Just finished Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris, a short collection of essays about books. My favorite was "Never Do That to a Book'. That's a great title. Recommended.
What Are You Reading?
- Thread starter Dana Jean
- Start date
-
This message board permanently closed on June 30th, 2020 at 4PM EDT and is no longer accepting new members.
- Status
I do intend to finish 11/22/63 after Dr Sleep. I've just wanted to read DS and didn't have a copy when I finished Blaze.
Oh, yeah, that's too thick for me, not sure if I can do it... It's also in soft cover, it would be great to have it in hard cover, this way it would be easier, I guess...
I also got it in Paperback but it is worth digging through. It really rewards you.
I've just finished Revival and enjoyed it. I have to be honest and say that I was worried after I read some of the bad reviews on Amazon. A lot of them were really bad. Having now read the book myself, I am wondering if I read the same book as some of the reviewers!
Next up is Apartment 16 by Adam Nevill. I have fairly high hopes for it after reading one of his other books.
Next up is Apartment 16 by Adam Nevill. I have fairly high hopes for it after reading one of his other books.
I read some of them myself. Could it be that it is, perhaps, a touchy subject? Or that there isn't so much direct action? I don't know but i think Revival was great.
Neesy
#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
I'm glad to hear this because I am still looking forward to reading it - I got Revival for Christmas!
Yay!!!I'm glad to hear this because I am still looking forward to reading it - I got Revival for Christmas!
Rhett Butlers People was better than Scarlett, but this is SO much better. Do yourself a favor.
I think you're right.
Most of the bad reviews I read focused on the subject matter (religion) and what was perceived to be a lack of action. It's definitely a slow-burner, but the story held my attention throughout and I enjoyed it.
I believe a lot of readers find it hard to accept that Uncle Stevie is a different writer these days. It's as though people are expecting another The Shining or Salem's Lot each time he releases a new novel. He's already done haunted houses, vampires and zombies plenty of times, and now he's moved on.
Just finished the Nevill book you recommended sir, The Ritual. You were right, kind of a weird ending and a bit weak, but overall, not a bad read.
If you read the reviews of The Ritual, you'll find a lot of people agreeing with that assessment.
It is still a good book, and often appears in "scariest books" lists, but it could have been better with a different ending.
Just finished "The Stranger Beside Me" 2.5 stars out of 4 "Green River Running Red" also by Anne Rule was better 3 stars True crime is not really my taste. On to "Great Courses ... Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Empire" (3.5 stars) on audio... no way I would read these even though they are fantastic, not after surviving grad school. So I will listen again and try and sponge up what I can as I work on my newest portrait.
I'm glad to hear this because I am still looking forward to reading it - I got Revival for Christmas!
I got it for Christmas, too. It meant having to wait longer than I would have liked to read it, but it was worth it.
Neesy
#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
I was planning to go buy it the day it came out (November 11th) but then got sick and after that started procrastinating so eventually just asked for it for Christmas.
Probably will start reading it after Andy goes up North to work again (beginning of February).
I think that's the crux of the situation. Mr. King moved on to a more cerebral or internal sort of horror quite a while back, and it seems to be a hard sell with a lot of readers. It's too bad, because he's done some of his strongest storytelling in the last few books. I'm on record on one of the threads saying that I think this particular story would have worked better as a novella or a short story, but in principle I support the way he's changed as a writer; I still look forward to every book. I've aged as Mr. King has, and external horrors aren't nearly as scary at nearly 50 as they were in my teens or 20s. I think as we get older we learn that it's far easier to deal with bad outside actors than those that ambush us from within.
I think you've hit the nail on the head there. I also agree that Revival could easily have been a short story or novella, but it still works for me the way it is.
People who expect SK to be the same author or man he was 30 years ago are being unrealistic. He'll have different ideas and goals, and with a back catalogue like his, he'll probably be striving to do something original or new that challenges him.
Some of you that are fans of Sherlock Holmes may be aware that certain people thought he was a real and upon retiring he moved to the country and took up beekeeping. That is where The Final Solution: A Story of Detection, by Michael Chabon, begins. It is 1944 and though the name of Holmes is never mentioned, it has all the ingredients of a Conan Doyle short story, though the writing is superior.
I'm also reading Us Conductors, by Sean Michaels and We Are Water, by Wally Lamb.
I am a constant reader disappointed with Revival. It has nothing to do with "people are expecting another The Shining or Salem's Lot each time he releases a new novel." I just found the story lackluster and the ending idiotic. Other than that, I have no problem with it.
Not everyone is going to love every book he writes. We need to stop trying to find reasons for one anothers not liking a particular book of his, graciously accept it and just focus on the positive.
- Status