This Week's Travel Reading, Shocktober Edition 10/18/21

Having started the month with H.P. Lovecraft, I couldn't see myself going through the rest of Shocktober without at least touching on my favorite horror author (and a major influence on Lovecraft): Edgar Allan Poe.

Like Lovecraft, Poe didn't live very long; he was just 40 years old when he succumbed to...what, exactly? There are no records regarding why Poe died, and speculation over the years that he died due to accute alcoholism (or one of the many diseases inherent in that condition), but no one knows with any certainty.

Before he died, though...man, did he conjure up some nightmares.

The Pit and the Pendulem. The Cask of Amontillardo. The Masque of the Red Death. The Tell-Tale Heart. My personal favorite, The Black Cat. And so many more.

As with the Lovecraft volume I recently acquired, this Collected Poe really isn't suited to travel reading--it weighs about 10 lbs. and would wreck my neck and back if I were to tuck it into the backpack for reading on the long train/bus ride to and from the job.

Still, it's comforting to flip through as the days grow shorter and cooler, and the nights grow longer and deeper.