The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1) by Stephen King
I rated this four stars the first time I read it. I think that was because I hadn’t read the rest of the series yet, and now that I have in my head what this series can really do when it’s going, this one just feels a little anemic in comparison. Also, it’s such a weird book that I didn’t know what to make of it at the time, but I can see what he’s doing now that I’ve read the rest of it. In […]
Lisey's Story by Stephen King
'Salem's Lot by Stephen King
While I have been COVID telecommuting, I have tried to get out in the early afternoon for a nice 45 minute walk. I’ve been listening to a bit of Stephen King while I walk — I’ve already read all of his books, so listening (even to the scary stuff) is somewhat easy and comforting. If I lose my train of thought, no big deal. The story just goes on. This year, I listened to two books I had previously read, Lisey’s Story and ‘Salem’s Lot. […]
Later by Stephen King
Like The Colorado Kid and JoyLand before it, Later is one of King’s Hard Crime Case releases – paperbacks made to look like pulp paperbacks with vibrant cover art (that doesn’t always match up to the story), that all come in on the short side for King, maybe about 250 pages. The main reason that I don’t think this one was quite as successful as the other two is that this one takes place pretty close to now. The main character, Jamie, is a young […]
If It Bleeds by Stephen King
I haven’t been great about reading lately, and have been even worse about reviewing. But as a loyal Constant Reader, I felt like this might be the book to jumpstart my COVID reading habits, and I was mostly right. Similiar to earlier collections like Different Seasons, The Bachman Books, Full Dark No Stars, and Four Past Midnight, If It Bleeds is made up of four long-ish, unrelated stories (or novellas, if you’re feeling fancy): Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, The Life of Chuck, If It Bleeds, and […]
The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub
I bought this book years ago during a two-for-one deal on Audible and planned to listen during a long car ride. That car ride finally happened this month. I picked the Talisman because I knew it was very connected to The Dark Tower AND it was read by Frank Mueller, who IMHO is the voice of The Dark Tower. The Talisman was not at all what I expected but what I should have expected. The oversimplification is that it is a shorter, YA version of […]
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
I feel like a bit of a failure as a reader (well, a listener) after this experience. This was not easy. I really wanted to love this story. It was beautifully imagined and written. This story had everything: drama, action, humor, and adventure. The audiobook performance was unbelievable. The African mythology it was based upon made me want to know more. And yet, I barely made it to the end. From Amazon: Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter: “He […]
