Mosh > Recent Status Updates

Two quick observations: reading this in a post-COVID world adds an entirely different dimension, and it's a bit... disheartening to read how Larry's mother is portrayed and then realize she's three years younger than I am.

Only a few chapters in, but it's cute. It's also self-published and rife with errors.

"The Answer Man": 4 stars
Because I no longer expect the darkness in this last tale, I can read it for what it is. It's simultaneously sweet and bittersweet. What I like most about it--where it differs from most of the other stories in this collection--is the fact that we get inside Phil's head and get to experience his joys and sadnesses, his curiosities and victories alongside him.

"The Dreamers": 2 stars
I'm coming to terms with a few facts: I'm likely going to remain underwhelmed by this collection and short stories just might not be King's forte; he works best when he has time to delve into who the characters are. This one feels way more tell than show. While it has potential, we don't get enough about anyone or the importance of the house to grab onto and feel something

"Rattlesnakes" pt. 2
The flashback on pages 358-9, however, is King's most intense writing in this book so far. It's visceral and engaging, and while it doesn't make the overall story more interesting, it's nice to see that King can still bring it.

"Rattlesnakes": 2½ stars
This not-actually-a-sequel-to-Cujo limps along without much of a destination. The connection to Cujo is essentially irrelevant; actually, it's more of a distraction. King could have easily made this a stroy of survivor's guilt without the callback. In fact, it feels more like The Shining with the stroller taking the place of the hotel.

to be continued...

Laurie: 2½ stars
I must have read this on King's website when he released it there in 2018, as much of it felt familiar, but the story still doesn't grab me. I read a number of reviews calling it sweet or tender, but I never felt that attached to Lloyd or Laurie. This one feels much more tell instead of show and consequently doesn't grab me.

The Turbulence Expert: 2 stars
Every so often I feel as if King has a glimmer of an idea that has absolutely nowhere to go, but he writes the story just to get it out of his system. This feels like one of those stories.

Red Screen: 2 stars
Meh. Not a lot to this one, either in depth or surprises. Even King can't knock 'em out of the park every time.

"On Slide Inn Road": 4 stars
This one has the griminess, the internal struggles revealing what people do and don't have inside them, and the occasional secret we don't even dare tell ourselves for fear of others somehow overhearing. The dedication to Flannery O'Connor at the end makes complete sense. <spoiler> The only part I'd change is what can on some level be called a happy ending; in a book full of darkness, no.</spoiler>

Finn: 3 stars
I'm beginning to think this book is not delivering the darkness I expected, at least not the way Full Dark, No Stars does. I might have to adjust my expectations. This story didn't seem to have much of a point to it, and King's attempts to sound genuinely English fall flat to me. It's an interesting enough story, but it doesn't go far enough.

"Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream" - 4 stars
A fairly gripping tale about belief and certainty and how either can get a person in trouble. Watching Jalbert's descent is more terrifying than Danny's fleeing from injustice, and while the ending lacks the oomph it should have--and while the story doesn't have the overall darkness I thought this book was going to deliver--this one is a page-turner for sure.

"Willie the Weirdo" 4½ stars
This one deals with the darkness on a few levels and is honing ever closer to what I expect from a Stephen King tale. Tackling issues that usually remain unspoken, King gives them voices that probably shouldn't be heard and caps it with a lovely twist.

"The Fifth Step": 4 stars

This is more what I was expecting, especially in a book entitled You Like It Darker. It has a nice dynamic between the two characters, and King gives us a good build that slowly changes how we view each of them.

"Two Talented Bastids": 1½ stars
It's not that this is a bad story. Worse. It's a boring story. It's sixty pages of Mark--in his words and his dad's foundmanuscript--explaining why his dad and his dad's best friend all of a sudden became super talented in their respective fields of writing and art. The lead-up doesn't lead to much, and the reveal is heavy handed while serving no real purpose.

Through the introduction, and the main takeaway so far is the notion that America's identity is 100% wrapped up in the idea of freedom and to fully acknowledge slavery would force us to accept that our national identity is a lie. That is why many push the history of slavery to the side--to protect that assumed history.

I genuinely can't remember what prompted me to buy this book. I don't remember where I bought it. All I know is that it's been sitting on my TBR shelf for a while and that it appears to have made its way to me via a library in New York. It's a revised edition, but even the revision is over thirty years old. I guess I'm curious to see if attitudes or points of view on race and slavery have changed in that time.

It's 11:24 P.M. I have a two-year-old asleep in the next room who will be awake by 6:30 tomorrow morning, which, naturally, will result in me being awake at 6:30 in the morning. But I want to keep reading. That's a good sign.

I'm going to do everything in my power to read this without hearing Chris O'Dowd's voice in my head.

Chapter 5: "The Art of Self-Deprecation"
The most insightful chapter so far, delving into how Al has always represented nerd culture to the point of making being uncool cool. As with previous chapters, Hirsch goes off topic, makes some dubious claims, and relies heavily on other sources instead of arguing her own ideas, but the chapter ties together well.

Chapter 4: "Sugar and Spice and Almost Everything Nice"
Some good insight into who Al is as a person and a performer, but Hirsch still digresses too often

Through chapter 3 - "Policing and Playing with Language":
Hirsch brings up some interesting points about Al's use of language, but it's digressive, overly list dependent, and occasionally poorly written (she actually writes, "Webster's Dictionary defines [pun] as..." (48); I've been working for years to break my high school students of that habit).

Through chapter 2: "The Prince of Pop Parody"
I hate that I'm already looking for reasons to not like this book, but Hirsch isn't helping me out. She discusses the nature of parody in ways I simply disagree with;
-"Happy Birthday" is not a parody; neither the lyrics nor words directly reference the Hills' song.
-One of her sources is "one fan named John" (23)
-Al's polkas are satire, but not parody.
-lyrics matter

Some thoughts on chapter 1 from an English teacher/"Weird Al" devotee:
*It's all chronology, no insights
*Way too much quoting of other people, often making up the majority of a given paragraph
*Discussing Rick Derringer and NOT mentioning "Rock & Roll, Hoochie Koo"
*The paragraph on In 3D talks about Al meeting McCartney - no relevance to the album
*Random diction problems
*Discussing albums, but not the songs

"Whills" - 4/5: This is a cute tale, taking some jabs at the pros and cons of the prequels and the unusual concept of starting the saga in the middle.

"By Whatever Sun" - The tale of an Alderaanian (not by birth) who reconciles the victory of the day with everything she's lost. It's a bit too cloudy for me, but I like the concept.

"The Angle" - 4/5: This story of Lando watching from afar drifts away from its potential, not giving the payoff it could have had.

"Contingency Plan" - 3/5: Mon Mothma flees Bespin to give the Rebellion a glimmer of hope should this plan fail. Not crazy about the portrayal of her character and her sense of numbness and futility regarding the cause that has been her life for decades.