Hello and welcome, Constant Readers, to the month of October.
This month, we follow along with Lala and her Buzzwordathon, featuring the book cover theme of weapons. Depending on the edition you have of each book, you will find an ax, a scythe, and a sword. Ashley and I have again chosen a variety of books for you to peruse this month.
Let us start with the book Misery, published in 1987. This novel is considered a psychological horror that follows two characters: Annie Wilkes, a former nurse, and Paul Sheldon, a writer. The two meet on a snowy roadside after a car accident. Paul awakens to find himself in a farmhouse and, unfortunately, held captive.
The movie Misery, directed by Rob Reiner, came out in 1990, starring Kathy Bates and James Caan. If you have not seen the movie, I highly recommend. Kathy Bates won an Academy Award for her performance.
Next up, we have The Stand. A novel that I have never once picked up do to its sheer size. It intimidates me. Although I have read the novel IT, which is 50 pages longer. However, according to Wikipedia, in 1990, The Stand was restored and reprinted from the original published book. This uncut version apparently has 14 more pages than IT. So who knows, they are both long.
The Stand is a post-apocalyptic dark fantasy published in 1978. The Stand focuses on different factions that have pocketed this world after an influenza pandemic. Each faction is led by either good or evil. We are introduced to Randall Flagg in this story, who will become a recurring antagonist in future books, especially in The Dark Tower series.
Two television adaptations have come out for The Stand. One was the miniseries in 1994 starring Gary Sinise. The other miniseries came out in 2020, starring James Marsden. The 1994 version can be seen on Apple TV and Amazon Prime. As for the 2020 version, if you have Paramount Plus, you can watch it for free on Amazon Prime or with YouTube if you have a primetime subscription.
The last book we have on our list for this month is Never Flinch, a crime novel published just this year, May 27, 2025. This story follows Holly Gibney. We have seen her before in several other books. The Mercedes Trilogy, The Outsider, If It Bleeds, and the book with her namesake, Holly. This story has Holly signing up to be a bodyguard to a celebrity feminist activist. While Holly is protecting Kate McKay, a killer is threatening to kill 14 people as retribution for the death of an innocent man in prison.
I always enjoy finding easter eggs in King's novels. I wonder what we will see in this new one.
Well, my Stephen King friends. I hope all is well with you, and we start this October right with more riveting reads. Good luck to all of you, and as always, Happy Reading!
This month, we follow along with Lala and her Buzzwordathon, featuring the book cover theme of weapons. Depending on the edition you have of each book, you will find an ax, a scythe, and a sword. Ashley and I have again chosen a variety of books for you to peruse this month.
Let us start with the book Misery, published in 1987. This novel is considered a psychological horror that follows two characters: Annie Wilkes, a former nurse, and Paul Sheldon, a writer. The two meet on a snowy roadside after a car accident. Paul awakens to find himself in a farmhouse and, unfortunately, held captive.
The movie Misery, directed by Rob Reiner, came out in 1990, starring Kathy Bates and James Caan. If you have not seen the movie, I highly recommend. Kathy Bates won an Academy Award for her performance.
Next up, we have The Stand. A novel that I have never once picked up do to its sheer size. It intimidates me. Although I have read the novel IT, which is 50 pages longer. However, according to Wikipedia, in 1990, The Stand was restored and reprinted from the original published book. This uncut version apparently has 14 more pages than IT. So who knows, they are both long.
The Stand is a post-apocalyptic dark fantasy published in 1978. The Stand focuses on different factions that have pocketed this world after an influenza pandemic. Each faction is led by either good or evil. We are introduced to Randall Flagg in this story, who will become a recurring antagonist in future books, especially in The Dark Tower series.
Two television adaptations have come out for The Stand. One was the miniseries in 1994 starring Gary Sinise. The other miniseries came out in 2020, starring James Marsden. The 1994 version can be seen on Apple TV and Amazon Prime. As for the 2020 version, if you have Paramount Plus, you can watch it for free on Amazon Prime or with YouTube if you have a primetime subscription.
The last book we have on our list for this month is Never Flinch, a crime novel published just this year, May 27, 2025. This story follows Holly Gibney. We have seen her before in several other books. The Mercedes Trilogy, The Outsider, If It Bleeds, and the book with her namesake, Holly. This story has Holly signing up to be a bodyguard to a celebrity feminist activist. While Holly is protecting Kate McKay, a killer is threatening to kill 14 people as retribution for the death of an innocent man in prison.
I always enjoy finding easter eggs in King's novels. I wonder what we will see in this new one.
Well, my Stephen King friends. I hope all is well with you, and we start this October right with more riveting reads. Good luck to all of you, and as always, Happy Reading!