Stephen King can really do no wrong in my book, and he didn't too much wrong in his own book either. =)

I think I responded to this book as a writer--it made me want to write more short stories of my own. For inspiration purposes, if you're looking for a mix of relationship, mystery, large-scale trauma, and quiet horror then you've found it in this book.

A couple stories that have stuck with me since December:

1. The Gingerbread Girl
At first I didn't get the title. Then *uber-slow-girl-that-is-me slaps forehead.* The whole story is about a woman running, literally and figuratively, from things that are trying to kill her: a failed marriage, the loss of a child, and a very killer. Like the Gingerbread Man. Duh, Jenny! I thought that her struggles were very real and painful--especially the child.

2. Willa (I think this is the right one, forgive me, I don't have the book in front of me...but it's the one about the guy who leaves the train station to look for his girlfriend, who is in a honky-tonk bar)
This one I really liked because of the spooky atmosphere that King creates. He alters the decrepit train station with the new train station really well. I love the wolf. I love the honky tonk. And I love that the two lovebirds figure it out for themselves. I thought it was endearing.