There will also be a limited of this popup, but the difference between the two editions is not as big as you may think. The limited edition has the exact same interior as the regular edition (same number of pages, etc.), but the binding is different—it has a full cloth cover with an extra popup that is not in the trade edition; this extra pop is embedded into the front cover.
The popup is also signed by Stephen King and numbered—there are only 125 copies. The biggest difference though is price. The trade cost is just under twenty dollars and the limited will cost you one thousand dollars to own. You can decide if that’s reasonable.
Lilja’s final words about The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (popup)
As I said, this is the coolest King book that I can think of (and it’s not even expensive if you go for the trade edition), and to be a King fan and not get it should be considered a crime, if you ask me!
****
Faithful
Posted: January 24, 2005
I have just read and listened to Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season. Yes, you read right. I have both read and listened to it. For the first time I got both my review copy of the book and the audio at the same time. I therefore decided to read part of it and listen to part of it.
Did it make a big difference? Well, it actually did. Let me start by saying that this is a really special book. If you live in the U.S. or another country where baseball is a recognized sport you will enjoy this book…or at least you will understand it. That is my biggest problem with Faithful; I don’t know how you play baseball. In the book, King and O’Nan cover the last season of their favorite team, the Boston Red Sox. And it’s amazing that the Sox actually won the World Series that very same season…what are the odds?
Anyhow, I really enjoyed the book’s sound. Both King and O’Nan (who I haven’t read anything else by—yet) have a really good voice when they write. They can both talk about the most regular things with an interesting voice. In Faithful you can easily see who has written what: King’s text is bold and O’Nan’s isn’t. It’s quite interesting to see who has written what, and you do not need to read much to see that O’Nan is the one keeping track of the details. So, it’s an interestingly written book. The problems with it come when the authors are giving detailed descriptions of the games. I don’t know what an inning is and I don’t understand what it means to have men on the bases. See what I mean?
So, it’s a very strange book to read. There you are enjoying what you read and then all of a sudden you don’t really understand what they are talking about. And when you don’t understand, it’s easy to lose your interest. So, after reading part of the book I decided to listen to the rest of it, which was actually easier.
Why you ask? Well, I’m not really sure, but I believe it’s because it goes faster and you are sucked into what you listen to in a different way. Adam Grupper (reading O’Nan’s parts) and Ron McLarty (reading King’s parts) do a very good job narrating the book. It’s a good thing that they have such different voices though. If they didn’t, it would be impossible to know who’s talking (writing), King or O’Nan.
It’s also fun to see that O’Nan is such a fan. I recognize myself in my being a King fan in his being a Sox fan. He talks about how he poses as a reporter and gets a ball signed while doing it. He knows no real reporter would do that though because then he isn’t a reporter, right? Really nice reading!
So, even though this is a book that I probably won’t read a second time, it has brought one really nice thing with it; I’m really eager to try another book by O’Nan. Hopefully he will fill in the void now that King’s books won’t be out as close together as they used to. I’ll let you know at a later time…
Lilja’s final words about Faithful
So, should you read this one? Well, I think that you should, but if you don’t understand baseball you’ll have a bit of a hard time getting through it. Please don’t give up though. Even though it’s not my favorite book, I’m really glad I finished it.
****
McSweeney’s Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories
Posted: February 2, 2005
McSweeney’s Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories is a collection of fifteen stories from fifteen different authors and is edited by Michael Chabon. Since Lilja’s Library is a Stephen King site, my review will be focusing on King’s story, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t enjoy the other stories as well. You have stories from people like Peter Straub, Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell, Joyce Carol Oates, Stephen King and ten other authors. King’s story has the title “Lisey and the Madman,” is thirty pages long and is an excerpt from a new book called Lisey’s Story (no, I don’t know when it’s being released).
In “Lisey and the Madman” we get to meet Lisey (Lisa) Landon and her husband, the famous writer Scott Landon. When we meet up with them they are at the Shipman Library construction site. Scott is there to get it all started by taking the ceremonial first shovel of dirt.
What happens during this ceremony is what seems to be the start of something going terribly wrong. Scott is attacked by a madman (hence, the name of the story) and ends up being shot. Because of King’s writing style, in which he usually gives us a taste of what’s to come, we know he will survive, so that’s not the main story (even though it is in this excerpt).
My guess, and it’s just a guess since this is actually an excerpt from a longer book, is that the main plot is something else. Something that has to do with The Long Boy…
We don’t really know what or who The Long Boy is, but it’s a creature that Scott seems very familiar with. You can see him by looking through a dirty water glass…if you look through it just the right way and in the hours after midnight.
Lilja’s final words about McSweeney’s Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories
I feel that, based on reading “Lisey and the Madman,” this upcoming book, Lisey’s Story, will be very good. So, Stephen, please get it out soon! And in the meantime, you should definitely get yourself a copy of McSweeney’s Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories today!
****
’Salem’s Lot - Limited edition
Posted: February 6, 2005
The Centipede Press edition of ’Salem’s Lot is a big book; it’s probably the biggest book I have seen. It weighs more than thirteen pounds, is 9 x 13 inches and more than 4 1/4” thick. The nice thing with it is that it’s like the entire book has been sized up. The font is bigger, so it almost feels like you have shrunk when you read it. It’s not a book you’re going to read lying on your back; you will need to sit up when reading it. It’s really that BIG!
The book contains ’Salem’s Lot (of course), but also “Jerusalem’s Lot” and “One for the Road” (as they are related to the ’Salem’s Lot story) as well as King’s introduction from the Pocket Books edition of ’Salem’s Lot. And, as if that weren’t enough, this book has something unique; it has some extra material. Just like a DVD, we get fifty (yes, you heard me: fifty) pages of deleted scenes from the original manuscript, which have never before been published.
This is something unique. The only other time this has happened is with the extended version of The Stand. In The Stand, the new material is incorporated into the book, and with ’Salem’s Lot it’s collected in the back of the book. The positive thing about having it all at the back is that you can easily see what material is new; when it’s incorporated into the book it becomes harder to see all the new stuff.
Anyhow, it’s really cool to see what King had in store from the beginning, and if you first read the book and then the new material you can easily see how it would (or would not) have worked in the book. All the new parts are explained at the beginning of each section, telling us where they are from in the book. Nice!
The book also contains beautiful photos by Jerry Uelsmann. And, even though they aren’t taken for this book (they’re from Uelsmann’s personal archive), they contribute in giving the book a nice fee
l.
All in all this is a very nice book. The only thing that I’m skeptical about is the material (Japanese cloth on the edition I got) used for the cover and the traycase. It’s a dust magnet. And, as all of you probably know, a bookcase is where all the dust lives and breathes, right? Other than that, I think it’s a beautiful book!
Here is some information about each of the three editions of this book:
25 leather (15 for sale) $950
Bound in leather (real leather, non-bonded) with photos in a traycase.
Roman numerals. Signed.
Printed on Saunders paper.
380 cloth (300 for sale) $470
Bound in Japanese cloth with photos in a slipcase.
Arabic numerals. Signed.
Printed on Mohawk Paper.
600 cloth (all for sale) $95
Bound in Italian cloth. Only one photo used. No slipcase.
Not numbered or signed.
Printed on Finch paper.
Lilja’s final words about ’Salem’s Lot - Limited edition
If you get a chance to get this book at a fair price (see the different editions and their original price above) you should definitely get it; just make sure that you have a big bookcase. As I said, it’s a really, really BIG book!
One copy of the leatherbound edition went for $7,675.00 (the original price was $950.00) on eBay recently, and that is a bit too much…
****
Carrie (audio)
Posted: March 10, 2005
I have just listened to Carrie on audio and I must admit that I was blown away. Not only is King’s first book a really good book, but also Sissy Spacek (who played Carrie in the movie version from 1976) narrates the book extremely well. I’m not sure if she has narrated other books, but here she does a superb job.
She really brings the story of Carrie to life, and the way she reads it is just so good. I’m sorry that I keep saying that, but it is just that good. It also gives the CD an extra dimension when you know that the actress who played Carrie in the movie now narrates the book, almost thirty years later! A very good move by whoever it was who decided it was a good idea to have Sissy narrate the audio.
As most of you know, Carrie is a rather short book, and the audio edition is on seven CDs (which only lasts 7.5 hours), so you should be able to listen to it in a couple of days depending on how much time you have on your hands. Personally, I was surprised by how much I liked it. I have read the book before, but it was quite a while ago, and listening to it now was like meeting an old friend again from the time when I was just starting to explore King’s books.
Another great thing about this audio edition is that it contains a brand new introduction by King that, according to the publisher, hasn’t been published before and the introduction is narrated by King himself, so…all you collectors out there need to buy this one as well! And remember, that is a good thing!
Lilja’s final words about Carrie (audio)
OK, this time it’s easy to sum it up. If you haven’t already bought this audio, run out and do it now. Carrie on audio is just that good!
****
The Things They Left Behind
Posted: June 14, 2005
“The Things They Left Behind” is King’s latest short story, and you can find it in the collection Transgressions edited by Ed McBain. King’s contribution is the shortest in the collection (twenty-seven pages), but it’s a good one. It’s King’s 9/11 story…
“The Things They Left Behind” is about Scott Staley who, after avoiding the 9/11 disaster, starts receiving items that belonged to his fellow co-workers, co-workers who worked in the Twin Towers when the planes came. They are things that they had on their desks or around the office. Things that were special to them.
At night he can hear the items talk and tell the story of what happened to their owners that day—horrific things. He tries to get rid of them but every time he does they come back. He even tries to give them to a neighbor, but she soon returns them, unable to stand what the items tell her. More and more items show up until he finally understands why they keep coming back…and what he has to do with them!
Lilja’s final words about The Things They Left Behind
“The Things They Left Behind” is a nice story about a terrible thing. I don’t know if it’s King’s way to process his feelings about what happened, but it sure could be. It’s interesting to see how King puts this terrible event in a story and gets a really nice one out of it. “The Things They Left Behind” is about a nice way to handle a terrible thing. Read it!
****
The Shining (audio)
Posted: August 2, 2005
So, another early King book is out as an audiobook. This time it’s The Shining, and I have to tell you, this one you definitely need to listen to. The narrator, Campbell Scott, does a really good job both when he tells the story and when he takes on the different characters, especially the Jack Torrence character. It’s very believable.
I’m not sure if Campbell has narrated before, but you might have seen him in the films Off the Map or Roger Dodger. After listening to The Shining, I hope he will be hired again to narrate another of King’s books. I think he would be perfect for The Stand if that one is ever turned into an audiobook.
As most of you probably know, The Shining is about the Torrence family, who is hired to care for the remote mountain resort The Overlook Hotel for the winter. They will be cut off from everyone and everything for most of the winter and once they are, things start to happen. The Shining is definitely one of the books that made King the writer he is today, if you ask me.
The audio is on fourteen CDs and is about sixteen hours, so you have a good chunk of time in front of you. I listened to most of it while painting parts of my house and this time even painting was fun. I found myself wanting to get out there so I could listen to yet another chapter.
Lilja’s final words about The Shining (audio)
So, as with Carrie, the previously released audiobook, you will definitely need this one in your collection. And, you don’t even have to take my word for it; you can listen to a clip online before getting it. How about that?
****
The Colorado Kid
Posted: September 13, 2005
The story of The Colorado Kid isn’t actually a story at all. A story has a beginning, a middle and an end. The Colorado Kid has no ending…and that’s the point made throughout the entire book…that not all stories have an ending. In The Colorado Kid, King tells the story of two old newspapermen, Vince Teague and David Bowie (yes, you read that last name right), who tell Stephanie McCann, an intern at the newspaper, the story of the Colorado Kid.
It all begins with a visit from a reporter from a big newspaper who’s going around collecting stories of the unexplained. When he leaves, without a story, Vince and David tell Stephanie the story they didn’t tell the newspaperman, the story of the Colorado Kid.
Because it doesn’t have an ending or all the answers, they know the big papers won’t be interested, or would only be interested in an altered version. That’s why they didn’t tell him about it. It was their story, and is now Stephanie’s.
As with the big papers, I think that the readers of this book will either love it or hate it. I don’t think there will be many in-betweeners for this one.
Personally, I love it. The tone King uses in the book is so fresh and entertaining to read! This book is in some cases very different from King’s usual books, but at the same time is so “King.” It’s a wonderful book. I bet Frank Darabont or Rob Reiner will turn this one into a blockbuster before long…it’s that kind of book.
It’s also a rather short book. It’s only 184 pages, but King knows exactly where to end the story. If the book had been longer (or shorter for that matter) it wouldn’t have worked.
Lilja’s final words about The Colorado Kid
OK, I have been ranting on about this book for quite a while now, but is there anything not so good about The Colora
do Kid? Well, no, actually there isn’t. I can honestly say that this is one of the best books King has written and I believe most of you will agree with me on that…or are you one of those people who don’t like a story that isn’t a true story?
****
’Salem’s Lot: Illustrated Edition
Posted: October 25, 2005
So, now it’s time for everyone who didn’t get the limited edition of ’Salem’s Lot: Illustrated Edition to get this book for the collection. Doubleday is releasing this trade hardback edition and I, for one, am really grateful that they are.
Besides the look of the book being totally different from the limited, it is essentially the same book. You get the illustrations by Jerry N. Uelsmann, you get “One For The Road,” you get “Jerusalem’s Lot,” you get all the deleted scenes, but you also get a brand-new introduction by King that isn’t even in the limited edition. How about that? A trade edition that has something the limited doesn’t. That has to be a first.
The neat thing about this book is all the deleted scenes. Yes, the book itself is a very good one, but these scenes make it even better. They give you a look into what King wanted to do with it when he wrote the book back in 1975.
It would have been better if they had put the scenes back in the story instead of having them at the end though. It would have given them more of a connection to the story; now they are just listed at the end of the book. The problem with that, though, is that it wouldn’t have been as easy to see what parts were new…but then again, they could have printed the new ones in red or something like that.
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