Edgar Allan Poe: Beautiful Madness

Bookmark from the Puns Bookmark Set on obviousstate.com

I am a huge fan of Poe - always have been. Even in Jr. High English class I veered toward authors like Edgar Allan Poe and Ray Bradbury and Bram Stoker instead of Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott. 

I have been reading J.W. Ocker's excellent book Poeland: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe these past couple weeks and I love it. It's so fascinating! It's such a fun read and it really gives great background to what Poe was doing and what his life was like when he wrote his most iconic works. 

This book was different than I expected when I first saw the cover. The author travels to the places along the East Coast and England connected to Edgar Allan Poe. For example, I didn't know he was born in Boston but didn't have so much as a plaque or statue until many, many years after he died. It's as if Boston has forgotten that one of the best writers of all time was born there. I love the witty humor and the people the author finds and interviews - fellow "Poe" fans across the country - to discuss the enigmatic author. He goes behind the scenes, as it were, to take a fresh view of everything surrounding Poe and his writings. 

I wonder how many authors and artists claim Poe as their inspiration?

In short, I cannot recommend this book enough. I think it would be fun to start reviewing some of my favorite spooky or fall-themed books. There are so many good ones and I have such a varied and quite frankly, eclectic, taste in literature.

I hope you'll come back and check out my list of books that are so good it's scary!