Random Thoughts

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GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
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I wish Stephen King would write a nonfiction book about his favorite books and authors; not only horror (Danse Macabre) but a highlighted reading history much like the one Pat Conroy wrote. In his address today at the National Book Festival he spoke of the importance of books in his life and even shared anecdotes such as when he and Tabitha were reading on their front porch (Moving On by McMurtry for Steve and a history book for Tabby) while toddler Naomi played in the dirt. I think it would be a literary magic carpet ride over the past 60 years of his life and would be a wonderful legacy to his Constant Readers in the same way On Writing was to writers-in-training. Does anyone have interest in reading such a book?
...certainly....his personal recollections are as entertaining as his fiction...
 

Steffen

Well-Known Member
Aug 9, 2015
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I think it would be a mesmerizing read and revealing in the same way On Writing was, which humanized him and gave us a biographical peek into his formerly shrouded life. There is a reason we enjoy hearing his voice in a Foreword or nonfiction work (like you mentioned) because it reminds us that he's just a guy who likes to read and write stories. I truly hope this happens one day. Maybe the "guys in the basement" will begin to move and he will once again be bitten by the nostalgia bug.

(I will add that King doesn't necessarily need to be humanized because he has the uncanny ability to close the distance with his folksy wit and charming candor, but I think his most ardent fans like to be reminded that he's just a regular guy.)

This right here. This is why people love King. It's the same way I explain it to people who judge his work by the films. I tell them go look at Shawshank and Green Mile and Stand By Me. King's gift isn't the monster: that's the cinematic appeal. His strength is writing people. He writes about us. His work is like Bruce Springsteen songs: they resonate because they are about us regular folks and the everyday mundane things and the hard choices we sometimes have to make.
 

Dana Jean

Dirty Pirate Hooker, The Return
Moderator
Apr 11, 2006
53,634
236,697
The High Seas
I think it would be a mesmerizing read and revealing in the same way On Writing was, which humanized him and gave us a biographical peek into his formerly shrouded life. There is a reason we enjoy hearing his voice in a Foreword or nonfiction work (like you mentioned) because it reminds us that he's just a guy who likes to read and write stories. I truly hope this happens one day. Maybe the "guys in the basement" will begin to move and he will once again be bitten by the nostalgia bug.

(I will add that King doesn't necessarily need to be humanized because he has the uncanny ability to close the distance with his folksy wit and charming candor, but I think his most ardent fans like to be reminded that he's just a regular guy.)
On Writing also in my Top Ten of King. And yes, it has a lot of anecdotal stories in it. But Danse Macabre has more stories. It's really a mini autobiography.
 

not_nadine

Comfortably Roont
Nov 19, 2011
29,655
139,785
Behind you
On Writing also in my Top Ten of King. And yes, it has a lot of anecdotal stories in it. But Danse Macabre has more stories. It's really a mini autobiography.


Yes. It is.

I read it first young .. and embarrassed to say I could not pronounce the title correctly. Dancing Macramabe? Crochet? Now I know.
I still can't see the work Macarbe without thinking of that.
 

Steffen

Well-Known Member
Aug 9, 2015
2,233
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You have to love dogs. They find the bright side in any situation.

Cats, on the other hand, are as****es.


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