17 & 18
19. The Stand, Stephen King*
18. Hollywood's Stephen King, Tony Magistrale
I actually finished Hollywood's Stephen King a while ago; March 27 is when I posted it in the Brown reading thread. Have I been reading The Stand that long? Good god.
Magistrale does what no one before him did: look at movies based on King's books critically. It was really interesting that he saw something to analyze even in (as I understand) horrible movies like Christine and The Mangler. Granted, sometimes the analysis was a little graspy. I haven't seen all of King's movies, but I've read most of the books (Christine and Misery being the only exceptions), and this book about the movies made me not only want to see the movies, but also re-read the books (Christine being the only hold-out there; I don't really want to read that one :P ). It was nice to read this book after such a clunker as Limeys; Magistrale had connections and a direction and is just a damn good writer, and his passion for King's work--both movies and books--comes through.
This is my second read of The Stand. It's much as I remember it: rambling, interesting, religious (a lot of god's will be done stuff, which I don't much cotton to), and not King's best. A lot of people say it is, but...it's just not that good. In my non-professional opinion. By the end, I was ready for it to end. Last night I stayed up 2 hours past my bedtime reading so I could finish this fucker. Thank god I never have to read it again--I think twice is definitely enough for this one.
Now reading: Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond (still; need to get cracking on that one); Refugee by Piers Anthony; and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.
18. Hollywood's Stephen King, Tony Magistrale
I actually finished Hollywood's Stephen King a while ago; March 27 is when I posted it in the Brown reading thread. Have I been reading The Stand that long? Good god.
Magistrale does what no one before him did: look at movies based on King's books critically. It was really interesting that he saw something to analyze even in (as I understand) horrible movies like Christine and The Mangler. Granted, sometimes the analysis was a little graspy. I haven't seen all of King's movies, but I've read most of the books (Christine and Misery being the only exceptions), and this book about the movies made me not only want to see the movies, but also re-read the books (Christine being the only hold-out there; I don't really want to read that one :P ). It was nice to read this book after such a clunker as Limeys; Magistrale had connections and a direction and is just a damn good writer, and his passion for King's work--both movies and books--comes through.
This is my second read of The Stand. It's much as I remember it: rambling, interesting, religious (a lot of god's will be done stuff, which I don't much cotton to), and not King's best. A lot of people say it is, but...it's just not that good. In my non-professional opinion. By the end, I was ready for it to end. Last night I stayed up 2 hours past my bedtime reading so I could finish this fucker. Thank god I never have to read it again--I think twice is definitely enough for this one.
Now reading: Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond (still; need to get cracking on that one); Refugee by Piers Anthony; and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.