StephenKingman

I agree with you on the fantasy books point. I have always felt that King seems a bit uncomfortable straying into this territory and, although the Dark Tower series is well written, it seems to me like he is just writing them to prove a point that he can excel in a genre other than horror, rather than he is genuinely interested in telling a fantasy story. His forte has always been horror and i think he should stick with that. Having said that, i think one of his greatest works ever remains The Talisman, i read that book years ago and was gripped from the first page to the last by this tale of a young boy who would do anything to cure his sick mother, the book is quite terrifying in many places (particularly the 'Otherworld' scenes) and a great testament to the master of suspense. As for the point about film adaptations, yes, nearly every second movie these days is a poor remake of an uninspiring original so there is plenty of scope for a few King movie remakes, like Needful Things or Christine, or even adaptations of stories which haven't been done yet. For example, his most recent short story compendium 'Just After Sunset' contains a brilliantly written story called Mute, about the extent a betrayed husband will go to to get revenge. It would make a superb film if it was fleshed out a bit and had the right director leading the way, and that is just one of many stories yet to be filmed, there is a rich tapestry of possibilities in Kings' collection!

I have not read the books mentioned in the thread so far but i will say that Stephen King does seem to have racial overtones in his books when mentioning the Irish. Whether through ignorance or otherwise, i can think of many references King has made of the Irish people being drunken louts who live in a field and chase cows all day long and start fights in pubs every night, very misguided view but one shared by many authors who need to realise that Ieland has moved on (despite the recession!) and is one of the most modern and cosmopolitan countries in the world. In his recent book Under the Dome, King chose an Aer Lingus flight to mock the Irish. I wont spoil what part but it annoyed me that he continues to knock us, and one of the few criticisms i have of him.

Yes the very one! A nice eye-catching cover and probably one of the reasons i bought it; if it was just a dull blank cover with 1984 on it i probably would have walked on. As for my book activity, well i just managed to add a HUNDRED classic books to my collection for just 15euro, and here's how: I cant believe i missed this opportunity before. I have a DS but had never heard of this title before today, so i snapped it up. You can read many many classic titles like Kidnapped, A Tale of Two Cities, Treasure Island and scores more. I generally dont read the classic books very much but recently i have been wanting to branch out a bit and expand my tastes so i am going to start reading some of the esteemed authors like Dickens. I probably wont read all hundred of them as some will appeal more than others but its a fantastic idea i must say. You read the book by using the stylus to turn the pages and holding the DS sideways like a book. With this purchase i wont be able to read a new book until 2020

Me too! I vividly remember my brother renting the movie IT in the early 90s and i was so brave, telling him "I wont be scared" but then after that first scene when he is staring at the girl through the clothes line and then when he murdered Georgie i was paralysed with fear and couldnt move even if i wanted to, think i couldnt sleep alone for months ha. Nowadays though i laugh at it. Still a great movie but Tim Curry can be quite funny as well.

What kind of books do you prefer reading then? Many good books have been released in the past 3 years so im sure, whatever your genre, you will have some great books to get stuck into.

Wow, thanks for the description, i actually had a completely different picture as to the plot of Catcher in the Rye but it sounds intriguing and is definitely on my TBR list, sometime this year. I did enjoy the book of The Lovely Bones and was waiting for how disturbing the opening of the book was but to be honest it was quite tame, especially compared to the graphic accounts of abuse in Precious by Sapphire. I know Sebold doesnt base the whole book on the murder but the reaction to it i think was a bit excessive. As for the plot, it certainky was original and captivating, shame it lost its way halfway throughh, in my opinion. I just felt it shifted down a few gears and served up a flat ending. The movie is out here this weekend and i am going to watch it next weekend and am looking forward to it. Hopefully Sairse Roinan will make the movie worth all the awards.

Ha, yes, Tayto is an iconic brand of crisps here and very tasty to boot! There isnt an actual living Mr. Tayto, there is just an image of a potato man on the front of the packet and some clever person decided to bring him to life by writing a book describing the 'life and times' of this character, along with school pictures and a chapter dedicated to his search for love

Im ashamed to admit that i havent a clue what Catcher in the Rye is even about! I know its a classic from JD Salinger, recently deceased, but apart from that nothing. Is it the only book released by Salinger or just the most successful. Did you like The Lovely Bones then?

Despite my pledge to only read classic books from the library, i purchased 1984 by George Orwell today in my local bookshop. It was only 10euro and had a cool cover so i dont feel so bad! Also, there were a string of other classic books that i have never read on the same shelf as 1984- Catcher in the Rye, War and Peace etc, but i will get those books from the library when i can. SO my book activity cost me 10euro today.

Ah yes, the Soul Survivor series, i have read a few of these stories and they are a good distraction but not something i would read regularly, they detract somewhat from the memories of the original book and is best read by people who have never read the book or are new to Stephen King.

Has anyone here read the semi-autobiography of Mr Tayto (an Irish crisp brand) called The Man Inside The Jacket? I am sure the many irish members here have read it, it was so popular over christmas that it outsold every other book in the Irish charts. I read it lastnight in one sitting and its funny enough but not exactly side-splitting. A good read but a tad overhyped.

40?? That will keep you going for quite a while. I have 6 books on my 'To Be Read' list at the moment and i think thats a lot ha!

Yes my eyes are peeled for the movie Precious, it apparently contains some stellar performances but these movies tend to sadly only be on limited release but i night get lucky and it will come here. The trailer is hard hitting and also features Mariah Carey as the school counseler.

All depends really. I tend to use vouchers from Christmas or work as payment for books but when i do buy them with cash, it could be as little as 20 euro a month or as much as 100 euro so there is no set figure for me. My biggest problem is magazines, they eat up far too much of my budget, be they computer, film or sci-fi mags and they are a big weakness of mine. Magazines are generally at least 7euro a go so its not cheap either!

Agreed, a warm bed and silence are essential for a good read! I was never one to enjoy listening to music whilst reading, find it too distracting. Mind you, i am usually too tired to read much in bed at night so tend to limit my reading to evenings and plane journeys/trains etc.

I finished Precious by Sapphire last night and i would rate it 8 out of 10, very moving and inspiring. Today i rented Duma Key from the library and will start reading it next week. It's a book from King which i never did get around to reading because of college and then it slipped my mind, but i am looking forward to it now. Not one of his major releases, so i believe, but one which has received positive reviews.

Yep, thats the plot. A huge Dome erects itself around a small town and nothing can penetrate it so the inhabitants are doomed. Sounds brilliant but doesnt end well sadly.

To be honest, i don't blame you. Even though i still think Under The Dome is a very entertaining book, i felt the same sense of frustration as i read through the story that the Dome itself was just being ignored as a sideshow while the anarchy and chaos that descended onto Chester's Mill was the real story. It was no doubt King's intention to focus the story on how a small town copes with suddenly being cut off from the world, and his old reliable themes of paranoia and isolation are as strong as ever, but to me, you cannot sell a novel on such an intriguing concept, only to spend a mere 6 or 7 chapters focusing on what the structure is and how can it be destroyed, and then throw in an explanation at the very end that is frankly ****. I read through the whole book with a mixture of excitement as to what this structure exactly was, and what connection it has to the characters, and a growing sense of disappointment that King was just going to ignore the central concept in favor of 'its all about the journey and not the destination', well i don't fully agree with that, i want some closure! I would probably watch the tv series but the book left me a little flat.

Well, everyone has different opinions on his films so that makes debate all the more interesting! I didnt mind IT as the movie had a stellar performance by Tim Curry and made a generation of people terrified of clowns! I love Shawshank buy find it very grim so i haven't watched it too many times. There is another point which is thye should make movies out of some of his less famous works. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon would make a fantastic movie if they got the right director, similarly Geralds Game would play on the isolation and terror King is so fond of exposing. Under the Dome, his most recent novel, is being adapted for a mini-series in the same vein as The Stand was.

Well, despite the bad criticism, i will be looking forward to seeing the movie as i like to make my own mind up about a movie based on the performances. My only issue with the book was the amount of time Suzy spent forlornly watching over her family, i was waiting for her to accept her fate and move to a higher plane but her stubborn resistance to do this stretched credulity somewhat.

The adaptations range from fantastic (Misery, Carrie, Shawshank, Stand By Me, Apt Pupil and Dolores Claiborne) to the merely good ( IT, The Stand, Christine, Dead Zone ) to the downright, oh God what were they thinking (Tommyknockers, Christine, Children of Corn, Cujo and Thinner) and lots in between which do not fit into any category.

I read the book last year and thought it was very good but the first half was stronger than the second, in my opinion. I also am waiting hard for the movie as it is released in Ireland tomorrow but i have heard nothing but bad things from critics, who demolished it based on being 'all style and no substance', i will make up my own mind this weekend.

The Exorcist scared the hell out of me. As a nice Catholic boy, we were raised to worship God and the only mention of the Devil was 'Satan and his empty lies...' so my vision of him was of a sort of buffoon and nonsensical creature......to see him manifest his evil self into the body of an innocent girl, twisting it out of all proportion and spouting such vile with that terrifying voice scarred me for life, this was The Big Evil Dude himself and i nearly wet myself. Also didn't help that i was 15 watching it, could not sleep for months. Saw Paranormal Activity recently, very good movie but doesnt linger long in the mind afterwards.

My favorite cover has got to be this one of The Stand, the crow representing the evil Randall Flagg, Dark Man, Lucifer etc etc.

Ha, i feel the same way about them. I used to own all the books except the Unleashed series. I couldn't bear to throw them all out so i kept a core of about 20, including Teachers Pet, remember that one! I wasn't too pushed about the Vampire stories though. I started my love of horror with these books and they were one of the greatest series of the 90s. Also, they released audio tapes of certain books in the series around 1993/1994 but for some reason they never came to my local library so i always missed out!