(That actually reminds me of a program Pizza Hut used to do when I was in elementary school, Book It! You got stickers or something for reading books and then eventually could redeem them for a free personal pan pizza. Does anyone else remember that?)
On Friday, I finished listening to the audiobook version of Stephen King’s IT.
The experience was rather amazing. Steven Weber did an impressive job as the narrator, especially considering there were at least 9 different point of views from which he had to narrate. (And he’s in Falling Skies, which was a pleasant surprise this weekend!)
A few days later I still can’t get the characters out of my mind because he made them so real and so believable. If I listen to the book again (not something I usually do, but it was such a great experience that I might), I think I might try to make a map of Derry because it feels like something that should exist and so far none of my internet searches have revealed such a treasure.
Many people avoid Stephen King because they think his books are all gore and have nothing of value. I assume these people have not read any of his works. It doesn’t take long to realize that at the heart of Stephen King’s writing is a depth of humanity that so many other authors are lacking. Within IT, there are several backstories (and futurestories), not limited to the main and secondary characters. Providing a fully developed history and future for a character that other authors would entirely gloss over puts King in an entirely different category. The fact that many of his works interrelate with each other and with his magnum opus, The Dark Tower, is something I can barely wrap my head around sometimes.
Oh, and please do NOT judge a Stephen King story by the movie (except possibly 1408, The Mist or Stand By Me), because the comparison is usually worse than most book-to-screen adaptations. This is because so much of a Stephen King story takes place within the hearts and minds of the characters. So many movie makers go for the plot devices and creep-out effects with a Stephen King story instead of focusing on the character development, which is at the very core of his works.
Do you have a favorite author that you think others judge unfairly? Do you have a favorite Stephen King book or short story?
[...] Stephen King’s It [...]