Stephen King

[Tom]

Hi

@ Amy

Once you mentioned that you have read each and every novel by King. How come? I mean his books are not only galore but gigantic. However do you keep pace with him with all your everyday chores (forums included )?

Has anyone else read King? How did you enjoy his books?

Tom

[prezbucky]

I've read several of his books. I think he's an excellent writer who (however) has a tendency to get a bit long-winded at times.

[Yankee]

Hi Tom (and Tom)

I've always liked mystery and horror stories, so that's probably the main reason I started reading Stephen King. King's imaginative (some might say far-fetched) plots and descriptions catch my fancy. And I enjoy the new England flavor of the dialog and settings in many of his books. I agree with Prezbucky that he sometimes can get quite long-winded, and some of his books I've liked better than others.

Generally speaking, I've been quite disappointed with the movie versions of his books because so much of the detail seems to get lost.
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_________________
Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Jamie (K)]

You guys might not believe this, but I find horror novels, mystery novels and detective novels rather boring. They just can't hold my attention. But all the things many other people say are too dense to read, like Dickens or Dostoyevsky novels, are very absorbing for me.

As a typical 12-year-old girl would ask: Does this mean I'm abnormal?

[lost_soul]

Perhaps of all writers King appeals to me most. When I start to read a new story, I feel bored at first, then, when I get halfway to the middle, I began to get interested and to identify with the main character. And at the end, I understand it was totally worth my while to start reading it. What I like in his stories is that there's no happy ending (well, I haven't read all of his stories) and this makes you think about real life, where sometimes there's no happy ending either. Also I like extraordinary things, like ghosts, aliens (not those from Mexico ), monsters from parralel dimensions and his stories are teeming with those.

[Jamie (K)]

Alex, I have the same experience with Joseph Conrad novels. They're tedious until about the middle, and then they get really fascinating.

The lack of a happy ending is like the novels of Sinclair Lewis from the early 20th century. The main character is usually some corrupt person who ruins people's lives all along the way. All through the novel you wait for him to "get it in the end" or to "learn his lesson", but nothing ever happens to him that he can't handle, he never learns, and he continues to wreck other people's lives.

[Tom]

Hi

One other question just flitted through my mind. Do thick novels intimidate you people? King's novels, It and Stand are very bulkily intimidating. I heard a lot about them and decided to read them, but they are too gigantic for my flimsy patience.

Amy, how many days did it take you to finish them? Did/ Do you skip pages of boring details? Do you, like me, check how many pages you have read after every reading session or how many pages are left?

Tom

PS: By the way, can I use the word session like this--I mean, I read this novel in 8 sessions. Does it sound correct to you?

[Jamie (K)]

Tom, there's nothing wrong with using the word "session" for that, but often we use the word "sitting". For example, a short story is often defined as a piece of fiction that can be read at one sitting. It takes multiple sittings to read a novel.

[prezbucky]

Amy, I've actually read "The Long Walk" twice. Garraty is my hero. My favorite King book, though, is probably "The Stand" (though it's far too long to read twice. hehe).

**THIS IS A SPOILER ALERT -- DO NOT READ BELOW THIS LINE IF YOU PLAN ON READING "The Long Walk"**

What happened to him at the end? Do you think they just let him run until he dropped, then awarded him his Prize? I wonder...

[prezbucky]

Jamie, have you tried anything by Hammett (sp?) or Raymond Chandler?

Hammett's big detective was Sam Spade and Chandler penned Phil(l)ip Marlowe into existence.

[Jamie (K)]

[prezbucky]

ROFL!

All hail American verse!

So okay, I've had a"few" beers (Warsteiner -- TORSTEN, REPRESENT!)

So here are the lyrics to a country song, which you likely have not heard (but was a hit)

-----

A baby's born in the middle of the night
In a local dlivery room
They grab his feet, smack him till he cries
He goes home the next afternoon

Before you know it he's off to school,
And then he graduates in May

Goes out and gets a PhD and then cures al sorts of things
Wins the Nobel Prize and saves a million different lives
The world's a better place for all he's done
It's funny when you think about the reason he's alive
It's all because two people fell in love.

Right now at a picnic shelter down by Candy Creek
You'll find potato salad, hot dogs and baked beans
The whole Wilson family's lined up, fillin' their paper plates
They've drove or flown in here from fifteen different states
Stanley Wilson says that sixty years ago he knew
That Miss Emma Tucker was the one
Now five generations get together every June
All because two people fell in love.

Yeah there ain't nothin' not affected
When two hearts get connected
All that is, will be or ever was
Hey every single choice we make,
Every breath we get to take
Is all because two people fell in love.

Well I recall a young man who was drifting aimlessly
And a young waitress who seemed lonesome as could be
But in a little cafe right off of 14th Avenue
With a whole lotta help from up above
We met and things sure turned around for me and you
And all because two people fell in love.

Baby there ain't nothin' not affected
When two hearts get connected
All that is, will be or ever was
I'm glad your dad could not resist
Your mama's charms, and you exist
All because two people fell in love

You know, to me it's all too clear
Every one of us is here
All because two people fell in love.

A baby's born in the middle if the night
In a local delivery room
They grab his feet, smack him till he cries
He goes home the next afternoon.

"Two People Fell In Love" -- Brad Paisley

[prezbucky]

Damn my iPhone! I can't fix the typos!

Ah, well, listen to the song!

And now I will pass out!

God bless the USA!

Happy birthday America!

well I survived last night. Whew, I'm paying for it today!

hehe

[michauek]

Stephen King is one of my favourite authors. I like his talent to create this long descriptions about "nothing" when he talks about one thing then starts talking about the thing nr 2, and you simply forget about the thing nr 1 but generally I like his horrors. Mystery, The Shining - the first books of his are the best, I think. "The Dark Tower" books are to commercialized to me. They are ok, he had a nice idea to create the plot and the world of Roland, but to me it is different from his other books.


edit :
Oh, I forgot. He is weird. He has obssesion with the things connected a boy+ sex. If you take a close look at his book you'll notice it.

[NinaZara]

I won't say he's my favourite author, I haven't read all of his books, only some, the last one I read was Rose red. And I've bought Lisey's story a year ago, but I haven't started reading it, I don't know when I'm going to. Maybe right after this. Maybe.