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Ladies and Gentlemen, Narnians all: welcome to The Screwtape Letters Reading Group!
Before he wrote The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis wrote a series of letters purporting to be from Screwtape, an undersecretary, to his nephew Wormwood, a devil who is working on his first "patient." The patient is a man, and Wormwood's job is to see that he goes to hell when he dies. Screwtape writes to advise Wormwood on how to accomplish this. This work goes into some adult topics so if you are under the age of 15 please ask your parents before joining the reading group. You could also invite them to read it with you. I (Pattertwig's Pal) read it with my dad the first time I read it.
We are planning on reading approximately three letters a week. A schedule of reading assignments is posted here. We welcome feedback on the pace, so if you think this is too much or too little, please let us know!
Focus on the Family has recently released a Radio Theatre production of The Screwtape Letters that sticks very close to the text of the book, so we are excited to let you know that you can listen to the assignments as well as reading them. We suggest that you have the book handy for easy reference when posting.
To get us started, we suggest that you read Lewis's introduction to the collected letters and the 1961 preface where he addresses questions raised by readers and post any comments you might have about that or the reading group in general. However, please try not spoil anything for readers who have not read the letters yet.
We begin discussing the first letter January 10th. We will be opening threads to discuss the reading assignments and ask that you do not open any threads without permission. We are very excited about this reading group and look forward to the discussions to come!
Meltintalle
Pattertwig's Pal
NW sister to Movie Aristotle & daughter of the King
Topic starter
Posted : January 1, 2012 6:10 am
I love the Screwtape Letters! It's my third favourite Lewis book after Narnia (counting them as one) and Till We Have Faces. Can't wait for the 10th. 
Posted : January 1, 2012 9:57 am
I hope I have my copy by then! This should be a very informative reading group! I can't wait!
RL Sister to Melian Maia
Adopted Sister to Weirdo and Gildor_Inglorien
Posted : January 1, 2012 10:20 am
I might join. It may be a little bit advanced, but my parents trust me with what I read. 
Posted : January 1, 2012 10:31 am
Yes! I've been hoping for so long that a Screwtape Letters Reading Group would come along. I've read the book multiple times, and look forward to sharing my thoughts on it, and hearing the thoughts of everyone else.
3 letters a week? Let's see... That would be ten weeks. 2 and a half months? That'll be easy for me, since the book is short, and I was able to read it in a day or two my first time around. How about everyone else?
To get us started, we suggest that you read Lewis's introduction to the collected letters and the 1961 preface where he addresses questions raised by readers
All I have in my copy is the 1941 preface. Where is the introduction and the 1961 preface? 
Also, will "Screwtape Proposes a Toast" be discussed in this reading group as well? I do have that in my copy.
~Riella 
Posted : January 1, 2012 11:24 am
Ithilwen, the 1941 preface would be the introduction to the collected letters.
If it's still confusing, by this point I'm sure it's all my fault. 
Anyway, if you don't have them in your copy, you should be able to read them here.
And yes, Screwtape Proposes a Toast will also be covered.
We have hands that fashion and heads that know,
But our hearts we lost - how long ago! -- G. K. Chesterton
Posted : January 1, 2012 12:01 pm
I think that I shall do my best to participate. My British Literature class is going to be reading the Screwtape Letters this spring and this would definitely help me to be familiar with the book for my class's discussion. C;
Posted : January 1, 2012 12:52 pm
I have not read The Screwtape Letters and have been really meaning to. I put it on hold; I hope it comes soon! I'm excited to participate.
RL Sibling: CSLewisNarnia
Posted : January 1, 2012 6:12 pm
I have wanted to read The Screwtape Letters for quite a while now, but I kept putting it off. A good friend of mine has a copy, so I may just borrow hers. I'm very excited about this reading group and I can't wait to join in!
Avatar and Signature by lover of narnia Thank you!
Posted : January 2, 2012 4:09 am
Ithilwen, the 1941 preface would be the introduction to the collected letters.
If it's still confusing, by this point I'm sure it's all my fault.
Anyway, if you don't have them in your copy, you should be able to read them here.
Thanks for the link.
The collected letters? Are they different from just the regular copy of The Screwtape Letters? Is there more than one version?
My copy is the HarperSanFrancisco edition, with the yellow back and side, and a picture of a gargoyle statue on the front.
~Riella
Posted : January 2, 2012 4:32 am
Finally a reading group I can participate in I haven't read them yet, but they're in a volume Mom gave me for Christmas
"The mountains are calling and I must go, and I will work on while I can, studying incessantly." -John Muir
"Be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed." -Richard Adams, Watership Down
Posted : January 2, 2012 4:40 am
The collected letters? Are they different from just the regular copy of The Screwtape Letters? Is there more than one version?
No, they are the same. If you go to the link Mel provided and click on "preface" it will take you to the 1961 one. If you click on Screwtape letters and go to the next page it takes you to the 1941 preface / introduction to the collected letters. (collected letters = book form) I hope this clear things up.
NW sister to Movie Aristotle & daughter of the King
Topic starter
Posted : January 2, 2012 5:09 am
yay, I'd love to participate, I've got a copy of the Screwtape Letters and have read it multiple times, it's one of my favorite books
always be humble and kind
Posted : January 2, 2012 10:22 am
Hurrah!!!!!!!!!!!
*jumps around the room with joy*
This is wonderful news! I can't wait till the 10th
Founder of the Exploring Narnia Club (PM me to join)
Member of the Dragon Club
Posted : January 3, 2012 4:12 am
Just a reminder we will begin the discussion of letters 1-3 tomorrow.
For those of you who were able to read the prefaces / intros, what did you think?
I really liked Lewis's approach in the 1961 introduction. He calls things as he sees them and is very honest about things. I really liked the following quote and the story he included about why the probationer read his work. He didn't have to include that story.
Of course, sales do not always mean what authors hope. If you gauged the amount of Bible reading in England by the number of Bibles sold, you would go far astray. Sales of The Screwtape Letters, in their own little way, suffer from a similar ambiguity.
I also really liked his answer about how he came up with the names of the devils. I like the bolded part the best.
The truth is that I aimed merely at making them nasty -- and here too I am perhaps indebted to Lindsay -- by the sound. Once a name was invented, I might speculate like anyone else (and with no more authority than anyone else) as to the phonetic associations which caused the unpleasant effect.
NW sister to Movie Aristotle & daughter of the King
Topic starter
Posted : January 9, 2012 10:20 am
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