Book Reader’s Blog

I finished the book just a short while ago. I read the review posted by Darryl Sloan in his blog, and I could not agree more. I honestly don’t know what makes Stephen turn such interesting stories into a out-of-this-world pulp. King wrote in his On Writing that it is enough to put a person in a difficult situation to get a good story. Putting someone in the world where cell phones are turning people into mindless creatures is certainly interesting. Making the phone crazies levitate is a no-no for me

Associations: of course, The Stand. A plague of a sort. A group of good people fighting the bad.

Many readers complained about the ending, calling it a no-ending, etc. Guys, give me a break. What did you expect? I will always appreciate authors who let me finish the book and have the feeling that the characters still have their own life to attend to. Giving everything on a plate is much worse solution.

So–I would rate the book 4 out of 5, mainly for the storytelling and the non-levitating sections.

It’s been a while since I dropped a line. I read two books in the meantime: Stephen King’s Lisey’s Story and Charles Fishman’s The Wal-Mart Effect. What a set, right? You bet. I told you, I read a wide variety of books…

Lisey’s Story is a different King book. It’s a stream of consciousness book. An interesting book, especially the parts that deal with the world on this side of the fence—the reality and minds of all the characters. What attracted me to it? Excellent Stephen King’s storytelling abilities for sure, but also the subject of madness, appearing all over the book. Overall, I would say the book is 4 out of 5. Worth the time.

Now the other book. Quite an eye opener, although the consequences of Wal-Mart’s strategy and buyers’ (ours!) behavior should be fairly clear to anyone who thinks clearly. This book made me think about buying anything “Made in China” in the future. Not only is buying low quality goods irritating, but also it produces a lot of waste. Think about all the appliances we just don’t try to service any more—we only buy a new coffee maker or a electric water pot. That’s a waste we will not pay for, our kids will. Some facts are presented in a boring manner (e.g. obsessive repetitions about some percentages and other figures), but the book is definitely worth reading. Go for it. 5 out of 5.

Books are a very significant part of my life. I am with books practically everywhere–on a train, at home, in a park. As an English-as-a-second-language person I found myself in a position where reading any printed material not in English is a waste of time for me. I have been reading books almost exclusively in English for nearly a decade now. How did it start? I don’t remember exactly…

What kind of books do I read? I focus on a few genres, with contemporary American novels being the predominant one. There is some space for self-improvement, yes, definitely. There is some space for suspense, but not much. I find it very difficult to read Sci-Fi, unless there is a deeper message behind all the space machinery, and virtually impossible to stay more than a minute with any kind of fantasy or horror.

Obviously, there are exceptions to this genre-based classification. I really enjoyed most of anti-utopia classic novels, which technically speaking must be included in the Sci-Fi genre. I must be accepted to the group of people who love Stephen King’s The Stand (just like Paul Thurrott), though most of his works I read with the question “when will the dumb green men/slime/ghosts jump in?” going round my brain. Consider Insomnia–there was so much tension building in, so much suspense, and all somehow was spoiled some 30% along the ride with the ridiculous concept of the little men…

Anyway, I would like to pop in here once in a while and write something about a book I am just reading at the time, or another title that left some impression on my personality. There is a lot to choose from, and certainly recommendations will be welcome.

See you!