Reading the Chunksters discussion

Here is the thread for this weeks chapters, happy reading everyone!

I just can't put this book down! I've been trying to not go ahead, but I can't help it!

Damn I've gone past this weeks allotted reading without noticing. This book is so readable. A few more baddies are staring to emerge. Nick is continuing to be lovely. The swollen testicles image stuck in my mind.

Nick is a great character! And very likeable! Stu, also I find really genuine and likeable. Having read this book twice before, I feel like they are old friends that I'm able to visit again! lol

Uh oh. I just checked the schedule and I'm about a month ahead! I just can't help it. :\

Oh oh Kathy.. before you know it, you've finished it!

I'm straining myself to go slow. and I made it until chapter 24 last night.
I see I see.. a possible bad guy and a few supernatural spurs.
This is going to be so much more than just an apocalyptic novel!

I'm mostly done with this week's assignment--just one chapter to go.

It does seem that some paranormal/supernatural elements are creeping in, which surprised me. I wasn't expecting that kind of element to enter, since all the earlier action had been science-based (and we're almost 1/5 of the way through at this point).

I'm also wondering how many more chapters until the majority of mankind has died. It seems like we're getting close to it, especially with the current situation in Shoyo, but of course there are certain parts of the country that are taking longer (due to distance, remoteness, etc).

Yeah, the superflu was not supernatural in any way. I think the supernatural element was in response to the tragedy that occured.

Well, yes, the supernatural element seems to be emerging because of the opportunities that the superflu is presenting. It's just that with the completely man-made nature of the superflu, I wasn't expecting that shift in direction.

I know what you mean, Loretta. I can't remember if I expected it or not, my first time reading it.....maybe because I've read so much King, I wasn't surprised.

Yeah, this is probably the 5th or 6th novel of his I've read, but the last one was maybe 15 years ago, and I think it's the only one I've read where the coming supernatural element wasn't apparent from earlier on, you know? Like, we all knew something was screwy about Carrie from the get-go, LOL.

You're right the supernatural element in The Stand is very subtle. You're just recovering from the shock of all the deaths with the Superflue and then WHAM! Surprise! I definitely know what you mean. There isn't any warning or slow buildup.

Well, the recurring dreams do hint towards something more than mere survival.
I know what you mean Kathy, having read so much by him, I wasn't in the slightest surprised to see him take this subject and turn it into something quite unexpected!

I'll be reading the last chapter for this week. :)

Yeah, I noticed the corn dream motif before, but I hadn't attributed that to such a sinister element. So, in other words, I was expecting us to find out that something was special about our "survivors" (well, who I'm assuming will be survivors, anyway, but I think it's pretty apparent by now), but I wasn't expecting there to be someone looking to capitalize on the devasation on top of that.

LOL, again though, NO SPOILERS. Sorry to have to be so vehement about that, but being a first time reader, I don't actually want to know if I'm right about there being two (opposing?) elements at work here. I'm sure you understand. :)

I won't give anything away, but let me give you something to think about. The title of the book......The Stand......as you go throughout the book...think about that and what it could possibly mean with what's happening....

I finished the chapters for this week and I am really enjoying it. I read the chapters in one sitting, like watching a great show on t.v. once a week and then waiting for the next episode. It also gives me time to read other things in between.

This is my first time reading, though I vaguely remember watching the t.v. mini-series ages ago. But honestly, I can barely remember what happened except for a few characters. I can't even remember how it ended! The novel is great though, and I liked the ominous introduction of our villian! You just know that he is all kinds of evil when other bad guys are scared of him! Hahaha!

The mini-series weren't of good quality. I've seen them after the second read of The Stand and the book is ranked a lot higher IMO.

I will be careful with spoilers Loretta, those can bug me out tremendously, so I'll shush and let you read :)

You know (and this is a bit off-topic), I have to say that the worst spoilers come from other books.

I've read a couple books in the past few years that have had lines something like "It's like in [NAME OF CLASSIC BOOK], when character does [SHOCKING THING THAT GIVES AWAY THE WHOLE PLOT] at the end."

And of course, as the reader, I'm innocently reading along and then it's all "Damn, I was planning on reading that someday." And of course, unlike the internet, there's no way to ward against it, by avoiding certain threads/message boards/whatever.

Sheesh, just because something is a classic doesn't mean that everyone's read it already.

I suppose that was my random rant for the day.

I happen to really like The Stand mini-series. Obviously the book is 10X better, but I do like to watch that sometimes, when I have 6 hours to kill. :)

Loretta.. you know what I dislike? You familiar with the Penguin series? It consists mostly out of classics (read: Jane Austen, Charles Dickens,..) and you've got a whole prologue ahead of the story. Someone with a fancy degree giving their view on this novel, telling you what its hidden meaning and symbolism is. I used to read that, and that was Spoilerville! I don't any more, but it doesn't feel natural to start a novel almost halfway through the novel, that's how lenghty these introductions can be.

End of my rant.. back to you Loretta! :)

Give me Storm of The Century instead of The Stand mini-series any day :)

Awww. No love for The Stand mini-series. :(

@ Nath: Oh yes, I have learned to skip the Forward until I'm done with the book. I think Oxford World's Classics (same type of books) has the same practice.

I can actually remember which book really surprised me: I was reading one of the Series of Unfortunate Events books and it gave away the ending of Anna Kerenina. Like, WTF? Here I am, innocently reading a kids' book, because I needed brain candy while I was in law school... and all of a sudden another book is spoiled. Uncool.

And, if I remember correctly, Eclipse strongly implies the plot of Wuthering Heights. Fortunately I'd already read that, but still, it annoyed the heck out of me.

Better not read The Road To The Dark Tower by Bev Vincent then.. it gives away essential information for most of Stephen King's books. :) Just a head's up!

And sorry Kathy.. I Love the books, I'd MARRY the books if it were legal, but most adaptations don't find a fan in me. A few exceptions (Green Mile, Shawshank, The Shining) but most are a bit painful.

TV stu fits better in CSI NY! :P

I agree with books beeing better than their adaptations. No argument there. I'm not sure why The Stand has become such a favorite of mine....I could tell you dozens of ways its different....but it still captured the theme and feeling of the book. For me, anyway...

I have so much to add to these posts that I don't know where to start!

I'm thinking a lot about the title and what it is going to mean. I'm also looking at the book cover a lot and wondering who the two characters are going to represent.

I agree with you all about books giving away too much. I've gotten to the point where I only read a 1-3 lines of the summary are decide from that if I want to take a chance on the book. If I already know most of what is going to happen than I rather read something else that's going to be a fresh surprise. Maybe that is weird, but I think it goes with the territory of being a semi-professional reader....lol

In reading these chapters I am still giddy to jump ahead like the rest of you, I'm trying hard to restrain myself and stay with the schedule which is not easy.

I'm looking forward to watching the mini- series, but I won't watch anything that I'm planning on reading until I'm done reading. Another reader quirk of mine...lol

Here are my notes for this weeks chapters, I'm excited to jump into the next section!

Stu is moved to Vermont, no surprise there since we know the old holding facility is now contaminated.

Starkey goes back to the plant to die when they fire him and he kills himself.

Randall gives me the creepies in a big way!

Lloyd may get the death penalty, he lies to his lawyer, and doesn't think that he deserves to die. Then his lawyer coaches him on what to say- lies to tell, even thought Lloyd is trying to admit how things happened.

The chief and his wife die which was very say.

Nick proves to be very smart and picks up that something is wrong with the news and that people are being coached on what to say. This is amazing considering his disabilities!

Just finished Chapter 25 (I had read the other 4 chapters already).

I continue to really love Nick chapters--here, I was impressed by how brave he continues to be in the face of the epidemic, despite not knowing that he's immune (though he begins to suspect as much by the end of the chapter).

We also got the corn dreams again, and Nick seems to find them comforting, despite the presence of a menacing intruder in them.

Also, is it just me, or do the dreams have echoes "Children of the Corn" from Night Shift? I read that collection ages ago, when I was maybe 11 or 12, and Wiki tells me that it was published a year or two before the original version of The Stand.

For the moment, I don't think the two stories are connected--it just seems to be King playing with a favorite motif.

Loretta, I've read that he does this! I feel like I'm missing out though since this is only my second Kind, the first being The Green Mile.

I've only read a few, and all of them (except for The Dark Half) were published in the 70s. I guess my preference was for his earlier works (even The Stand was originally from '78).

@ Andrea: I used to love seeing movies from books, but I have stepped down from that. Too much f*ck *ps have happened lately.
So I make a choice, I'll watch the movie or I'll read the book... not much movies are being seen lately. :D

I know just how you feel Nath! I can tolerate the movie after reading the book because I always have low expectations that it is going to be good. I'm just a reader, what can I say!

Have you ever read 'Let the right one in' by Ajvide? Don't watch the movie. Please. Don't do it. It's known as Let me in in the US.. but it's awful and the book is amazing. It reads like a King novel out of the early 80's which is his best decade by far!

But I do have encountered the rare phenomena of the movie being better than the book. The Notebook would be one of those. I yawned through the whole book.

Nath, I have not read that book but I'll add it to my list! I read the Notebook when I was 18 and I loved it. I saw the movie when it came out, like 5 years ago, and I loved that too!...lol

I'm almost caught up!

I continue to devour this book and fear I will be soon so far ahead I won't remember what happened in the sections when we discuss them...lol. I also realized I'm reading the uncut version. Is this creating a difference in sections at all?

I continue to adore Nick. But Larry is still irritating the hell out of me. I want to smack some sense into that man.

I have to tell you I was not overly impressed by the introduction of Randall. Actually it was so unimpressive I actually fell asleep on the subway while reading it. Sad. He has appeared in other books (not giving anything away) and I just felt his introduction was underdone...

Nath wrote: "Have you ever read 'Let the right one in' by Ajvide? Don't watch the movie. Please. Don't do it. It's known as Let me in in the US.. but it's awful and the book is amazing. It reads like a King nov..."

Let The Right One In is one of my favorite books! Ajvide is one of my new favorites! Have you read Handling The Undead? I think it's out in the US come next month. Definitely worth checking out! I recommend anything by this author to everyone. These are the only 2 of his translated into English so far and I can't wait for more!

Gwenyth wrote: "I'm almost caught up!

I continue to devour this book and fear I will be soon so far ahead I won't remember what happened in the sections when we discuss them...lol. I also realized I'm reading the..."

Gwenyth, I got halfway through before I realized it! I just love this book! :)

I'm trying to kill some time reading another book for a bit so I won't be so far ahead. lol

Andrea wrote: "Nath, I have not read that book but I'll add it to my list! I read the Notebook when I was 18 and I loved it. I saw the movie when it came out, like 5 years ago, and I loved that too!...lol"

I think the Notebook is a novel that has to be read on a somewhat early age. I bet a lot of those Twilight-fans will think again when they reread those novels in 10 years. :D

Kathy wrote: "Nath wrote: "Have you ever read 'Let the right one in' by Ajvide? Don't watch the movie. Please. Don't do it. It's known as Let me in in the US.. but it's awful and the book is amazing. It reads li..."

Read them both. For once living in Europe has its benefits, because swedish authors publish here first and then go overseas. I had the same luck with the Millennium trilogy. :)
I wasn't too keen on Handling the undead. It was okay, but couldn't stand against Let the right one in. Eagerly awaiting his next novel though.

@ Gwyneth: We're all reading the uncut version. It's the latest edition. The other dates from the previous century. So no worries there :)

Oh thank goodness. At one point someone mentioned something that had not happened in the section yet and I wondered if maybe I was off a chapter because of the uncut. Thanks for letting me know!

Nath wrote: Read them both. For once living in Europe has its benefits, because swedish authors publish here first and then go overseas. I had the same luck with the Millennium trilogy. :)
I wasn't too keen on Handling the undead. It was okay, but couldn't stand against Let the right one in. Eagerly awaiting his next novel though"

Lucky you, Nath! I really liked Handling The Undead (ok, not as much as Let The Right One In). I thought it was just such a unique perspective on the traditional "zombie" stories. What if the dead came back and just wanted to come home? Ajvide definitely has a creative mind! Definitely looking for more!

I'll let you know when we have a new one in store! :D

Nath wrote: "I'll let you know when we have a new one in store! :D"

Please do! And if there is anything I can do for you.....I work in a bookstore after all! :)

Wow!! I'd go crazy if I worked in a bookstore.. the temptation would be too much :D

And I'll keep it in mind. You work in a famous chain, or an independent store?

We're an independent. The largest in the Northeast. (I don't want it to seem like I'm advertizing, so I'll leave it at that.)

That's awesome though. Here in Belgium, most independent stores go bankrupt, because they can't follow price wars. I admit, I shop in a large chain, but mostly I just order online.
It would be a dream come true for me, to work around books. I can't think of anything more fulfilling. Cooking would be a lovely substitute, as it is a close second, but I'll have to be content to do quality control for the time being.. :)

For me there is no substitute for books! The store I work in has been in business for 33 years and we have alot of amazing book signings! If I didn't work here I would be living here anyway! lol. (A discount on my books doesn't hurt either! lol)

I've been applying for something like this since I began working, but those jobs are hard to come by. You can imagine why.

What does your job entail, if you don't mind me asking?

I do many many things. lol. I Manage the receiving Dept. We receive and process the books coming into the store and make sure they get out to sell. Plus I am the Accounts Payable Dept. I pay the bills. Fun, huh? I used to be a floor manager, but I moved into the back and behind the scenes about 4 or 5 years ago. Which is good, puts what I learned in Business School to use finally! :)

It's great when you do a job you love, since you got to spend so much time around anyway. :)