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Visited southeast Maine this past weekend. No jetty on Ogunquit Beach, no barns for fatties to paint signs on between there and Kittery. F--, feel lied to.
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Oct 7, 2014 17:55
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BiggerBoat posted:Yeah, that's by far the worst one. I tend to get them mixed up and confuse one with the other but Everything's Eventual is the only one I remember (because it stood out for being terrible). I guess what I'm saying is that any of the short story collections besides that one are pretty good so read one of those. I liked Everything's Eventual more than Skeleton Crew but both are far better than Nightmares and Dreamscapes. It goes like Night Shift ---------------- Everything's Eventual - Skeleton Crew --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nightmares and Dreamscapes
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Oct 7, 2014 22:52
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Doltos posted:I liked Everything's Eventual more than Skeleton Crew but both are far better than Nightmares and Dreamscapes. It goes like Night Shift ---------------- Everything's Eventual - Skeleton Crew --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nightmares and Dreamscapes What about hearts in atlantis?
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Oct 7, 2014 23:00
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corn in the bible posted:What about hearts in atlantis? It is the worst because the titular story is unreadable. Or maybe I just wanted more of Brautigan.
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Oct 7, 2014 23:22
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Everything's Eventual had some great stories in it: The Little Sisters of Eluria, LT's Theory of Pets, the title story. And 1408 scared the living poo poo out of me. syscall, you and I tend to agree about a lot of King's stuff, but we're opposites here. I think Low Men in Yellow Coats suffered from being tied to the Dark Tower, and I absolutely loved Hearts (the novella). That collection absolutely oozes King's loathing toward his generation.
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Oct 8, 2014 00:50
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3Romeo posted:Everything's Eventual had some great stories in it: The Little Sisters of Eluria, LT's Theory of Pets, the title story. And 1408 scared the living poo poo out of me. I read Hearts when it first came out and I need to reread it based on yours and people I know irl's opinions. The thing about Everything's Eventual that I didn't like was that I'd already had someone lend me the CD set of Blood and Smoke so I'd already heard the best stories in that set as read by the man himself. Although there were some other good parts.
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Oct 8, 2014 00:54
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The correct way to rank the short story collections is Night Shift - Skeleton Crew - a tie between Everything's Eventual and Nightmares and Dreamscapes, and then, way at the back, Just After Sunset. So, basically, publication order.
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Oct 8, 2014 03:18
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The story in Hearts in Atlantis I like the most is the one about the dude pretending to be a disabled Vietnam vet. But I don't think it makes much sense without the first story to give some context.
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Oct 8, 2014 14:40
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Hearts in Atlantis is a really good book. Like, for pure skill in writing I think its ranks up among one of King's best.
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Oct 8, 2014 15:37
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syscall girl posted:It is the worst because the titular story is unreadable. Or maybe I just wanted more of Brautigan. I really enjoyed the titular story and the ones after, myself. The first one (with Brautigan) I found basically unreadable.
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Oct 8, 2014 19:17
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Jazerus posted:I really enjoyed the titular story and the ones after, myself. The first one (with Brautigan) I found basically unreadable. I just wanted more Dark Tower stuff I guess. That'll show me.
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Oct 8, 2014 19:19
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oldpainless posted:Please don't read Lisey's Story. Ugly In The Morning posted:I really liked Lisey's Story but I could have done with most of the plot going away. I didn't care about the psycho that got the plot started, but the parts between the author and his wife/dead family/weird alternate world were some really good poo poo. Well, poo poo. Now I just don't know. I started Lisey's Story but stopped reading it and returned it to the library. Not because it sucked or it didn't but only because I haven't had spare time to read lately and never had a chance to find out one way or the other. 50 pages in I couldn't find a problem with it. The way Ugly In The Morning describes it recalls my issues with Dark House and The Talisman. Now I'm not sure whether to go check it out again when I have more time to read. What's everyone's main problem with Gerald's Game? I mean criticism beyond "it sucked"?
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Oct 8, 2014 23:48
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As far as I'm concerned Gerald's Game is perfectly middle of the road. I don't know why people feel so strongly about it.
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Oct 9, 2014 00:17
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BiggerBoat posted:What's everyone's main problem with Gerald's Game? I mean criticism beyond "it sucked"? The fact that I read it and remember nothing outside of it other than maybe a dog chowing down on hubby doesn't speak well for it. Hell, I remember more of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon and even Christine, which I haven't read in 20 years, than I do of Gerald's Game.
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Oct 9, 2014 04:30
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BiggerBoat posted:
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Oct 9, 2014 10:14
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Gerald's Game taught me about degloving 
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Oct 9, 2014 14:58
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Doesn't Different Seasons count as a collection?
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Oct 9, 2014 17:07
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Speaking of Stephen King short stories, has anyone read Blockade Billy? All I can remember about it was the other story in the book where the entire point seemed to be getting someone to punch a toddler. What was that about?
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Oct 9, 2014 21:44
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Namirsolo posted:Speaking of Stephen King short stories, has anyone read Blockade Billy? All I can remember about it was the other story in the book where the entire point seemed to be getting someone to punch a toddler. What was that about? I don't know but after reading that spoiler I REALLY want to read Blockade Billy now.
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Oct 9, 2014 21:53
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Blockade Billy is like 80 pages long and is an old man just telling a story which is where King is at his best. The thing about the other story was its called "Morality" and its about what people will do to make their lives better. Its not very good in my opinion.
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Oct 10, 2014 14:33
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JohnnyCanuck posted:Doesn't Different Seasons count as a collection? I think people are classifying books like Skeleton Crew as short story collections, where Different Seasons or Full Dark No Stars would be a collection of novellas? Blockade Billy is really short, I read it in a doctor's office waiting room in one sitting.
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Oct 10, 2014 17:16
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Short Story collections: Night Shift (1978), Skeleton Crew (1985), Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993), Everything's Eventual (2002), Just After Sunset (2008) Novella collections (all of which have 4 stories): Different Seasons (1982), Four Past Midnight (1990), Full Dark, No Stars (2010) And then there's Hearts in Atlantis from 1999 which has two novellas and 3 short stories, all of them linked, and thus doesn't really fit in either.
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Oct 10, 2014 22:10
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While we're on the topic of short stories, I just watched 1408 again and was wondering how the story compares. Is it any clearer what actually happens in the end than it is in the movie? I like the movie but it's like Inception, every person alive has their own little pet theory of what it was ~really about~ and they are dying to tell you about it.
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Oct 11, 2014 15:44
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Murphy Brownback posted:While we're on the topic of short stories, I just watched 1408 again and was wondering how the story compares. Is it any clearer what actually happens in the end than it is in the movie? I like the movie but it's like Inception, every person alive has their own little pet theory of what it was ~really about~ and they are dying to tell you about it. 1408, the short story would have made a really creepy bloodless horror film. In the right hands with subtle CGI, editing and some camera tricks, they could have captured what made it so intensely disturbing and made something that didn't overextend it's scope, not much more than 75 minutes long that just chewed up your calm and sanity the way the story did. The movie was pretty good I thought, but I didn't need the tacked-on subplot, because I liked that 1408 - the story, wasn't about the life baggage you brought into some haunted room, it was about a voraciously evil thing masquerading as a hotel room. Read the short story somewhere quiet, it'll get under your skin. Aquarium Gravel fucked around with this message at 17:54 on Oct 11, 2014 |
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Oct 11, 2014 16:01
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Murphy Brownback posted:While we're on the topic of short stories, I just watched 1408 again and was wondering how the story compares. Is it any clearer what actually happens in the end than it is in the movie? I like the movie but it's like Inception, every person alive has their own little pet theory of what it was ~really about~ and they are dying to tell you about it. There is no daughter plot in the story, as such there is no suspense as to what really happens.
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Oct 11, 2014 18:09
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BiggerBoat posted:Well, poo poo. Now I just don't know. I started Lisey's Story but stopped reading it and returned it to the library. Not because it sucked or it didn't but only because I haven't had spare time to read lately and never had a chance to find out one way or the other. 50 pages in I couldn't find a problem with it. The way Ugly In The Morning describes it recalls my issues with Dark House and The Talisman. Now I'm not sure whether to go check it out again when I have more time to read. If you aren't sick of the phrase "bad gunky" then you didn't read enough of Lisey's Story to understand the complaints really. Apart from some of King's stylistic choices it's a perfectly decent novel, but at the same time it's kind of more, I don't know, on the edge of crazy than most of King's stories. An odd one for sure.
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Oct 12, 2014 03:53
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Aquarium Gravel posted:1408, the short story would have made a really creepy bloodless horror film. In the right hands with subtle CGI, editing and some camera tricks, they could have captured what made it so intensely disturbing and made something that didn't overextend it's scope, not much more than 75 minutes long that just chewed up your calm and sanity the way the story did. Agree with this. I haven't found the vast majority of King's work scary and I've read most of it but 1408 is a rare exception. The idea of the phone screeching Nine! We have killed all your friends! Every friend is now dead! while something pushes it's way into that reality is really hosed up. I felt the movie really took what was a great story and added a pile of unnecessary plot, even tho I generally like John Cusack. I know what I'm reading tonight.
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Oct 12, 2014 13:41
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Earlier I asked my friend to bring some stuff over for me to watch. One of the movies he brought was 1408, I haven't watched it yet though.
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Oct 13, 2014 01:22
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It's a decent movie that is more faithful to the source material than is typical with a movie based on something King wrote.
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Oct 13, 2014 03:51
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juliuspringle posted:Earlier I asked my friend to bring some stuff over for me to watch. One of the movies he brought was 1408, I haven't watched it yet though. I forget which ending the dvd/bluray release comes with, but be aware there is an alternate ending, and both are equally silly/stupid in my opinion - so don't feel compelled to seek out the other one if the ending doesn't satisfy you. I don't think the movie would have worked nearly as well if it had cast anyone besides Cusack for the role. I think it's clearly the best recent King movie with a decent budget+recognizable actors - the only competition I can think of is Dreamcatcher and well...that movie was pretty bad. I'm going to read 1408 later tonight. It will be nice to change up my routine of rereading the DT books/It/Insomnia for the 15th time, even if it's only a short story.
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Oct 13, 2014 09:57
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Just finished Doctor Sleep. God drat was that ever a great book. I haven't read a King novel since Under the Dome (and before that, high school, when I read nothing but King and thus burned myself out on him) so this was like biting into a big, juicy cheeseburger. I could talk about it all day.
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Oct 14, 2014 02:07
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Reading under the dome, and while I am enjoying it, what people have said about King writing teenage dialogs is true. The skateboarder alternatively sounds like Disco Stu, the turtle from nemo or Keanu Reeves on Bill and Ted's.
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Oct 14, 2014 05:31
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How was Wind Through the Keyhole?
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Oct 14, 2014 16:06
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amuayse posted:How was Wind Through the Keyhole? An enjoyable campfire story about Roland's past. I'm not trying to be funny there, that's the best way I know to explain it and if you like the explanation or not is a pretty good indicator, in my opinion, of whether or not you'll enjoy the book.
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Oct 14, 2014 17:11
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iostream.h posted:An enjoyable campfire story about Roland's past. It's also an enjoyable campfire story about Roland's past in which a younger Roland tells a fantasy story to a traumatized little kid during an event in Roland's past. So it's a story within a story within a story. I enjoyed the fantasy story the younger Roland told the kid the best, the campfire story about Roland's past second best, and the present day intro-/outtro- the least. All in all, I thought it was one of his better books, especially compared to the other, "regular", Dark Tower books. You don't have to have read any of the other Dark tower books to enjoy it, either.
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Oct 14, 2014 23:48
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Captain Mog posted:Just finished Doctor Sleep. God drat was that ever a great book. I haven't read a King novel since Under the Dome (and before that, high school, when I read nothing but King and thus burned myself out on him) so this was like biting into a big, juicy cheeseburger. I could talk about it all day. You should read 11/22/63 if you haven't caught any king since Dome.
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Oct 16, 2014 13:18
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Victorkm posted:You should read 11/22/63 if you haven't caught any king since Dome. Hmmm... Mixed feeling about 11/22/63. It's a great novella that got awful fat. Any novel that is plot driven but which you can skip whole chapters of and find it not adversely affecting your understanding of the story is a novel that is too long. Incidentally, I'm currently reading The Death of a President by William Manchester (mentioned by King) and it is a really great factual account of the events - kind of depressing and gruelling, as you can imagine. No  poop also, which is a relief.
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Oct 16, 2014 13:42
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Victorkm posted:You should read 11/22/63 if you haven't caught any king since Dome. No kidding. I'm about halfway through the audiobook for the second time. If you can stand some Baby Boomer nostalgia, it´s classic King. The book definitely benefits from the fact that this story had to require some involved plotting and thinking, or you just couldn't write it at all. He's really better when he takes his time.
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Oct 16, 2014 13:46
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amuayse posted:How was Wind Through the Keyhole? Loved it. King needs to do more of these. I wonder if Starkblast is a Game of Thrones reference.
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Oct 16, 2014 14:06
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I've read pretty much everything King has published that I have been able to get my hands on including every novel, all but I'm sure the most recent or obscure short story, have read a few of the graphic novels and watched most of the movies. I loved almost all of it, even the stuff most people don't, I enjoy just to read the guys stuff. I learned of Joe Hills work about a year ago in this thread and read descriptions of his books and had no interest. I picked up "Horns" last week and devoured it. Are his other books as good? It reminded me at times of two different books. The parts set in current book time are great and kinda Kingesque like King fantasy and I like that. The flashback parts reminded me of the flash backs from "it" with a hint of "a prayer for Owen Meany" which I also liked if that makes sense. I guess what I'm asking is did those of you that read more than "Horns" like the other books or not?
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Oct 24, 2014 07:09
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