My Long Walk Through Stephen King's Lot

I recently came upon some great deals on King books, and wanted to take a few moments to share my enthusiasm.  I'm always on the lookout for good finds, hunting in all sorts of places--used book shops, thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets, etc.  Pretty much anywhere!  Over the last couple of years, I've accumulated a decent collection of King hardcovers.  In many cases, I snag the books for surprisingly low prices, which is helpful when you're collecting the works of a writer as prolific as Stephen King.   A couple of days ago I happened upon this gem. It cost me less than $2.00, so I couldn't really pass it up.  I know it's an anthology and therefore not a true "Stephen King book."  Plus, I already own a good quality of Skeleton Crew , but...having this book is pretty cool, given that it's where "The Mist" was first published. The other two items are fairly special to me.  I didn't own hardcover copies of thes...

The Mist is a Stephen King story I've wanted to read for a long time.  I have always been aware of its positive reputation, but when I began hearing it referred to as maybe the best of his novellas, I figured it was high time I gave it a look.  The image above is from the paperback copy of Skeleton Crew I recently purchased.  It’s far from my favorite cover image, but the therapist in me does like the Rorschach-ian quality of it.  The novella is not necessarily what I expected, and that is in no way a bad thing. This is not a “scary” story; at least it isn’t for me.  But it is, in certain ways, intense and unnerving.  There are some nice short sequences of suspense, but mostly the story works because King so effectively draws us into what is a very disconcerting, hopeless-feeling scenario.  King generates a good amount of empathy for the plight of those trapped in the supermarket, especially by focusing on the distress that comes from knowing...