Doctor Sleep (2013)

Before reading: I'm quite excited for this one. In case you were unaware, this is the sequel to The Shining. Which, if you refer to my ranking list, is one of my favorite King books. I have not seen the movie yet and I have somehow managed to dodge any major spoilers. I know certain aspects of this book but I am, for the most part, going in blind. Let's go!

After reading: As expected, of course this was a good read. It was definitely interesting, I would say. Technically, you would say this is a vampire story, however, it is completely turned on its head. It does not feel like a vampire story and you don't really get any of your typical vampire tropes. Per usual, we get great characters that are well developed and very likable. There is a unique yet familiar plot line that is, overall, a lot of fun. We get great villains with battles of good versus evil that isn't as cut and dry as you might think it should be. On top of all of this, we get a King sequel, which we don't get very often. Not much to complain about.

I felt like the beginning of this one was a bit of a slow burn. Once it got more towards the end, it was a lot more enjoyable and easier to read. King does tend to not exactly stick the landing with his endings. I thought, overall, this had a good ending but I did think the build-up to the big battle at the end finished too abruptly. That did leave me a little disappointed, but overall the story was enjoyable.

I was pleasantly surprised at how many Dark Tower references there were in this story. I've never seen this one mentioned on lists of DT connections but I caught quite a few. Ka is a wheel.

Was this my favorite King book ever? No. Do I feel as though my life is changed? No. But did I really enjoy it? Of course, and I'm looking forward to watching the movie! I love me a Mike Flanagan/Stephen King combo.

Up next is Mr. Mercedes and I will explain why that is so exciting in my next post!

Comments

RanKING

I have randomly decided that in addition to reading these books, I'm also going to rank them from my most favorite to least favorite. I will do this as I read and I will add in the books I've already read after I re-read them. I also apologize for the horrible pun in the title but I couldn't pass it up :) All right! Here's my ever-changing list: The Long Walk It The Shining Pet Sematary The Institute Misery The Dark Tower: Wizard and Glass 11/22/63 The Dark Tower Black House Under the Dome Needful Things Dolores Claiborne The Green Mile Duma Key The Regulators The Dark Tower: The Waste Lands Insomnia Firestarter The Talisman The Dark Tower: Wolves of the Calla Christine The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole The Dark Tower: Song of Susannah The Outsider The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three Desperation Rose Madder Doctor Sleep Lisey's Story Bag of Bones Cujo The Dark Half Full Dark, No Stars Different Seasons Salem's Lot T...

The Long Walk (1979)

Before Reading: I could go on and on and on about The Long Walk and I will (after I re-read it). For now I’m just going to keep it short and sweet. Remember when I said that I love Rage and have it on my bookshelf? Well I really love The Long Walk and have TWO copies of it on my bookshelf. The Long Walk is my absolute number one favorite book...ever. I even rank it above Harry Potter (which, if you know me, is saying a lot). When I was younger I was drawn to The Long Walk because it mentioned my hometown. But oh my God, this story is so great. You cringe, cry, laugh, and everything in between when you read it—or at least I do. It takes a lot for me to get emotionally invested in a book (or anything, really) but I feel so attached to this story. All of the characters and their lives are so real to me when I read this one. Also, Hunger Games-esque dystopia is my absolute favorite genre and The Long Walk is one of the best. I’m very much looking forward to re-reading this one, as I a...

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 ...

Actually Reading the Book I’m Named After (And All of Stephen King’s Other Work)

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