A Good Thriller discussion

Another King bookstop:
The Institute

Please use spoiler tags when needed and have fun!

Thanks for setting this up Perri!
I am going to try to start tonight. I am worried about the book disappearing from my kindle if I go past the due date from the library. I am kind of new to Ebooks from the library.

I read this when it was released and would love to hear what you guys think as you read.

I just noticed it was the winner for GRCA 2019. Ha! As if it wasn't going to win.

Got my copy this morning from the local library, which I'm so glad about because my commute to work took forever so I was able to make a start! :)

Vicki, I voted for it, haha. Now to see if it deserves it!

I read the first section last night. King is such a smooth writer, he just sucks you right it! Never heard of Night Knockers. Has anyone read TommyKnockers? Just wondered if there's any connection.

I started last night and read through Chapter 10 (38 pages).

My version has 647 pages! Maybe because of the format on my kindle and the size of my font? How many pages in your version?
Perri, Your large print version had over 500? Why so few?

I agree that I am getting sucked in. It is very descriptive and smooth. He certainly has the whole small town vibe thing down.

I haven't read the TommyKnockers so I don't know. I hadn't heard of the Night Knockers either.

That's A lot of pages

831 pages, Vicki, but since it's King they are flying by. Gulped the next section to page 423 (view spoiler)[ these Institute people are the worst. the comparison to Nazi camps is not far off.

TK or TP? It seems a lot more interesting to know what's really going on in people's minds, but could you handle the truth!? Not sure what you could do with moving objects around. Fetching the remote without getting up? Oh, maybe you could get the house to clean itself? Did we find out what the other letters mean?

I'm not clear on why these kids aren't monitored better if they are so rare and they seem to be doing some valuable work for somebody.Hints that the "project" is coming back to an end.

And we're back to Dupray. Good I missed Tim. (hide spoiler)]

Perri wrote: "Vicki, I voted for it, haha. Now to see if it deserves it!

I read the first section last night. King is such a smooth writer, he just sucks you right it! Never heard of Night Knockers. Has anyone ..."

It's not related to Tommyknockers (which I, in the minority, love, by the way!), but is a very real job in small towns.

My paperback version only has 482 pages but the print is pretty small. I just started it and it begins really well. I am already intrigued.

Kandice you know Night Knocker jobs are still around in small town? That is so interesting! Huh, I looked it up and found a thread on Reddit that asks how he can only be making $100 for 5 a week job. haha. They say it might take place in the 70s.

Phrynne, that's funny , our page numbers are all over the place

No reading today, but I saw HBO is putting out The Outsiders in Jan :o

Perri wrote: "Kandice you know Night Knocker jobs are still around in small town? That is so interesting! Huh, I looked it up and found a thread on Reddit that asks how he can only be making $100 for 5 a week jo..."

I don't know if they still are, but I grew up in a very small town in West Virginia and we had them in the 70's, 80's and into the 90's. They may be a thing of the past now, but I bet there are still some small towns that have someone in that position. The kind of towns with volunteer fire departments and no 911.

My copy has 485 pages. I'm currently only page 78 because yesterday the schools were closed and used as polling stations for the UK General Election so had to entertain the little one (and then stay up until 3am watching our country go down the pan as the results came out...!)

(view spoiler)[ I really like Tim. King has a way of describing perfectly ordinary people but making them supremely likeable at the same time. I actually particularly liked the lady delivering books who gave Tim a ride. There was something about her manner that I found endearing.
I've got as far as Luke meeting Nicky, George and Iris at The Institute and am eager to learn more about the place and how the kids handle it all. Super creepy that Luke's room had been replicated right down to the exact clothes that his mother had laid out for him. For some reason I found that particularly disturbing... (hide spoiler)]

About Sophie's spoiler (I am in the same spot as you are I think)
(view spoiler)[ Yes, the book lady was exactly why these kind of books are so good. It was just an everyday thing.
I was SUPER disturbed by his room as well. I had to read it twice! I was freaked out that the difference was the missing window...
(hide spoiler)]

I love Stephen King. He is a master storyteller and he creates the most detailed characters and those details make them seem so real. I love that. I listened to the audio and it was 19+ hours and not once did this feel long. I enjoyed this one, but I had a major issue with part of it.

So what was the problem? (view spoiler)[ I will start by saying that this is just a little pet peeve of mine when older authors write for children or about children in modern day. Almost every reference to describe what kids do or like, were so extremely dated and I'll add 'ancient' here because that's what my kids would say. This was set in current day - not 1970 or 1980. He used Bewitched, Happy Days, Pinocchio, Hogan's Heroes, Popeye. But the most obvious one was when a kid asked for an aspirin. I'm not entirely sure my kids know what that is. They would ask for an Advil, ibuprofen, or Tylenol. SK did use Brad Pitt though, but again, Brad is not the heart throb of most young kids. These are small things, but these details could have been updated. I get that those things mentioned above are what Stephen King can relate to, but I don't hear the kids in carpool or the ones hanging out at my house mentioning them. (hide spoiler)]
But still 4 star worthy for me

Donna wrote: "I love Stephen King. He is a master storyteller and he creates the most detailed characters and those details make them seem so real. I love that. I listened to the audio and it was 19+ hours and n..."

(view spoiler)[ I think a big part of what you are saying has so much to do with the family you are talking about. My children would get all of those old references because I share old shows, music, things with them that I loved as a child and still do.

They would definitely ask for aspirin, but be just as likely to ask for Aleve.

I think the fact that King makes every kids recognize these references is the problem. It's not unheard of, or even that unusaul, but not ALL kids would get them, so throwing in at least a few instances of "Huh?" would make more sense. (hide spoiler)]

I am at the beginning of the section titled MAUREEN AND AVERY. Which is 22%, p. 143 in my copy.

What a scary place. (view spoiler)[ I wonder if Maureen can really be trusted. I am surprised they believe there are audio dead spots. I wonder what happens in the back half and what the tests are about. I feel bad they are setting him up to take the fall for his parents murder. (hide spoiler)]

About the room(view spoiler)[ I thought it was super creepy as well. a great touch. But then I'm bothered by as much work as it took to do that, then they treat the kids so bad? (hide spoiler)]

Finished and here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Kandace and Donna I agree with you (view spoiler)[ How hard would it be for someone with a knowledge of modern kids to update the language? And the wages Tim made for another example. Why was the Institute not in better shape for the important work it was doing? And the kids treated so brutally when even if they are just cogs in the machine, they are valuable ones? Or that anyone would believe that Luke would murder his parents out of the blue.
Just little details that didn't make sense to me. (hide spoiler)]

Vicki Willis wrote: "I am at the beginning of the section titled MAUREEN AND AVERY. Which is 22%, p. 143 in my copy.

What a scary place. [spoilers removed]"

I'm slightly behind on page 103 but have an easy week so hope to race through some more! (view spoiler)[I'm also on Maureen and Avery - Luke and Kalisha are just trying to pacify him.
Given his intelligence, I think Luke will suss out pretty quickly that Maureen isn't to be trusted and that the audio black spots don't exist. It's frustrating that we, as the reader, already know that it's a lie and that Maureen is collecting their secrets for some extra cash so I'm really hoping that Luke catches on. I hope Avery is a badass telepath (hide spoiler)]

Wow, Perri, that was fast! I plan to binge read this afternoon :)

P. 219 end of chap. 23

I am wondering...
(view spoiler)[ do you think there is something significant about everyone calling the kids "sport"? (hide spoiler)]

I've finished
Vicki...(view spoiler)[ I don't think 'sport' is particularly significant, just incredibly patronising (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[I agree about the outdated references. My daughter wouldn't have a clue who Popeye or Brad Pitt are. Kids these days seem more interested in watching YouTube videos of other people playing games or with toys. (hide spoiler)]

Vicki now that you bring it up (view spoiler)[ Isn't that another outdated reference. I've never heard anyone call someone sport except Dicaprio in The Great Gatsby. (hide spoiler)]

Just got this out with a few others to read over Christmas :)

Oh man, I may be in serious trouble here (book trouble anyway).

My digital book expires in 3 days and I can not renew because there are so many people waiting. And I am only half way through.
I am going to try to power through! But I am really enjoying it and don't want to rush and finish just to finish!

I am half way, where (view spoiler)[Luke has just boarded the train. The whole escape scene was extremely tense for me.
IS he going to get away? Do they know he is on the run and it is some sort of trick? If he DOES get away, then what is the rest of the book about? There is half a book left. Does he avenge his friends? How, he is only 12? Do people believe him? Does he grow up and then do something about this?
I am so full of questions about where this could go from here. (hide spoiler)]

Haha Read, Vicki, Read!

I've got to get this to read soon.

I'm thinking of getting the audiobook. you guys recommend it?

I have the hard back version of this book. It on my list to read in the first part of 2020. Is there an audiobook for this? If so has anybody listened to it? How’s the narrator?

I think it could be really exciting to listen to! I never think about audio books and have been pretty pleased...I don't know why I don't do it more. The only problem could be sheer number of discs. Have lots of batteries on hand ;)

I would go for it on audible.
I was out of credits on audible, but it is a popular narrator and then there are no discs. A bargain too because of the length!

I was able to finish before my download expired!
I loved it and gave it 5 stars. He did a great job with all the characters I thought.

my review

Perri wrote: "831 pages, Vicki, but since it's King they are flying by. Gulped the next section to page 423 "

(view spoiler)[Tim was my favorite too. I was really rooting for him to stay a good guy! (hide spoiler)]

About the issue that bothered some of you...

(view spoiler)[ I wonder though after reading the after part about his research assistant if he overlooked the outdated stuff or if it was by design. The kids were "different" to begin with.
I found that section about his Dr becoming his assistant very interesting. That would be a fun job! (hide spoiler)]

Vicki Willis wrote: "Perri wrote: "831 pages, Vicki, but since it's King they are flying by. Gulped the next section to page 423 "

Vicki, great job getting it read in time :)

(view spoiler)[ I was glad Tim lived. I thought he would sacrifice himself to save the kids (hide spoiler)]

I got The Institute for Christmas (yay) and am looking forward to it - just have to clear a couple of library books :)

Perri wrote: "I think it could be really exciting to listen to! I never think about audio books and have been pretty pleased...I don't know why I don't do it more. The only problem could be sheer number of discs..."

I thought was great on audio I listened to it at work on quiet days a couple of months ago not sure if it's the same narrator as The Institute but I thought she was very good.

I didn't know Owen was a writer too! I've liked several Joe Hill novels

Vicki Willis wrote: "Thanks for setting this up Perri!
I am going to try to start tonight. I am worried about the book disappearing from my kindle if I go past the due date from the library. I am kind of new to Ebooks ..."

I own this ebook, I can email it to you if you like.

Lina wrote: "Vicki Willis wrote: "Thanks for setting this up Perri!
I am going to try to start tonight. I am worried about the book disappearing from my kindle if I go past the due date from the library. I am k..."

Thank you for the offer! I was able to get it done in time.

Oh good..I have yet to read it. Do let me know if you need any ebooks before you borrow or buy, Im interested in books others want to read plus I get them easily.

Nice to meet you and thanks for the friend add.

Welcome Lina, thanks for joining in

I've been trying to get it from the library. Everytime I go there to see if it's in it's not there. Our library is closed until April 6th. So I got a stack of books to get through this....