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11/22/63

Stephen King

Start date: February 1, 2012

Finish date: March 31, 2012

Discussion: Group Book Discussion

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What Members Thought

Apr 03, 2013 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2013-audio-books

There are books that the words just flow off of the page painting a beautiful picture. I love to savor these books and reminisce about similar images, landscapes and feelings that those words evoke. I prefer to read these beautifully written books

Then, there are books that are just fantastic stories. The language is not necessarily beautiful, but the story is so well told that you hang on every word and anticipate where the story may go and in some cases you are able to project yourself right in There are books that the words just flow off of the page painting a beautiful picture. I love to savor these books and reminisce about similar images, landscapes and feelings that those words evoke. I prefer to read these beautifully written books

Then, there are books that are just fantastic stories. The language is not necessarily beautiful, but the story is so well told that you hang on every word and anticipate where the story may go and in some cases you are able to project yourself right into that story and feel like you are living it. I prefer to listen to these books.

Stephen King's 11/22/63 is the latter. It is one heck of a good story and as an audio book it is phenomenal. Second only to my favorite audio book, A Prayer for Owen Meany. 11/22/63 may not be a 5 star book had I read it, but I was mesmerized while listening to it.

The book is a story about a man, Jake, who finds a "rabbit hole" and is able to travel back to 1958. It is his intent to right some wrongs before he returns to the present. The first wrong Jake rights is only two months after he enters into the "land of ago". I wondered what in the world is King going to do with his character for the next 5 years as Jake awaits his biggest wrong righting event. Along the way, King is able to tell a story that will stay with the reader or listener for a long time. King has crafted the story and developed the characters in a way that you care for them and feel like they are part of your circle of friends.

I was very leery about reading another King book. I read Pet Cemetery while in college and it gave me the heebie jeebies. I have never read another of his books. There is nothing in 11/22/63 that jumps out and goes "Boo", but it sure can make you think what the world would be like today if the envents of the past had not unfolded as they did.

One of the things I liked the most about the book is that the ending was not predictible. In the afterword, King gave credit for the ending to his son. I assumed that the ending would fail in comparison to the rest of the book and it did not.

It is my recommendation that you plan a large cleaning project or a long road trip, download 11/22/63 and be told a story by one of America's greatest story tellers. ...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Cherylann rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction

I read a lot of Stephen King in my adolescence, and then like the oversized t-shirts and converse high tops of my youth, I put King away for more grown-up things. This is my first visit with Mr. King since It was published in the 1980s. I forgot the reason I read Stephen King wasn't so much that his novels scared the pants off me (they did) or because YA fiction was pitiful at best (it was), but I read Stephen King because he knows how to tell a story. He knows how to take his time and let the s ...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Kate rated it really liked it

So . . . there were times when I wanted this book to end. Reading the last 200 pages yesterday and today, though, I would say it's a pretty brilliant story.
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Feb 16, 2012 Ann rated it really liked it

This is the type of book you just can't put down. Stephen King keeps you turning the pages in this unique thriller...you just want to see how it ends. It is a fresh take on time travel as Jake Epping, a high school English teacher, finds a worm hole into the past. He experiments on changing events and returns to the "present" and finds things drastically changed. So? What would happen if he alters a major event? That is what the reader longs to discover. It is well done and the little plots twis ...more

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May 26, 2013 SweetPea rated it it was amazing

Shelves: pg-count-500-plus, 2013

Amazing book...other than the time travel, this is not typical Stephen King fare. In fact, it is a love story. Fantastic.

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Oct 09, 2012 Dee rated it liked it

Shelves: 2010-2019

Well, I read and read and read and I am finally done with this book. The story was definitely intriguing, but was too long. There were several dead spots throughout the book. But the time spent in Jodie, Tx was great! There were other parts that were interesting too. The end had a good pace to it and I enjoyed the end. All in all I am glad I read it. Just wish it was a little less wordy.

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