book data
15417 ratings, 4.07 average rating, 923 reviews
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published
June 30th 2007
(first published 1977)
by Hodder Pb
binding
Paperback, 512 pages
isbn
0340951397
(isbn13: 9780340951392)
description
"YOU'RE THE CARETAKER, SIR. YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN THE CARETAKER. I SHOULD KNOW, SIR. I'VE ALWAYS BEEN HERE...." - DELBERT GRADY OF THE OVERLOOK HOTEL
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| Amazingly strange, makes you think. | 2 | 8 | 09/23/2008 10:24PM |
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avg 4.07
Read in March, 2008
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This scene from Friends pretty much sums up my feelings about this book:
"Rachel: Hmm. (she opens the freezer) Umm, why do you have a copy of The Shining in your freezer?
Joey: Oh, I was reading it last night, and I got scared, so.
Rachel: But ah, you’re safe from it if it’s in the freezer?
Joey: Well, safer. Y'know, I mean I never start reading The Shining, without making sure we’ve got plenty of room in the freezer, y'know.
Rachel: How often do you read it?
Joey: Haven’t you ever read the same book over and over again?
Rachel: Well, umm, I guess I read Little Women more than once. But I mean that’s a classic, what’s so great about The Shining?
Joey: The question should be Rach, what is not so great about The Shining. Okay? And the answer would be: nothing. All right? This is like the scariest book ever. I bet it’s way better than that classic of yours."
...more
"Rachel: Hmm. (she opens the freezer) Umm, why do you have a copy of The Shining in your freezer?
Joey: Oh, I was reading it last night, and I got scared, so.
Rachel: But ah, you’re safe from it if it’s in the freezer?
Joey: Well, safer. Y'know, I mean I never start reading The Shining, without making sure we’ve got plenty of room in the freezer, y'know.
Rachel: How often do you read it?
Joey: Haven’t you ever read the same book over and over again?
Rachel: Well, umm, I guess I read Little Women more than once. But I mean that’s a classic, what’s so great about The Shining?
Joey: The question should be Rach, what is not so great about The Shining. Okay? And the answer would be: nothing. All right? This is like the scariest book ever. I bet it’s way better than that classic of yours."
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
Thrill seekers
This was an excellent book. In Stephen King greats it ranks behind The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. In my mind, it's next to the Dead Zone among King masterpieces.
The character development was fantastic. In fact, King himself has said that the movie did not live up to the esteemed billing that the book received because in Kubrick's interpretation, you never really feel anything for the characters. No attachment, no sympathy, no nothing.
In the novel, you develop a connection w...more
The character development was fantastic. In fact, King himself has said that the movie did not live up to the esteemed billing that the book received because in Kubrick's interpretation, you never really feel anything for the characters. No attachment, no sympathy, no nothing.
In the novel, you develop a connection w...more
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Personally, I feel that Stephen King is a so-so writer, vastly overrated, and far from deserving the large following he seems to have (another example of the all too frequent phenomenon where if something is wildly popular in American mass culture it can be counted on to most likely be mediocre). My memory of a cover story on Stephen King done by TIME magazine, probably over twenty years ago, is that he admitted as much himself. I could be wrong, but in the article I think he said he was surpr...more
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I hadn't really realized just how deeply this story is embedded in the collective unconscious until I mentioned to a friend a few years back that my now husband and I were considering getting married at The Stanley Hotel, the Colorado landmark where the movie version of this book was set.
"Are you insane?" she said to me. "You cannot do that. I will spend the entire ceremony waiting for blood to start pouring out the elevators."
We got married down the road instead.
"Are you insane?" she said to me. "You cannot do that. I will spend the entire ceremony waiting for blood to start pouring out the elevators."
We got married down the road instead.
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4 comments
Read in October, 2008
Continuing in my adventures in the worlds of Stephen King! This time: The Shining. I liked this a lot, overall. Bits of the actual style annoyed me, but the story sucked me right in. The central concept of "the shine" itself interests me, because, well, I'm not sure it's all that fictional. Extra-sensory perception and all that. The idea of the sentient house is a really creepy one, mainly because it touches on the fears you have as a kid -- the fire extinguisher really does look like ...more
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Read in September, 2008
recommended to Sunflower by:
La PetiteThis review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in May, 1991
I loved this book so much I was in 8th grade when I read this book. It was the very 1st SK book I ever read and I have been a fan ever since. I could not put this page turning book down even when it got the scary parts. It was a thrill to read this book and every so often I reread it. It was that good !!
THE SHINING is about several things, all tied up into one complex and multilayered whole. It is about a five-year-old boy who is impossibly mature and wise beyond his years, and who has a ter...more
THE SHINING is about several things, all tied up into one complex and multilayered whole. It is about a five-year-old boy who is impossibly mature and wise beyond his years, and who has a ter...more
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This is one of those books that I've read multiple times, and I consider it to be my favourite book of all time.
I know that many people consider Stephen King to be a horror writer, but I have to say I have not found most of the books I've read from him to be "horror". They are suspenseful, sometimes gory in their descriptions, most definitely psychologically thrilling, but not necessarily my definition of horror.
I think many of his books made into movies have more of a horror a...more
I know that many people consider Stephen King to be a horror writer, but I have to say I have not found most of the books I've read from him to be "horror". They are suspenseful, sometimes gory in their descriptions, most definitely psychologically thrilling, but not necessarily my definition of horror.
I think many of his books made into movies have more of a horror a...more
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Read in January, 1989
If Stephen King had a "classic era" this and "Christine" would certainly top it as my favorites.
I think what I like most about this book, and a similar type of character that King reuses over and over is of the child (usually) with budding or slight psychic powers. I'm not talking Carrie-esque powers, but just something slightly more than norm.
I absolutely love that! I love a person discovering that they're not quite like everyone else. I got chills when the caretake...more
I think what I like most about this book, and a similar type of character that King reuses over and over is of the child (usually) with budding or slight psychic powers. I'm not talking Carrie-esque powers, but just something slightly more than norm.
I absolutely love that! I love a person discovering that they're not quite like everyone else. I got chills when the caretake...more
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The quintessential Stephen King is right here. The movie was totally awesome, and it still wasn't as good as the book. I like that he based it on one of my local landmark hotels, which, by the way, IS haunted (the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO). What I liked most about this book is that it shows what can happen when people are cut off from civilization for long periods of time. When Denver had the blizzard of 2003, I was trapped in my place for 5 days straight, and by the time my mom came ...more
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If you judge Stephen King's books by character development, plot development, and story telling ability, there are none better, although this is not the type of writing that wins awards.
The wisdom of the book lies in its recognition of the subjective/ metaphysical, in its understanding that the world is indifferent and often hostile, but that it is made beautiful by the love of a few others, and its belief that good triumphs over (very vivid) evil.
Its weaknesses for me lie in the portrayal ...more
The wisdom of the book lies in its recognition of the subjective/ metaphysical, in its understanding that the world is indifferent and often hostile, but that it is made beautiful by the love of a few others, and its belief that good triumphs over (very vivid) evil.
Its weaknesses for me lie in the portrayal ...more
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2 comments
Read in January, 1996
This is my absolute favorite book by Stephen King. And the scariest, in my opinion. I could not read this book at night, I couldn't even read it when I was home by myself. His way of describing all of the details for the hotel and Jack Torrance's fall back into alcoholism are done with such skill that I could see it all perfectly. That's probably why it scared me so much. The little boy was kind of creepy to me. Or the fact that he saw so much of the hotel's past in the hallways and in the rooms...more
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Read in January, 2004
I loved the movie (the original not the bad tv mini series)
I have to say, I think I liked the movie better than the book- there's more left to the imagination. Are there really ghosts at the Overlook or is Jack just that freakin' nuts!? I think the idea that a persons mind could fracture that babdly is a lot scarier than ghosts.
The book is entertaining but there's no room to question- it's not Jack and is family causing these things to happen, it's "the management".
I have to say, I think I liked the movie better than the book- there's more left to the imagination. Are there really ghosts at the Overlook or is Jack just that freakin' nuts!? I think the idea that a persons mind could fracture that babdly is a lot scarier than ghosts.
The book is entertaining but there's no room to question- it's not Jack and is family causing these things to happen, it's "the management".
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Read in June, 2007
What I Learned From This Book:
It is seldom a good idea to squirrel oneself away for the winter in a remote mountaintop hotel that happens to be possessed by ancient, vengeful spirits.
It is rarely a good idea to read such books in the dead of night whilst living by oneself.
And it is never, ever a good idea to peek behind the bathtub curtain in the middle of the night. If there's a dead body there, it can bloody well wait til morning.
It is seldom a good idea to squirrel oneself away for the winter in a remote mountaintop hotel that happens to be possessed by ancient, vengeful spirits.
It is rarely a good idea to read such books in the dead of night whilst living by oneself.
And it is never, ever a good idea to peek behind the bathtub curtain in the middle of the night. If there's a dead body there, it can bloody well wait til morning.
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Read in January, 1977
Now this was when Stephen King was KING of Horror. A true master. I was 15 when I first read this book; it was my father's copy. I was entralled from the first chapter and it held me in it's grasp all the way through to the climactic end.
Exciting, scary, creepy and somehow realistic. That's what makes a great novel. And this one has all the qualities than will have it remembered as one of SK's finest.
Exciting, scary, creepy and somehow realistic. That's what makes a great novel. And this one has all the qualities than will have it remembered as one of SK's finest.
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I read this when I was 13 or 14 years old one summer. It was by far the biggest book I had read to date. And it was by far the most mature novel I had ever read. I finished it one rainy and stormy night when I was home alone. Scared the living hell out of me! I've been a fan ever since.
In my opinion, this is Stephen King's best book, period. And yes, I have read them all.
In my opinion, this is Stephen King's best book, period. And yes, I have read them all.
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Read in April, 1991
recommends it for:
Anyone who likes a good thrill
This was actually my first read by Mr. King. It was the "forbidden" book at my house when I was little. I sneaked around and got it from the Book-Mobile when I was nine and read it behind my momma's back. I didn't sleep for three weeks, and I still will not stay in a hotel room with the number 217 on the door! Excellent read and the re-read value is waaaaay up there!
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recommended to Hondo by:
My friend Dennis Stevens
This was another fine King story, but I have to warn anyone who wants to read it that...
WARNING: Spoiler alert!
(don't worry I'm not going to say anything that will ruin the story for you. LOL)
...the book does not match some of the situations that were portrayed in the movie (the first one starring Jack Nickolson, not the TV mini series that they did years later; which I thought was lame). In fact, the cook's part in the story is different (nuff said).
Even so...
I still enjo...more
WARNING: Spoiler alert!
(don't worry I'm not going to say anything that will ruin the story for you. LOL)
...the book does not match some of the situations that were portrayed in the movie (the first one starring Jack Nickolson, not the TV mini series that they did years later; which I thought was lame). In fact, the cook's part in the story is different (nuff said).
Even so...
I still enjo...more
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It still frightens me. This is the best book to read if you want to study insanity. I read it so fast because I think I wanted it to end.
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