Iggy's Book Nook

[gravedigger]

I started The Girl who Played with Fire the other day. I like that it appears to pick up the thread with Lisbeth's advocate. That subplot was just dropped (rightly, considering everything else Larsson was trying to do) half way through Dragon Tattoo. I hope it will be as enjoyable as the first book. It feels weird to say a book about murder and sexual assault is enjoyable. You guys get what I mean, right?

...guys?

[Bobby Bear]

You won't be happy with the newer one. I mean, okay, "Salem's Lot" is my favorite King book, so I'm even more possessive about that than any of the others....

So, while neither one is perfect, I'd say you're better off with the old David Soul version. Check out the newer Rob Lowe version if only to see how badly it was done, too - you should really see them both if you're a big "Salem's Lot" fan.

Thanks a million for such a detailed breakdown, Lisa! I do love the novel (although not quite as much as IT), and I can tell from reading your post that I'd have more or less identical reactions based on how bad certain botched moments are so I really appreciate the heads up. If I can come by the original, I'll hopefully check it out. I planned to go chronologically anyway, should I have wanted to take the plunge with the Rob Lowe version as well.

Jimmy was, indeed, a lovely character. We didn't need to know as much about him, but he was realized equally well with some great examples of the economical prose King is so good at when he wants to be. I didn't feel quite as connected to him as I did to Matt, Susan, or Father Callahan, although Mark had already racked up an insurmountable lead in the affection stakes (ba-dum-chi!) by that point.

I ahven't read the book in probably close to 30 years, and haven't seen the TV miniseries in almost as long. But I recall liking it (although Lisa's analysis is probably far more reliable than mine, given how recent it is). I wasn't actually aware there WAS a new version w/ Rob Lowe. kind of not sorry I missed it.

I only knew of its existence because I searched for the original on IMDB! Cheers, Ig!

[Matt]

The original SALEM'S LOT mini series from the seventies was great. It probably doesn't hold up by today's standards, but it sure was effective on my young self.

Just finished EDDIE TRUNK'S ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO HARD ROCK AND HEAVY METAL. Very good, but it does need another polish on some of the writing. His enthusiasm covers most of the mistakes, though. Some truly questionable 'essential' entries aside, this is a really fun read.

[IggytheBorg]

Given how Metal Evolution on VH1 Classic is fueling my interest in metal to as yet untold heights, I may have to check that out as well. Although I gotta say, I find "That Metal Show" to be really annoying. I'm not sure why; Eddie's pretty cool, & Jim Florentine is great. But that other guy's sideburns fill me with unreasoning rage.

[Lisa]

Jimmy was, indeed, a lovely character. We didn't need to know as much about him, but he was realized equally well with some great examples of the economical prose King is so good at when he wants to be. I didn't feel quite as connected to him as I did to Matt, Susan, or Father Callahan, although Mark had already racked up an insurmountable lead in the affection stakes (ba-dum-chi!) by that point.

I don't know what it was that made me fall for Dr. Jimmy Cody like a ton of bricks, but god, he's just my favorite King character. And he's a central character in a couple of my favorite parts of SL. The scene in the mortuary when Ben and Jimmy are waiting for Marjorie Glick to rise after the sun sets - for my money, that's one of the most frightening and beautifully written King scenes ever - "Even now one laughs! Even now your circle grows smaller!" - just the fucking chills, you know? And the scene with your favorite character and mine - Mark and Jimmy driving around a deserted Salem's Lot trying to find hiding vampires. The part where they drag Roy McDougall out of his crawl space - just so gross and scary! Jimmy Cody deserved better than being a throw away character in the first movie, and a sleazy, blackmailed adulterer in the second movie. It just killed me that they did that to him.

[Bobby Bear]

The scene in the mortuary when Ben and Jimmy are waiting for Marjorie Glick to rise after the sun sets - for my money, that's one of the most frightening and beautifully written King scenes ever.... And the scene with your favorite character and mine - Mark and Jimmy driving around a deserted Salem's Lot trying to find hiding vampires. The part where they drag Roy McDougall out of his crawl space - just so gross and scary! Jimmy Cody deserved better than being a throw away character in the first movie, and a sleazy, blackmailed adulterer in the second movie. It just killed me that they did that to him.

Great choices all for standout scenes, Lisa! Mark using his knowledge of Houdini to help him escape Straker is a tension masterclass, definitely another fave of mine. See also: Danny's bedtime visit to Mark, and Susan and Matt investigating the noise upstairs in his house.

The shock of Jimmy's death, not to mention the truly harrowing trap that claims him, hit me quite a bit considering I wasn't just as close to him as some of the others. There's no doubt for me what my favourite part is, though. The letter. Oh, boy... that letter absolutely chilled me. Just the way Barlow nonchalantly mocks them one-by-one, trying to psyche them out had me gripped. But the capper, when he tells Mark - my boy! - he's gonna... oh, I don't even want to finish it! So terrifying. I don't think it was physically possible for me to root for that kid any more than I did after that point!

[BillyG]

Reading REAMDE. It's insane. You should read it. Everyone should read it. It should not work in the least, the premise is so insane, but it's gangbusters. A former weed smuggler turned his ill begotten fortune into a ski resort, game addiction, and subsequent MMO that promotes gold farming. And then net security and Russian mobsters show up. DAT SHIT CRAY

[Lisa]

Great choices all for standout scenes, Lisa! Mark using his knowledge of Houdini to help him escape Straker is a tension masterclass, definitely another fave of mine. See also: Danny's bedtime visit to Mark, and Susan and Matt investigating the noise upstairs in his house.

The shock of Jimmy's death, not to mention the truly harrowing trap that claims him, hit me quite a bit considering I wasn't just as close to him as some of the others. There's no doubt for me what my favourite part is, though. The letter. Oh, boy... that letter absolutely chilled me. Just the way Barlow nonchalantly mocks them one-by-one, trying to psyche them out had me gripped. But the capper, when he tells Mark - my boy! - he's gonna... oh, I don't even want to finish it! So terrifying. I don't think it was physically possible for me to root for that kid any more than I did after that point!

Danny's bedtime visit to Mark, Susan and Matt investigating are both amazing - god, I just love that book!

And it's just that, really, other than "The Stand", there's no other King book so beautifully written. The way he writes the scene where Ben has to drive the stake into Susan's heart - it's so scary, and so heartbreaking. You just cry for the poor guy rather than be frightened. And yes, the trap that waits for Jimmy just kills me - it's just so horrifying. The part earlier in the book when they're at Matt's house, and Ben turns and looks back at Jimmy as he's checking Mike Ryerson's pulse to make sure he was really dead. And it says that Ben would always remember that image in his mind, the morning sun shining into the window, glinting off of both Jimmy's watch and his red hair - and that later, during a much darker time, that bright image would come back to him. And then later on, when he's lowering Jimmy's body down, and wrapping him in sheets, you know that's the time he's talking about - you know that's the moment he's thinking about as he covers Jimmy's body. It's just gut-wrenching.

[IggytheBorg]

And people so hate on King's writing. Go figure. But as a point of order, I have to interject that The Shining & - even more so - IT had scenes just as emotionally charged. I admit I got little misty eyed during parts of IT. The scene at the end, where Bill is riding Silver down the street trying to get his wife's mind back, hoping desperately, agains all reason that this totem from his childhood will magically save her, or where they all leave at the end, already starting to forget each other. . . you can't help but feel a png of loss. Even for a 17 year old (which is how old I was when I read it), powerful stuff. And that was one of the last books to actually scare me. I was reading it over the Spring Break of my Senior year in high school, and staying up until the wee hours every night doing so. I was actually afraid to put my foot on the flor and walk to the bathroom before urning in one night, because I was convinced something would reach out from under the bed to get me. I couldn't help grinning sheepishly at myself, and thinking "This is just what the bastard wants."

[Lisa]

I love many of his books, and I wasn't nuts about a period he went through in the early to mid-90s, where he went for quantity over quality, and the work suffered. But "Salem's Lot", "The Stand" and "The Body" (aka "Stand By Me") were the ones that really hit me emotionally with the quality of his writing. "IT", not so much - it's a fabulous book, but it didn't grab me as emotionally.

[Lisa]

Bobby, all this talk has got me re-reading "Salem's Lot" for the millionth time - I just never get tired of it! I'm not that far in - both of the Glick boys have disappeared (Danny's "dead", but we haven't gotten to the part where Mike Ryerson is burying him yet), around that section of the book. Ben just ran into Weasel at Dell's Tavern, and Weasel is about to introduce him to Matt Burke.

[IggytheBorg]

Just finished "The Book of All Flesh: All Flesh Must Be Eaten". As the name implies, it's a zombie anthology. It started out kind of pedestrian, with a very predictable, "Romero Rules" sort of story. I wasn't very hopeful on finishing that one. But it ramped up nicely after that, and there were some truly interesting stories that didn't always follow the Romero shoot-em-in-the-head model. One involved a team of government sponsored super heroes fighting a witch queen that summoned a demon, & created an army of zombies to do her bidding. A couple actually had a sense of humor. My brother tells me this is an ultra rare volume, and it is w/ only the greatest reluctance that he loaned it to me. He threatened my life, should any harm come to it. So if you're interested, it may be hard to find, or expensive. But I
d recommend it as a worthy read if you have a serious interest in the zombie sub-genre.

Now, on to "Pink Floyd and Philosophy: Careful With That Axiom, Eugene!"

[Shit Dickface]

Nice. I'm reading Craig Ferguson's novel "Between the Bridge and the River", and it's amusing enough, but sometimes reeks of "trying way too hard".

[Bobby Bear]

And it's just that, really, other than "The Stand", there's no other King book so beautifully written. The way he writes the scene where Ben has to drive the stake into Susan's heart - it's so scary, and so heartbreaking.

The range of moods King takes the reader through in that moment is quite amazing. His juxtaposition of the eerily sexualized Susan 2.0 in Ben's worst-case-scenario really got to me; it's such a haunting image (something echoed nicely in the wintery epilogue.)

And people so hate on King's writing. Go figure. But as a point of order, I have to interject that The Shining & - even more so - IT had scenes just as emotionally charged. I admit I got little misty eyed during parts of IT.

IT holds special significance for me; it was my King gateway, really, and the sheer richness of the novel continues to amaze me. The number of layers and massive ideas he packs into compact, off-hand lines whilst keeping everything flowing forward is remarkable. It's technically brilliant, but never gets in the way (or reeks of "look at me!" try-hard behaviour.)

Bobby, all this talk has got me re-reading "Salem's Lot" for the millionth time - I just never get tired of it!

As my last comment may have intimated, all this talk has had a similar effect on me, Lisa. I've picked up IT again! Appropriately enough, it might be the dirtiest, most battered looking book I've ever owned. Not enough to make you think it'd been dropped in a forgotten storm-drain, but not too far off.*

* Come to think of it, that's probably for the best.

[IggytheBorg]

About a week ago I finished "Pink Floyd & Philosophy: Careful With That Axiom, Eugene!" Took me awhile to ruminate over this one. My thoughts: overall, I liked it a lot. I admit I skipped a few passgaes. I enjoy reading philosophical discourses (sometimes) when they deal with the real world and man's place in it, the structure of society, etc. But when they start getting into that sensory/perception stuff. . . they just totally lose me, and I like to think I'm a pretty bright guy. There was a bit of both in here, and the sensory stuff was what I skipped (although not soon enough). Forexample, one guy dissected the lyrics to "Eclipse" and how it fit (and not very snugly, if you ask me) into the ideas of a philosopher whose name escapes me about perception: how we never really see a thing. We see an IMAGE of a thing, a reflection of light off the thing. But we don't even really see that, do we? because it's processed by the eye into yet a different form, and by the brain into still a DIFFERENT form. . . we're essentially destroying any thing (or person) we look at by allowing our brains to process its image. So we never really see what ANYTHING actually looks like. Fuckers like this have entirely too much time on their hands. I mean, really; like modern life isn't rife with enough depressing shit to think and worry about, we need shit like this to occupy our thoughts? Get a life, dude. On the other end of the spectrum (see what I did there? Floyd? Spectrum?), I had a huge and not entirely pleasant "A-HA!" moment when another guy dissected Waters' lyrical themes and compared them to Marx, who posited that in today's modern industrial age, men are removed from their work, and alienated from each other, because they don't get to do the whole creative process that goes into whatever it is they do. They assemble only a small pice of whatever it is they're working on (industrial or white collar), and very often never get to even see the finished product. Having no control over their own destinies, they revel in those things they CAN take control over: their animal functions (eating, drinking & fucking). I spend an inordinate amount of time cooking & eating, drinking beer and scotch (and now boutbon), and smoking cigars (which is really just another form of consumption). I was hard pressed at that moment to think of anything else worthwhile I do to enrich my life. The point, according to Waters, is to add something to your life. Create something. help people, somehow (as per "Time" and "Us and Them", respectively). Society is a hard, cruel place due to the driving forces of capitalism, and there is injustice all around. As individuals that "get it" (i.e., anyone who was seriously affected by & in agreement with the sentiments expressed in "Dark Side of the Moon"), you realize there isn't really anything you can do to change it. But you can choose to live outside it where you can, even if you have towork inside it most of the time. There were also chapters on how the discordant, psychedelic Barrett-driven music of early Floyd reinforced the theme of alienation that has been prevalent in their music from the beginning. An almost note for not dissection of "Interstellar Ovedrive" and "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" gave me a deeper appreciation for those tunes, and set me to digging out the tapes (!) with those tracks on them. Good show, and recommended for any Floyd fan.