Alexis Lampley's Blog, page 9
April 5, 2018
The Stacks: March 2018
So it turns out March was as crazy busy as February. I do believe the insane deadlines are past me now, which is good. But I'm still lacking a decent night's sleep. The good news is that I'm learning my baby's sleep patterns before she gets here, so Ill be a bit more prepared for it this time around (she and I will both be awake at 1pm every night. But she tends to sleep in. So we will get along fine). The bad news is that I only completed 2 books this month. And that took work. It was such a depressing month for me. I hardly got to read at all. I couldn't even turn to audiobooks because I'm researching for an upcoming box, which requires me to binge-watch a TV show (hard life, I know). Anyway, I'm determined to read a crap ton of books this month. But I'm also designing two boxes at once and prepping a third, so... we will see how that ends up going. But Ill stick with being optimistic for now!The Color of Magic Terry Pratchett
Review to Come
Percy Jackson; The Last Olympian (Book 5) Rick Riordan
Review to come
April 4, 2018
On Tyranny; Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
by: Timothy Snyder
The Founding Fathers tried to protect us from the threat they knew, the tyranny that overcame ancient democracy. Today, our political order faces new threats, not unlike the totalitariansim of the twentieth century. We are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. {cover copy}
There were too many passages I marked to type them all here or the whole book would be in this review. I picked this up because I was trying to figure out the motives and practices of my villain in my series that I am writing, so a lot of this was research, but it was a really interesting take on what is going on in the world today and things to be mindful of. I have my political opinions, but I usually keep them close to the vest, as I really dislike arguing politics {because it seems no one can debate politics without it devolving into anger and stubborn close-mindedness and I just don't feel like willingly allowing that kind of interaction into my life} so I'm not going to get into the political lean of this book. If you are writing a tyrant, it's a really interesting and useful little read.
History does not repeat, but it does instruct. {first line}
• together • {last word}
The Founding Fathers tried to protect us from the threat they knew, the tyranny that overcame ancient democracy. Today, our political order faces new threats, not unlike the totalitariansim of the twentieth century. We are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. {cover copy}There were too many passages I marked to type them all here or the whole book would be in this review. I picked this up because I was trying to figure out the motives and practices of my villain in my series that I am writing, so a lot of this was research, but it was a really interesting take on what is going on in the world today and things to be mindful of. I have my political opinions, but I usually keep them close to the vest, as I really dislike arguing politics {because it seems no one can debate politics without it devolving into anger and stubborn close-mindedness and I just don't feel like willingly allowing that kind of interaction into my life} so I'm not going to get into the political lean of this book. If you are writing a tyrant, it's a really interesting and useful little read.
History does not repeat, but it does instruct. {first line}
• together • {last word}
April 2, 2018
Maddie Moo Kids Book Review: They All Saw A Cat
By: Brendan Wenzel
I randomly picked this up at the bookstore the other day for Madeline because it had a cat on it, and that cat sorta looked like our cat, so I figured she would be into it. When I opened it up, I was delightfully surprised by the story!
It's a very simple book to read. Most of the pages say nearly the same thing. But it's not what the pages are saying that makes it such a cool book. It's what the artwork depicts in relation to what the book is saying.
So every page tells you a different perspective from a different animal, but they are all looking at the cat. So rather than just flat out saying "bees would see the cat in little colorful dots" it simply says "the bee saw a cat" and you get to infer the rest from the image. It's really clever!
Both of us enjoy this book. It's one I have no problem reading over and over again to her. And she doesn't seem to have a problem with that arrangement either!
We absolutely recommend this one, and in fact it has already been gifted to our friend for her birthday because we wanted to spread the love for it!
I randomly picked this up at the bookstore the other day for Madeline because it had a cat on it, and that cat sorta looked like our cat, so I figured she would be into it. When I opened it up, I was delightfully surprised by the story!
It's a very simple book to read. Most of the pages say nearly the same thing. But it's not what the pages are saying that makes it such a cool book. It's what the artwork depicts in relation to what the book is saying.
So every page tells you a different perspective from a different animal, but they are all looking at the cat. So rather than just flat out saying "bees would see the cat in little colorful dots" it simply says "the bee saw a cat" and you get to infer the rest from the image. It's really clever! 
Both of us enjoy this book. It's one I have no problem reading over and over again to her. And she doesn't seem to have a problem with that arrangement either! We absolutely recommend this one, and in fact it has already been gifted to our friend for her birthday because we wanted to spread the love for it!
March 31, 2018
Nimona
by: Noelle Stevenson
Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta.
As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Amrosius Goldenloin and this buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are.
Nemeses!
Dragons!
Science!
Symbolism!
All these and more await in this brilliantly subversive, sharply irreverent epic. {cover copy}
This was such a fun little graphic novel! I blew through this and 100% enjoyed it. The art style was fantastic and the story itself was really funny and good. I don't have much to say about this other than that I enjoyed it. I mean, how can you not love a quirky not-a-sidekick and a villain who is more hero-like than the hero? This is a definite must-read!
Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta.As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Amrosius Goldenloin and this buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are.
Nemeses!
Dragons!
Science!
Symbolism!
All these and more await in this brilliantly subversive, sharply irreverent epic. {cover copy}
This was such a fun little graphic novel! I blew through this and 100% enjoyed it. The art style was fantastic and the story itself was really funny and good. I don't have much to say about this other than that I enjoyed it. I mean, how can you not love a quirky not-a-sidekick and a villain who is more hero-like than the hero? This is a definite must-read!
March 28, 2018
Thornhill
by: Pam Smy
A lonely girl in a new town. A ghostly figure in the window. A derelict old house. And a mystery spanning the decades.
An orphan faces a bully alone and plots her revenge. Years later, a girl catches glimpses of a figure in the window of a burned-out and abandoned old house, and begins to unravel the mystery of Thornhill. {cover copy}
I really liked the idea of this story, but it ended up being really weird and creepy and I didn't like the ending at all. It's like a legit ghost story for kids. Which I suppose in its own way is awesome, because some kids are going to figure out that they love this kind of story and will search out a new section of the book store or library, but this was definitely not up my alley. I loved how the story interchanged between words and pictures as well as timeframes, but it did not go in the direction I expected at all. Pretty cool cover tho.
I knew it was too good to last. {first line}
• friend • {last word}
A lonely girl in a new town. A ghostly figure in the window. A derelict old house. And a mystery spanning the decades.An orphan faces a bully alone and plots her revenge. Years later, a girl catches glimpses of a figure in the window of a burned-out and abandoned old house, and begins to unravel the mystery of Thornhill. {cover copy}
I really liked the idea of this story, but it ended up being really weird and creepy and I didn't like the ending at all. It's like a legit ghost story for kids. Which I suppose in its own way is awesome, because some kids are going to figure out that they love this kind of story and will search out a new section of the book store or library, but this was definitely not up my alley. I loved how the story interchanged between words and pictures as well as timeframes, but it did not go in the direction I expected at all. Pretty cool cover tho.
I knew it was too good to last. {first line}
• friend • {last word}
March 24, 2018
Strange the Dreamer
by: Laini Taylor
The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around--and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he's been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.
What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem be now seeks help in solving?
The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries--including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?
In this sweeping and extraordinary new novel by The Sunday Times bestselling author Laini Taylor, the shadow of the past is as real as the ghosts who haunt the citadel of the murdered gods. Fall into a mythical world of dread and wonder, moths and nightmares, love and carnage.
Welcome to Weep. {cover copy}
I cannot explain to you how impacted/invested I am by/in this story. I loved Lazlo so much. I am dying to know what happens next. This world Taylor has built is incredibly cool. I wish I could explain more why I am so insistent on finding out what happens or why I should have, but did not, expect a certain thing to happen. All I can say is that I was so loving where the story was going and then was so thrown off by where it headed, but in the best way, and I am honestly just so worried for the characters and what is going to happen next. Please someone get me on a list for an ARC for the sequel. I need it. Like maybe more than food.
On the second Sabbat of Twelfthmoon, in the city of Weep, a girl fell from the sky. {first line}
"It had felt like calligraphy, if calligraphy were written in honey..."
"...dust lay thick on books undisturbed for years. He disturbed them. It seemed to him that he awoke them, and they awoke him."
"The library knows its own mind... When it steals a boy, we let it keep him."
"Lazlo couldn't have belonged at the library more truly if he were a book himself."
"Life won't just happen to you, boy...You have to happen to it."
"He held in the word like a mouthful of fire."
"Beautiful and full of monsters?" / "All the best stories are."
"And that's how you go on. You lay laughter over the dark parts. The more dark parts, the more you have to laugh. With defiance, with abandon, with hysteria, any way you can."
"He had loved the library, and had felt, as a boy, as though it had a kind of sentience, and perhaps loved him back. But even if it was just walls and a roof with papers inside, it had bewitched him, and drawn him in, and given him everything he needed to become himself."
"I think you're a fairy tale. I think you're magical, and brave, and exquisite. And... I hope you'll let me be in your story."
• yet • {last word}
The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around--and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he's been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem be now seeks help in solving?
The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries--including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?
In this sweeping and extraordinary new novel by The Sunday Times bestselling author Laini Taylor, the shadow of the past is as real as the ghosts who haunt the citadel of the murdered gods. Fall into a mythical world of dread and wonder, moths and nightmares, love and carnage.
Welcome to Weep. {cover copy}
I cannot explain to you how impacted/invested I am by/in this story. I loved Lazlo so much. I am dying to know what happens next. This world Taylor has built is incredibly cool. I wish I could explain more why I am so insistent on finding out what happens or why I should have, but did not, expect a certain thing to happen. All I can say is that I was so loving where the story was going and then was so thrown off by where it headed, but in the best way, and I am honestly just so worried for the characters and what is going to happen next. Please someone get me on a list for an ARC for the sequel. I need it. Like maybe more than food.
On the second Sabbat of Twelfthmoon, in the city of Weep, a girl fell from the sky. {first line}
"It had felt like calligraphy, if calligraphy were written in honey..."
"...dust lay thick on books undisturbed for years. He disturbed them. It seemed to him that he awoke them, and they awoke him."
"The library knows its own mind... When it steals a boy, we let it keep him."
"Lazlo couldn't have belonged at the library more truly if he were a book himself."
"Life won't just happen to you, boy...You have to happen to it."
"He held in the word like a mouthful of fire."
"Beautiful and full of monsters?" / "All the best stories are."
"And that's how you go on. You lay laughter over the dark parts. The more dark parts, the more you have to laugh. With defiance, with abandon, with hysteria, any way you can."
"He had loved the library, and had felt, as a boy, as though it had a kind of sentience, and perhaps loved him back. But even if it was just walls and a roof with papers inside, it had bewitched him, and drawn him in, and given him everything he needed to become himself."
"I think you're a fairy tale. I think you're magical, and brave, and exquisite. And... I hope you'll let me be in your story."
• yet • {last word}
March 21, 2018
The Eyes of The Dragon
by: Stephen King
Once upon a time--there was terror and dragons and princes...evil wizards and dark dungeons...an enchanted castle and a terrible secret. With this enthralling masterpiece of magical evil and daring adventure, Stephen King takes you in his icy grip and leads you into the most shivery and irresistible kingdom of wickedness... The eyes of the dragon. {cover copy}
This was a re-read for me, but I read it originally long before I started reviewing books on this blog, so because it's my favorite King book, I felt it needed a chance to be reviewed. I was so pleasantly surprised by this story when I first read it. I had only ever read King's short stories and did not know that he wrote in so many other genres. My sister told me I had to read this one, because it was his fantasy work, and I trust her recommendations, so I borrowed her copy, and when I was done with it, I didn't want to give it back. I mean, I truly tried to keep it. But she loves it as much as me, so she stole it back from me. I finally tracked down a cool old copy from a used book store, but it was mostly just because I had to own the book I enjoyed so much. I finally got to read the thing this time around in my re-read! And let me say... it was just as good as I remembered it being. The writing style and storytelling in this has this middle grade fantasy vibe which makes my middle-grade loving heart super happy. But the theme and story itself is a little more adult in some ways. In others, it really could be a middle grade novel. I also think the plot itself is quite clever. You definitely need to read this book if you love fantasy and haven't already picked it up. Ugh. It just makes me happy. Read it.
Once, in a kingdom called Delain, there was a King with two sons. {first line}
"Sometimes all you had to do was look wise and keep your mouth shut."
"...when great things happen, they usually happen fast."
"That is the story, and sometimes stories tell more than histories, and more quickly, too."
"...it was better to try than not to try."
" ...the only real sin would be in not trying."
"Let your heart be steadfast."
"If someone has ever told you that being good and being brave means you will never be afraid, what that someone told you is not so."
• day • {last word}
Once upon a time--there was terror and dragons and princes...evil wizards and dark dungeons...an enchanted castle and a terrible secret. With this enthralling masterpiece of magical evil and daring adventure, Stephen King takes you in his icy grip and leads you into the most shivery and irresistible kingdom of wickedness... The eyes of the dragon. {cover copy}This was a re-read for me, but I read it originally long before I started reviewing books on this blog, so because it's my favorite King book, I felt it needed a chance to be reviewed. I was so pleasantly surprised by this story when I first read it. I had only ever read King's short stories and did not know that he wrote in so many other genres. My sister told me I had to read this one, because it was his fantasy work, and I trust her recommendations, so I borrowed her copy, and when I was done with it, I didn't want to give it back. I mean, I truly tried to keep it. But she loves it as much as me, so she stole it back from me. I finally tracked down a cool old copy from a used book store, but it was mostly just because I had to own the book I enjoyed so much. I finally got to read the thing this time around in my re-read! And let me say... it was just as good as I remembered it being. The writing style and storytelling in this has this middle grade fantasy vibe which makes my middle-grade loving heart super happy. But the theme and story itself is a little more adult in some ways. In others, it really could be a middle grade novel. I also think the plot itself is quite clever. You definitely need to read this book if you love fantasy and haven't already picked it up. Ugh. It just makes me happy. Read it.
Once, in a kingdom called Delain, there was a King with two sons. {first line}
"Sometimes all you had to do was look wise and keep your mouth shut."
"...when great things happen, they usually happen fast."
"That is the story, and sometimes stories tell more than histories, and more quickly, too."
"...it was better to try than not to try."
" ...the only real sin would be in not trying."
"Let your heart be steadfast."
"If someone has ever told you that being good and being brave means you will never be afraid, what that someone told you is not so."
• day • {last word}
March 19, 2018
Maddie Moo Kids Book review: Uni the Unicorn
By: Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Illustrations: Brigette Barrager
I originally was a little bit not a fan of this book because I thought Uni was kindof a dumb name for a unicorn. A bit obvious haha But then Madeline's obsession with unicorns became such that I just couldn't imagine her not having this book and enjoying it.
I expected her to really enjoy this book, despite my reservations about it.
I did not expect her to make Uni sound like the most adorable name for a unicorn ever.
I did not expect her to make me read it to her every night.
I did not expect her to get to the point very quickly where she was reading the book back to me.
Turns out, I enjoy this book also. Thankfully. Given the number of times we have now read it. The artwork is beautiful, and inspired part of the tapestry design I did for Madeline's new big girl room, which you can tell from the photo is slowly happening in her playroom (gotta make room for baby #2 after all).
This will be one of the last times you see the book wall, which is a little sad, honestly. But Her bookshelf is a lovely backdrop and that's where we will be moving to after the tapestry arrives. So I made it extra special for this extra special book and did a rainbow theme. Because "of course of course of course" we couldn't have a unicorn book without some rainbows!
Easily one of Madeline's all-time favorite books. And really, the artwork is so lovely. The colors are stunning! And the story itself is really fun! It's a cute concept with a pretty decent follow-up book as well. (I have minor issues with book 2, but nothing that prevents me from reading it to her right after we read book 1).
Illustrations: Brigette Barrager
I originally was a little bit not a fan of this book because I thought Uni was kindof a dumb name for a unicorn. A bit obvious haha But then Madeline's obsession with unicorns became such that I just couldn't imagine her not having this book and enjoying it. I expected her to really enjoy this book, despite my reservations about it.
I did not expect her to make Uni sound like the most adorable name for a unicorn ever.
I did not expect her to make me read it to her every night.
I did not expect her to get to the point very quickly where she was reading the book back to me.
Turns out, I enjoy this book also. Thankfully. Given the number of times we have now read it. The artwork is beautiful, and inspired part of the tapestry design I did for Madeline's new big girl room, which you can tell from the photo is slowly happening in her playroom (gotta make room for baby #2 after all).
This will be one of the last times you see the book wall, which is a little sad, honestly. But Her bookshelf is a lovely backdrop and that's where we will be moving to after the tapestry arrives. So I made it extra special for this extra special book and did a rainbow theme. Because "of course of course of course" we couldn't have a unicorn book without some rainbows!
Easily one of Madeline's all-time favorite books. And really, the artwork is so lovely. The colors are stunning! And the story itself is really fun! It's a cute concept with a pretty decent follow-up book as well. (I have minor issues with book 2, but nothing that prevents me from reading it to her right after we read book 1).
March 17, 2018
The Upside of Unrequited
by: Becky Albertalli
Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love--she's lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can't stomach the idea of rejection. Sp she's careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.
Then a cute new girl enters Cassie's orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly's cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly's totally not dying of loneliness--except for the part where she is.
Luckily, Cassie's new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. Will is funny and flirtatious and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And if Molly can win him over, she'll get her first kiss and she'll get her twin back.
There's only one problem: Molly's coworker Reid. He's an awkward Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there's absolutely no way Molly could fall for him.
Right? {cover copy}
The upside of having read this book so many months ago and only getting to write this review now is that I am distant enough from it to tell you whether this story stuck with me. The downside is that it didn't, so I don't have much to say about it, because I honestly don't remember much. I mean, I can remember enjoying it at the time. But I can't remember what exactly was enjoyable about it other than that the awkward Tolkien superfan was someone I thought was adorable and I really enjoyed him. Also I totally could relate with crushing on a lot of boys at that age. I was ridiculous. Anyway, I enjoyed it in the moment, but it wasn't the kind of book that stuck with me. Which, honestly, is what happens a lot to me in this genre.
It takes a lot to really make an impact in contemporary. It's all just so... fleeting and insubstantial? That sounds harsher than I mean it. I know there are a lot of really tough themes tackled in YA contemporary, but... I guess maybe it's because it's usually high school and I really don't connect with high school mentality. I barely did at the time. I always knew college and beyond would be better/ more important and meaningful for me, {and I was right} so I didn't feel too attached to the high school years. Therefore, I guess I don't feel as attached to the fictional high school drama. Also... no fantasy. I prefer worlds that don't exist exactly the way this one actually is.
I'm on the toilet at the 9:30 Club, and I'm wondering how mermaids pee. {first line}
"There's another thing about me. If someone says I'm sad, or asks me what's wrong, or tells me not to cry, it's like my body hears: NOW CRY. Like a command, even if I'm not actually sad, But maybe there are always tiny sad pieces inside me, waiting to be recognized and named."
• thing • {last word}
Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love--she's lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can't stomach the idea of rejection. Sp she's careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.Then a cute new girl enters Cassie's orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly's cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly's totally not dying of loneliness--except for the part where she is.
Luckily, Cassie's new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. Will is funny and flirtatious and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And if Molly can win him over, she'll get her first kiss and she'll get her twin back.
There's only one problem: Molly's coworker Reid. He's an awkward Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there's absolutely no way Molly could fall for him.
Right? {cover copy}
The upside of having read this book so many months ago and only getting to write this review now is that I am distant enough from it to tell you whether this story stuck with me. The downside is that it didn't, so I don't have much to say about it, because I honestly don't remember much. I mean, I can remember enjoying it at the time. But I can't remember what exactly was enjoyable about it other than that the awkward Tolkien superfan was someone I thought was adorable and I really enjoyed him. Also I totally could relate with crushing on a lot of boys at that age. I was ridiculous. Anyway, I enjoyed it in the moment, but it wasn't the kind of book that stuck with me. Which, honestly, is what happens a lot to me in this genre.
It takes a lot to really make an impact in contemporary. It's all just so... fleeting and insubstantial? That sounds harsher than I mean it. I know there are a lot of really tough themes tackled in YA contemporary, but... I guess maybe it's because it's usually high school and I really don't connect with high school mentality. I barely did at the time. I always knew college and beyond would be better/ more important and meaningful for me, {and I was right} so I didn't feel too attached to the high school years. Therefore, I guess I don't feel as attached to the fictional high school drama. Also... no fantasy. I prefer worlds that don't exist exactly the way this one actually is.
I'm on the toilet at the 9:30 Club, and I'm wondering how mermaids pee. {first line}
"There's another thing about me. If someone says I'm sad, or asks me what's wrong, or tells me not to cry, it's like my body hears: NOW CRY. Like a command, even if I'm not actually sad, But maybe there are always tiny sad pieces inside me, waiting to be recognized and named."
• thing • {last word}
March 14, 2018
Full Dark, No Stars
by: Stephen King
Four unforgettable short works from the #1 internationally bestselling author... Raw looks at the limits of greed, revenge, and self-deception...from the greatest storyteller of our time. {cover copy}
This is one of the darkest groupings of King's novellas that I've read. It was so fantastic, though. And clearly I'm not the only person who thinks that, since two of the stories were picked up for TV and movies. I also really love this title. It is so apt. I only grabbed one quote from this book, and it was actually located int he afterword, but I thought it was a really good and important quote to keep in mind when reading stories like this. I highly recommend this book.
"I want to provoke an emotional, even visceral, reaction in my readers. Making them think as they read is not my deal. I put that in italics, because if the tale is good enough and the characters vivid enough, thinking will supplant emotion when the tale has been told and book set aside (sometimes with relief) ... Here's something else I believe: if you're going into a very dark place.. then you should take a bright light, and shine it on everything. If you don't want to see, why in God's name would you dare the dark at all? ... Bad writing is more than a matter of shit syntax and faulty observation; bad writing usually arises from a stubborn refusal to tell stories about what people actually do--to face the fact, let us say, that murderers sometimes help old ladies cross the street."
Four unforgettable short works from the #1 internationally bestselling author... Raw looks at the limits of greed, revenge, and self-deception...from the greatest storyteller of our time. {cover copy}This is one of the darkest groupings of King's novellas that I've read. It was so fantastic, though. And clearly I'm not the only person who thinks that, since two of the stories were picked up for TV and movies. I also really love this title. It is so apt. I only grabbed one quote from this book, and it was actually located int he afterword, but I thought it was a really good and important quote to keep in mind when reading stories like this. I highly recommend this book.
"I want to provoke an emotional, even visceral, reaction in my readers. Making them think as they read is not my deal. I put that in italics, because if the tale is good enough and the characters vivid enough, thinking will supplant emotion when the tale has been told and book set aside (sometimes with relief) ... Here's something else I believe: if you're going into a very dark place.. then you should take a bright light, and shine it on everything. If you don't want to see, why in God's name would you dare the dark at all? ... Bad writing is more than a matter of shit syntax and faulty observation; bad writing usually arises from a stubborn refusal to tell stories about what people actually do--to face the fact, let us say, that murderers sometimes help old ladies cross the street."
