Holly

Holly by Stephen King

Holly Gibney #3

Fiction/Thriller

2023

Finished on October 24, 2024

Rating: 4.5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

Holly Gibney, one of Stephen King’s most compelling and ingeniously resourceful characters, returns in this thrilling novel to solve the gruesome truth behind multiple disappearances in a midwestern town.

“Sometimes the universe throws you a rope.” — BILL HODGES

Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Readers have witnessed Holly’s gradual transformation from a shy (but also brave and ethical) recluse in Mr. Mercedes to Bill Hodges’s partner in Finders Keepers to a full-fledged, smart, and occasionally tough private detective in The Outsider. In King’s new novel, Holly is on her own, and up against a pair of unimaginably depraved and brilliantly disguised adversaries.

When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl’s desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down.

Mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are harboring an unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie’s disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to: they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless.

Holly must summon all her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver the shockingly twisted professors in this chilling new masterwork from Stephen King.

Fantastic! Another winner by King. Holly is less of a mystery (the reader is privy to all that is going on while Holly is trying to find out if there's a serial killer at large), and definitely not horror (at least not in the supernatural sense), so I'd categorize this one as a thriller. I couldn't put it down! Each night I would read a few chapters before falling asleep, only to wake up an hour later, eager to read more. I knocked off half a point due to the heavy-handed commentary about Covid. I don't mind revisiting the pandemic in my reading, and King doesn't shy away from opportunities to voice his opinion (which I share) about Trump and antivaxxers. However, it's a bit on the nose for over 400 pages. 

I enjoyed meeting Holly Gibney in The Outsider and If It Bleeds, and I'm looking forward to reading the Bill Hodges' trilogy (in which she first appears) that I somehow overlooked when they were first released starting back in 2014. I may even reread Holly once I've finished those three. 

I've said it more than once, but I'll say it again. Stephen King is a master storyteller. He is on my list of all-time favorite authors, and easily in the top ten. Highly recommend!

Billy Summers

 

Billy Summers by Stephen King

Fiction

2021

Finished on September 20, 2024

Rating: 5/5 (Outstanding)

Publisher's Blurb:

Billy Summers is a man in a room with a gun. He’s a killer for hire and the best in the business. But he’ll do the job only if the target is a truly bad guy. And now Billy wants out. But first there is one last hit. Billy is among the best snipers in the world, a decorated Iraq war vet, a Houdini when it comes to vanishing after the job is done. So what could possibly go wrong?

How about everything...

This spectacularly riveting novel is part war story, part love letter to small-town America and the people who live there, and it features one of the most compelling and surprising duos in King fiction, who set out to avenge the crimes of an extraordinarily evil man. Billy Summers is about love, luck, fate, and a complex hero with one last shot at redemption.

You won’t put this story down, and you won’t forget Billy.

Just wow. What can I say? This is Stephen King at his finest. (And I've probably said that about every book of his that I've read in the past decade or two.) I’ve had this book on my shelf for a long time and while I’m sorry that it took me so long to finally get to it, I’m glad I had it to read on our road trip to the Tetons. I couldn’t put it down, and it was perfect for nighttime reading.

What did I love about it? For starters, Stephen King is known to begin his novels in medias res, dropping readers into the middle of the action. I can count on King to feed me one or two opening paragraphs that automatically have me scrambling to find out what's going on. 

I’m a big fan of stories within stories, and Billy Summers has one of the best I’ve ever read. Not one for recent war stories, this secondary story surprised me; I couldn’t stop reading about Billy’s experiences in Fallujah.* Every time King reverted to the present, I found myself eager to return to Billy’s book. And, as Billy considers his writing and subject matter, the reader is privy to the writing process, which King is a pro at conveying. 

So, there’s the story within a story, the war in Iraq, the writing process, and yes, a love interest of sorts. With each introduction of new characters, King draws you in further, making you feel as if you’re a part of the narrative, anxious for what lies ahead.

I also liked that this novel is unlike so many of King's earlier works, devoid of all but a minor glimpse of the supernatural. It also includes nods to his previous books, which is fun and rewarding to long-time fans.

Billy is an interesting character, posing as a somewhat dumb ex-Marine to those who have hired him to perform hits on various "bad guys." His childhood is filled with pain and trauma, and he enlists before his 18th birthday, but he is far from dumb. Juggling various personas takes a lot of mental acuity, and Billy excels in his line of work.

At over 500 pages, I didn’t want the book to end. And speaking of endings, what an astonishing finale. Makes me want to start from the beginning and read it again. It reminds me of another great novel with a likeable hero (by Dean Koontz), but to share the comparison would reveal a possible spoiler.

Bravo! Masterful storytelling. Highly recommend.

If interested, click here to read an interview with King in Esquire. (There are spoilers.)

*Note to self: Add No True Glory by Bing West to my TBR list.

Fairy Tale

 

Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Fiction

2022 Simon & Schuster Audio

Narrated by Seth Numrich

Finished on April 27, 2024

Rating: 2.5/5 (Fair)

Publisher's Blurb:

Legendary storyteller Stephen King goes deep into the well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for their world or ours.

Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill. In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape. When Mr. Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie the house, a massive amount of gold, a cassette tape telling a story that is impossible to believe, and a responsibility far too massive for a boy to shoulder.

Because within the shed is a portal to another world—one whose denizens are in peril and whose monstrous leaders may destroy their own world, and ours. In this parallel universe, where two moons race across the sky, and the grand towers of a sprawling palace pierce the clouds, there are exiled princesses and princes who suffer horrific punishments; there are dungeons; there are games in which men and women must fight each other to the death for the amusement of the “Fair One.” And there is a magic sundial that can turn back time.

A story as old as myth, and as startling and iconic as the rest of King’s work, Fairy Tale is about an ordinary guy forced into the hero’s role by circumstance, and it is both spectacularly suspenseful and satisfying.

Meh. I have usually enjoyed, if not loved most of the books I've read by Stephen King. Unfortunately, Fairy Tale was a disappointment. It had promise, and I loved the first part, which focuses on Charlie's introduction to Mr. Bowditch and Radar (Bowditch's dog). This section (roughly the first third of the book) felt like a classic King novel (young boy, old man, and a dog), and the audio production pulled me in from the opening lines. However, once Charlie entered the "other" world, I lost interest, and it took me almost two months to finish the book. I don't know if I would've maintained my enthusiasm had I listened at longer stretches, but March was super rainy, so my daily walks were pretty much nonexistent. We were also traveling for a big portion of April, so again, not much listening time. Honestly, it didn't call out to me, and I really didn't care how it was going to end. With that said, I did push through and eventually finished, but it's not a book that I can recommend... unless you love fantasy. I can see how this story would appeal to those who like that genre, but I prefer King's supernatural tales. 

If It Bleeds

If It Bleeds by Stephen King

Fiction/Novellas

2020 Simon & Schuster

Narrated by Danny Burstein, Steven Weber & Will Patton

Finished on January 29, 2022

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Readers adore Stephen King’s novels, and his novellas are their own dark treat, briefer but just as impactful and enduring as his longer fiction. Many of his novellas have been made into iconic films, including “The Body” (Stand By Me) and “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” (Shawshank Redemption).

Four brilliant new tales in If It Bleeds are sure to prove as iconic as their predecessors. Once again, King’s remarkable range is on full display. In the title story, reader favorite Holly Gibney (from the Mr. Mercedes trilogy and The Outsider) must face her fears, and possibly another outsider—this time on her own. In “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” an intergenerational friendship has a disturbing afterlife. “The Life of Chuck” explores, beautifully, how each of us contains multitudes. And in “Rat,” a struggling writer must contend with the darker side of ambition.

If these novellas show King’s range, they also prove that certain themes endure. One of King’s great concerns is evil, and in If It Bleeds, there’s plenty of it. There is also evil’s opposite, which in King’s fiction often manifests as friendship. Holly is reminded that friendship is not only life-affirming but can be life-saving. Young Craig befriends Mr. Harrigan, and the sweetness of this late-in-life connection is its own reward.

When I downloaded this audiobook, I didn't realize that it is made up of four novellas and I was initially disappointed since I was enjoying the first story so well and didn't want it to end. I needn't have worried. "Mr. Harrigan's Phone" was perfect in length and the conclusion came at the right moment. Any longer and it would have lost its magic. I loved it and know it will stay with me for a long time. Stephen King is such an great storyteller. As I listened, I found myself reminiscing about other stories and books of his that I've read over the years. His young characters are so well drawn and their youthful innocence stirs up memories of my own childhood and the freedom we had as kids. 

"The Life of Chuck" starts off as a disturbing look at where we might wind up if we don't take climate change more seriously, but after the first part of the story, the narrative takes a surprising turn. This novella is comprised of three "acts" and the chronology is reversed, which makes for an interesting read.

Just as I was about to begin the third story ("If It Bleeds"), I discovered that the main character also plays an important role in another Stephen King book. Anyone who reads King knows about these type of cross-overs, but I wasn't familiar with Holly Gibney until I added this book to my Goodreads list. I spotted the Holly Gibney #2 notation and realized I was about to begin this story out of order. I quickly paused the book and downloaded The Outsider, which I reviewed here. Once I finished listening to that book, I returned to "If It Bleeds." I'm glad I didn't read the books out of order, as I would have learned several spoilers about The Outsider. (I've since learned that Holly also makes an appearance in Mr. Mercedes, but I'll just have to live with those spoilers.) "If It Bleeds" is an entertaining, albeit, creepy story and I enjoyed learning more about Holly, who has quickly become a favorite character. 

"Rat," which is the final story in this collection, was my least favorite and had I not been listening to the audio edition, I might have just skipped it. Do we really need another story about a struggling writer?

All in all this was an entertaining book and I'm eager to read more by King. He never fails to entertain!

I received a complimentary copy from Libro.fm. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Outsider

The Outsider by Stephen King

Holly Gibney #1

Fiction/Horror

2018 Simon & Schuster Audio

Narrated by Will Patton

Finished on January 24, 2022

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

An unspeakable crime. A confounding investigation. At a time when the King brand has never been stronger, he has delivered one of his most unsettling and compulsively readable stories.

An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens. He is Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.

 As the investigation expands and horrifying answers begin to emerge, King’s propulsive story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can.

I started listening to the audiobook of The Outsider last October for one of my RIP XVI reading challenge selections. I had been listening to another Stephen King collection of short stories (If It Bleeds) when I came upon Holly Gibney, a character who is in both books, and thought I should read them in the proper order. I paused If It Bleeds and began The Outsider, only to pause that as well in order to focus on my selections for Nonfiction November. In spite of taking a long break from the book, I was able to pick up where I left off without any trouble. King is such a talented storyteller and each of his characters are so well depicted that it's practically impossible to forget them, especially the ones you really do want to forget!

The Outsider is classic King and while I'm glad I listened while on my daily walks (in the daylight and around other people), the audiobook contributed to the unsettling spookiness of the story. Will Patton gives an outstanding performance and each characters' voice is distinguishable from the others, particularly Holly Gibney's. (She is such a great character!) 

In typical King fashion, this is not for the faint of heart. It's creepy, filled with disgusting detail and a strong paranormal vibe. Once I finish listening to If It Bleeds, I'll move on to the Mr. Mercedes trilogy, which I now understand I should have read first. Oops.

Looking Back - Bag of Bones

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Bag of Bones by Stephen King

Fiction

1998 Scribner Book Company

Read in December 2000

Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Stephen King's most gripping and unforgettable novel, Bag of Bones, is a story of grief and a lost love's enduring bonds, of a new love haunted by the secrets of the past, of an innocent child caught in a terrible crossfire.

Set in the Maine territory King has made mythic, Bag of Bones recounts the plight of 40-year-old bestselling novelist Mike Noonan, who is unable to stop grieving even four years after the sudden death of his wife, Jo, and who can no longer bear to face the blank screen of his word processor.

Now his nights are plagued by vivid nightmares of the house by the lake. Despite these dreams, or perhaps because of them, Mike finally returns to Sara Laughs, the Noonans' isolated summer home.

He finds his beloved Yankee town familiar on its surface, but much changed underneath -- held in the grip of a powerful millionaire, Max Devore, who twists the very fabric of the community to his purpose: to take his three-year-old granddaughter away from her widowed young mother. As Mike is drawn into their struggle, as he falls in love with both of them, he is also drawn into the mystery of Sara Laughs, now the site of ghostly visitations, ever-escalating nightmares, and the sudden recovery of his writing ability. What are the forces that have been unleashed here -- and what do they want of Mike Noonan?

As vivid and enthralling as King's most enduring works, Bag of Bones resonates with what Amy Tan calls 'the witty and obsessive voice of King's powerful imagination.' It's no secret that King is our most mesmerizing storyteller. In Bag of Bones -- described by Gloria Naylor as 'a love story about the dark places within us all' -- he proves to be one of our most moving.

My Original Thoughts (2000):

Fantastic! King has such a talent for sucking you in from the very first page. I couldn't put it down, but had to several times (at night), so I wouldn't have nightmares. Creepy story, but oh, so good!

My Current Thoughts:

This is one of my favorite books by Stephen King. After 21 years, I still have a vivid memory of a scene involving magnetic alphabet letters on a refrigerator. Eeek! Creepy. Still, I would love to read it again someday.

Elevation

 

Elevation by Stephen King

Fiction

2018 Scribner

Finished on September 30, 2020

Rating: 2/5 (Fair)

Publisher's Blurb:

Although Scott Carey doesn’t look any different, he’s been steadily losing weight. There are a couple of other odd things, too. He weighs the same in his clothes and out of them, no matter how heavy they are. Scott doesn’t want to be poked and prodded. He mostly just wants someone else to know, and he trusts Doctor Bob Ellis.

In the small town of Castle Rock, the setting of many of King’s most iconic stories, Scott is engaged in a low grade—but escalating—battle with the lesbians next door whose dog regularly drops his business on Scott’s lawn. One of the women is friendly; the other, cold as ice. Both are trying to launch a new restaurant, but the people of Castle Rock want no part of a gay married couple, and the place is in trouble. When Scott finally understands the prejudices they face–including his own—he tries to help. Unlikely alliances, the annual foot race, and the mystery of Scott’s affliction bring out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others.

The last time I picked up a Stephen King novel was in 2014 when I read 11/22/63. It's a great book, especially for those who enjoy speculative fiction or time travel stories. I wish I could say the same of Elevation, which I initially borrowed from the library for my husband, but decided to add to my RIP XV reading challenge stack. This small volume is more of a novella and can be easily read in one sitting, for which I was thankful; I doubt I would have continued, had it been any longer. It started out fine, and I was curious about what evil forces could be causing Scott's unnatural weight loss, but after a couple of chapters, I felt it was too trite and sappy, as if Nicholas Sparks and Mitch Albom had gotten together to write a horror story. When it's time to compile my year-end summary, Elevation will go down as the weirdest book I've read since Aimee Bender's bizarre novel, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.

I read Elevation for the RIP XV Challenge.

Looking Back - Hearts in Atlantis

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King
Fiction
1999 Scribner
Finished in July 1999
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Stephen King, whose first novel, Carrie, was published in 1974, the year before the last U.S. troops withdrew from Vietnam, is the first hugely popular writer of the TV generation. Images from that war -- and the protests against it -- had flooded America's living rooms for a decade. Hearts in Atlantis, King's newest fiction, is composed of five interconnected, sequential narratives, set in the years from 1960 to 1999. Each story is deeply rooted in the sixties, and each is haunted by the Vietnam War.

In Part One, "Low Men in Yellow Coats," eleven-year-old Bobby Garfield discovers a world of predatory malice in his own neighborhood. He also discovers that adults are sometimes not rescuers but at the heart of the terror.

In the title story, a bunch of college kids get hooked on a card game, discover the possibility of protest...and confront their own collective heart of darkness, where laughter may be no more than the thinly disguised cry of the beast.

In "Blind Willie" and "Why We're in Vietnam," two men who grew up with Bobby in suburban Connecticut try to fill the emptiness of the post-Vietnam era in an America which sometimes seems as hollow -- and as haunted -- as their own lives.

And in "Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling," this remarkable book's denouement, Bobby returns to his hometown where one final secret, the hope of redemption, and his heart's desire may await him.

Full of danger, full of suspense, most of all full of heart, Stephen King's new book will take some readers to a place they have never been...and others to a place they have never been able to completely leave.

My Original Thoughts (1999):

The first short story was very good, but sad and depressing. A boy's new friend introduces him to literature, yet has to leave when the "low men" find him. Kind of creepy in a subtle way.

I really enjoyed this collection of interconnected short stories.

My Current Thoughts:

If I ever decide to reread any of Stephen King's books, this will be on my list!

Looking Back - The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
Fiction
1999 Scribner
Read in May 1999
Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

What if the woods were full of them? And of course they were, the woods were full of everything you didn't like, everything you were afraid of and instinctively loathed, everything that tried to overwhelm you with nasty, no-brain panic.

The brochure promised a "moderate-to-difficult" six-mile hike on the Maine-New Hampshire branch of the Appalachian Trail, where nine-year-old Trisha McFarland was to spend Saturday with her older brother, Pete, and her recently divorced mother. When she wanders off to escape their constant bickering, then tries to catch up by attempting to shortcut through the woods, Trisha strays deeper into a wilderness full of peril and terror. Especially when night falls.

Trisha has only her wits for navigation, only her ingenuity as a defense against the elements, only her courage and faith to withstand her mounting fear. For solace she tunes her Walkman to broadcasts of Boston Red Sox games and the gritty performances of her hero, number 36, relief pitcher Tom Gordon. And when her radio's reception begins to fade, Trisha imagines that Tom Gordon is with her--her key to surviving an enemy known only by the slaughtered animals and mangled trees in its wake.

A classic story that engages our emotions at the most primal level, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, explores our deep dread of the unknown and the extent to which faith can conquer it. It is a fairy tale grimmer than Grimm, but aglow with a girl's indomitable spirit.

My Original Notes (1999):

I haven't read Stephen King in such a long time and I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was quite suspenseful, but not too scary. A quick read.

My Current Thoughts:

Unlike most of the books I've read by King, I have only a vague memory of this novel. 

On Writing

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Nonfiction - Memoir
2000 Scribner
Finished on November 30, 2019
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

"If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write."

In 1999, Stephen King began to write about his craft -- and his life. By midyear, a widely reported accident jeopardized the survival of both. And in his months of recovery, the link between writing and living became more crucial than ever.

Rarely has a book on writing been so clear, so useful, and so revealing. On Writing begins with a mesmerizing account of King's childhood and his uncannily early focus on writing to tell a story. A series of vivid memories from adolescence, college, and the struggling years that led up to his first novel, Carrie, will afford readers a fresh and often very funny perspective on the formation of a writer. King next turns to the basic tools of his trade -- how to sharpen and multiply them through use, and how the writer must always have them close at hand. He takes the reader through crucial aspects of the writer's art and life, offering practical and inspiring advice on everything from plot and character development to work habits and rejection.

Serialized in the New Yorker to vivid acclaim, On Writing culminates with a profoundly moving account of how King's overwhelming need to write spurred him toward recovery, and brought him back to his life.

Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower -- and entertain -- everyone who reads it.

Memoirs are my favorite type of nonfiction, so I don't know why I left On Writing to languish on my TBR shelf for nearly 20 years. When this year's Nonfiction November blogging challenge rolled around, I decided to add it to my stack and managed to finish it on the very last day of the month. 

As with most of King's books, I was instantly drawn into the writing, reaching for my Post-It notes, reading passages aloud to Rod, chuckling at King's humor while making notes of books to add to my TBR list. I loved reading about King's childhood and his early days as an aspiring writer. I enjoyed getting to peek into his life as a new husband and father and the struggles he and Tabitha endured in those early days as a young family. I was also spellbound as I read about King's recounting of his nearly fatal accident in 1999. At the time, I knew he was hit by a van and nearly died, but I didn't know many of the details until I read the final section of this book. Wow. What a story. Unfortunately, it wasn't one of his horror stories, but true life.

I was disappointed as I reached the final pages of On Writing, not because it was over, but because I didn't love it. About halfway in, I realized I wasn't the target audience for this book, which is less memoir and more instructional. While I loved the segments about his childhood and early adult life, I didn't care about the nuts & bolts about writing. I picked up a few tips (grammar rules for possessives and the dreaded passive voice), but most of these have been drilled into my brain from years of being married to a writer/editor who has kindly proofread my blog posts for over a dozen years. Reading Stephen King's thoughts on the art of writing for publication was interesting, but I was tempted to skim not just paragraphs, but entire pages of his book. I never skim, so this was not a good sign. I kept reading and eventually got to the last section (a dozen plus pages about his accident) where I was rewarded for my perseverance. When it came time to think about how I would rate this book, I initially thought I would just give it a 3/5 (Good) rating, but since I accept that I was not the target audience, and I loved the sections that didn't deal with writing, I decided to bump up that mediocre rating.

A Favorite Passage:

Book-buyers aren't attracted, by and large, by the literary merits of a novel; book-buyers want a good story to take with them on the airplane, something that will first fascinate them, then pull them in and keep them turning the pages. This happens, I think, when readers recognize the people in the book, their behaviors, their surroundings, and their talk. When the reader hears strong echoes of his or her own life and beliefs, he or she is apt to become more invested in the story. I'd argue that it's impossible to make this sort of connection in a premeditated way, gauging the market like a racetrack tout with a hot tip. 

I've been reading Stephen King novels for decades. He's a masterful, if not genius, storyteller and I have enjoyed so many of his books. Back in the day of the Thursday Thirteen blogging meme, I compiled a list of King's books that I've read. I could add a few more titles to that outdated list, but even with those additions, there are still so many more books yet to read. I'm not sure I want to read any that give me nightmares, but after reading this memoir, I'm eager to give his earlier novels a chance. I never did read Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Deadzone, or Christine. And the last book I read of his was 11/22/63, so I've missed out on a dozen more recent titles. Everyone seems to have a favorite (or two or three) Stephen King book. What's yours?

Stephen King's 11/22/63

11/22/63 by Stephen King
Fiction
2011 Scribner
e-book
Finished on November 20, 2014
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)





Publisher’s Blurb:

On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? In this brilliantly conceived tour de force, Stephen King—who has absorbed the social, political, and popular culture of his generation more imaginatively and thoroughly than any other writer—takes readers on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it.

It begins with Jake Epping, a thirty-five-year-old English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching GED classes. He asks his students to write about an event that changed their lives, and one essay blows him away—a gruesome, harrowing story about the night more than fifty years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a sledgehammer. Reading the essay is a watershed moment for Jake, his life—like Harry’s, like America’s in 1963—turning on a dime. Not much later his friend Al, who owns the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to the past, a particular day in 1958. And Al enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination.

So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson, in a different world of Ike and JFK and Elvis, of big American cars and sock hops and cigarette smoke everywhere. From the dank little city of Derry, Maine (where there’s Dunning business to conduct), to the warmhearted small town of Jodie, Texas, where Jake falls dangerously in love, every turn is leading eventually, of course, to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and to Dallas, where the past becomes heart-stoppingly suspenseful, and where history might not be history anymore. Time-travel has never been so believable. Or so terrifying.


I haven’t jumped on the ereader bandwagon like so many of my friends and relatives have in the past few years. It’s not that I’m against ebooks. I just don’t buy that many books, in any format, since I already own so many unread books on my shelves, not to mention all the ARCs I get from work (and have previously accepted from publishers). However, 11/22/63 is a huge novel, weighing in at 849 pages. If I needed a good reason to finally buy an ebook, this was it! I do most of my reading in bed and the thought of holding that heavy book was very unappealing. After a little mishap of accidentally downloading the Spanish edition of the ebook (for which I kindly received a credit), I started reading this highly acclaimed novel while flying home from Oregon in December 2013. I know I read it for a week or two, but somewhere along the line, I got distracted by other shiny new books, and wound up setting this one aside for several months. I’m not sure when I finally picked it up again, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. I love a good time-travel story and this hit all the marks.

Final Thoughts:

Part time-travel, part speculative fiction, 11/22/63 is not your typical Stephen King horror novel. I was able to read late into the night without ever feeling spooked, and while the characters and plot may have invaded my dreams, I was never afraid to turn out the lights and go to sleep (unlike my experience with It and The Shining). Yes, the book is quite long and meanders a bit, but King is an excellent storyteller and the dialogue and suspense kept the pages turning. Fans of Ken Grimwood’s Replay and Jack Finney’s Time and Again will find 11/22/63 to be a very satisfying read.

Under the Dome

Under the Dome by Stephen King
Fiction
2009 Scribner eBook
Finished on 7/9/13
Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)




Synopsis:

On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester’s Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener’s hand is severed as “the dome” comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when—or if—it will go away.

Dale Barbara, Iraq vet and now a short-order cook, finds himself teamed with a few intrepid citizens—town newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician’s assistant at the hospital, a selectwoman, and three brave kids. Against them stands Big Jim Rennie, a politician who will stop at nothing—even murder—to hold the reins of power, and his son, who is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry. But their main adversary is the Dome itself. Because time isn’t just short. It’s running out.

I’ve read quite a few books by Stephen King, but I’m not a diehard fan who anxiously awaits his new releases. I’ve never read the Dark Tower series, and I’ve let a lot of his early works go unread. However, I’ve enjoyed quite a few from his extensive backlist (a list of my favorites can be found here), but it’s been six years since I visited King’s scary world. And, as I re-read my review for Dreamcatcher, I noticed that it had been many, many years since I’d read anything by King. I suspect the length of his more recent works has something to do with this. When Under the Dome was released, I gave it a cursory glance, but was put off by the sheer enormity of the novel. But I’ve recently read a few chunksters (The Passage and The Twelve), so when a few blogmates suggested a read-along, I decided it was time to give it a try. I chose to read the book on my husband’s Simple Touch, which turned out to be a blessing and a curse. I doubt I would have hauled that tome (1088 pages in the paperback edition) around with me on vacation, but I was frustrated with King’s large cast of characters and trying to sort out their relationships was more difficult with the eBook. I’m used to being able to flip back and forth in a book and it took me longer than normal to get a sense of who was important and who was a throw-away character. I also kept glancing down at the page number (a total of 1349 in the eBook), feeling anxious that it was going to take me forever to finish the book. Well, it wasn’t forever, but it did wind up taking me 6 weeks! The first half was a challenge, but once I hit the halfway mark, I was fully engrossed and couldn’t put it down. With that said, though, I also couldn’t wait to start reading something new!

Overall, I enjoyed the storyline, and was somewhat relieved that it wasn’t a typical horror story. I could read the book at night, walk my dog without getting freaked out by the storm drains, and look through a photo album without worrying about the people coming to life. I also liked the frequent nods to other books (Alas, Babylon; On the Beach; and Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series) and writers in general. Fun stuff! I didn’t spend too much time trying to figure out the cause of the Dome and was a bit let down with the final explanation, but not so much that it ruined the experience of reading such a long book.

Final Thoughts: 

A big thanks to Natalie from Coffee and a Book Chick for hosting the DomeAlong. Also, a huge thank you to Trish and SuziQ for keeping me motivated via Twitter. Without their encouragement, I may have quit long before I got hooked. While I enjoyed reading Under the Dome, I’ve decided to skip the TV series. I’ve heard it’s based very loosely on the novel and I have a feeling I’d wind up disappointed. Maybe after a year or so, when the story isn’t as fresh, I can give it a try.

Under the Dome

From Shelf Awareness:

Under the Dome, a 13-part series based on Stephen King's novel (media tie-in edition available from Gallery Books), premieres tonight on CBS at 10 p.m. In a positive review, the New York Times wrote: "You can say goodbye to your next two Monday nights, and possibly--if past for once is not precedent--the whole summer's worth."

From Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television, the series "has a cinematic pedigree that gives it a good shot at transcending superficiality," the Times added, praising screenwriter Brian K. Vaughan (Lost) and a "pretty appealing" cast that includes Mike Vogel, Britt Robertson, Alexander Koch, Rachelle Lefevre (A Gifted Man) and Dean Norris (Breaking Bad).


I'm not a fan of mini-series (and I plan to wait to watch this on dvd), but I decided to join several blogger friends and read Under the Dome this summer. The official start date of the readalong (aka #DomeAlong Readalong) was May 25th. I began on the 26th and I'm not even halfway through the novel. The readalong ends on July 27th, so I think I can manage to meet that goal!

If you're a fan of King's or want to give this book a try, it's certainly not too late to sign up. Natalie, of Coffee and a Book Chick, is our readalong hostess, so stop over and check out all the details!

Nat asks us a few questions...

Show us your copy! Audio or print?

Ebook, although I really wish I had it on audio, as well. 

Have you read Uncle Stevie before?

Oh, yeah! I even posted a list of my favorites (as of 2007), which you can find here.

What are you familiar with about Under the Dome or Stephen King?

I wasn't familiar with anything prior to beginning the book. Since I don't watch TV (we watch a lot of our favorite shows on Netflix), I haven't even seen the trailer.

What are you looking forward to?

At this point, I'm looking forward to that moment when I get sucked in and can't put the book down. I think I'm close, but it hasn't quite happened. Yet. At least I'm to the point where I feel like I've got a handle on the cast of characters.

Thanks, Natalie, for organizing this event! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write my kick-off post. Let's blame it on my early summer travels, shall we? I also want to thank Trish & SuzieQ for their ongoing encouragement on Twitter. :) Y'all are the best readalong pals!

Favorite Stephen King Novels

Here's a list of my favorite Stephen King novels, as promised several weeks ago:

Bag of Bones

Cujo

Dreamcatcher (recently reviewed - click on title)

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

Hearts in Atlantis

Insomnia

It

Pet Sematary

Rose Madder

The Shining

The Stand

Thinner

Tommyknockers

When I started putting this list together, I was going to write a brief comment next to each title. However, after a few blurbs, I realized that in most cases I was repeating myself. These are all great, creepy reads with memorable characters and scenes. King is a masterful storyteller, pulling his readers in from the opening lines and making the unbelievable seem quite real and possible.

I was quite surprised when I saw how many of his books of I've read. I knew it had been a lot, but until I typed up the list, I had no idea there were so many. There aren't too many authors I've read with such dedication. Other than a few mystery/thriller writers (John Sandford, Harlan Coben, and Dennis Lehane), there is only one other author I've read in such quantity and that's Elizabeth Berg, coming in at a grand total of 16 (with a new book coming out on May 1st!). The good news is that there are still many more books by Stephen King that I want to read.

Oh, and if you were wondering, The Stand is my #1 favorite of all.

Dreamcatcher

Dreamcatcher by Stephen King
Horror
Finished on 3/23/07
Rating: 4.5/5 Terrific!
Chunkster Challenge #3



Book Description

Once upon a time, in the haunted city of Derry (site of the classics It and Insomnia), four boys stood together and did a brave thing. Certainly a good thing, perhaps even a great thing. Something that changed them in ways they could never begin to understand.

Twenty-five years later, the boys are now men with separate lives and separate troubles. But the ties endure. Each hunting season the foursome reunite in the woods of Maine. This year, a stranger stumbles into their camp, disoriented, mumbling something about lights in the sky. His incoherent ravings prove to be disturbingly prescient. Before long, these men will be plunged into a horrifying struggle with a creature from another world. Their only chance of survival is locked in their shared past -- and in the Dreamcatcher.

Stephen King's first full-length novel since Bag of Bones is, more than anything, a story of how men remember, and how they find their courage. Not since The Stand has King crafted a story of such astonishing range -- and never before has he contended so frankly with the heart of darkness.

It’s been many years since I ventured into Stephen King’s world of horror. I’m not sure why I let Dreamcatcher languish on a shelf; we own a non-remainder hardcover, so it’s been around our house for at least six years. Thanks to Bookfool’s Chunkster Challenge, I was finally inspired to read the novel.

YIKES!! I’d forgotten how scary King’s books are. This one had my heart racing and stomach churning, forcing me to set it aside for something a bit tamer in the late evening hours. There was absolutely no way I could read this in bed. Well, at least at first. Once I got past a certain part, I was able to relax a bit and read a little later into the night. (Although a 620-page hardcover is not the easiest thing to juggle while lying prone in bed – especially with a cat on one’s stomach!)

First thoughts: King is far superior to Dean Koontz. I think I always knew this, but Dreamcatcher is a solid confirmation. What a masterful storyteller. Not only did he maintain the pacing throughout the entire novel, but he created a believable horror story, in spite of its incredible details. That doesn’t really make sense, but King’s writing is such that it doesn’t require the reader to consciously suspend disbelief because it’s so convincing that the impossible becomes plausible. Clocks that run backwards, photographs that come to life, telepathic conversations… sure, why not? In King’s world, these are the norm.

Another thing I liked about Dreamcatcher is that it wasn’t gratuitously overpopulated with secondary characters. I suspect that’s a temptation when dealing with such a lengthy narrative, but it was nice to not have to constantly flip back and forth, trying to reacquaint myself with minor characters from earlier chapters.

Looking through my list (which I plan to post for my next Thursday Thirteen) of all the Stephen King books I’ve read, I realize my favorites are generally those of great length. Call me crazy, but I like to be drawn deep in to the terror-filled world King so deftly creates. Do I like haunted houses? No. Do I like roller coasters? Nope. Do I hide my eyes during scary movies? Yep. So why do I love to be spooked by King? Because he’s a fabulous writer; great sense of place (love that Derry), memorable characters (Pennywise and Randall made very brief appearances in Dreamcatcher), believable dialogue, and all the thrills and chills of an E-ticket ride.

Flipping back through the book, rereading the passages I marked with sticky flags, I do have one minor complaint. And it’s not really directed at the author, as I think it was part of the stylistic manner in which the story needed to be told. I simply had a tough time, early on, keeping track of the time sequence, which was anything but linear. I had to just let go mentally and take the strange flashbacks and dream sequences as they came. Trying to figure out who was where and how old they were in comparison to their friends was futile. Once I got a handle on this particular style, it really wasn’t any trouble.

I enjoyed this book so much that I’m tempted to ignore my toppling stacks and have a Stephen King marathon, beginning with The Stand (probably my #1 favorite), quickly followed by It and Bag of Bones. But, no. I have far too many new-to-me books I want to read. These will just have to wait until I have a little more time to devote to re-reading. As it was, this hefty novel took me about ten days to complete. Dreamcatcher is definitely a “keeper” and one I’ll read again. I highly recommended the book, but not to those with a weak stomach, for this one leans heavily toward the gross and disgusting side of horror.