Books That Have Stayed With You

image: firewireblog.com

I like METACHAT's "Books That Have Stayed With You," as well as the many responses.  The discussion is framed this way, "Five books that have stayed with you.  They don't have to be best sellers or well known. Just books you read that for one reason or other you never forgot."

One person posted:
1. Watership Down.
2. Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry.
3. All of the James Herriot books (All Creatures Great and Small, etc.)
4. The Crimson Petal and The White. by Michael Faber
5. The Stand, by Stephen King.

Let's do the same thing, but make two lists.  First books in general, then just 5 King books that will stay with you.

Non-King list:
1. Pillars of the earth
2. Cold Sassy Tree
3. 1984
4. Great Expectations
5. The Martian Chronicles

Five Stephen King Books That Have Stayed With Me:
1. The Stand
2. IT
3. The Shining
4. 11.22.63
5. Dolores Claiborne

King Makes MSN's Choice For Great Commute Audobook's

Shannan Rouss at msn has an article titled, "LISTEN UP! 10 best audio books for your commute." (Rouss lists more  than ten.)  King makes the list twice. I think he is the only author to be mentioned more than once.

The first choice is an obvious choice, but you better have a long commute!  It's the unabridged version of The Stand.  Rouss writes:

Clocking in at just under 48 hours, this Stephen King thriller is by far the longest on the list. When you finish it, you'll realize that you've spent the equivalent of two full days driving, probably over the span of a few weeks. That's a lot of time, but this book makes for good company. It begins with a super-flu that wipes out roughly 98 percent of the population. The survivors converge and attempt to rebuild society, but first they must contend with the Dark Man, who haunts their dreams. 

 The second choice is another classic King story, Salem's Lot.

Before Stephenie Meyer's lovesick vampires sucked the menace out of the genre, there was Stephen King's contemporary classic about a small town in Maine and the terrifying vampires who haunt it. (Sorry, no Edward Cullen here.) Salem's Lot is an ominous story with relatable characters that will draw you in and keep you reading long after the sun has set. 

The full article, and many other great suggestions, is at  msn.com

What's your favorite Stephen King audiobook?

I have two.  Dolores Claiborne is a great one to listen to, since it is told in first person like a confession.  You really feel like you're in the room with her as she tells her dark tale.  Chatty, wise, observant -- this is one of my all time favorite novels.  A story of revenge with a great twist!

I also like the most recent recording of The Stand quite a bit.  I didn't blog much about my most recent trip through it, since there's not a lot new to say.   But it is wonderful, and Grover Gardner makes it a great journey.

OH!  A third. .  . I also cherish King's own reading on Needful Things.  I forget to list the King recordings, because they stand out as something else; something other than just a recording of the book.  Something special happens when King reads this story.  You can feel it the moment he starts with "you've been here before."  His accent is right and his narration is quite energetic.  Of course, he know how to play each line, since he wrote the book!

My favorite non-King audio book is Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.

So, do tell -- favorite King audiobook.  (or  non-King if you want.)

Good Sequels

In an interview with EW, Stephen King said one of his hesitations about doing a sequel to the Shining is that "most sequels really suck."  He gives only two exceptions: Huckleberry Finn  and the Godfather II.

Do you agree?  I'm not sure I do.  I think sometimes a story is better as it continues because the writer is in familiar territory and is working to their strengths.

Here are a few sequels that did not suck:

1. The Drawing of the Three, Stephen King
2. Odyssey, Holmer (The Illiad)
3. World Without End, Ken Follett (Pillars of the Earth)
4. The Empire Strikes Back, Glut/Lucas (Star Wars)
5. Piercing The Darkness, Frank Peretti (This Present Darkness)
6. Return of Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)
7. Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games)
8. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter)
9. Patriot Games, Tom Clancy (The Hunt For Red October)
10. Leaving Cold Sassy Tree, Olive Anne Burns (Cold Sassy Tree)
11. The Two Towers, Tolkien (The Fellowship Of The Ring)

(I have not read Talisman or Blackhouse)

Many famous writers have actually resisted the temptation to go back  and write sequels.  Charles Dickens and John Steinbeck to name two. I also notice that John Grisham also does not do a lot of  sequels.

I think King may feel some pain when it comes to sequels, since his own works have had to endure  the likes of Return to Salem's Lot, Firestarter II and all those dreadful Children of the Corn movies.

George Beahm once said that  Eyes of the Dragon deserved a sequel.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION:

1. What is your favorite sequel?
2. What Stephen King book would you like him to write a sequel  to?

Favorite Literary Bad Boys

Karen  Tay has an article titled, "Favorite Literary Bad Boys."  #5 on her list  is Mr. Flagg.  Yep, he's  pretty bad!

Tay's List:

• Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights)
• Eric Northman (True Blood)
• Stanley Kowalski (A Streetcar Named Desire)
• Hamlet
• Randall Flagg (The Stand)

About Flagg, Tay writes: "Okay, so he is evil incarnate, but power can be an irresistible aphrodisiac. Randall has only one goal in mind, to unleash hell on a post-apocalyptic earth, and he will do anything to achieve this. Randall also appears in other Stephen King books, including most of the Dark Tower series, but come on, it would be hard to resist being the woman (or man) who tames Satan. I mean, come on, isn't the whole romance novel industry based on this trope?"

QUESTION:
1. Who is your favorite King bad boy (or girl) ?
2. Who  is your favorite non-King literary bad boy (or girl) ?

Here's a helpful listing from villains.wikia.com

MY ANSWERS:
I think the crew from Needful Things were pretty rotten.   Leland Gaunt and Ace Merrill are both evil and their scenes are a lot of fun to read.

I think Ken Follett creates the best bad  guys ever.  All of them are great!  In particular, William Hanley in Pillars of the Earth was bad bad bad.