YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

First came the days of the plague. Then came the dreams. Dark dreams that warned of the coming of the dark man. The apostate of death, his worn-down boot heels tramping the night roads. The warlord of the charnel house and Prince of Evil. His time is at hand. His empire grows in the west and the Apocalypse looms.
For hundreds of thousands of fans who read The Stand in its original version and wanted more, this new edition is Stephen King's gift. And those who are listening to The Stand for the first time will discover a triumphant and eerily plausible work of the imagination that takes on the issues that will determine our survival.

Sorry I'm late, I'll start today!

Hey, I'm going to jump into this one after work

Great! I started but I haven't actually gone further than Preface :)
I'll get on with it!

Hi! I'm a bit busy with everything, do you want to restart it in a few weeks? Maybe anytime after the 25th that's alright for you?
It's Ok if you don't want to.

That is totally fine with me! Would next month work for you? I've had a crazy start to the month so have only read 20 pages so far so am more than happy to restart :)

Sure! March is great!

Hi Dannii, when do you want to restart The Stand?

I'm so sorry, Goodreads isn't giving me any notifications and I completely forgot about this BR! Want to start sometime this week? Say on the 6th?

Yeah, that'll be great :)
Are we supposed to get a new thread?

We can use this. Ill request for the start date to be altered once I'm home 😊

Dannii wrote: "We can use this. Ill request for the start date to be altered once I'm home 😊"

Thanks!

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Date changed. Restarting March 6th 2025. Happy Reading ☺

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Chapter 1- (view spoiler)[ It's quite a gruesome start, to be honest. In my experience, most authors don't introduce the setting with something so shocking. But it is quite interesting for me because Stephan King's writing style is quite different to what I usually read.

I feel like whatever 'disease' killed Charles, Sally and Baby LaVon is communicable and will possibly kill the men at Hap's station. I'm quite curious as to how it started. And how the unexpected start could foreshadow something much more dangerous in the coming chapters. (hide spoiler)]

This book is really long, so I am questioning if I would be able to finish it this month. What about you?

I'm just settling down to start it now. I've been awful at reading much these days as life has got quite busy so may split it across two months and read some shorter books in between, if you do :)

Dannii wrote: "I'm just settling down to start it now. I've been awful at reading much these days as life has got quite busy so may split it across two months and read some shorter books in between, if you do :)"

Yeah, that sounds great! It'll be easier to read this book slowly since it is so long. I think I might have to spend at least two months on it.

Okay finally made an actual start to this! Sorry for being such a rubbish buddy reader! I'm on chapter 6 now.(view spoiler)[This started with a bang with Charlie escaping whatever had killed his colleagues and taking his wife, Sally, and their baby from the trouble. It ended ominously with his steady coughing as they travelled, which means they aren't as safe as they believed and this was confirmed in chapter one!

Chapter two introduced the reader to pregnant Fran, whom I immediately loved. She was so sassy and I felt sorry for her current predicament.

In chapter three the reader got to see the easy way in which the flu like virus was spreading through the town. In the wake of covid, it's making for some alarming reading! (hide spoiler)]

I'm on Chapter 6 too! No problems :)

Ooh that's good. I thought I was far behind you. I have a day off today so going to spend the first few hours of it making a dent in this book :)

Dannii wrote: "Ooh that's good. I thought I was far behind you. I have a day off today so going to spend the first few hours of it making a dent in this book :)"

Great! I've been reading at a slow pace and have been scared that you might be quicker! Glad to know we're just as behind...

Prisha wrote: "Dannii wrote: "Ooh that's good. I thought I was far behind you. I have a day off today so going to spend the first few hours of it making a dent in this book :)"

Great! I've been reading at a slow..."

Sane here haha. Life has been crazy this month!

I'm on chapter 20 (view spoiler)[ I'm loving how this story is building! I'm getting to know the town and it's occupants with shorter chapters inbetween their perspectives detailing how quickly this virus can spread, such as with the passing of a coin or sneezing in someone's vicinity. Nick and Frannie are my favourite perspectives so far. Fate has dealt them cruel hands but they both persevere. (hide spoiler)]

I'm still on chapter 8, I think I need to get into it after school today.

No worries, take your time. I have a day off today so going to make a dent in it, hopefully. It is crazy that I'm 200 pages in and that's only 15% of the book!!

"the country would come alive in all its glorious possibilities, a body politic with its network of roads embedded in its skin like marvellous capillaries, ready to take him, the dark speck of foreign matter, anywhere or everywhere - heart, liver, lights, brain. He was a clot looking for a place to happen, a splinter of bone hunting a soft organ to puncture, a lonely lunatic cell looking for a mate"

Probably one of my favourite quotes from the book yet!

Chapter 34 (view spoiler)[Poor Nick's chapters are breaking me! He deals with the dead in silence even though he doesn't know them. And then has to contend with the world with one eye, as well as being blind and deaf. This is a reread but I remember little about it. I really hope he catches a break soon! He seems to be immune from the flu-like symptoms affecting everyone else, which is something. (hide spoiler)]

Dannii wrote: "No worries, take your time. I have a day off today so going to make a dent in it, hopefully. It is crazy that I'm 200 pages in and that's only 15% of the book!!"

The book is really long! I'm 100 pages through and disappointedly looking at 8% it is showing me, lol.

Dannii wrote: ""the country would come alive in all its glorious possibilities, a body politic with its network of roads embedded in its skin like marvellous capillaries, ready to take him, the dark speck of fore..."

It does seem fascinating, can't wait to reach this part! I don't understand the context behind it but it's using the metaphor of a body to describe a person in a city, isn't it?

I’m thinking of joining you guys with this one tonight.. 🌝 just leaving my comment here so I can receive notifications

Great! Glad you're joining us :)

بيان wrote: "I’m thinking of joining you guys with this one tonight.. 🌝 just leaving my comment here so I can receive notifications"

The more the merrier :)

Prisha wrote: "Dannii wrote: ""the country would come alive in all its glorious possibilities, a body politic with its network of roads embedded in its skin like marvellous capillaries, ready to take him, the dar..."

Yes that is what is happening. The quote out of context isn't a spoiler but it makes more sense when you read the perspective it is from

Chapter 39 (view spoiler)[ I like neither Larry and Rita but I do still feel so sorry for them! I hope they can make it through this together and, especially for Larry, become better people in the process. Frannie and Nick still remain my favourite characters but all the chapters impress me, even the ones that detail the chaos the world is descending into. The storyline is super slow but I'm so invested! (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 13
(view spoiler)[ Frannie's mother has been very uncaring and disregarding through her childhood. Her reaction to Frannie's preganancy was very strong, I think she's upset that the child is going to be born from wedlock and is going to be 'illegitimate' and how other people will see her. She is more worried about her reputation than Frannie's wellbeing. Her reaction was disgusting and she doesn't have the right to call herself Frannie's mom. (hide spoiler)]

Prisha wrote: "Chapter 13
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[It was so hard and sad to read about. Frannie needed her mum more than ever in those moments and instead was emotionally shut out! (hide spoiler)]

Going to be carrying on with this one tomorrow :)

Yeah, me too. I'm planning on going through loads of the book this week! Planning to hopefully finish it next week.

Dannii wrote: "بيان wrote: "I’m thinking of joining you guys with this one tonight.. 🌝 just leaving my comment here so I can receive notifications"

The more the merrier :)"

My grandpa got extremely sick that night and died April 1st and I never started the book but I’m catching up this week..

Prisha wrote: "Great! Glad you're joining us :)"

Sorry for being late

بيان wrote: "Dannii wrote: "بيان wrote: "I’m thinking of joining you guys with this one tonight.. 🌝 just leaving my comment here so I can receive notifications"

The more the merrier :)"

My grandpa got extreme..."

I'm sorry about what happened. Don't worry about being late, it's not problem at all. Are you alright?

Prisha wrote: "بيان wrote: "Dannii wrote: "بيان wrote: "I’m thinking of joining you guys with this one tonight.. 🌝 just leaving my comment here so I can receive notifications"

The more the merrier :)"

My grandp..."

I’m feeling better now I needed that break from everything to grieve and be with family.. thank you for asking

بيان wrote: "Dannii wrote: "بيان wrote: "I’m thinking of joining you guys with this one tonight.. 🌝 just leaving my comment here so I can receive notifications"

The more the merrier :)"

My grandpa got extreme..."

I'm so, so sorry to hear this! Take your time, your healing comes first. If you ever need someone to chat to, know you can always come here.

Dannii wrote: "بيان wrote: "Dannii wrote: "بيان wrote: "I’m thinking of joining you guys with this one tonight.. 🌝 just leaving my comment here so I can receive notifications"

The more the merrier :)"

My grandp..."

You’re very kind thank you.. I took the week to stay with my family at our country home and it was very healing.. I wanted to go back to reading because it helps even more

I can find that escaping into fiction helps me too. I'm glad you've had a week with your family too.

Chapter 41 - (view spoiler)[Rita's end was a sad one. Her character was never painted as particularly likeable and so it made me feel a little guilty to read of her death. It's not her fault she had such trouble adapting to this new world. Larry was the opposite. His descriptions of the birds tweeting and the fresh air reminded me of covid times when the world seemed to be healing a little without humans constantly polluting it. It's crazy how long ago this book was written but how perfectly it describes certain situations. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 45 - (view spoiler)[I'm noticing a few mentions of other King works, one character dreams of a cornfield, like in Children of the Corn, and another fearful his motorbike will return to try to kill him, which is reminiscent of Christine. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 51 - (view spoiler)[This went from focusing on the virus to the dreams and visions many were getting, of a red eye and a dark man, leading this away from the original straight-forward dystopian horror delivered. (hide spoiler)]

Finished - (view spoiler)[There was increased human perception as they got closer to Flagg, the mysterious man and the all-seeing eye. I was so intrigued to find the truth behind all that the lead up to their meeting, as well as to get Flagg's own perspective. The only part I didn't love was the sections that detailed meeting notes, but everything else was super interesting. Not as tense as I anticipated the ending of an over 1,000 page book to be, however. And no conclusion, as such. This left me feeling really sad, as humans never learn and are doomed to live making the same mistakes. I'm glad there was happiness for Stu and Frannie but poor Nick deserved better! (hide spoiler)]

Wow!

I think I'm just going to DNF for now.