Horror Aficionados discussion

Hey all! Terry and I will be reading this, starting October 1st.

Please join if you would like too. It's been on our TBR list for too long and we're finally getting to it! :D

Oh man, Jaws would have been sooo much better if it had a fat man punching a shark!

Haha, that doesn't look like the Jaws movie I remember! 😂

Alan wrote: "Oh man, Jaws would have been sooo much better if it had a fat man punching a shark!"

Hahaha!! It would have been a whole different movie for sure. :D

Terry wrote: "Haha, that doesn't look like the Jaws movie I remember! 😂"

I couldn't resist this gif. Had to add it! LOL

Oooh, very curious what you guys think of the novel version, so I'll be popping in.😊😉

Vickie wrote: "Oooh, very curious what you guys think of the novel version, so I'll be popping in.😊😉"

I’ve heard about some of the differences between the book and movie, so I’m curious to see what I think also. 😁

Vickie wrote: "Oooh, very curious what you guys think of the novel version, so I'll be popping in.😊😉"

Awesome Vickie!

Terry wrote: "I’ve heard about some of the differences between the book and movie, so I’m curious to see what I think also. 😁"

Ha! Me too. :D

Since I just finished one of me current reads, I’m going to start this before the 1st. I’ll be reading really slow though since I’m reading another book in a group read.

Looking forward to finding out how this book compares to the movie!

Sounds good!

Terry wrote: "Sounds good!"

Awesome! 👍

I started last night also and read just the first chapter. That opening scene in the movie is classic, and I liked this just as much in the book. I can see why it’s a little different, but certainly just as powerful.

Terry wrote: "I started last night also and read just the first chapter. That opening scene in the movie is classic, and I liked this just as much in the book. I can see why it’s a little different, but certainl..."

Great! I'm starting tonight. I'm glad the first part of the book is working for you.

Got to the beginning of Chapter 4 last night. I'm liking the book so far. It's very similar to the movie right now.

In your book copy, did you get an introduction by the author?

It was really good. I liked how he talks about his love for sharks and knowing what he does now about overfishing of oceans and killing tons of sharks, he doesn't know if he would have wrote it today. He's still proud of the book though and at the end of the introduction, he said,
You who have never read Jaws, you who have only seen the movie, I can see you frowning, I can hear you saying to yourself, "Romance? Mafia? What's he talking about? Where's all that stuff?"
Read on, please, and discover for yourselves.

Also, he mentioned Blue Water, White Death. It's a 1971 documentary that he still loves to this day and says it's one of the finest films made about sharks to this day.

I've never seen this or read this, shocking I know. >_<

Michael wrote: "I've never seen this or read this, shocking I know. >_<"

That is shocking Michael!! I think I've seen the movie 100 times. LOL

This is the first time that I've read the book so I'm curious to see how it translates to the movie. I'm keeping it in the back of my mind that it can be drastically different so I won't freak out. ha!

Actually, Ginger, keep that in the front of your mind, lol.😆

Vickie wrote: "Actually, Ginger, keep that in the front of your mind, lol.😆"

I'm glad I'm doing this then Vickie. hahaha!

Ginger wrote: "Got to the beginning of Chapter 4 last night. I'm liking the book so far. It's very similar to the movie right now.

In your book copy, did you an introduction by the author?

It was really good. I..."

I'm jealous! My copy doesn't have an author's forward. That sounds very interesting.

I'm liking the book too. It is feeling like the comfort read I was hoping for. I'm somewhere in the middle of ch3, so almost up to where you are.

One thing I am really noticing is that 1970's feel to everything. I've always liked that feel in a setting, just like a lot of the older Stephen King books. Feels like I remember as a kid.

Terry wrote: "One thing I am really noticing is that 1970's feel to everything. I've always liked that feel in a setting, just like a lot of the older Stephen King books. Feels like I remember as a kid."

Definitely has the old 70s feel. I just finished up The Dead Zone so I know exactly what you are talking about. I'm enjoying it too!

I read this a couple of months ago and loved it. The beginning of the book is absoulutely great , I think. Also, the more you go on the more I didn't like the different road the movie took.

That's interesting because I was the complete opposite, Monica. LOL.

Now I’m curious which side of that road I’ll be on, lol!

I’ve made it up to ch5. (view spoiler)[ and we have our first extra death from the movie with the old guy who got it right after the kid. I figured there would be more in the book. (hide spoiler)]

Terry wrote: "I’ve made it up to ch5. [spoilers removed]"

Yep!! I don't remember that either and that's definitely new.

I made it up to the beginning of chapter 6 last night.
Man, everyone is (view spoiler)[pissed at Brody. I wonder how many more people are going to yell at him or slap him in the face.
Poor guy! LOL (hide spoiler)]

Vickie wrote: "That's interesting because I was the complete opposite, Monica. LOL."

Really? :D The book was full of details and got behiond the 'open the beaches' close the beaches' in my opinion. Maybe that's why for me.

Ginger wrote: "Terry wrote: "I’ve made it up to ch5. [spoilers removed]"

Yep!! I don't remember that either and that's definitely new.

I made it up to the beginning of chapter 6 last night.
Man, everyone is pis..."

They are! He’s made out as more (view spoiler)[ of a scapegoat here too. I feel more sorry for him this time. You can really tell he wants to do the safer thing but is handcuffed. (hide spoiler)]

I ended up with good reading time this weekend, and this book is hard to put down, lol. (Like I said, very much a comfort read!) I made it up to ch12. (view spoiler)[ I had heard already about the Ellen/Hooper affair before reading this, so that wasn’t too much of a surprise. I’m curious to see as we finish if adding that to the storyline affects the overall story at all. I’m guessing that it doesn’t, but who knows yet.

Quint is also a different character so far here. I haven’t built the same respect for him yet that I did the movie character. I think maybe we need more time with him than we’re going to get. (hide spoiler)]

Terry wrote: "They are! He’s made out as more (view spoiler)

I ended up with good reading time this weekend, and this book is hard to put down, lol. (Like I said, very much a comfort read!) I made it up to ch12. (view spoiler)"

Yeah, I'm seeing that too!

I got to the beginning of Chapter 10 last night so I'm almost there.
I'm glad you are still liking this!

I kind of like the (view spoiler)[Mayor's ties to the mob. It adds to his sleaziness and why he wants to keep the beach open. Makes more sense to me with this then what the movie portrays.

And the affair with Ellen and Hooper is a huge twist!! I really don't like Ellen in this book. It's really interested to see what Spielberg kept out from the book.
The affair really doesn't add much to the "shark angle" but it does add to the relationship between Brody and Ellen! (hide spoiler)]

Monica wrote: "I read this a couple of months ago and loved it. The beginning of the book is absoulutely great , I think. Also, the more you go on the more I didn't like the different road the movie took."

I am 100% with you on that.

Just got to the beginning of Chapter 13 and read your spoilers. (view spoiler)[I did not know about the Ellen/Hooper affair so it was quite a surprise for me.
Yeah, Quint is definitely a different character in this. He's still the grumpy sea captain though. LOL

I'm still liking the book but if something drastic doesn't happen in the last part of the book, I prefer the movie over the book if I had to choose.

And it's because of this:
The book does not scare me like the movie. I think reading about sharks doesn't terrify me as actually seeing them. I swear I couldn't even get into a swimming pool after seeing Jaws the first time as a kid! LOL

It's still a comfort read with how much I love this movie and I'm surprised with how fast that I've read this.
I'll likely be done in a few days now since I only have about 50 pages to go! :D (hide spoiler)]

I've enjoyed reading all your opinions on the book.
Jaws, the movie, has long been one of my favs. So a few years ago I read the book out of curiosity to see what was different in it. I thought the movie was vastly better and more interesting. The worst part of the book for me was (view spoiler)[ the silly affair between Hooper and Ellen Brody. There must have been 10 pages written about how she powdered her privates in anticipation of sleeping with the guy. geeez... that was terrible. (hide spoiler)] Really glad that storyline was dropped from the movie.

WendyB wrote: "I've enjoyed reading all your opinions on the book.
Jaws, the movie, has long been one of my favs. So a few years ago I read the book out of curiosity to see what was different in it. I thought the..."

Ha!! Totally agree Wendy.
I really thought that was a bit much with (view spoiler)[powdering of the privates and getting ready to get randy.
I mean, we all do that type of thing but I don't need to read 10 mins of it. It was a long scene of getting "spruced up". LMAO!

I don't think the affair with Hooper and Ellen was needed and I'm glad Spielberg left it out. (hide spoiler)]

Ginger wrote: "Just got to the beginning of Chapter 13 and read your spoilers...."

I have about the same amount left, so I’ll probably finish tonight. I agree with all that you said there. On your earlier spoiler, (view spoiler)[ I’d heard about the affair, but I’d not heard about the mafia connection. I was surprised by that. You’re right, quite an interesting twist. They sure emphasized in the book how much the beach shutdown would impact the town going forward, more so than in the movie it seemed. It was certainly in the movie, but I felt it more in the book. Interesting that they took that whole storyline out for the mayor in the movie. (hide spoiler)]

I’m super glad we chose to read this!

Terry wrote: "Ginger wrote: "Just got to the beginning of Chapter 13 and read your spoilers...."

I have about the same amount left, so I’ll probably finish tonight. I agree with all that you said there. On your..."

Awesome! We're likely to finish this around the same time.

I'm glad we chose to read this too. I really wanted to read this book too because I loved the movie so much!

That's exactly how I felt, in reference to everyone's spoilers. It got 3 stars from me mainly because of the fact that when I read a book about a killer shark, then I want to read gore and attacks, etc., not all the extra boring stuff.😃 So for me, the movie was way better.

Awesome book! I really enjoyed reading it. Went with 4/5 stars. I put lots of comments in my review, too.

Glad you liked it, Terry. I love how different everyone's perspectives are on books.😊 Gosh, I was so underwhelmed with this one and disappointed that it wasn't awesome for me.

My review of Jaws is linked below - I read it a few years ago . . . I remember mainly feeling that, much like when you watch a movie made in the 70s and 80s you can tell it was in the 70s/80s, Jaws has that polyester/disco/Cold War feel to it!

Click for my review of Jaws

Matthew wrote: "My review of Jaws is linked below - I read it a few years ago . . . I remember mainly feeling that, much like when you watch a movie made in the 70s and 80s you can tell it was in the 70s/80s, Jaws..."

And I love that feel (well, most of the time I guess…). Agree with your review as well.

In my opinion, all the details help with the characterization of the characters and to make them and the story feel more real. Although, I agree on the spoiler you guys pointed out, way too long. But I wouldn't take the whole thing out of the book.
I'm glad you guys enjoyed it at least a little bit :D