Stephen King - Under the Dome

Because Mr. King is from Maine, most of his novels are about that corner of the U.S. This story tugged at me for a long, long time because my imagination is such that I pictured myself in the story, and wondered what I would do different or the same as the characters. Is it because I have great empathy and compassion for others that I can vividly remember the parts of the novel that were just so greatly heartwrenching and touching at the same time? If you are not familiar with King's stories, let me tell you that it is very possible to not only be scared, alarmed, disturbed and horrified, but also to cry and laugh at completely different times? This had me thinking about end-of-the-world disasters and how I would handle it for my family.

Sudden thought-- I REALLY wish all this social media stuff existed when I started out reading his books. It is interesting to read other's views about the novel.

Stephen King - Pet Semetary

I have certainly done my share of reading of Mr. King's books. Although I don't always recall what the story was actually about YEARS LATER (when I had first read them as a young adult), this one's premise has never left my memory. This was a fantastic and terrible story-- one that greatly touched my heart in such a sad way. I'm a pet owner since childhood, both dogs and cats. This story caused me mental grief and misery because I greatly disagreed with how the end of the story played out. But of course, this is WHY it turned out to be such a fantastic read! Similar to Poe in a way, because his tales were so twisted.

Stephen King - Dolores Claiborne

This is another great read. I read it many times just before falling asleep in my comfy bed at home. It was amazing how the after effects of reading a horror story can interrupt your daytime thoughts. Of course I had to see the movie too. How scary is Cathy Bates really? It turns out-- quite scary. I screamed numerous times and was convinced she was literally insane. And now she's doing some kind of lawyer drama on TV?  Way to go, Cathy.  If any of you like spine-tingling, on the edge of your seat dramas, with a large twist of crazy-as-a-loon main characters, then this is the book for you. Truly.

Stephen King

One of my very first favorite writers is King. The novel Cell was one I read even before I had my very first cell phone. I enjoyed it in the kind of way one might when watching a really good scary movie. I believe that it was based on King's belief or fear that cell phones were damaging to people.

Of course they say now that the more time you spend on a cell phone, the increased likelihood that your going to have some kind of brain cancer or tumor.

The book is fantastic! If you have any kind of imagination whatsoever, don't read this book. It makes the possibility of this danger all the more real.

Rappacini's Daughter

This was less bothersome for me to read since I've already told you I don't prefer dark tales. Perhaps it was Beatrice herself, filled with honest and true emotions and a innate spirit that was essentially good. I do believe that all this would have changed dramatically if she had known that she was her father's science experiment.

Comparably, this story is similar to any real life girl whose parents are not exactly "positive role models." Perhaps they have a drinking or a drug problem. But somehow, someway, these strong-spirited girls, or young women, find their way through a difficult life. They struggle through school but persist in getting their high school diploma. Perhaps their GPA is 3.0 or 3.2 or so. Whatever. But they persist in their tenacity, and with the help of the school's guidance counselors, get accepted into a state college. They believe strongly that their personal dreams are obtainable, and if they look in just the right direction, help will come their way. Encouragement, I believe, can help any person overcome all negative possibilities. Kindness, compassion and unselfishness can help all those misguided teens living in the U.S. If we show we care, even when their family doesn't, what great things can they achieve?

But back to this story... Beatrice had no one but Giovanni. Perhaps if she did, she'd still be alive and less willing to prove herself. Perhaps her attitude would've changed in six months or so and she realized that her self was much too precious to risk by drinking the potion Giovanni offered. She was misguided in her love for him. In many ways, this happens too in real life. If we hold back and wait just a bit longer, thinking about things, before we do anything that will affect the rest of our lives, maybe we'd have fewer regrets.

Minister's Black Veil

This was a suitably dark tale to be read at Halloween. ;o) My youngest son is 12 and he had no interest in trick or treating this year. The costume that he wore last year still sits on a side table in the living room and the rubber mask has only been worn by me this year-- to scare both my dog and my son. I failed at both attempts.

If you like tales of doom and darkness, then you may have liked this tale. I personally don't. I found myself greatly disappointed that when they THOUGHT he had died, he quickly grabbed the veil and placed it back on his face.   It was much too eerie for me.