Holly by Stephen King - Review

I always say, "If you have anything you're supposed to be doing, DO NOT pick up a Stephen King novel." Truth! I read this in three days, which is pretty good for me...it is 450 pages after all. I've said this before and I'll say it again. Holly Gibney is one of my most favorite characters, certainly in my top three of King's characters. This case in particular had no supernatural element, as in other Gibney tales, but it is no less riveting. Holly says it best on page 442 (paraphrasing slightly):

"...Roddy and Emily Harris were worse. Why? Because there was nothing supernatural about them. Because you couldn't say their evil came from outside, and comfort yourself with the idea that if there were malign outside forces, there were probably good ones as well. The Harris' evil was both prosaic and outlandish...Holly isn't sure she wants to revisit a world capable of holding people like Rodney. Or like Emily, who was...more calculating and at the same time much, much crazier."

I can't wait to read what Holly does next.

The Shining by Stephen King

My thoughts:
Okay, so yes, I finally read this! It's amazing to me how old this book is. It seems like yesterday when my parents were reading it and then they saw the film and came home saying how bad it sucked. HaHa. I agree with that observation. I read somewhere that the reason King himself was not happy with Kubrick's adaptation of the book was because he made the Jack Torrance character so unsympathetic. And he's right. In the book, we get to experience the gradual downward spiral of Jack, despite his faults  and mistakes in the past. He really remains a sympathetic character because King makes it very obvious that the hotel is in control. I just never really got that from the movie. And the horrible miscasting of Shelley Duvall as Wendy is a travesty. The character of Wendy in the book is nothing like Duvall's depiction.

Anyway, I didn't mean this as a review of the film. I just wanted to make some comparisons because I have never really liked the film and after reading the book, I like it even less. The book is so much more detailed and we get to learn a lot more about the history of the characters and the hotel which is something I always look for in a book. I want to know what led us from point a to point b; something a film adapted from a book is usually very hard-pressed to accomplish. Also, there are some very genuinely creepy scenes. I will never quite look at hedge animals the same again...or tunnels in the snow (no worries on that since I live in Tennessee now). As usual, King succeeded in telling me a good story while supplying me with the creep factor I love. Can't wait for the upcoming sequel, Doctor Sleep!

About the book:
First published in 1977, The Shining quickly became a benchmark in the literary career of Stephen King. This tale of a troubled man hired to care for a remote mountain resort over the winter, his loyal wife, and their uniquely gifted son slowly but steadily unfolds as secrets from the Overlook Hotel's past are revealed, and the hotel itself attempts to claim the very souls of the Torrance family.
The Shining stands as a cultural icon of modern horror, a searing study of a family torn apart, and a nightmarish glimpse into the dark recesses of human weakness and dementia.

*Book is from my own shelves

The "It-along"

As Chevy Chase, of Lampoon's "Vacation" fame, said, "This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy!"  Which is exactly what I'm saying right now as I decide to embark on this read-a-long...or It-Along...of Stephen King's epic It.  Yeah, yeah, I know I have a ton of reading already on my plate AND I'm getting ready to host the EPIC Dark Tower read-a-long (September - July) over at my Stephen King Challenge blog, but I've been wanting to read It for a long time and I failed at Serena's read-a-long last year so I just can't resist this It-along hosted by Fizzy Thoughts and Reading Through The Night.  I'm hoping that this won't be another fail, but I guess that is yet to be seen.  If you think this sounds like something crazy as well, but would like to throw caution to the wind, you can get the details and sign-up HERE.

From Fizzy Thoughts:
Suggested reading/posting schedule (don’t worry, we won’t kick you out of the clown car if you don’t stick to it):

• Sunday, September 16th: read through Part 3, but not the Third Interlude, and post your thoughts. In my copy, this is page 608 of 1098, making it slightly more than halfway.
• Sunday, October 14th: finish, and post your final thoughts.

Twitter hashtag is #italong

Have I mentioned my clown phobia....

The Stephen King Challenge

I recently announced a new reading challenge which I am co-hosting with Kate from Read 2 Review.  The Stephen King Challenge is a perpetual reading challenge and will start on February 1, 2012.  To encourage regular reading of the books (because, let's face it, we all tend to procrastinate when there is no eminent deadline), there will be periodic mini-challenges with prizes and we will have occasional read-a-longs.  Of course, I will be participating, as well as Kate, but we will be excluded from winning any prizes, of course.  For more information about the challenge and to sign up (I hope you will), please visit the dedicated blog.