My Long Walk Through Stephen King's Lot

The new "Pet Sematary" film will soon be hitting theaters, and I'm feeling pretty excited.  I actually just finished another read-through of the novel, in part to prepare for the movie's release, but also because I hadn't read the book in years and felt I was due to revisit it.  I liked it as much as I always have, but I think my admiration for it has grown.  Folks, this novel is an absolute must-read.  It is one of King's finest, a definite masterpiece, and perhaps as close as he's come to writing a flawless book. It is well known that King has often referred to this book as the one that caused him to feel he'd finally gone too far.  Apparently, upon first writing it, he ended up locking it away in a drawer, expecting never to publish it.  My understanding is that he submitted it, at his wife's urging, to Doubleday in order to satisfy a multi-book contract.  I am immensely grateful that he did.  I shudder to think that this...

Of all of Stephen King's "classic" books, 'Salem's Lot is the one I've historically been least enamored with.   I know it's a favorite of many fans.   But me?   I was always underwhelmed by it.   But leading into Halloween, I decided to give it another read, given that it's been years since I first read it (probably fifteen or so), and since I always like to observe the spooky season by reading something of King's in the "horror" realm. Folks, let me tell you: I was dead wrong about this book.   This is a great novel.   I'm a much bigger, and more knowledgeable, King fan than I was when I first encountered the book.   So I now realize that 'Salem's Lot was only King's second published novel.   Of course I also know King had been writing for a while before publishing Carrie (and that some of the books released later were actually written prior to 'Salem's Lot ), but regardless, Lot is still an ear...

  The book I’ve primarily been focused on reading over the last few weeks is Stephen King’s newest, The Outsider .   More to come on that soon!   But while doing that, a funny thing happened: I also ended up completing a rather quick re-read of Misery .   When I go to the gym (which is basically now just on weekends), I like to take a paperback with me, for those long slogs on the exercise bike or treadmill.   Sometimes I try to read my psych books to enhance my studies, but isn’t it much more rewarding to read something fun?     At any rate, Misery was the latest book I brought with me, and I burned through it in no time.   I’ve read it once before, as a teenager.   It was a book I’d always intended to revisit at some point, given that it shone in my memory as one of King’s finest novels.   Boy, is it ever!   Misery is compulsively readable, the true definition of a page-turner.   It moves with impressive mom...

  One of the coolest and most noteworthy things about Stephen King’s writing is just how many great books he’s written.   That statement probably sounds obvious, given his popularity, reputation, and the lengthy span of his professional career.   But what I mean to get at is that King has written a substantial number of great books that don’t spring immediately to mind.   He has produced a fair number of “gems” that are far less discussed or lauded than stuff like Carrie, The Stand, Pet Sematary, The Shining , etc.   A lot of authors have a relatively small number of great books to their names, and that’s nothing to shake a stick at.   But one of the pleasures in exploring King’s literary oeuvre is that you keep finding yourself impressed by books you might not have expected.   I recently had this experience with Duma Key .   This was a first read for me.   My essential, immediate reaction is that it’s a book which holds true to m...

  Before I started this blog, I imagined I would only write about Stephen King’s books.   But King’s work is frequently adapted to the screen—for better or worse—and occasionally the movies are worth examining. Not many of them, mind you, but some; particularly those which are ambitious attempts to tackle some of King’s most well-established and highly revered works.   Something, say, like the recent big-screen adaptation of IT .   I didn’t go see the movie when it was in theaters, which speaks to a curious fact about me at this stage of life.   If I were 15 years younger, I’d have been there in a heartbeat.   But life changes, and the things I like doing often get lost in the shuffle of managing everything I feel I need to do.     This weekend, however, I had a few hours to spare, and I allowed myself to factor in something I’d like to do, and that was most definitely to sit and experience “IT.”   I’ve mentioned the book in p...