What a good, interesting book. The premise is a little boy can see dead people (which is familiar), but when he asks then a question they have to tell the truth.

This is a small but significant twist on the Sixth Sense base of the story because the boy goes from random medium to a tool people could potentially use for nefarious purposes.

Honestly, it’s a great story about how if you gained superpowers in any way, you have to keep that shit to yourself or you will absolutely be hunted down because of it, either by people who are jealous and want to hurt you because you have more than them, by people who are trying to use and abuse you to their own ends, or by people who will be negatively impacted by your power(s).

So take note: if you ever get super powers, just keep it to yourself. Only misery lies beyond letting people know.

I loved it.

I also love the storytelling style where it feels almost oral. King did this with Joyland (later with Fairy Tale) and it feels more approachable as in “gather round, kids and let Uncle Stevie tell you a story.”

I know some people aren’t keen on modern King, but I think there’s a swing to these stories that make them not only readable but devourable. The kind of stories you can read and grab another book right away and dive right in.

#bookstagram #book #books #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookrecommendations #booklover #booknerd #bookaddict #bookcover #read #wordywordsonwords #readmore #readmorebooks #readersofinstagram #reader #constantreader #stephenking #later #readmorehorror #stephenkingbook #spooky #hardcasecrime #crime #crimebook #stephenkingcollection #stephenkingreread #stephenkingread #readmorehorror

I liked Book 2 of the #stephenking Dark Tower series because it was a crazy story with VERY different characters, all in an uncomfortable relationship.

This one… a lot of those differences have been sanded down and I feel like some identity was lost.

That said, this book is a wild ride and I liked bringing Jake back into the fold. I liked Oy as well, even if he seems REALLY convenient at points.

It’s a really good book.

I didn’t like the ending at all, though. It’s super frustrating when books end on cliffhangers (book 2 of Hunger Games or Girl With the Dragon Tattoo immediately jump to mind). It’s pretty frustrating as a reader.

What’s more frustrating is that I know Wizard & Glass is next and, as frustrating as books ending on cliffhangers are, whole damn books about the past that interrupt the story are even worse.

Side note: I tracked down the original cover art sans titles because just LOOK AT IT. That has got to be the most beautiful, creepy piece ever used on a book. Really puts today’s covers to shame because, for me, unless it’s romance, I want REAL artwork on my covers. Right? Who’s with me

#bringbackrealbookart #books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #stephenking #darktower #wastelands #stephenkingbook #stephenkingrules #constantreader

A couple things:

1) I would LOVE to know what the ladies think about the female representation in this book. I was always told girls are SUPER catty and shitty to each other, but I’m a dude so what do I know?

2) A letter from Macon, GA is how this novel closes out. As interesting as that is, it’s RIDDLED with spelling errors and that’s way more interesting. Slightly offensive. Really funny.

3) I remember hearing something about a play in football where everyone knows what’s going to happen but it works anyway.

That’s this book.

There’s no mystery here, but it doesn’t matter. He says Carrie is telekinetic in no time flat. He’ll tell you someone is going to die and at no point do you say “ugh! Spoilers!” Instead, you continue to read because now you need to know HOW it happens.

This occurs over and over again and it never goes poorly. I love it.

4) It’s implied that Sue Snell is pregnant before she hooks up with Carrie who initially thinks Snell was part of this. Then they have a moment where Carrie goes through Snell’s brain to see if she had any role in what happened at prom.

She didn’t, and, as Carrie died (spoiler alert), Sue starts her (late) period.

It seems to ME that this was a last-minute gift of sorts because Snell wasn’t really prepared for motherhood.

I know, I know. Some people wouldn’t consider abortions gifts, but you never know what people want and gifts are all about what THEY want, not about what YOU want to give, you know what I mean?

But I’m curious what you guys think.

On one hand, I could see it as bookends for the story - it starts and ends with periods - but I could see it as an act of mercy from Carrie as well. Maybe because Carrie wasn’t super stoked on her own existence at that point?

Let me know what you think.

#book #books #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookrecommendations #booklover #booknerd #bookaddict #bookcover #read #wordywordsonwords #readmore #reader #constantreader #stephenking #carrie #stephenkingbook

This was King’s first foray into Hard Case books and it is REALLY interesting.

Hard Case books are famous for being crime books, usually hard-boiled, and often skewing toward the noir side of things. The whole “my life was miserable enough until the door opened and there she was. The dame. With legs that went all the way down to her shoes, I knew she was going to be trouble,” kind of thing.

So I was really interested to read a book from King like that.

Turns out that, like with Joyland, it doesn’t really fit with the publisher.

This story is a mystery about a body that was discovered on the beach ages ago - YEARS ago. These old men are telling the story to a young reporter and, really, it’s just a trip down memory lane for them. They recount how people really didn’t like this mystery because the ending was unsatisfying.

And this was where I got really interested. Yes, it’s a fun story to read and it also falls into King’s more conversational method of writing, but this bit about the mystery’s end really got me going.

A LOT of people are critical of King and his ability to end stories. “He writes good books but can’t write and ending,” is a critique that is so common King himself said it in the new “It” movie about the story’s author protagonist.

He’s familiar with the complaint.

So a whole story where characters in the story didn’t like the story’s resolution in a book that basically has no ending is SUPER fun for me because it feels like a very direct “fuck you. You want to see a story with an unsatisfying ending? I’ll show YOU a story with an unsatisfying ending!”

The way to that… ending is an enjoyable ride. I genuinely like this book. But I love the idea that he was poking critics in the chest with this one way more, mostly because I think the critique is largely unfounded and used mostly by people who want to dismiss King’s work as less than worthy.

Fuck those guys. This book is fun.

#books #stephenking #stephenkingbook #read #readinglog #coloradokid

Oh boy. Ohboyohboyohboyohboy, did I love this book!

I think this is in my top 5 King books. It sums up everything (but horror) that makes King such a great author. You can relate to the characters, there’s a heavy sense of nostalgia, there’s crime (though I will admit that the amount of crime made me wonder why this was a Hard Case book), and it’s a big slice of life book.

It’s charming.

Yeah, that’s the word: charming.

It’s about a college boy who gets a summer job at an amusement park where there may or may not be a ghost but there was DEFINITELY a disappearance/death.

My only critique is that King’s mysteries aren’t so much “mysteries” in the traditional sense where the reader is given enough clues to figure it out on their own. Usually King’s involves a character looking at something and realizing SOMETHING doesn’t seem right but they just can’t put their finger on it until… oh my god, they figured it out. But you, the reader, are not given the clues. You’re one step away from the protagonist and you can’t read his mind.

Which is kind of strange since King’s known for conveying inner thoughts.

Anyhoo, I’d say I don’t like that delivery of a mystery if King didn’t make his books so entertaining.

To be clear: I don’t go to King for Christie stories. I go to King for King stories.

And I REALLY like this older King style of storytelling. It’s more conversational and way more… I don’t know… intimate? It feels like I’m a kid at the foot of my grandfather’s rocking chair next to the fire rapt in the yarn that he’s spinning and that makes King unique and special in my book.

Also, I think this is a PERFECT book to loan to someone who is uninitiated. At this point people will say they haven’t read him because his books are long or they don’t like horror. Neither is a factor here.

#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #stephenking #joyland #stephenkingbook #hardcasebook #crimebook

I like baseball so this might be a bit biased.

I do NOT like baseball so much that I thought King’s “Faithful” was an exciting read, but I do like baseball and a common critique I hear about this story is that it’s boring because it focuses on, well, baseball.

But I love it. This is a novella written as an interview transcript. The interviewee, a character talking to King himself, is giving his memories on a player called Blockade Billy. It documents their season and ends about how you would expect a Stephen King story to end.

This isn’t the first time King has done stories written as transcripts (Dolores Claiborne was a whole NOVEL written as one) but I could see how it would throw some people off.

Look: I get why people might not like this story.

It’s short, it’s not horror in King’s traditional sense, it’s a transcript, and it’s about baseball.

But I think it’s great. It reminded me of those 1990s Disney sports movies, documenting the dramatic rise of the underdog to a big ending (though the endings are quite different) and I thought it was very exciting. It felt weird to get this nostalgic hit for DISNEY movies while reading KING but it happened.

Also, if you’re struggling with the transcript angle of the story (same for Dolores), I recommend checking your favorite audiobook sources for it because the narrator is very good and gives the transcript a lot of life and drama.

I think this is easily one of King’s hidden gems. People see the cover, shudder because they don’t like baseball, and dismiss it. But they shouldn’t be so fast because there’s a lot to love in this little novella.

#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #stephenking #constantreader #blockadebilly #stephenkingbook

A long time ago, King’s “Under the Dome” came out and I read it immediately. I’ve been huge King fan forever and it was a natural thing.

That book broke me. Absolutely destroyed me.

It wasn’t scary, it was… I was heartbroken.

The story centers on a town that inexplicably is cut off from the rest of the world and normal people are turned into monsters by a charismatic man who thinks he knows best.

And it didn’t take too much effort.

It’s the fact that the people were so easily turned that hurt, sure, but King is REALLY good at writing humans and I could see it happening in the real world. I could see some charismatic ass-hat basically giving permission to let peoples’ worst selves out for the world to see.

And hey, what do you know? Look what happened a few years later.

Anyway, I mostly stayed away from King from then on but I got a wild hair and decided why not give this a shot.

I did, and fell in love with it. It’s not perfect, but it’s really good. It’s got a lot of heart.

Two things:

1) This series ties into the Dark Tower

2) Both authors made a big mistake with the man’s name. They didn’t think anything of it, finished the story, it went to print, and not a single person along the way said “hey guys, why did you use the initials that are always used for a big bad in the King multiverse?”

So chalk it up to coincidence when you read it and try not to get too upset that it doesn’t play into fan theories as well as one would initially hope.

It’s a short, fun book. I’m a huge fan of this era of King’s work.

Pretty sure I’m going to need to read more.

#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #stephenking #richardchizmar #gwendy #gwendysbuttonbox #stephenkingbook #castlerock