I am not a person that loves the horror genre. I said this before and I still feel the need to say it again.
For most, Stephen King is synonymous with the horror genre. I made the “mistake” a few years ago and picked up one of his books. I was left feeling sick and uneasy after only a few chapters. Since then I never really dared to read anything else written by him.
But this year I decided to give him another try, mostly because of “The Body” novella.
After finishing the first 3 novellas from “Different Seasons” I decided it was time to read “The Breathing Method“. The last of four novellas, The Breathing Method was probably the most slow paced, scary and for a young woman as myself pretty interesting considering the amount of information about childbirth that was given.
The story revolves around a strange club for gentlemen that get together and share different stories. The club itself is weird and not much is known about the original members or how it was founded. But, even so The Breathing Method is about the stories told in this weird club, and more exactly the story of a young unwed woman who gets pregnant and is determined to give birth to her baby at any cost.
After the story ended, I just sat on the sofa and it struck me how much this author knows about almost everything. Its amazing how Stephen King can take a subject and describe with so much ease and detail. These four novellas are so different in content and in style it is hard to believe they were written by just one person, and yet they are.
I was just ready to close my MP3 player (I have the audio version of the books) when a simple monologue started. At first I wasn’t sure if it was a continuation of The Breathing Method, but then I realized that the author was explaining how these four novellas ended up together in a single book called Different Seasons and how he ended up being branded as a horror author.
I sat there are listened to him (or to the voice of Frank Muller, who I am beginning to think of as the voice of Stephen King) and I felt cheery. That’s not the feeling one might have after listening to a story about a poor pregnant woman that gets decapitated in a car accident.
I was cheered up by Stephen King words and encouragement to “not take shit from anyone“. This all happened when I was still looking for a job and I was going through a rough time, worrying about different things. So, for me this came at the time I needed it the most.
I am still not sure how things like this happen, if they are by chance or they are meant to happen, but I am enjoying them nonetheless.
As for my reluctance to read any horror books, I don’t know if I might try to read other books by Stephen King but then again I don’t even know what I will eat tonight. So who knows, I might give his books more chances from now on.
24 October, 2014
Will I finish my reading challenge?
cre-cre 2014, Books, challenge, Free time, James Dashner, Reading, Stephen King, The Long Walk, The Maze Runner Books, Free time 0 Comments
I knew that this year I won’t have much time for books. I set a reachable goal of 20 books for 2014, and I’m currently halfway there.Now, I don’t actually care if I finish the reading challenge or not. It’s just something to keep me focused on reading itself.
Another thing is that I tried reading different genres this year. In the past I’ve read mostly detective books (which are and always will be my favorite genre). This year I’ve tried romantic & comedy books, young adult and even horror (yet I still haven’t finished Carrie by Stephen King). And it seems that I’ve got stuck again on a particular type of genre: dystopian-or-post-apocalyptic fiction.
Last year it was The Hunger Games books, this year it’s The Long Walk by Richard Bachman (aka Stephen King) and The Maze Runner trilogy by James Dashner.
Even if both books are similar (kids in trouble in a very troublesome future), they do leave different impressions (in my case feelings). After reading The Long Walk I felt empty. I couldn’t touch another book for a couple of days. And even then I felt I was robbed of an ending. A different ending, anything that would’ve made things better. ATTENTION SPOILER: I didn’t want McVries to die. I wanted something, anything to save him.
Yet, with The Maze Runner it’s different. I just finished the first part and I didn’t felt much. I just started The Scorch Trials without even blinking. I guess I was (and still am) curious of what happens next. Besides curiosity there isn’t much. The Maze Runner is very similar to The Hunger Games in my opinion. But it doesn’t have the depth of The Long Walk.
I won’t make my mind yet regarding this trilogy. After all, I still have 2 books to read and things might change.