A Message from Your Moderator [ Edited ]

[IlanaSimons]

Hi—I’m happy to welcome you to the Frankenstein book group, in which we’ll read Mary Shelley’s classic together.

This resonant story, which Shelley wrote at age 18, has been recast by culture in so many ways, and I’m eager to hear what you make of it.

I’m a writer and literature professor who teaches at The New School in New York. I know we're coming together from a range of backgrounds, so please feel free to introduce yourselves below, maybe saying if and how you’ve read the book.

I love Frankenstein because it’s a true “book of ideas,” a story that taps inexhaustible questions, like gender, ego, and work. Shelley’s writing is often raw in its energy, showing her investment in these ideas. The book challenges us as great literature does, by making us sit with tough facts, like the failure of some of our best intentions.

I am excited to hear what ideas the book challenges and encourages in you. Come on in and start talking!

Message Edited by IlanaSimons on 10-26-200610:20 AM

[Sensorymoments]

Hi there, My name is Owen, and I am 24 (a girl) and I'm in college for spanish and english as a second language. May I just say I am crazy about books. I haven't read many of the classics though. I thought this would be a good oppurtunity to read a classic, in a non-school setting and really enjoy delving into it. I downloaded it on ebook and am reading it as I can on my computer (this is a great way to get into classics if you travel alot with a computer etc)

So far I have only read the Letters, and am really intrigued by them. I only know from movies, etc, very little about the actual story, and to me these letter's act as what I consider to be a foreshadowing, ....but I'm not really sure yet.

In the letter's you really sense the feeling of someone who was exploring the world at that time, and you sense the loneliness the letter writer feels...so far. I love it!

[IlanaSimons]

Hi Owen,
I'm so glad you're reading this book with us. Your observation about the letters makes a lot of sense--that Shelley's sinking us into the time and place of the novel, getting us to feel the boat trip, the loneliness of the people involved. Letters do that so well: They remind us that someone's alone when she's trying to communicate with someone else. When we talk face-to-face, we're not as brutally aware of that loneliness. I see you started to talk a little bit about letters on the "early chapters" thread. I hope some people pick up the thread there. Nice comment.

Message Edited by IlanaSimons on 10-25-200601:42 PM

[Kourt]

Hi all,

Sorry about joining late. I am trying to get use to the new format and find it a bit confusing. Anyway. I love this classic and look forward to discussing it.

[IlanaSimons]

Hi Kourt,
You haven't joined late at all. And we're open to readers who start the book at any time this month. I'll look forward to your input.

Message Edited by IlanaSimons on 10-25-200602:06 PM

[howietam]

Hello! I'm Tammy, and I live in Kentucky. I am a mother, wife, registered nurse, avid scrapbooker, and I love the classics! I've recently started back to college as a non traditional student. I've taken several b&n online classes before and really enjoyed them. I started reading this one back in September, so some of the details might be a little hazy, but I'll try to contribute to the discussion.

[IlanaSimons]

Hi Tammy
I'm so glad you've joined us. Luckily, this is the sort of book where the big themes stick with you, even without a recent reading. It also sparks good discussion outside of the book--like what a mother's burdens and joys are. See our "early chapters" discussion going on now. I'm looking forward to your input.

[flowergardener]

My name is sally and frankenstein has always been one of my fave books.

Does anyone know if there is a way to not have to look at all of the messages in a thread just to find the new ones? I find this confusing!

[IlanaSimons]

Hi Sally. Thanks for joining us. When you go to the page where you see the conversation threads, you should see two columns, one with total messages, and one with new messages. The new msg number will show you how many messages are new since you last looked. Does that make sense?
Ilana

[flowergardener]

Hi Ilana

Yes that does make sense but what i'm looking for is a way to just have the new messages themselves show up like we used to do instead of having to look at all of them when we click on the area. It will make it alot easier when it gets busy in here which i bet will be soon----guess i'm lucky to be an early bird!

Oh I have some rooms that say there is 1 unread message but when you click on it there are no messages at all. any ideas for this too?

thanks!

~sally~

[IlanaSimons]

Hi Sally,
I understand now. That makes sense. I'm going to look into it, and will get back to you.
About the "1 new message" thing: Even the moderator's first comment, like "Here's the place where we'll discuss [X]" counts as a message, so that's what the "1" is all about. Does that make sense?
Ilana

[flowergardener]

---

IlanaSimons wrote:
Hi Sally,
I understand now. That makes sense. I'm going to look into it, and will get back to you.
About the "1 new message" thing: Even the moderator's first comment, like "Here's the place where we'll discuss [X]" counts as a message, so that's what the "1" is all about. Does that make sense?
Ilana

---

thank you! i appreciate your help. sorry if i sound like a nut i'm just trying to figure out how this works, its confusing but maybe it will seem easier like the old one once we play with it more. :crosses fingers:

~sally~

[IlanaSimons]

I think your question made a lot of sense--and if I can figure out a "hide messages" tool, I'm going to write in about it.

[donyskiw]

Hi, I'm Denise and I'm in Colorado. I haven't read the book yet. I've been eagerly waiting for the new forums to start up and now I'm trying to figure out how they work! I'm looking forward to this discussion!

Denise

[IlanaSimons]

OK. We can't erase read messages, but we can do some thing to vary how you view the board.
here are some tips (sorry this gets techincal. play with any of this information as you'd like):

There are two ways to view the boards -- threaded view and linear view.
You can change this in the Board Options drop-down, and you can go back and forth if you like. And you can view different boards differently.

In both views, you will see icons to the left. These tell you if there is a reply in a thread, and if there are any new messages in a thread. If a folder is "open", then there are new messages waiting that have not yet been read by you. If it is closed, there are no new ones. So you can just go into the threads that have new messages.

To personalize this even more, you can click My Profile, then the Preferences tab, and control several things:

You can set Automatic Message Marking Options so that when you log off, it marks everything as read, or it can mark messages as read after a certain number of days.

For boards you are seeing in the Linear view, you can set it so when you click on a thread it goes right to the first new post.

For boards you are seeing in the Threaded view, you can set it so that threads with new replies are moved up.


Sorry for all the lingo. Hope you figure out a style that works for you
Ilana

[IlanaSimons]

Hi Denise. I'm so glad you've joined. Playing around with the system will help. I just posted a long note about some options you can try.
I once had a great friend named Denise in Colorado, so I've already got a (false!) image of you going.
Ilana

[Sensorymoments]

Haha, Your not late... Your early!: )

[Sensorymoments]

I have switched to the threaded view and I find it easier to navigate and see new posts and old posts in.

I also noticed that new posts are BOLD, If I'm correct?

[flowergardener]

yeah they are in bold and threaded is better but imagine looking down that list for the bold ones when theres like 500 messages lol it will be like an easter egg hunt without the eggs!

~sally~

[willowy]

Hello Everyone,

I'm Willowy, I've done lots of BN book clubs in the past and I always really enjoy them. I've never read Frankenstein, so I'm looking forward to discussing it with you all. I'm still a little confused with this new setup, but I'm hoping it becomes easier to navigate as I use it more! Look foward to talking with you all!