It is and I remember reading you saying that. I wasn't born then but the way he describes it in his book, I feel like I'm in there with him, feeling the excitement Jake is. Difficult to put down but doesn't seem like I can put a good dent into it. Been reading it for almost 3 weeks and I still have 500 pages left!

I don't think this is a SPOILER since I've read the book and didn't even notice it, but...

In researching reviews/info on King's 11-22-63 book, I found a few links questioning the meaning of dates on the last page of the book. These dates appear on final page:

January 2 2009- December 18, 2010 Sarsota, Flordia/Lovell, Maine.”

Checking my copy (hard copy) it is on page 842. It's been suggested that King does that at the end of all his books indicating the time it took to write the book. I don't read all of King's books (usually see the movie) Still, a little fun mystery to fit the topic I guess. Or does he always do this?


http://www.jamierubin.net/2012/04/03/the-dates-at-the-very-end-of-stephen-kings-112263/


TIS

Lilo, not sure where exactly you are in the book, but one of Jake's desinations is Derry, Maine where he meets two tweens, Bev and Richie, two of the characters from "It".

While 11/22/63 sagged a bit in the middle for me, the last 150 or so pages just FLEW! I literally couldn't put it down.

Great book!!

He always does that, Tis. It's his way of letting everyone know how much time goes into the writing of his books.

LMAO

11/22/63

Only my second Stephen King book that I've read with THE SHINING being the first. I was very excited when I began reading this and by chapter 2 it had me hooked! I was originally on vacation when I started it, but I made sure to try my best to read at least a chapter every day that I could.

I agree with some here who have said that the middle tends to drag and somethings could have been shortened/cut out. I wish more time and chapters would have focused more on JFK and Lee Harvey but the last few chapters seemed to have made up for it.

Another complaint that I'd heard and I can kind of agree with, is that this book is more of a time-travel and love story rather than trying to prevent the JFK assassination. Still, the concept was quite interesting and as I eluded to, it was interesting to see how changing the past could effect the future.

Overall I was pleased with the book. Early on when King was describing Jake Epping's surroundings, I swear I felt as if I was there with him (and I was nowhere near the 1950s/1960s). King does a FANTASTIC job at recreating the world and all of the nostalgia. I know for those readers who were alive during this time period that King's use of words seems to be spot on.

My next venture is to tackle the longest book that I would have ever read: Stephen King's IT!

Glad you liked it I12. Yea, I too thought there would be MORE of JFK but I found myself getting into the story early on and still enjoyed it. Like you say, the ending made up for it and for a while I was on the edge of my seat.

I can't wait for the movie AND I also look forward to the remake of IT, tho the original was pretty decent if you ask me.



TIS

I12, let me know how you like IT, which scared the heck out of me. It takes place in Derry, which is one of the places Jake visits when he's back in 1958.

Me too. The movie should be interesting. I'll definitely be in line for that.

As for IT, I'm looking forward to the remake too and it's coming to the theaters, correct? It's not going to be another made for TV movie? I'd almost wish they'd rehire Tim Curry since he did such an awesome job last time!

Absolutely, but it's gonna take me a while coming in at 1138 pages!

I know this is a little off topic but has anybody read or seen the movie THE STAND. I saw bits and pieces of it, can't really find it through my library (although if I wanted to try hard enough I could find it online). After reading IT I'll have to determine if I can stomach another 1100+ book.

Also, I remember enjoying the movie THE STORM OF THE CENTURY. Again, anybody read the book?

I read The Stand and saw the movie. As usual I thought the book was better. King writes so densely and has so much going on that's it's difficult for a film to capture that, although in my opinion Dreamcatcher and The Mist came closest.

Storm of the Century was never a book.

I thought that they did a decent job of making The Stand miniseries. They had some really solid actors, with the exception of Molly Ringwald as Fran. IMO, she "Sofia'd" the damn thing. The most surprising was Rob Lowe as Nick, who did an outstanding job. I think it was his first big acting job after the video scandal, so everyone was sort of waiting to rip him apart, but couldn't!

The book, as Lilo correctly pointed out, is a far richer experience and the characters are more fleshed-out. However, given King's propensity for background and detail, which couldn't possibly be captured in a TV miniseries.

As good as IT. I really enjoy the movie and like I said, it's takes a long investment to read books this long. Is THE STAND worth it? I probably need to get a hold of the DVD and watch it first.

To each their own Irish but my $0.02 is that The Stand is definitely worth the investment and you would slightly ruin your enjoyment of the book if you watch the miniseries first.

King's done a lot in the years since and tied a lot of storylines together in his Dark Tower series and crossovers with Straub but I think The Stand is one of his top five works. I believe he's described it as in part his take on creating an American Lord of The Rings. There's a lot of stuff going on in there, at some points it's almost stream of consciousness type writing. I have to always go back to revisit subplots and characters I forgot about.

Was this based off of the movie then?

STORM OF THE CENTURY book

Yes, that is the screenplay. It was not written as a novel before being adapted as a movie. It was conceived as tv from the beginning.

Stephen King wrote about publishing the expanded version of The Stand that he got the idea for the book when he was listening to a gospel preacher from the South talking about a plague. He said that writing the book was like "tap-dancing on the grave of the world", which he admits was somewhat gleeful at times.

This may be a silly question but how come when King writes, his chapters have numbers in them? Almost like verses?

Ok, I need someone to talk me off the ledge. I'm only 3 chapters into IT but I'm not feeling it and considering not "wasting" my time with the rest of it. I'm sure it gets better, but how soon? I know it's a long book and I should give it more time, but I'm having a difficult time just picking it up and reading a chapter to get to that point.

JUMP! JUMP!! JUMP!!!!
Seriously it's been a looooooooooong time since I read IT so I couldn't offer you advice. The Stand made much more of an impression on me. It's very long but opens fast.

I12, I never read the book, only saw the movie and I DID like the movie.




TIS

Well I read half of chapter 4 tonight (man, some of those chapters are long). It piqued my interest a little bit more. It's dealing with Ben Hanscrom flashback as a kid. Will finish it tomorrow before work and we'll go from there. Thanks for the advice to you and TIS.

I rarely have trouble finishing a book, so I can't advise you. I do know that IT scared the bejeepers out of me, but I scare easily, so that's not much of a barometer for you.

While I agree that The Stand was a superior read, I have a soft spot for the characters of IT and how brave they were, brandishing their innocence as a weapon. The love these characters develop for one another (most were strangers at the beginning of the book) was wonderfully portrayed.

IT

Well, I finished it. The longest book I've ever read and just a tad over a month. It took some determination to accomplish. I'd be lying if I said it was an easy read. I almost gave up after the first few chapters. Overall, I prefer the mini-series to this one. I liked the way the story was presented in that one. The first part is them mostly as children whereas the second part is them as adults. The novel, it's run parallel throughout and I wasn't a big fan of that. Not to mention it got too weird at the end when they were adults taking on It again. And I felt the chapters were too long. The book's 1,138 pages long and it's only 23 chapters with 5 Interludes. At times, I had to split the chapters up and read some of it then finish it another time, which I don't like doing either. I'd rather just finish it all in one sitting but sometimes that just wasn't possible. However, I did enjoy the novel for one reason: it was more descriptive and gruesome than the mini-series since that was made for TV. Overall, I'm not sorry I read it but it wasn't as good as I was hoping. Honestly, I'm glad to be done with it now. I recently got THE STAND for my birthday, but I don't have the energy to read it anytime soon (and yes, it's longer than IT by 14 pages).

I told you to jump!

I think The Stand moves more quickly and has more interesting characters. IIRC The Stand also links more to King's other works (Dark Tower, The Talisman) though I could be wrong about that. Well glad you enjoyed IT somewhat at least.

You did Lilo, but I don't like starting something and not finishing it. A friend of mine told me THE STAND was good. I want to watch it too but having difficulty getting my hand on a copy. Like I said though, it'll be a while before I read it. Interested in reading these other Stephen King books as well: CARRIE, MISERY and NEEDFUL THINGS. I've seen CARRIE and MISERY but also want to see NEEDFUL THINGS.

If you want a short and easy read, Irish, go with "Misery." It actually started out as a short story. Great book, by the way.

How's it compare to the movie pizzaboy? And thanks for the recommendation.

I like "Misery", but have a soft spot for "Carrie". King was catapulted to fame with that book and the subsequent movie (with excellent jobs by Sissy Spacek, John Travolta and Piper Laurie). He says it has a breezy, teenage-confidential field to the first half (pre-prom), and he's right. I've always liked the idea of the bullied girl getting even, although Carrie may have gone a bit too far.