The Shining (1977)

 Before reading thoughts: The Shining! I'm very excited to read this. I had no idea it would come this early in the list and it was a pleasant surprise. I feel like this is one of those books that is on everyone's "to read" list. I'm a huge fan of the movie (isn't everyone?) but I know that there are some major major differences between the two. I don't really know what those differences are, though... So I'm excited to find out. I also get very confused when I watch the movie...am I the only one? I feel like Kubrick threw in some stuff from the book but never explained what it was or what it meant. I'm hoping to get some answers from reading the book and finally figure out what the heck is up with that weird mascot that freaked me out as a child (and yes, okay, as an adult). Let's do this thing. 

After reading thoughts: Well, that was amazing. I cannot help but feel completely satisfied after reading that. Everything I was so confused about before was answered and then some. Of course the book is always better than the movie, but my goodness...was the book better than the movie! It was such a great book and so fun to read. I actually got to read a book quickly thanks to Thanksgiving break and this was a great book to be able to zoom though cause it was so fast paced. Also, this was legitimately the first book that I've ever read that scared me. The suspense in The Shining is the best I, personally, have ever read. This book was terrifying. I had to take breaks because I was getting too freaked out. I used to be skeptical that books could be scary but now I'm a believer. It was genuinely a really good read and I'm glad I finally got around to doing it. 

Let's address my before reading thoughts. There were definitely some major differences between the movie and the book. It seemed as though all of the big moments and iconic parts from the movie where completely different. The entire ending was changed. Creepy twin sisters, "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," hedge maze, "here's Johnny," elevator full of blood....yeah, none of that is in the book. Of course there is also a lot that is in the book that is not in the movie. For example, instead of a hedge maze (like in the movie) there are hedge animals that are TERRIFYING. So confused why that change was made cause the hedge animals were the scariest part of the book, to me. It seemed as though little tiny unimportant things were word-for-word taken from the book and put into the movie and then all the important parts were different. I'm sure that's old news but I found it to be interesting. Also, I got all of my answers. Everything that was confusing in the movie was answered by the book, thank goodness. Which makes me wonder....why not take the time to explain it in the movie?? I digress. Also...the mascot? Yeah, his name is Dogman and I hate him. 

I took some notes while reading this, which I think I'll do from now on. So here are some things that I noticed while reading: First thing I noticed right away was that it was interesting that the protagonist in both Salem's Lot and The Shining is an author. Seems as though Mr. King was playing to what he knows but it seemed a little in-your-face to have it back to back in his first couple books. The writing style of this book was very similar to Carrie. In both books there is a lot of inner thoughts represented using parentheses as well as the endings of both books being marked with time stamps. I also saw a lot of similarities between the Marsten House in Salem's Lot and the Overlook Hotel in The Shining. Again, both books back to back had a similar element. In this case it was that there is a creepy building that holds power over people. In addition to this, both books directly reference the Haunting of Hill House which, of course, is about a house that has this same sort of presence. Seems interesting that both books would use the same tropes while not being related. My next note literally says, "the hedges! scary!" which I already addressed but didn't want anyone to miss out on getting to read my very detailed and sophisticated note. Something else I felt like needed to be mentioned, the one thing that made this book not so great is that it seems pretty racist at times. I understand it was a different time and it seems like it is supposed to be intentional but it made some parts hard to read. It goes a little too far with the racism, in my opinion. That was my only negative note about the book, unfortunately. My final note is on "it." Spoilers? I guess we're past that point, my bad, but in the end of the book the hotel has taken over Jack and is using his body. Danny tells the hotel that it isn't his dad, it is "it" and then the hotel, as Jack, begins to switch forms and changes into different faces and people and is essentially just not human. While this is obviously similar to It, which is about a shapeshifting alien that is literally also called "it," it also relates to The Outsider. In The Outsider, the outsider takes other people's forms and toward the end when it is getting weaker, does that exact same thing where it begins to grotesquely shift into different people until it no longer looks human. I didn't get to understand that reference while I read The Outsider but it was fun to see it now, out of order.

I think I've rambled enough about The Shining and I'm not even sure if anyone is reading this to begin with, but I'll stop now. If I failed to make it clear, I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun read, it was a familiar read, and it was my first time being scared by a book! I recommend reading this one if you're a fan of the movie, for sure. It will clear some things up for you. Next up is my first re-read, Rage!