Reading 1001 discussion

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The Shining
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The Shining by Stephen King
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Also, Jack really is clearly a much bigger jerk from the get go in the book I thought, given the story about Danny's arm.
I really like how it describes the shining, and how the stories of the previous murders in the hotel unfold, as well as Jack's descent into madness. I don;t usually read horror, but I'm glad I made an exception for this book. I gave it 4 stars.

I read this for the first time when I was in high school, back when horror was my genre of choice. I read many, many books by King then. In fact, he even came to speak at our high school (I lived in Maine, so maybe that wasn't unusual). The Shining was one of my favorites by him. I rarely read horror books anymore. Still, I felt it was time to revisit this one. I worried that I might not like it as well as I did then, but my feelings have remained unchanged.
Overall, a well-written horror/psychological book. Perhaps I need to pick up some of his more recent works, including the sequel, Doctor Sleep. Now I also want to watch the movie again. I probably haven't seen it since high school, either.

I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads. While not my favorite King novel, it was good. I still have to wonder why this was the only King novel added to the 1001 list. It is hardly his best, just one of the fairly good ones that resulted in a film.
5 stars having only recently seen the film and the sequel Doctor Sleep I decided to revisit the book to see the differences.
I much prefer the book to the film and was surprised that several what I call iconic events in the film and vice versus don't show up in the other medium.
For me the film didn't have anywhere near the depth of the book, the book ends with redemption while the film doesn't really provide closure in a full sense.
The book for me is the story of a mans battle with his inner demons and while for a little while it appears that the demons may win it is the goodness that triumphs. It subtly explores the ideas of addiction, of reforming and of the little voices in your head that say life will be so much easier if you take a drink.
I much prefer the book to the film and was surprised that several what I call iconic events in the film and vice versus don't show up in the other medium.
For me the film didn't have anywhere near the depth of the book, the book ends with redemption while the film doesn't really provide closure in a full sense.
The book for me is the story of a mans battle with his inner demons and while for a little while it appears that the demons may win it is the goodness that triumphs. It subtly explores the ideas of addiction, of reforming and of the little voices in your head that say life will be so much easier if you take a drink.
Finally I managed to finish this one. I have had it on my TBR list so many times but now it is read. A great story, classic horror. Jack has a bad temper. His wife Wendy is thinking of divorce. Their son Danny has the gift. Jack has lost jobs because of his drinking and his temper and he has this job to caretake a resort over the winter when it will be cut off from civilization. Wendy and Danny agree to go, each hoping that this will restore their family.The hotel is a character as well and it is the hotel that is haunted/possessed. I found the story to be engaging and it was easy to listen to the narration by [[Campbell Scott]]. 1977 novel, third novel and first hardback bestseller. Apparently (according to Wikipedia) this novel was inspired by a stay at the Stanley Hotel that was shutting down for the season and the author's own struggles as a writer and alcoholism.
My first Stephen King novel and even though this is not my normal genre of book I liked it. I enjoyed that this book was about a family and I tended to focus on the relationships instead of the horror. My favorite chapter was the one titled the shining. I thought one of the unique styles of this book was the timeline. The story was told in past, present and future and sometimes all in the same paragraph. I would say that the last 100 pages was when I couldn't put the book down. A satisfying read.