Earlier this year, I decided to read more books. I love books, and reading! I approached Miles with this idea and he decided to turn it into a family book challenge. The goal for the family is to complete one book a month for a congratulatory prize (incentive).
Miles decided to reread the JRR Tolkien series of the Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit. He had just purchased a new copy of them and was excited to read them. He has now read them all, and is onto reading some R.A. Salvatore books.
Isaiah is a different story. The boy loathes reading. He’s 12 now and I’m not sure if it’s “that age” or if he just doesn’t have a love for reading, which is fine. Right now, Isaiah is into what everyone else is into... FORTNITE and video games. He says he does reading there, which I laugh about. If he’s reading something, I guess that’s better than nothing. Also, he doesn’t spend much time on his console. He knows all his homework and chores/cleaning has to get done before he can go on it.
Now, Serenity; she’s the complete opposite. She’s my reader and I LOVE IT! ♥️♥️♥️ She is now reading at a sixth-grade level as a fifth-grader and has learned quite a few words since bumping up to sixth grade AR (accelerated reader) books. She’s now reading in-depth chapter books and wants to start reading some books that at her age, aren’t quite yet appropriate for her, but she’ll get there.
I, on the other hand, can’t step foot in Barnes and Noble because I want to buy every book in there! So, with that said, I decided to read (and reread) Stephen King books. I had started a Stephen King book collection in eighth grade and overtime got rid of (donated) most of those books. I have recently wanted to build my “collection” back up.
We’re now at 20-9-5-10 books read since we started this challenge back in February of 2019. I have made it through 5 Stephen King books, Miles has read 20 books, Isaiah has read 5, and Serenity 10 books.
Along with reading Stephen King's books, I decided to specifically read 22+ books and short stories by the end of the 2019 calendar. Well, we're now in 2020, and I'm on book 6 of Stephen King.
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| *Updating regularly with new books & short stories |
My goal by the end of 2019 was to specifically read 22 Stephen King books that have been made into TV specials, TV movies, and have been in the movie theaters. Along with reading all 22 books, I have decided to buy the audiobook off of Amazon’s Audible website (since you can’t purchase off their app) and listen to the book while in the car and follow along here and there. I also just found out that Sleepwalkers is not a book! I repeat, NOT a book! What?
Book I: The Shining-
Synopsis (from Stephen KIng's website): Jack Torrance, his wife Wendy, and their young son Danny move into the Overlook Hotel, where Jack has been hired as the winter caretaker. Cut off from civilization for months, Jack hopes to battle alcoholism and uncontrolled rage while writing a play. Evil forces residing in the Overlook – which has a long and violent history – covet young Danny for his precognitive powers and exploit Jack’s weaknesses to try to claim the boy.
The Shining
First on my list was to read (re-read) and finish The Shining and to be honest, I never got to fully finish the book. I have gotten close but until now, I never finished it. I also found out that SK didn’t like the Stanley Kubrick film starring Jack Nicholson. I have to watch the original movie. I have only seen the Kubrick version and I was so happy with how different the ending to the book was, versus the Kubrick movie.
This book is one that I will have forever. I actually purchased this copy back in high school, and read it multiple times, but like I said, I never actually finished it until I started this challenge. I can't believe I waited so long to read this book cover to cover. This book is definitely on my top 10, even top 5 favorite books of Stephen King. It had been a while since I read his works, so I had to remind myself, and readjust to all the profanity that he uses, but once I dove back into it, that was not an issue. I can't wait till the next time I read this one again.
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Almost done ✅
So close, I can taste it! Haha!
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Book II: Misery-
Synopsis: Novelist Paul Sheldon has plans to make the difficult transition from writing historical romances featuring heroine Misery Chastain, to publishing literary fiction. Annie Wilkes is Sheldon's number one fan. She rescues the author from the scene of a car accident. Annie, being a former nurse, cares for Sheldon in her remote house, but becomes irate when she discovers that the author has killed Misery off in his latest book. Annie keeps Sheldon prisoner while forcing him to write a book that brings Misery back to life.
Next was Misery. I remember as an older child watching Misery on the TV, and then finding it out it was a book was WOW! This particular book has been on my 'To Read' list for a very long time and I was definitely happy with how great the book was. This movie was one that convinced me to never become a writer (haha). I was so scared about how a fan could potentially kidnap me, and then break my legs. I picked up my copy at Barnes and Noble.
Starting book 2
Almost at the halfway point!
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| So close to the end! I can taste it! Almost time for book number 3! |
This book was a book that I had to get an audiobook for. The way the person reading this novel was telling the story... I felt as if I was watching Kathy Bates in the film. The movie is great, but the book was amazing! This one also goes on my top 5 list of SK books. I am giving Misery, a 5/5! The way SK wrote this story with a sub-story! Wow!
Book III: It-
Synopsis: A promise made twenty-eight years ago calls seven adults to reunite in Derry, Maine, where as teenagers they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city's children. Unsure that their Losers Club had vanquished the creature all those years ago, the seven had vowed to return to Derry if IT should ever reappear. Now, children are being murdered again and their repressed memories of that summer return as they prepare to do battle with the monster lurking in Derry's sewers once more.
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| I borrowed this from my mother-in-law who read it years ago. She purchased the book for under $5! It. I have heard many things about the book, such as how different it is from the 1990s TV movie staring Tim Curry, and how more in-depth and graphic it is. I also heard that the new movie starring Bill Skarsgard more closely follows the book. I have seen both versions of movies, and I'm excited to read and it's another book that's been on my list for a long, long time.  
After reading a bit out of my MIL's book, I was too afraid of damaging it, and I don't like that kind of responsibility in my hands, or on my conscience, so I went out and found a copy of it (no pun intended 😂) at my local Walmart. I have wanted to read this novel for YEARS, but my mom always said I was too young, and it would be "too scary" for me. Now, I'm 27 and am choosing to pick it up to read. The copy that I purchased is massive compared to my MIL's copy, but I appreciate the bigger text.
I started the book and was so eager to read and see the differences between Tim Curry's movie version, and Bill Skarsgard's version. I soon realized that reading this size novel, in the allotted time I gave myself wasn't going to happen as easily as I thought since I am commuting between 2 jobs and working over 40 hours a week. So, I decided, since my husband and I are Prime members, to get the audiobook from Audible.
Making a little progress!
Commuting between both jobs was taking so much time, so I devoted my commute music time to listening to the book and getting further ahead in the novel. This also got tricky, because if I wanted to read straight out of the book, I'd have found my spot by listening to the audiobook, and then find my new spot in the audiobook. It gets tedious. If anyone has tricks on how to make this easier, please let me know! I'm pretty sure this is the hard way, but since I'm still commuting to both jobs, this way will have to do for the time being, and I know no other way.
Making more great progress!
Still going strong! 💪💪
Passed the halfway point!
The way he describes and makes these characters come to life is amazing! This book is taking me a long time to read, but man, I did not know what I was missing out on just by watching the movies.
Getting closer to the end, and it feels amazing! This book is definitely a labor of love, haha! And my mom was right, this book is not for a young teen audience, can't believe I waited this long to read it though!
End credits!
Book IV: Pet Sematary-
Synopsis: The road in front of Dr. Louis Creed's rural Maine home frequently claims the lives of neighborhood pets. Louis has recently moved from Chicago to Ludlow with his wife Rachel, their children, and a pet cat. Near their house, local children have created a cemetery for the dogs and cats killed by the steady stream of transports on the busy highway. Deeper in the woods lies another graveyard, an ancient Indian burial ground whose sinister properties Louis discovers when the family cat is killed.
 
Getting closer to the halfway point!
Book V: Doctor Sleep-
Synopsis (taken from the Stephen King website): On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless—mostly old, lots of polyesters, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and tween Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the “steam” that children with the “shining” produce when they are slowly tortured to death. Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father’s legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant “shining” power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes “Doctor Sleep.” Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan’s own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra’s soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of hyper-devoted readers of The Shining and wildly satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon. 
I did not know that The Shining had a sequel! When I found out it had a sequel, I needed to get this book and read it stat! I heard the movie was coming out, so I wanted to read this before the movie came out, or before we watched it in theaters. I'll be honest, I was skeptical about there being a sequel to The Shining. I would tell people, "Yeah, right!" But it's TRUE!
My thoughts on the book: This was such a good read! I wound up finishing this book after we had watched the movie. My husband (Miles) was skeptical about having me watch the movie, but I like having something to compare the book to. A few chapters in, and we weren't even in the first five minutes of the movie, but this is another that will hold a spot in my top 10 faves list of SK's works (until something can knock it out of the list).
Book VI: Carrie-
Synopsis: The story of misfit high-school girl, Carrie White, who gradually discovers that she has telekinetic powers. Repressed by a domineering, ultra-religious mother and tormented by her peers at school, her efforts to fit in lead to a dramatic confrontation during the senior prom.  I bought Carrie a few weeks before I read it. I sometimes like having the book I'm going to read next on hand, cause it saves me a trip to go buy it. I loved the movie. With that said, the book goes into much more detail as to how telepathic Carrie is. This book was a quick read. I actually read this while I was at home sick from the flu early this year, and I love how much we learn about Carrie White.
Book VII: Cujo-
Synopsis (taken from Stephen King's website): The Camberf family owns a friendly St. Bernard dog named Cujo, who happens to turn into a killer after being bitten by a rabid bat. Donna Trenton's husband is in New York trying to contain a disastrous campaign. Feeling abandoned by her workaholic husband, who is frequently out of town, Donna embarks on an affair with a local handyman. Left to fend for herself, she takes her ailing Pinto to Joe Cambers' garage for repairs only to be trapped with her son Tad in the sweltering car by the monstrous dog.  I'm about halfway through the book, making quite a bit of progress, and decided to get the audiobook for this novel as well, to listen to while cleaning my place. Here's a PSA: don't play this audiobook on the Bluetooth speaker if children are around you. Something I learned, was that this book is not for children. I have learned that this book has some X-rated material in it, which came to my surprise. 
So close to the halfway point!
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