The Shining
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how do you like it
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stormhawk
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rated it 5 stars
Mar 31, 2011 02:11PM
I have always thought that it is one of King's best.
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I look at "The Shining" as if it's a classic. Stephen King is one of my fav. authors. He does such an amazing job here. Gripping with mystery of the unknown. Love, love love it!
One of my most favorite Stephen Books.It is ranked #3. Love this book
Absolutely excellent work. One of his best, in my opinion. I read it as a girl and as an adult and lines, phrases, and scenes still stick out in my mind.
I am a die-hard fan of this book...but i wouldnt say that this is the best work of Stephen King! i would still recommend that IT scares more than this book except at some places where it turns nonsensical...or maybe, The Dark Half or Salem's Lot!But anyways, its sincerely one of the greatest Horror Books ever!
My favorite Stephen King Book! 'The Shining' scared me so much that I had to have the TV on to mute the impact. Stephen King is a great story teller. I do agree that IT was really scary. Clowns freak me out anyway, but a King clown is sure to insite feelings of terror.
Redrum, Redrum.I loved it. It was really nice to read "On writing" where he explains how he got the idea for the Shinning.
IT was by far the best, but this book was really high up there for me. My friend got me hooked on Stephen King and now we have made a pact to read every book. He is truly and amazing writer =)
shadowlander wrote: "everyone your right, the shining is one of kings best works. But what do you think of cujo?"I haven't read it yet, was it good? I heard it was about a dog..and now I am scared to read because I love dogs so much.
I think loving, protective Cujo goes rabid. I haven't read it either. I'm sure it's a good book, but I don't know if I can read it.
This book is Stephen King at his best!
You guys are making me feel bad for not having read this book yet! I love Stephen King and have read more than a dozen of his books. IT was phenomenal - one of my all time favorites. I'm also a huge fan of The Shawshank Redemption (I know it was more of a novella). I'm a huge fan of the Kubrick movie, but I know that he took a lot of liberties with the story. I've heard that it is really quite a departure from King's original work, but I think that liking the movie so much has almost deterred me from reading the book (maybe thinking it would alter my view of the movie?).
I guess i just have to suck it up and read it.
The 'The Shining' movie starring Jack Nicholson is nothing like the book, at least emotionally. Apples and oranges in the comparison categories. I like the movie, but I loved the book. I felt that Jack Nicholson had no real connection to his family. Where as Jack (in the book) dearly loved his son Danny and his wife. Jack wanted desperately to get back on track and stop disappointing the ones he loved. The character development in the book was far superior, but then that's the way it usually is in books.The movie had great visuals, like Danny riding his 3 wheeler down the halls of the hotel and all the scary scenes involving the ghosts. Loved the twins and the blood.
I really enjoyed "The Shining", I read it first when it was originally released and then listened to it on audio last summer and that was great. It held up well, I had forgotten parts of it because I had the movie in my mind.
If you are a Stephen King fan I would recommend "The Dark Tower" series. I read the whole series a few months ago and was totally immersed (I was kind of glad to finish). An involving and truly epic story. It was fun to pick out the overlaps from his other books woven into the series.
If you are a Stephen King fan I would recommend "The Dark Tower" series. I read the whole series a few months ago and was totally immersed (I was kind of glad to finish). An involving and truly epic story. It was fun to pick out the overlaps from his other books woven into the series.
It's been a LONG time, but I remember really liking The Shining. One of my favorites of King's. I haven't read anything more recent than 20 years ago - he got a little too over-the-edge for me. One thing that I really remember standing out for me in this book, as well as in Thinner, was the painfully clear discription of the disintegration of the husband-and-wife relationship in each one. The pent-up hostilities that finally bubble to the surface during the course of each of these stories, resulting in a true desire of the husband to kill the wife in both. It really showed a dark underside of marriage.
I remember thinking if I were King's wife I'd be a tad nervous, wondering if that were any indication of his feelings about our marriage.
It's been awhile since I've read it as well, but, I do remember really liking the book. It wasn't my favorite King novel, but, it was definitely worth the read. I liked the way the book delved into Jack's descent into insanity while at the same time exploring his complicated relationship with both his wife & son. I liked the way both King, (in more detail) and Kubrick, explored a man who was already beginning to unravel even before the supernatural stepped in to help him become completely unhinged. As someone mentioned above, I also thought the Stanley Kubrick movie & the book were almost two different entities, but I like them both equally. I didn't like the television adaptation of the novel, even though it was more faithful to the book. As with most movie adaptations of King's novels, it just didn't work, even though it had a decent cast, which included Rebecca DeMornay. I agree with Shari Blue. I definitely recommend The Dark Tower series. I'm reading the last book in the series now & really loved them all more than I thought I would. It is an epic story & the characters are unforgettable.
I liked the way both King, (in more detail) and Kubrick, explored a man who was already beginning to unravel even before the supernatural stepped in to help him become completely unhinged. Yep. I think that's a great way of putting it.
Sheila wrote: "I liked the way both King, (in more detail) and Kubrick, explored a man who was already beginning to unravel even before the supernatural stepped in to help him become completely unhinged. Yep...."
Thanks! :)
so young when I read this I will have to re-visit it soon
The Shining scared me to death when I read it as a teen. Salem's Lot was another one that had me afraid to go near a dark window. I just finished his newest Full Dark, No Stars. It was classic Stephen King. I'm so glad he is still writing.
Such a good book. So well written. Amazing. What else can I say?
It isn't, in my opinion, one of King's best but it is an enjoyable read.
very good but Misery has to be my favourite of his
The shining was my first stephen king book and it scared the life out of me , I actually put a chair at my bedroom door just in case it closed by itself. Now it takes a lot to frighten me .
Great book. This was the first of Stephen King that I ever read, and when i started I didn't understand what all the hype was about. I couldn't even imagine how a book could possibly scare you. Ironically, I ended up spending the night at a hotel for an impromptu family vacation while I was in the middle of the book. I think my heart skipped a beat when my brother came bursting through the bathroom door.
How funny Rexelle, I guess you will always remember that. When I read it I was pregnant and my husband was out of town, needless to say I jumped at every little noise. And of course there was a snowstorm!
I agree, I enjoyed the movie but it was missing the emotion that comes from the Father going insane and trying to kill his family. In the book he is such a loving Father (apart from the arm breaking incident) that it is so sadder when he is corrupted by the hotel. Did you ever see the mini-series that Stephen King produced based on the novel?
Didn't know about the mini-series on The Shining. Yep the father was a good guy until he found the boiler room.
The mini-series was made in 1997, its truer to the book than the film but it doesn't have some of the really cool visuals that the Stanley Kubrick version did.
This book/ story has all the elements for a great suspense/ horror novel. Colorful characters, good pace, and a ominous setting. Love it.
This is the only book that I've read and been truly frightened. The topiary garden, which never appears in the movie creeped me out big time. Love it.
Lolo wrote: "I only read it because I saw Kubrick's movie first but after I finished it I was very disappointed... I think it better than the rest of his Sunday afternoon themed books but I wouldn't call it a 5..."I read it because I love the movie as well, but I thought the book was a little goofy in places...like the hedge animals. That wasn't really scary to me, but the book did emphasize a lot of the reason behind why the father goes crazy in more detail. It gives more insight into how they are all seeing things that could make anyone go crazy. Still like the movie way more!
It isn't his best but a great read never-the-less.
I loved the book but as usual the film version was disappointing. As it's the story of a relatively sane man being sent mad, Jack Nicholson was a bad choice since everyone (or is it just me?) assumes that Nicholson is already completely bonkers and generally plays that part in most of his on-screen persona's.
Funny, Roger that is true of Jack. I just watched Easy Rider and he was a crazy drunk in that one too.
I thought the book was loads better than the movie. Much more psychological insight into the boy.
Excellent, excellent, excellent!! This book scared the hell out of me - and I am - and always was - a HUGE fan of horror books and movies. One of the only books able to creep me out in my adult years.
I loved the book because unlike the movie, it showed that Jack had choice through out his whole experience. He beat the house in the end. The house did not beat him. That was missing from the movie and that made Jack a character I could empathize with. He struggled with his addiction and in the end, he beat it.
I loved The Shining, expect for the animated hedge animals; which I found to be more ridiculous than scary.
This is a trick question, right?Best King book there is. Still can only read it if there's someone else in the room with me.
Bob wrote: "I loved the book because unlike the movie, it showed that Jack had choice through out his whole experience. He beat the house in the end. The house did not beat him. That was missing from the mo..."Good thought. I have yet to see the film, but I could imagine Jack's character being an issue. In the book, although the whole time you knew this bad thing was going to happen, you really do hope the best for poor Jack.
I've been wanting to read King for a while now, so this is the first book of his I've read. Really good! I picked up "Misery" to read next.
This became my favorite King novel. But I wonder how much better it would have been if King had subtracted the supernatural element out of the book and let it be the story of a man fighting desperately to hold on to his sanity. Imagine for instance, if the voice of his dead father coming across the radio, urging "Jacky" to kill his family, had been Jack hallucinating. The same with the hedge animals seeming to move, the music, the paranoia about Wendy and eventually about Danny. What if it were all a psychological struggle in his head that he was slowly, reluctantly losing? I think it would have been a masterpiece and scarier, because things like this have happened in real life.
Its a good book for sure. Long. But good. Rose Madder Dolores Claiborne and Misery are among my favorites. Although...Needful Things was most excellent and scared me to bits! I loved it!
Jay wrote: "This became my favorite King novel. But I wonder how much better it would have been if King had subtracted the supernatural element out of the book and let it be the story of a man fighting despera..."It would have been an interesting story, but a different one. This was a story about a haunted house and a boy with ESP.
Jay, you sound like a film executive! The elements you talk about are in the story, but it's a dangerous thing to try to tinker with what YOU think would have been perfection. King hit this one so far out of the park I haven't read anything even close published since, except from him. Well, maybe The Terror, in a completely different way. You could have taken the supernatural out of that, too, but the point is, it's King's story, and The Terror is Simmons' story - and the supernatural is how those two brilliant writers chose to portray that psychological condition you're talking about.Bringing it back to the film executive thing - thinking of what could have been better is what sinks most Hollywood movies.
Alexandra wrote: "Jay, you sound like a film executive!Ow. Harsh. :)
"Come on and take your medicine! Take it like a man."The sound of the mallet head hitting the plaster - I truly felt like I was in the hotel.
Truly a scary read.
Oh yeah don't forget about the elevator. HMMMMM
I loved both the movie and the book... " Danny's not here Mrs. Torrance" creepy lol
I thought it was awesome. It was very different from the older version of the movie with jack nicholsen, so I was looking for similiarities but didnt find any. But it was still good...creepy fun. I didn't find it scary but i found some of it kind of believable with the concept of a man who goes crazy and tries to kill his family. I believe it could possibly happen, but as strange seeing there is no such thing as a power called shining. It was creepy. And it was good.
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