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What am I doing?

Being a true Mainer, while my mother was pregnant with me, she was reading a book by Stephen King. Specifically she was reading The Dark Half by Stephen King. In that book there is a character named Shayla and that is where my name came from. Growing up in Maine already gives you a sense of closeness with Mr. King but having him be the reason for my namesake always drew me even closer to him. In fact, for my 23rd birthday I was gifted with Stephen King’s personal copy of The Dark Half that he signed for me.  I grew up watching many Stephen King shows and movies and read a few books. My favorite book of all time being The Long Walk by Stephen King, himself. All in all, however, I’ve only read about 5 of Mr. King’s books in total. I feel like this weird connection and fascination I have with him has ultimately only led me to one place. And that place is right here, preparing to read all his books. With all honesty, I get crazy ideas like this all the time but only seldom do I see ...
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Just After Sunset (2008)

Before reading: Here we are again...a short story collection. I will say after the last collection I do have high hopes for this one but I am cautiously optimistic. As always, I will do an overall review of the collection as well as mini reviews of each individual story. Let's do it.  After reading: Guess what, you guys? I actually enjoyed this short story collection. So far, it is my favorite that I have read. Now, the format still is not my favorite by any means, but as far as short story collections go I liked this one. Each of the stories were entertaining in their own right and I didn't find any of them to be too long. If you're looking for a collection of short stories...this is one I would recommend! Willa: I thought this was a great start to the collection. I liked this story quite a bit. The concept was really interesting and I think it was the perfect length for a short story. There was some cringey dialogue but I can forgive it. The Gingerbread Girl: I thought th...

Duma Key (2008)

Before reading: Oh Duma Key... I have heard so much about this one and literally have no idea what it is about. I am going in mostly blind. I know many people rave about this one and enjoy it. I know (think?) that it is set in Florida. That's about it soooo, let's find out :) After reading: Alright, I get why people like this one. It was very very good. So far the 2000's King's era hasn't been the strongest but I think this may be a turning point. This was a long book and took me way too long to read it, but it was worth the time. I would describe it as being a mix of Bag of Bones and Black House. It was a great mash-up of horror, surrealism, drama, and heart. It felt like King but also felt different than anything else he has written. This book was very much a stand-alone which are few and far between when it comes to King.  This is a very supernatural book that feels weirdly grounded. It didn't seem to creep into the fantasy realm and wasn't straight up ho...

Blaze (2006)

Before reading: I've heard of Blaze  because it was always listed under the Richard Bachman novels. That is about as far as my knowledge on this book goes. Digging into it, I learned that it was written in the 70's, it is King's version of Of Mice and Men, and he brought it back to life after being inspired by The Colorado Kid. And with that....let's go.  After reading: That was...a book. Okay, okay, it honestly wasn't that bad but it was a real struggle for me to get through. The writing was fine and the characters were enticing, it just didn't do it for me. The fact that it was referencing Of Mice and Men  was so in your face that I wish I was just reading that book instead. That was just a bit much for me. I found the "now" parts of the story to be more enticing than the "past" parts. The story would get going and then all of a sudden we were in the past and it just dragged on. This was a short book and it took me a long time to read and I...

Lisey's Story (2006)

Before reading: Oh, Lisey's Story. I have been waiting a while to read this one. One reason is because it is one of King's personal favorites of his own work. The main reason is that I watched the show back when it came out and got so confused I had to stop watching it to wait to read the book... so I could understand the show...and that was years ago. So finally, I am hoping to understand what the heck this story is about. Additionally, I have enjoyed King's other female-led novels so I do have high hopes for this one. After reading: In all honesty, I was not feeling this one in the first half. It had all the same confusing language the show did and it almost felt like I was intruding on something. It seemed as though I wasn't supposed to "get it." However, by the end I really appreciated and enjoyed it. The story fleshed itself out and got quite deep. Even though it was a little difficult to get into, it became a moving tale about grief, love, abuse, and sib...

Cell (2006)

Before reading: What do I know about Cell? I know there was a movie that people do not like. I know it's about cell phones. I know people enjoy the book. And that's about it! I guess I'll have to read it to learn more, so let's go.  After reading: Welp. I think this story would be quite different if it were written today and I, for one, would be a goner. I did really enjoy this book! It was an interesting little read, for sure. It definitely felt a little preachy in terms of it obviously being about "phone zombies" but the story was enjoyable, regardless. I've also never really seen this concept done before. I appreciate being able to read something that is unique and unlike anything that I have read before. I wouldn't rave about this story or call it one of King's bests, but I would call it solid and enjoyable.  While this is not a traditional zombie story, it is a zombie story. Which, interestingly enough, this is our first zombie genre book from...