Seriously, Read a Book!

I read Stephen King's introduction to this book before reading the book itself (it was, after all, in the front). Some would consider King's intro a bit of a spoiler, but (in addition to enjoying anecdotes on Uncle Stevie's process) there's actually something brilliant about the way in which King takes the wind out of the sails of the what happens. The how becomes all the richer for it.

As per usual, I love the backdrop of Maine. There's even a shoutout to Camp Agawam (which, if you're Anna Shapell, is kind of a big deal). I'm also enjoying finding little self-referential nuggets as I become more well-versed in King canon.

"You sure?" Steve asked. "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy, you know."

For me this wasn't the scariest of King's stories. Don't get me wrong, it's fraught with plenty of tension and dread, but it didn't grip my heart with its icy hand quite so hard as reading, say, The Shining.

I suppose what follows could be considered a spoiler (though no more so than the intro), but really this is a gif alert for my peeps who despise all that is animated. But, there's just no way for me to resist the South Park reference from one of my favorite-est episodes ever, Marjorine.

So just remember kids, sometimes, dead is better...