Stephen King Fans discussion

I am really looking forward to this short story collection coming out in Nov! I love his short stories.. how you can sit down and in less the a half an hour be scared to death and then the story is over! They have announced the titles of all the short stories but no teasers yet about what the stories might be about! But I can't wait!

He said in the intro of "Everything's Eventual" that it would be based on Tarot...that kind of bothers me (because Tarot is not 'evil' as movies would have you think), but oh well...

He coulda changed his mind of course- that was a few years ago

Past Midnight...now Past Sunset...what next, Pre-Dawn? (j/k)

Salma, I think the title doesn't hurt the Tarot at all.

Salma, I think he meant he was going to use the Tarot to determine the order in which to place the stories... if I remember correctly I think Everything's Eventual he used a deck of cards to decide the order.

angie- I hope you're right- I assumed he was going to take things from the tarot "Death" "Priestess" etc...and just put the kind of spin on it that makes people who don't know any better shy away from this amazing psychological tool.

I've always preferred his novellas/short stories...

Some of the stories listed in the new book are:

The Gingerbread Girl
Harvey’s Dream
Rest Stop
Stationary Bike
The Things They Left Behind
Willa
Graduation Afternoon
N.
The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates
Mute
Ayana
A Very Tight Place

I have only heard of Gingerbread Girl - it was released in Playboy magazine last year and I read it there. It was a good story. I can't wait for this collection. I just hate that they tease us for so long - this one is due out in November.

Just reserved my copy at the library!

I also have not heard about this but Im looking forward to it! I just ordered 20th century ghosts it came out in paperback today Im really excited about this I heard its awesome!

Sounds interesting I can't wait for it to come out :)

James, "N" was published... sorta. it was an internet miniseries, or whatever you call it. look: http://www.simonsays.com/specials/ste...

oh, and I can't wait to read the book!

I'm surprised all of those stories were already published--and so many in Playboy. I guess I'm missing a prime reading market there ;-)

I think I'll ask for this for my birthday (it's in Nov.)...can't wait.

I actually just (re)purchased Skeleton Crew and Night Shift. They were some of the first King books I read, and lots of the stories stuck with me.

This book came out today! Get your copy!

Are any of the stories Dark Tower related?

I am not sure if there are any stories related to the DT. As soon as I read it I will let you know!

Am I doing something wrong? I can't find this book here to add to my TBR list? Is it not listed yet and how do you do that?

It's actually "Just After Sunset". You can also search by ISBN 1416584080.

OH CRAP! Good thing you said that I am going to change the title of this thread!

No biggie Angie... Happens to the best of us! ;)

Thanks for the correction, Becky. Can't wait to read it!

Anytime Kathy!

I passed this book by 5 times this weekend... *sigh* I just can't afford hardcovers. =(

Edit: I can't afford hardcovers, but I prefer paperbacks, so that works out for me. But it sucks that I have to wait so long for the paperback edition!

This is the winner for the December book club read! Becky maybe you should try to get it from the library right now that way you get it some time in December and can still participate.

Damn hardcovers! ;)
I'll try.

Becky, I'm with you regarding hard covers. I just don't like them...they're bulky and cumbersome, and just inferior to a good paperback, in my opinion. That said, I have made exceptions when it comes to Stephen King, just because I don't like to wait. You might try the audiobook option. I did that with Duma Key. You can get a free trial out at audible.com sometimes. I have a link that will get you a free book if you want - just msg me and let me know. It's a nice way to get the story but not have to deal with the bulky hardcovers. There is something lost when listening to it as opposed to reading it...but something gained too. Hard to say if it's as good or better or worse. :)

Thank you very much for the offer, Ben.

I'll look into the audio version, but I don't want to accept the link you have if that means that you can't use it. I have a little bit of time to arrange a copy for December, thankfully.

I actually prefer reading to listening, but that depends a lot on the reader. I find that if the reader adds too much (for me, that's doing the voices) or not enough (no depth or feeling at all) it seriously takes away from the experience.

But, maybe I am just too picky. ;)

Ben, I managed to procure a free audiobook edition of both Duma Key and Just After Sunset.
Thank you for the suggestion!

I've never listened to King on audiobook, so I'll have to reserve judgement as to whether it is as good as reading or not. :)

Becky, no problem. :) I was happy to make the offer.

I really liked the reader on Duma Key. John Slattery has been in hundreds of things, but most recently has worked the TV shows "Mad Men" (as Roger Sterling) and "Desperate Housewives" (as Victor Lang). His voice has the perfect tone for this book, for some reason. It just really works well. I hope you enjoy the reading.

Let us know what you think of it when you're finished!

I think I will enjoy it. I listened to a little sample last night and it seemed really good!

Well I got my Just After Sunset started the 1st story so cant really say anything at the moment Ill be sure to once ive read a bit!

I bought the book last night, but I won't have time to read it until mid-December. I've been tettering about whether to get it or not, but I finally caved. XD

Finished it AND LOVED IT!

I finished it a couple days ago. Really good book, think i wanted more stories. Maybe i'm just greedy.

WOW, my library must've just got their copies because I went from 25 to 3 in one day! Can't wait!

I finally got the book. Has anyone else had a problem with Borders' stickers pulling off the shiny effect on the cover? The Borders I went to, their "30%off" stickers, which are supposed to not hurt books at all, kept peeling the stuff off (EW) but they were really nice and we eventually found one that didn't. I don't know if it was a manufacturer's error with that batch of books or just the cover on all of them...
But yeah, disappointed a bit with how uncreative the cover is. But the contents so far are very nice :)

The cover kinda makes me nauseous and feel like I need an eye test...but you can't judge a book by it's cover. hehe.

Picked it up Saturday at Borders for 50% off, so it was only like $14.80 or so. Reading the stories out of order, as is my way with short story collections. Liking it so far.

Will be picking up my copy tomorrow and starting it tomorrow!

Just got my book and I love the cover! I didn't realize when I saw it on the internet that it has a shiny cover. I was wondering what Stephanie was talking about when she said it was shiny!

See? yeah, it's all shiny... it picks up fingerprints like CRAZY!

Hey Angie my our smart and stunning mod what about Willa no thread for this?

Yes there is a thread.. looks like you found it!

Remember how I had the wrong title, well I was wondering about that so I looked it up, On February 6, 2008, the author's official website revealed the title of the collection to be Just Past Sunset. About a month later, the title was subtly changed to Just After Sunset. So who knows what was going on there?

That's interesting, Angie... I wonder why it was changed. Personally, I like "Just Past Sunset" more. It seems to flow better.

Which story was it that uses the line "just after sunset"? It's in the first half, and I noticed it as I was reading (and then promptly forgot it!)

Yes Julianne you are right, and now of course I forgot which story says just after sunset also! Might scan back and look!

I just saw this cover for Just After Sunset. I wonder why it is different. I like it though. Shouldn't make anyone dizzy or queasy - unless they don't like the site of blood(cells). ;)

That's the cover I've got on my book... am about halfway through it now.

Overall I enjoyed this book. The stories didn't scare me as much as some of the older short story collections but they were still good.

I'm about half done with it now. I'm enjoying it so far. Sometimes I forget how much I love a good short story.

This was a great collection. It really showcased his different styles and how he can do more than just scare the pants off of us, he can make us think.