982vJlnWYkSTz5BQ80TpnC5hyTp9NDgJ hL9DsRwspJ19v!-586180313!2096763476?a=o&d=37413201 Grip: http://cather.unl.edu/ We ran short on time, and during the wrap-up Star provided 3 additional items to comment on in this forum: [21:41] <Star> (poe overtones) - in the fashionof poe, the narrator broods over alexandra for the rest of his life [21:41] <Star> (her knowledge of plants) - the vine described was most likely dodder which is a garden parasite that lives by sucking the life its host plant, eventually killing it [21:41] <Star> (her use of colors) - highly repetititve and emphasizing the yellow-orange-red end of the spectrum Thank you all for making Sunday Nights something I look forward to. g Link to Log: http://koach.com/Attachments/Gulls_Road_Log_4-1-07.zip Individual Rankings for this story were: 3,1,5,5,4,3 Ranking Scale: 5

Last night was the smallest group we have had since starting Readers_Chat. There were 8 attendees in our discussion of this story and 5 rankings. The average ranking for the story was 4.6 My apology again to all for the time change. As ever, we had a fun and active chat. Everyone who participated brought something new to the story I had not seen. One of the most interesting items was brought up by Star who mentioned the overabundant use of the word Silver throughout the Story. We are looking for some follow-up research about this and the potential symbolism. We also discussed a future time where we all might independently read a few more Chesterton stories (Father Brown in particular) and compare the writing style change over the years. Then we discussed doing the same with other authors we have enjoyed so much (eg Poe). This idea has strong merit and be sure we will explore it further. To our regulars who couldn't make it - we missed you ! See you next week I hope ! Regards, grip Individual Rankings for this story were: 5, 5, 5, 4, 4 Ranking Scale: 5

Great chat tonite, and great job as filling in as moderator Smiley! Of the 12 attendees, 9 voted on the story for an average of 4.2 Individual Rankings for this story were: 4,5,4,5,3,5,5,4,3 Ranking Scale: 5

Story: A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner Link: http://www.ariyam.com/docs/lit/wf_rose.html Discussion held March 11, 2007 There were 13 attendees in our discussion of this story. The average ranking for the story was 4.4 We had no shortage of material or opinions in this chat ! This Faulkner classic had us all thinking and interpreting based on our different points of view. Many many thanks to all for an amazingly enjoyable discussion. I have a feeling that I will personally re-read this log through time with smiles. I know that in the re-reading of our comments I will find new things each time that I previously missed. PLEASE continue the story discussion in this thread if you find out more or have additional thoughts about it !! Each comment will be as a Rose for the rest of us. Regards, grip Individual Rankings for this story were: 5,3,4,5,5,5,3,5,5,4 Ranking Scale: 5

Thank you again to Stormy for his recommendation. We had 11 attendees at the scheduled chat. The average ranking for the story was 4.25. We had a hopping good discussion jumping to various topics and opinions about the story and its Author. Once the frogs were cleared from our throats, we all agreed that this Tall Tale required a leap of credibility and was indeed, a fun read. There is a clarification we should offer. The link for the story that most read was: http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/frog.html however we learned that the original story was represented here: http://www.twainquotes.com/Calif/18651216.html Thanks Everyone. grip Individual Rankings for this story were: 4,5,5,4,4,4,4,4 Ranking Scale: 5

If you missed this story and chat - you missed what many said is the best of both that we've had so far ! Thank you again to Smiley aka Picker for this fantastic recommendation. We had 17 attendees at the scheduled chat (albeit some said they just wanted to watch which is great!). The average ranking for our story, The Furnished Room by O. Henry, was 4.7. Time truly flew as we discussed the descriptors, references, and new vocabulary words. Star has even offered to try an O.Henry descriptive of her Jerky Burritto (we can't wait to see that!) True Spoiler Warning Here - Do not read the log if you want to read the Story (and as you can see by the rankings, the story is highly recommended! http://henry.thefreelibrary.com/The-Four-Million/24-1 ) My sincere thanks to all who participate and Koach for making this available to us. grip Individual Rankings for this story were: 5,5,5,5,5,5,2,5,5 Ranking Scale: 5

Our chat on 2-18-07 was SO Poe-esque ! 10 readers participated (with a few late arrivals but it was great to see them!) and the average rating for the story was 3.6 (see detail below). The log from the session is attached. We discussed following up on a few items and continuing the discussion in this thread. Here were some additional items we want to know more about or follow up on: 1. Some analysis was mentioned that cites the 'real' names of the alphabetized characters in Poe's work. D____, G_____ <G = Gisquet?>. Where can this analysis be found and/or what additional deciphering can we do of this ? 2. Another analysis was referred to that spoke of Dupin and the Minister as actual brothers and the rivalry started there, not with the episode in Vienna. Please tell us more ! 3. We were curious about the readership profile back then. "... what was the literacy rate in 1840...maybe 50 percent? ... What were other publications at that time ? (ie, what were people reading?) ... poes audience probably spoke french land could read greek and latin, and was probably well versed in the classics..." 4. Anon told us about "Entombed" by Linda Fairstein ... Has a lot of references to Poe, Modern day serial killer, using deaths from Poe's stories. Here is an amazon.com link to the novel and a brief quote: http://www.amazon.com/Entombed-Linda-Fairstein/dp/0743254880 " "...Just in case Poe ever has his own category on Alex's favorite TV show, there

Our chat on 2-11-07 was lively and stimulating ! 12 readers participated and the average rating for the story was 3.5 (see detail below). The log from the session is attached. The discussion of the story itself was enriching with the different points of view people held and the timing of events. The lively additional parts of the chat with regard to the author, author's intentions, timing and method of the publication and current events at that time provided a much broader context for the story discussion. I also always enjoy our more humorous moments ! (ps: those that arrived late; tear up those papers with the black dots, all is forgiven lol) Best Regards, grip 5

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY Warrior