The Shining Revisited by Michael Koryta

The ShiningI’d love to say that the first crime I committed was stealing a copy of The Shining, but in truth it was probably well along the list of crimes. It is the first thing I remember stealing, at least, although I want to add the critical caveat that I returned it to its rightful owner. That always satisfies the judge, right?

The Shining was the first King book I read, and I didn’t intend to read it. The book was in a neighbor’s house and while they were on vacation I was entrusted with a key in the hopes that I would keep their cats fed and not steal their literature. I batted .500.

I opened the book with only mild curiosity because I expected to know the story since I’d already seen the film, a decision of great controversy in my family and one that produced an all-time-classic memory of my parents. My mother was hesitant to let my sister and I see the movie; my father was convinced that “we were ready.” The vivid memory comes with Danny’s visit to Room 217 (er, sorry, 237) but it isn’t the awaiting horrors that make the memory stand out in my mind. It’s my mother shouting at my father to fast-forward through the (gasp!) sight of the naked woman, a sight that threatened the moral compass of her children – and one that clearly had a cost, because I was soon stealing from the neighbors. My father leapt into action and did as he was told, punching the fast-forward button. In the fashion of the old VHS tapes, two blurred lines appeared on the screen: one The Shining Movie Postercovered the woman’s face, the other her stomach, meaning that the image was now reduced to an advancing pair of faceless female parts. My sister and I will laugh over that one until the day we die.

But back to the book. As I said, I didn’t intend to read it. I certainly didn’t imagine that it would be one of the few novels I keep beside my writing desk today, a constant source of inspiration, a reminder of how much a reader can feel from a book. I intended to skim a few pages, that was all. But you don’t just skim a few pages of The Shining. King’s remarkable novel doesn’t allow that. The Torrances might not be trapped (yet) in the Overlook, but you are.

An element I remember from that first read was a sense of astonishment as I realized: wait, a minute – Jack isn’t crazy. Jack hasn’t lost it yet. In the film, the first shot of Jack Nicholson’s face assured me that we were traveling along with a mad man. The crisis of the story was clear: innocent family is en route to snowbound hotel with insane husband/father. The worries of the character I met on the page, however, the desperate man calling in the last favor he has in the world to protect the family he loves, a man battling the threats around him and within him, were jarring. I thought maybe I don’t know the story so well after all and set about making my theft, carefully hiding the book lest it reinforce my mother’s suspicions about the corruption of character that had occurred during that fateful family movie night. I had a few days before the neighbors returned; it did not take me a few days to read the book.
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Rage Update and A Secret

Rage

Almost finished reading RAGE (for only the second time). Look for my essay sometime this weekend or early next week.

A couple weeks ago, I admitted to a reader via Twitter that there are TWO Stephen King books I have never read…and ever since, folks have been busy trying to guess those two titles. No one has gotten the correct answers as of yet. If you all would like to make your own guesses in the COMMENTS section below, please feel free.

I will even hand out some prizes if anyone correctly guesses both titles (but not until I post my essay for the first of the two books; I want it to remain a surprise until that time).

Thanks and please follow me on Twitter if you’re inclined: @RichardChizmar

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Richard Chizmar Is Reading Rage Right Now

RageJust a quick update to let you know that Richard is reading Rage right now.

Remember, you can follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter for his personal updates and other posts of interest to readers and collectors and Stephen King fans.

The complete list of the books we’ll be reading can be found on the Stephen King Books In Chronological Order For Stephen King Revisited Reading Lists page.

We also have great guest essays for ‘Salem’s Lot and The Shining to post soon.

Stay tuned for more news and updates on Stephen King Revisited!

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Stephen King Revisited Contest and Mr. Mercedes Still Discounted To $3.75!

Two quick updates today:

1) We’ve selected the first group of winners in our Stephen King Revisited contest and they’ve been emailed to confirm their addresses. Once we hear back, we’ll post their names here on the site. MORE WINNERS WILL SELECTED NEXT WEEK, so read all of the details to make sure you’re entered because this is a FREE contest.

2) For those of you who like to plan ahead or who haven’t read this one yet, Norman Prentiss over at eHorrorBargains.com spotted that the eBook edition of Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King is only $3.75 today on Amazon for some reason, which is a terrific deal for such a new release from a major author:

Mr Mercedes by Stephen King

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Richard Chizmar Reading The Shining, Contest Update, Found Photos, and Following Richard

Four quick updates today:

1) Our Stephen King Revisited contest is up and running and we’ll start picking winners THIS WEEK. Read all of the details to make sure you’re entered because this is a FREE contest and the prizes are pretty awesome.

2) Remember, you can follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter for his personal updates and other posts of interest to readers and collectors and Stephen King fans.

3) Richard Chizmar was caught reading on the job yet again today. For the record, he hit Chapter 17, The Doctor’s Office:

Richard Chizmar Reading The Shining

4) In the category of “you never know what you’ll find in an old book,” here are two photos Richard found in The Shining paperback. He has no idea where they came from:

photo in 'Salem's Lot 01photo in 'Salem's Lot 02

Finally, this would be a great time for you to join in and read along with Richard. You can order an eBook and start right now. Here are the eBook store links if you want to download a copy:

Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
iTunes/iBookstore

To be notified of new posts and updates via email, please sign-up using the box on the right side or the bottom of this site.

Stephen King Revisited Contest! Prizes Include A Signed Stephen King Book And More!

Are you receiving our free Stephen King Revisited updates via email? (If you’re reading this message in your email, the answer is yes!)

If you are not receiving the updates via email, NOW is the time to sign-up because we’ll be giving away some GREAT prizes to randomly selected subscribers next week including a book SIGNED by STEPHEN KING!

Revival by Stephen King(Already a subscriber? Then you’re good to go for this giveaway and there’s nothing else you need to do!)

** THE PRIZES INCLUDE:

* a signed 1st edition hardcover of REVIVAL by Stephen King

* $500 Cemetery Dance Gift Certificate

* a complete set of the Stephen King Doubleday Years Gift Editions (Carrie, ‘Salem’s Lot, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, and Pet Sematary), a combined retail value of more than $550!

* a FREE SIGNED LIMITED EDITION of your choice from our website

* a lifetime subscription to Cemetery Dance magazine

We’ll be selecting the winners at random sometime next week, so don’t wait to sign-up for our FREE email updates because you have nothing to lose!

** HOW TO SUBSCRIBE:

1) Visit http://www.StephenKingRevisited.com if you’re not here already

2) Look for the “Updates and Notifications via email” box on the right or at the bottom

3) Enter your email address and click “Subscribe”

4) Check your email for the confirmation email and click on the special link to confirm your subscription. You have to confirm your subscription to be entered into this contest.

All decisions made by Cemetery Dance Publications are final. This contest may end at any time. Winners will be posted on StephenKingRevisited.com after they are notified and confirm they are real human beings and not bots. Rules subject to change.

Carrie: The Curious Case of George Chizmar by Richard Chizmar

On page 82 of the first edition hardcover edition of CARRIE, we are introduced to a character by the name of George Chizmar:

“George Chizmar, Ewen’s most artistic student, had done a small chalk sketch of gondolas on a canal at sunset and a gondolier in a huge straw fedora leaning against the tiller as a gorgeous panoply of pinks and reds and oranges stained both sky and water.”

I remember being stunned, and more than a little pleased, the first time I read that sentence. I had never before seen my last name (trust me, it’s not a common one) in any work of fiction, so for it to appear in my favorite author’s debut novel was quite a thrill.

Of course, it also led to many years of inevitable questions: did Stephen King name Ewen’s most artistic student after you, Rich? Did he know your father? Your uncle? » Read more

Revisiting Carrie by Richard Chizmar

THAT WAS THEN…

So, I sit down a couple weeks ago and write my introduction to Stephen King Revisited and I go on and on about how King’s books carry so many personal memories for me — where I was when I first read them, who I was, what I was thinking — and now it comes time to discuss the very first King book, CARRIE, and I realize…ummmm, my memory of this one isn’t quite so clear, folks.

Great way to start this journey, huh?

But it actually makes sense when I think about it.

CARRIE was originally published in April 1974. I was eight years old at the time and busy fishing and collecting baseball cards and playing whiffle ball in the side yard with my friends. My only exposure to horror at that early age were comic books and the Saturday afternoon Creature Double Features on television. » Read more

King, Carrie, and a Religious Revelation by Ray Garton

“Jesus watches from the wall,
But his face is cold as stone,
And if he loves me
As she tells me
Why do I feel so all alone?” 
— Carrie White

Stephen King’s Carrie was not the first horror novel I read, but it was the first horror novel that did more than frighten and disturb me, the first to reach a hand deep into my life, stir things up, and make me begin to look at things differently.  It made me question … well, just about everything. » Read more

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