Book 44 If It Bleeds

 

If It Bleeds by Stephen King fulfills the category “Book by an Author Who Has Written Twenty or More Books” for the PopSugar 2020 Reading Challenge. To date, Mr. King has approximately eighty-six books. I have read almost all of them.

I began reading the man at age eleven when I asked my mom if I could read her copy of Pet Semetary. She laughed and handed the book over. I read that whole thing and can tell you to forty years later, what the last line was. It scared the crap out of me, and I was hooked. His writing, his stories, have inspired me over the year. I fanficed It which I read around my sixteenth birthday. (I totally had mylar balloons in my room from the party, and every time they moved, it frightened me to death.) The Body and the movie Stand by Me will always have a special place in my heart.

If It Bleeds also hit the Anthology category (as well as the Fight or Flight novel I read too. I overdid so many categories this year.) But I’m keeping this one in the twenty books category. This novel included a chapter in the Mr. Mercedes series. It features Holly Gibney working hard to solve another spooky case. I loved what Mr. King did with the series. He started off completely thriller and twisted it into paranormal. Then killed off the main character. But Holly shone like a beacon, and I love that he let the character take the spotlight. She’s complex, slightly autistic, and a brave woman. I wish more authors would write women like this as heroes.

The other stories in the anthology include one that explores the question of reality and existence. It was a neat exploration of time, space, and the meaning of life (42). Another tale was a Monkey’s Paw kind of adaptation. I didn’t care for that one as much. I’d just finished the Holly story (read by the great Will Patton, who did all the Mercedes books and the Raven Boys—go read that soooooo wonderful.) The chapter is read by none other than Steven Weber (remember Wings? Yeah, that Steven Weber who did a fabulous job as Jack Torrance in the remake of The Shining.) It was good but disturbed me. Which horror books are supposed to do, I suppose.

The first story Mr. Harrigan’s Phone was a great study in will and human spirit, or human evil spirit. I’ve always wanted to write a horror series, but without monsters. Well, where the monsters are just people, who are essentially evil. Someday, I’ll learn how to be scary and write it. I like this tale because the hero was very human, unsure of what choices to make, and how to react to the supernatural. No spoiling, but I support most of his choices.

Let’s talk about Stephen King’s career as the category is “written over twenty books.” As I mentioned, I’ve read him my whole life. Not every book has been golden, but I love watching his career, reading his books, and following his politics on Facebook and Twitter. (The last cracks me up.) Anyway, according to stories (legends, myths), his career began because an editor took a chance on him, helped him work through some issues with Carrie (apparently the original ending was rather apocalyptic), and started him on the path. I don’t think this happens much today. The publishing industry is overwhelmed with authors. And with self-pub an option—(I won’t complain as I have just self-published a book. Grab it here.), there’s just too much to choose from. Editors can’t be discrete, but readers can. They have to wade through a ton of ick to find a good book these days. The industry is changing, but I am so grateful someone gave Stephen King a great chance. My life would be kinda different if I’d never read him.

I give If It Bleeds by Stephen King Four Happy Slappers (Mercedes reference) because the rat story bothered me. LOL.

 

 

Book 43 Frankenstein

 

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley fulfilled the category “Book Written by an author in their 20s” for the PopSugar 2020 Reading Challenge. Yes, I’m aware Ms. Shelley wrote the novel at nineteen, and it was published when she was twenty. That’s close enough for government work.

It took me thirty years to read the tale. I’m a literature fan. My English degree is composed of mostly studies of American Authors and Brit classics. I read Pride and Prejudice for three separate classes, most of Shakespeare’s plays, and a giant (but not complete) pile of Mark Twain. But never Frankenstein. I spent one fall planning to read all the monster books—Dracula, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein, and The Island of Doctor Moreau. Three out of four that autumn. And finally, this year, the last.

Welp, so not what I thought it was going to be. Nothing like all the hype—giant green monsters and abject terror. There certainly was the subject of humanity—what it is, what it means, and how we express it. (More on that later.) But I felt like Hollywood sold me a rotten bill of goods. The book was a long lament of Dr. Frankenstein’s life. A rolling journey through his failures and attempt to escape responsibility. Not much on the monster, not when he creates it and not when he runs. I was kinda confused. I’m not saying it isn’t good. It just wasn’t the story I expected.

English teacher section—themes. Ah, the humanity. Basically the entire premise of the story. Dr. Frankenstein has none, and the monster doesn’t have much either. The novel raises the question of what makes us human. Are we responsible for the actions of our children? When we have children, are we responsible for teaching and raising them? Showing them right from wrong? (The answer is yes to all three if you ask me, but as my teens get older…Maybe not on the first. LOL) Is Frankenstein’s abandonment of the monster, his life’s work a crime or a tragedy? And to who? I’d like you to send back a three-paragraph essay answering one of these…oh wait, blog, not classroom.

Sorry.

Frankenstein’s monster is iconic in our society. It’s reused over and over in a multitude of ways—from Young Frankenstein to The Bride to The Munsters to Hotel Transylvania. The monster has been vilified, lampooned, and had a pot of empathy poured over him. The Bride from 1985 is one of the few adaptations I’ve seen that’s beholden to the original work.

Why bring this up? I’m glad you ask.

Adaptation—Authors scramble to get movie and TV rights sold for their books, but very few reworkings are good representations of the original story. There is the idea that no movie is as good as the book. (My list only has three—Practical Magic, Fight Club, and The Umbrella Academy. I promise not to go down that rabbit hole, but I’ve got season three of UA almost fanficed…anyway…) My husband says it depends if you read or watch first. And yes, I watched all of those first. I refuse to say he’s right…

Moving on…

Adaptation—We all know a movie or TV show can’t do what a book does. But what happens when the film versions completely distort the original? Subplots get dropped, characters are merged. Sometimes, authors have their names removed because the movie is nothing like the source material (e.g. Lawnmower Man, Mr. King.) Granted, this is a two-hundred-year-old tale. But look at what we’ve done with the concept of the “created man.” Food for thought…

I give Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Four Homunculi because I wanted more monster.

 

 

Book 42 The Screaming Staircase

 

Book 42 The Screaming Staircase

The Screaming Staircase, Lockwood & Co Book 1 by Jonathan Stroud fulfilled the category “Book with a Character with a Vision Impairment or Enhancement (a nod to 20/20 vision)” for the PopSugar 2020 Reading Challenge. Wow, that sentence was a mouthful.

The Screaming Staircase is a post-apocalyptic middle grade/young adult novel about a ghost invasion. They call it “The Problem.”  In this new world, something has awakened spirits who prey on humanity. Scary stuff, right? To make it worse, only children up to a certain age can see the spirits. Young teens with the sight work in teams with adult supervision to help combat the supernatural menace. But Lockwood and Co is different as Lucy Carlyle soon discovers.

Lucy is out of work. She left her position at another ghost hunting company due to circumstances beyond her control. People lost their lives, and she is wracked with guilt. Now the only place that will hire her is Lockwood, run by Anthony Lockwood, a teen himself. Lucy can’t imagine how he, along with George and she, can handle the job, and that’s before Sir John William Fairfax challenges them to rid his home of spooks.

Together, the three combine their powers of empathy touch, sharp sight, and supernatural hearing. They plan to spend the night in Combe Carey Hall, solve the mystery of the screaming staircase, and make the reputation of Lockwood and Co as the premier ghost hunting outfit in London. Will they survive?

I know that sounds like a book blurb, but man, this story deserves it. It’s got all the best haunted house tropes, horror traps, and young adult problems. They are a bunch of unsupervised kids working to save the town. Check—independent kiddos. The world (or maybe just England) is swallowed up in this Problem, where the ghosts roam the night, and no one can go outside, much less have a window open. Check—post-apocalypse setting. And the horrors are the worst around. None of the agencies are able to discover what happened in that house, much less calm the ghost and vanquish them. Check—uber haunted, and they are the chosen ones. It’s a perfect mix of horror and YA. The scares are real, the feelings of the characters are real, and the angst is real.

The book reminded me of A Series of Unfortunate Events. I enjoyed those tales of the three siblings against the world, fighting their way to survive, not just perils but the adults who caused them. The Screaming Staircase has those same elements, including some of the doom and gloom. And of course, as I read, I see the actors from both the TV series and the movie of ASOUE playing the roles (not to mention someone from Umbrella Academy playing Lockwood). The novel/series would make a wonderful Netflix project, especially with the themes of horror, YA, and unconventional humor.

I give The Screaming Staircase Lockwood & Co Book 1 by Jonathan Stroud Five Haunted Lockets.