Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

The shining was awesome!!!

Jonathan wrote: "Taryn wrote: "I actually never read a King novel until a couple of months ago I read The Shining. I liked it soooo much more than i thought I would."

That's funny. The first three Darktower novels..."

I still have only read the Shining considering I am taking so long to get through Gunslinger. It's not that I don't like it, I just keep getting seriously distracted. And I keep signing up for Buddy Reads like I have the time or something.

Read Salem's Lot and Carrie and Needful Things!!!

Steven wrote: "Read Salem's Lot and Carrie and Needful Things!!!"

Never even heard of Needful Things. What is that about?

I am more of a Joe Hill fan myself. Love the Dark Tower reference in NOS4A2!

Oh and Misery!!!!!

Needful Things is about this guy who comes and opens a shop that sells exactly what you want but it comes at a cost. It was good.

I'm on a quest to read all of King's work.

The sequel to the Shining was really good too (Doctor Sleep).

Jonathan, Doctor Sleep and NOS4A2 have references to each other in them too hehe

Oh nice! I will have to read Doctor Sleep sometime soon then!

I hope Joe Hill continues to put little subtle references to connect his work like he did in NOS4A2!

I have an addiction to King and Hill.
I loved Horns & Heart Shaped Box, I haven't gotten to read NOS4R2 yet, but I did buy it awhile back.
As for King, my all time favorite is The Stand, Followed by The Shining, and I Really enjoyed Geralds Game, which I hardly ever hear anything about.

Misery is next on my list!

@ Kirsten - I'm still so clueless about the purpose of the tower, the sorcerer... Actually about everything :)

Only Joe Hill book I read was a collaboration with his dad
In the Tall Grass which I quite liked so keen to try more. King is a bit hit and miss with me I think he rushes endings a lot. Still my fav book of all time is The Stand.

My favorite story of King's is probably The Mist because of it's impact of the creation of Silent Hill.

I heart those stories so much.

I didn't realise silent hill was inspired by the mist. I enjoyed that book too, that ending!!

So I just finished....really....what happened????


I am pretty much still clueless.

(view spoiler)[ He met with the man in black, who is a sorcerer type. This person told him he'd travel on towards the Dark Tower, and meet The Prisoner, The Lady of Shadows, and Death. (hide spoiler)]

Other than that, it didn't make a ton of sense to me haha. But reading book two will definitely help you move forward. It was so much better AND had some explanations for some of the stuff that the MIB said. :)

It's pretty much a leap of faith.

I could understand why some people would give up after the first book. The second is a lot better though.

Which actor do you think should play Roland?

So I'm closing to finishing this book and I have to say I'm liking it a lot better than I thought I would, especially after reading the comments. Although there is definitely a hell metaphor percent, I like how the description of the world is slowly unfolding, rather than just being explained up front. I particularly like the dialog as well...It's almost like accents from all places and all times have melded together. I almost feel like this book is a prequel instead of the first book. It's quite short and simple.

Are we doing #2?

I think I misses the thread. The Be thread here is crazy!

Yes, starting Dec 3rd...I might be a little late so if you get a late start I'm sure it's fine!

Sorry, no this is the first one I'm talking about lol But yeah the thread for the second is here.

As a person who loves science and is completely agnostic, this line made so much sense to me: (view spoiler)[

"Greater physiological knowledge of the brain makes the existence of the soul less possible yet more probable by the nature of the search."

The Man in Black goes on to talk about how the scale of everything makes the concept of 'nothing' impossible. Alan Watts (a philosopher from the 70s) talks about this in this way: if nothing is the opposite of something, then nothing cannot exist. In other words, by being the antithesis of something, 'nothing' isn't truly nothing. This always resonated with me.

I have a feeling King might have dabbled in the art of hallucinogens.....lol (hide spoiler)]

I am so glad the series took a different turn after the first book otherwise I would of stopped reading by now. Roland is a unlikable character throughout the entire story.

I just finished the Gunslinger after months of slowing picking my way through it. For the first 2/3 of the book, I was confused and rather bored but I must say the last 1/3 of the book got me really excited for the next one. I can't wait to see where this series goes next.

BUDDY READ REVISIT! BUDDY READ REVISIT! BUDDY READ REVISIT!

This topic is open for discussion about The Gunslinger by Stephen King.



Book synopsis:
This heroic fantasy is set in a world of ominous landscape and macabre menace that is a dark mirror of our own. A spellbinding tale of good versus evil, it features one of Stephen King's most powerful creations - The Gunslinger, a haunting figure who embodies the qualities of a lone hero through the ages, from ancient myth to frontier western legend.

I apologize for being late on getting a schedule for reading. I got unexpectedly delayed, but I am so excited to read this again! I looked over the contents of the book and it is five sections long. So, if we wanted to read it in about a week, we could do one section a day.

So does this work?

2/28 The Gunslinger p. 11-70
3/1 The Way Station p. 71-116
3/2 The Oracle and the Mountains p. 117-148
3/3 The Slow Mutants p. 149-196
3/4 The Gunslinger and the Dark Man p.197-end

I figured I'd give us tomorrow to get started reading (if not already) and start talking about it on Tuesday. Sound good?

Happy reading! :)

Sound good to me.

Thanks for schedule Tania,

Out of curiosity, which editions of The Gunslinger are y'all reading? I'm reading the original. There were some changes made in the later edition (some for the better, possibly some for the worse), but this is the one I own and love.

If we are reading different editions, I think it will be interesting to compare our interpretations. :)

I'm listening to the audio version.

Vicki wrote: "I'm listening to the audio version."

Oh cool. Who is the narrator for it? There are some great sections of the series that sound great when spoken aloud. I bet the audio book will be very good.

I am reading the 2003 edition .

Wow just finished the first section. Lots to think about, left me with lots of questions.
Who is the Gunslinger?
Why is he hunting the man in black?
Who is the man in Brown?

The setting is really interesting too an imitation of the wild west but with more modern references such as the song Hey Jude. At the moment it feels like some future earth following some awful disaster which has nearly destroyed the planet.

So far the story is very dark but gripping

Has anyone read the Robert Browning poem which inspired Stephen King to write this book


“Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”

Robert Browning (1812–89)


"MY 1 first thought was, he lied in every word,
That hoary cripple, with malicious eye
Askance to watch the working of his lie
On mine, and mouth scarce able to afford
Suppression of the glee, that purs’d and scor’d 5
Its edge, at one more victim gain’d thereby"

No, I haven't read the poem. Sound like a good idea though.

How are you enjoying the audible version of the book Vicki?

http://stephenking.com/darktower/

This is a link to the official Dark Tower website.

"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."

This is one of my favorite opening lines ever. What do you all think? For me, this line begs a reader to continue, to follow the gunslinger on his chase.

Karen wrote: "Has anyone read the Robert Browning poem which inspired Stephen King to write this book


“Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”

Robert Browning (1812–89)


"MY 1 f..."

I have read the poem by Browning, and it is great. I hadn't considered this before, but do you think Brown is a nod to that influence? I happen to think so. This series is chock full of symbolism, so this would make sense.

Have either of you read other books by King? Many (most?) of his books actually tie in to The Dark Tower series, whether it is symbolism, locations, or characters. Have either of you read The Stand? It is actually tied in heavily to this series. If you have, do you think the cornfield and religious tones of that location from The Stand mirror Brown and his cornfield? I really feel like there is more than meets the eye in the final farewell between Brown and the gunslinger.

Years ago I read several books by King but do not recall them clearly, I think I read The Tommy knockers, Green Mile, Misery, not sure if I read The Stand.

I agree Brown was a fascinating character and I'm hoping he might come back into the story.

Thanks Tania for suggesting The Dark Tower as a buddy read I am really enjoying this book.

I read that several sources inspired KIng as well as Browning's poem, the old spaghetti westerns and Lord of the Rings. This kinda makes sense the quest element of the story and the setting link in.

Tania wrote: ""The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."

This is one of my favorite opening lines ever. What do you all think? For me, this line begs a reader to continue, to follow..."

Oh I agree this opening line draws you into the story line immediately, straight away I wanted to discover who the characters were, why the Gunslinger was hunting down the man in black.

The Gunslinger is one of my favorite books of all time, as in my top 5 books. I'm always willing to read this book again :)

Samantha wrote: "The Gunslinger is one of my favorite books of all time, as in my top 5 books. I'm always willing to read this book again :)"


Hi Samantha, It would be great to hear your thoughts on "The Gunslinger"

I finished a monster of a book about a week ago and am just now recovering from my book coma. The Gunslinger might just be the book to help me get back into the reading rhythm. I'll pick it up tonight and get started :) I'll make sure to share my thoughts as I go, again <3

Samantha wrote: "I finished a monster of a book about a week ago and am just now recovering from my book coma. The Gunslinger might just be the book to help me get back into the reading rhythm. I'll pick it up toni..."

Oh fantastic! Welcome to the convo, Samantha. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. I'm really enjoying returning to this world again. :)

Karen wrote: "Years ago I read several books by King but do not recall them clearly, I think I read The Tommy knockers, Green Mile, Misery, not sure if I read The Stand.

I agree Brown was a fascinating charact..."

I'm so glad you are enjoying it, Karen!

Just finished 'The Way Station' section. Jake Is a really interesting character it appears he was killed in a city very like New York in our world. How or why he is at the Way Station is unclear.

I am wandering is he just a tool or trap set by the man in Black.

Hopefully going to watch the DVD "The Stand" tonight, haven,t got time to read the book but wanted to catch up on the story after Tania's post.

Karen wrote: "Hopefully going to watch the DVD "The Stand" tonight, haven,t got time to read the book but wanted to catch up on the story after Tania's post."

I hope you enjoy it. I thought they did a good job on it. The Stand isn't considered a part of the series, but if you decide to read the whole Dark Tower series you'll see more clearly how it does tie into it. King used to have a list on his website of which of his books tie into the series; I'd imagine it is still there. It is kind of crazy how involved the world he has built is.

If anyone else is interested I would like to maybe read the rest of the series maybe one a month.

Karen wrote: "If anyone else is interested I would like to maybe read the rest of the series maybe one a month."

I'd love to read the rest of the series again. I actually plan on reading it just a bit faster, so that I can have it completed by July 28th when the movie comes out, which seems to be drawing from the series as a whole. That means I'm aiming to read about 1 1/2 books a month, but if this is too fast, I'd still love to talk about each book as you get to it.