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Summer readings: It by Stephen King
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Book News
 05 Aug 2011, 10:11 #125939 Reply To Post
Summer readings: It by Stephen King


What's your most memorable book from childhood? And what is your most vivid memory of it?

Xan Brooks of The Guardian: King's sleek, scary and rambunctiously entertaining novel was required reading among my group of friends in 1987

It was the first hardback I ever purchased, hot off the press, a preposterous extravagance. In hindsight I should have solicited contributions, because the book was subsequently passed around various schoolfriends, read and reread until the dustjacket was tattered and the binding came loose. By the winter of 1987 it was already a ruin, like the derelict house on Neibolt Street where the hobos hang out. Inside, among the loose pages, thumbmarks and foodstains, it remained forever August 1987.

King's novel is a tale of summer – a bright, boisterous coming-of-age yarn with a monster in the shadows. It's about seven 11-year-old "losers" (the stammerer, the fat kid, the asthmatic et al) who team up to battle
View Guardian article
draig
 05 Aug 2011, 18:17 #125989 Reply To Post
Quote: Book News, Friday, 5 Aug 2011 10:11
Summer readings: It by Stephen King


What's your most memorable book from childhood? And what is your most vivid memory of it?

Xan Brooks of The Guardian: King's sleek, scary and rambunctiously entertaining novel was required reading among my group of friends in 1987

It was the first hardback I ever purchased, hot off the press, a preposterous extravagance. In hindsight I should have solicited contributions, because the book was subsequently passed around various schoolfriends, read and reread until the dustjacket was tattered and the binding came loose. By the winter of 1987 it was already a ruin, like the derelict house on Neibolt Street where the hobos hang out. Inside, among the loose pages, thumbmarks and foodstains, it remained forever August 1987.

King's novel is a tale of summer – a bright, boisterous coming-of-age yarn with a monster in the shadows. It's about seven 11-year-old "losers" (the stammerer, the fat kid, the asthmatic et al) who team up to battle
View Guardian article


He thrusts his fists against the post and still insists he sees the ghost. Yep. I remember that one. Typical King to subvert something lovable into something evil. I fnd it hard to believe that some say he can't write.
The Stories so Far
Alasdair
 06 Aug 2011, 00:02 #126025 Reply To Post

I remember this book clearly, my 13 year old self was so engrossed in it. I'd just finished Lord of the Rings and this was my next read. I remember there being a bit near the end about how awful it feels to be near the end of a good book and knowing it's nearly over and you'll soon just put it on a shelf and forget all about it. I thought "Yes! That's just how this feels!".

I was so disappointed with the TV series (aside from Tim Curry). It looked so much less impressive on screen and didn't scare me at all. I hope the remake movie is better. Reading horror in my teens really put me off watching horror films, they were never as good.
draig
 06 Aug 2011, 23:06 #126107 Reply To Post
Quote: Alasdair, Saturday, 6 Aug 2011 00:02

I remember this book clearly, my 13 year old self was so engrossed in it. I'd just finished Lord of the Rings and this was my next read. I remember there being a bit near the end about how awful it feels to be near the end of a good book and knowing it's nearly over and you'll soon just put it on a shelf and forget all about it. I thought "Yes! That's just how this feels!".

I was so disappointed with the TV series (aside from Tim Curry). It looked so much less impressive on screen and didn't scare me at all. I hope the remake movie is better. Reading horror in my teens really put me off watching horror films, they were never as good.


Know where you're coming from. Don't like horror films myself. Don't like horror books anymore, though I do write a lot of horror. King is much more than horror, though. I feel he's more 'speculative'.

The Stories so Far
Alasdair
 06 Aug 2011, 23:31 #126108 Reply To Post
Quote: draig, Saturday, 6 Aug 2011 23:06


Know where you're coming from. Don't like horror films myself. Don't like horror books anymore, though I do write a lot of horror. King is much more than horror, though. I feel he's more 'speculative'.



Couldn't agree with you more - the only horror books I've read in a few years were Charlie Higson's zombie ones that I read with my kid. Still have a deep love for the genre though - but I think of horror as it used to be, full of oppressive tension and cerebral terror, not the slasher/gore thing it is now.
draig
 07 Aug 2011, 20:54 #126191 Reply To Post
Quote: Alasdair, Saturday, 6 Aug 2011 23:31
Quote: draig, Saturday, 6 Aug 2011 23:06


Know where you're coming from. Don't like horror films myself. Don't like horror books anymore, though I do write a lot of horror. King is much more than horror, though. I feel he's more 'speculative'.



Couldn't agree with you more - the only horror books I've read in a few years were Charlie Higson's zombie ones that I read with my kid. Still have a deep love for the genre though - but I think of horror as it used to be, full of oppressive tension and cerebral terror, not the slasher/gore thing it is now.


Or perhaps it's something we grow out of. Friday the 13th and all that. Must admit to having a grudging respect for the Saw franchise. I was a lot older than you when I got into King, and I'm still with him now. But I dropped the likes of Herbert & Barker long ago. Must say I can't name any current Horror writers, apart from myself. Is that strange..?
The Stories so Far
Malcolm
 08 Aug 2011, 08:04 #126232 Reply To Post
Quote: draig, Friday, 5 Aug 2011 18:17
I fnd it hard to believe that some say he can't write.


I would never say he can't write, but I would say he could be edited. I used to be an avid Stephen King reader, but this book put me off him for a long time--too much build-up, not enough pay-off.

I rarely read him any more, and when I do, I find I prefer his shorter works.
No stars. No charts. Just crits.
Malcolm
 08 Aug 2011, 08:06 #126233 Reply To Post
Quote: draig, Friday, 5 Aug 2011 18:17
I fnd it hard to believe that some say he can't write.


I would never say he can't write, but I would say he could be edited. I used to be an avid Stephen King reader, but this book put me off him for a long time--too much build-up, not enough pay-off.

I rarely read him any more, and when I do, I find I prefer his shorter works. For me, a better summer read would be Different Seasons--four novellas including Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, and The Body.


This post was last edited by Malcolm, 08 Aug 2011, 08:07
No stars. No charts. Just crits.
louheneghan
 08 Aug 2011, 10:08 #126248 Reply To Post
Quote: Malcolm, Monday, 8 Aug 2011 08:06
Quote: draig, Friday, 5 Aug 2011 18:17
I fnd it hard to believe that some say he can't write.


I would never say he can't write, but I would say he could be edited. I used to be an avid Stephen King reader, but this book put me off him for a long time--too much build-up, not enough pay-off.

I rarely read him any more, and when I do, I find I prefer his shorter works. For me, a better summer read would be Different Seasons--four novellas including Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, and The Body.




Agree wholeheartedly. The Body is a masterpiece as far as I am concerned. I still don't know anybody who can capture what's it's like to be a kid like Stephen King. Genius.
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