I agree about Breathing method last. The other three are great, That one is just good. In my experience it does not suck you in to the same degree as the others . Just my opinion......
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Have you read The Wind Through the Keyhole yet? (Dark Tower 4.5)I've snagged many of the Stephen King books I have on the strength of having found myself "accidentally" tearing through the latter half of On Writing, and the unprecedented plowing-through-it read of Carrie which I so rarely experience. I've deliberately made a point of reading other stuff in between what is for me a Stephen King reading frenzy. Reading The Body now, and I am starting to experience the sensation of acclimating a bit to his style. I've often said in my head that what I read asserts a pace that I will read it at. There may be some residual reading fatigue coming off of Dracula, which I unfortunately didn't enjoy. But The Body is telling me to take my time with it, so I'm relaxing with it. I had a moment of panic when it switched gears into a story-within-a-story mode with Stud City...a panic akin to what I felt when watching the movie Inception for the first time. That sense of descending into new narratives, by layers. With Inception it was just keeping up with the ongoing thread on the different layers; with The Body I kept trying to keep in mind that how the story reflects on the character of Gordon. I had flashbacks to On Writing when Gordon comments critically on Stud City, I thought I was reading On Writing again...a really weird experience. And now the four friends are in "quest"-mode, which is making me think of The Gunslinger which I so recently just finished. My experience of SK at this point is not leaving me with the impression of a popular horror novelist, more like as a reader I feel like I'm ping-ponging up and down and back and forth between layers and threads of story. Not a complaint, just my in-the-moment thoughts right now.
There are definitely layers within layers to Steve's stories. Some have many of them.I've snagged many of the Stephen King books I have on the strength of having found myself "accidentally" tearing through the latter half of On Writing, and the unprecedented plowing-through-it read of Carrie which I so rarely experience. I've deliberately made a point of reading other stuff in between what is for me a Stephen King reading frenzy. Reading The Body now, and I am starting to experience the sensation of acclimating a bit to his style. I've often said in my head that what I read asserts a pace that I will read it at. There may be some residual reading fatigue coming off of Dracula, which I unfortunately didn't enjoy. But The Body is telling me to take my time with it, so I'm relaxing with it. I had a moment of panic when it switched gears into a story-within-a-story mode with Stud City...a panic akin to what I felt when watching the movie Inception for the first time. That sense of descending into new narratives, by layers. With Inception it was just keeping up with the ongoing thread on the different layers; with The Body I kept trying to keep in mind that how the story reflects on the character of Gordon. I had flashbacks to On Writing when Gordon comments critically on Stud City, I thought I was reading On Writing again...a really weird experience. And now the four friends are in "quest"-mode, which is making me think of The Gunslinger which I so recently just finished. My experience of SK at this point is not leaving me with the impression of a popular horror novelist, more like as a reader I feel like I'm ping-ponging up and down and back and forth between layers and threads of story. Not a complaint, just my in-the-moment thoughts right now.
Yep, my opinion too. Tough for it to live up to the other three stories. Different Seasons is one of my faves. Apt Pupil is so very disturbing. Brilliant!I always found "The Breathing Method" to be the toughest read of the four in that collection, so I would advise that you still read that one last. Just my opinion.