Tag: Stephen King

Book Review | ‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

Published by Signet on October 17, 1975

Genres: Adult, Horror, Paranormal

Format: Paperback

Pages: 427

Source: Purchased

Goodreads: 

Something strange is going on in Jerusalem’s Lot … but no one dares to talk about it. By day, ‘Salem’s Lot is a typical modest New England town; but when the sun goes down, evil roams the earth. The devilishly sweet insistent laughter of a child can be heard echoing through the fields, and the presence of silent looming spirits can be felt lurking right outside your window. Stephen King brings his gruesome imagination to life in this tale of spine-tingling horror.

REVIEW

I continued on with my Stephen King project in March by reading ‘Salem’s Lot, his second published work. I went into this book blind, and I’m glad I did because there is a big build-up to the story. ‘Salem’s Lot opens with a man and a boy escaping to Mexico from a town in Maine called Jerusalem’s Lot. The reader knows they are both scared, and that they must return to the Lot in order to solve a problem. The book then rewinds to the start of the story when the man goes to Jersulam’s Lot for the first time since his childhood. This is a haunted house book that turns into a paranormal story, and one in which the writing is excellent.

Here’s the thing about my experience with ‘Salem’s Lot – it took me nearly three weeks to read the book, which is three times my normal pace. I had to force myself to continue on with the story, and at times I felt downright bored. That’s because King is creating a new world. Jerusalem’s Lot is a fictional town, and the true protagonist of this book. King writes in exceptional detail, describing characters in the setting in such a realistic way. So even though I didn’t like how slow the pace of this novel is, I can appreciate the work it took. I am really amazed at King’s ability to write such a developed novel so early on in his career.

In regards to the characters, I did struggle a bit in keeping up with the large cast featured in ‘Salem’s Lot. It became more difficult because so many of the characters have similar names, such as Mike, Mark, and Matt. Nonetheless, once I got into the story I was better able to keep track of everyone. If you have trouble with names, I would recommend keeping a character list nearby when you read, and simply jot down a quick note of each character’s role in the story.

Moreover, I was a bit disappointed that I never felt scared by this book. King is known for his horror novels, but I just was never creeped out or on the edge of my seat. I did find some of the real life scenes quite disturbing, but none of the paranormal elements got to me. Perhaps King is trying to make a point here, as I did sit back and wonder what was happening in my own town. Not including the paranormal elements, I’m sure people go through the same things that the characters in Jerusalem’s Lot do, and that is disturbing in and of itself. I’m interested to see if King’s next book The Shining will incite fear in me.

Overall, I’m glad I pushed through the slow pace of ‘Salem’s Lot. I did enjoy the story, and I think the book got better and better as I continued reading. The third-person narration was very well done, and I’m very impressed with King’s writing. If you are looking to get into King’s novels, I do not recommend starting here as it is a very long book. However, if you are familiar with his work, or really enjoy adult paranormal, this is a good book to read. I would love to hear your thoughts on ‘Salem’s Lot if you’ve read it, too!

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Book Review | Carrie by Stephen King

Carrie by Stephen King

Published by Doubleday on April 5, 1974

Genres: Adult, Fiction, Horror, Fantasy

Format: Paperback

Pages: 245

Source: Purchased

Goodreads★ 1/2

Carrie knew she should not use the terrifying power she possessed… But one night at her senior prom, Carrie was scorned and humiliated just one time too many, and in a fit of uncontrollable fury she turned her clandestine game into a weapon of horror and destruction…

REVIEW

One of my lifelong goals is to read Stephen King’s work in publishing order, and I finally began my quest with Carrie upon finding a vintage and battered copy at a library book sale. While I knew the general story of Carrie already, I was still interested in reading the book. Carrie is a very quick and easy read, as the novel is under 300 pages. The story is immediately captivating. I really liked how the book is written. The story is written in the third person, and follows Carrie and her high school classmates. At the same time, the story is intermixed with fictional books and news articles that look back upon Carrie and her life. It makes the story feel real, and I wished I could go and read more from those fictional secondary sources.

While the writing is intriguing and flows well at the beginning, the story gets a bit jumbled at the end of the novel. The cadence of the book is upset towards the end, which definitely took away from the reading experience for me. That being said, Carrie is a debut novel, and I think it is a solid debut notwithstanding the disorganized writing.

Moreover, Carrie deals with the real life issue of bullying in a way that I’ve never read. It is so sad to see how Carrie’s classmates terrorize her, and it’s also sad to think that this bulling still occurs today over forty years later. Carrie is such a sympathetic character, and it is truly heart-wrenching to see how she is treated by her peers.

In the same way, Carrie’s mother is also a horrifying character. She is a fundamentalist Christian, and abuses Carrie. It is quite thought-provoking that King surrounds Carrie, the supposed monster, with such terrible people. It makes a great statement about what truly makes one good versus evil.

Overall, I enjoyed Carrie and am glad I decided to read King’s work in publishing order. It will be great to see the evolution of his writing over time. If you haven’t read Carrie I definitely recommend it despite the lackluster writing at the end of the novel. It is, of course, a well-known novel, and the bullying theme is an important one. I look forward to continuing on with King’s novels, and will be sure to share my thoughts on each in the future!

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Library Book Sale Haul | Book Shopping on a Budget!

Happy Tuesday! Today I am excited to share with you a mega awesome book haul! As you know, Adventures in Polishland is your guide to a fabulous and affordable life. I’ve often shared how to save on beauty products, but today we are changing gears to talk about books! I’ve been a reader my entire life, and as much as I love ebooks, I still prefer reading physical books. Books can be really expensive, though, so I’m always on the hunt for a good deal. I love to check out used book stores,  but the best and most affordable shopping is a good old library book sale! My local library always has a sale going on, but once a year there is a huge book sale where you can fill a bag for just $1.00. I recently went to this sale and picked up seven books, and had to share them with you! Let me show you what I picked up, and give you some library book sale tips along the way.

Library Book Sale Haul  Book Shopping on a Budget

I’ve gone to many library book sales in the past and often felt overwhelmed with the vast number of books. This is often because the books are not organized, and there is so much to look at, at once. Plus, these book sales can be swimming with lots of people all vying for the hot titles. This time I came prepared – I only bought books that I was looking to own. In other words, I didn’t pick up any books simply because they looked interesting. I bought books that were on my wish list. My main goal was to find books that completed series. I also brought my own reusable tote to the book sale. It allowed me to pick up more books because it was bigger than the grocery bags the library offered!

Library Book Sale Haul | Book Shopping on a Budget!Here are the first four books I got at the sale. I was so excited to find these, because they helped to complete two series on my bookshelf! These books are all sequels that I’ve been wanting to read. Specials and Extras by Scott Westerfeld are the last two books in the Uglies series, and I already own the first two. Frostbite by Richelle Mead is the second book in the Vampire Academy series (I own the first one). Finally, Little Altars Everywhere by Rebecca Wells is the second book in the Ya-Yas trilogy. I own the first and third books already, but was missing this one. I seriously couldn’t believe my luck with these finds! I love to read all of the books in a series back-to-back, so now I can do that with the Uglies and Ya-Yas series!

Library Book Sale Haul | Book Shopping on a Budget!I also picked up a couple Stephen King books. I’ve been wanting to read his books in publishing order for a while, so when I found this vintage copy of Carrie I decided to pick it up despite it’s disheveled state. I am super excited about this bind-up of The Bachman Books as well! It contains four novels that King wrote under a pseudonym at the beginning of his career, and is very difficult to find because one of the novels is not in print anymore. I’m ready for spooky Halloween reads for sure!

Library Book Sale Haul | Book Shopping on a Budget!Last but not least, I found a copy of Deception Point by Dan Brown. I’ve read three of his Robert Langdon books, so I figured I would read more by him. I also own a copy of Angels & Demons in this same edition, which is from the UK! I couldn’t pass this up, especially for such a low price.

Those are all of the books I picked up at the library book sale for just $1.00 total! Besides the copy of Carrie, all of the books I got are in great quality and would sell for a few dollars each at used bookstores or online. Definitely make sure to check out your local library to see what books they have on sale. You never know what you’re going to find!

Do you shop at library book sales? Share your tips in the comments!

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