2008 Book 85: Thinner

Book #:	85
Book Title:	Thinner
Author:	Stephen King (Richard Bachman)
Publisher:	Signet
Pub. Date:	1984
Pages:	318
Started:	September 29, 2008
Finished:	October 1, 2008
Time to Read:	3 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"Billy Halleck, good husband, loving father, is both beneficiary and victim of the American Good Life: he has an expensive home, a nice family, and a rewarding career as a lawyer. But he is also fifty pounds overweight and, as his doctor keeps reminding him, heading into heart attack country. Then, in a moment of carelessness, Billy sideswipes an old gypsy woman as she is crossing the street - and her ancient father passes a bizarre and terrible judgement on him. 'Thinner,' the old gypsy man whispers, and caresses his cheeks like a lover. Just one word...but six weeks later and ninety-three pounds lighter, Billy Halleck is more than worried. He's terrified. And desperate enough for one last gamble...that will lead him to a nightmare showdown with the forces of evil melting his flesh away."
Stars:	***
Review:	It's hard to believe that there is any darker voice among popular authors than Stephen King. But his alter ego, Richard Bachman, shows that true evil exists and makes it a part of every day life. As Billy Halleck pursues many different avenues to try to stop the affects of the gypsy's curse that is causing him to waste away, he discovers many aspects of his own self that he is not pleased to learn about. Simultaneously fighting exterior and interior demons, Halleck rushes to a denouement that is so typical of a Bachman ending - certainly not happy, but definitely appropriate. This is a vital addition to any collection of Bachman/King novels.

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2008 Book 9: Cell

Book #:	9
Book Title:	Cell
Author:	Stephen King
Publisher:	Pocket Star Books
Pub. Date:	2006
Pages:	449
Started:	January 26, 2008
Finished:	January 30, 2008
Time to Read:	5 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"Graphic artist Clay Riddell was in the heart of Boston on that brilliant autumn afternoon when hell was unleashed before his eyes. Without warning, carnage and chaos reigned. Ordinary people fell victim to the basest, most animalistic destruction. And the apocalypse began with the ring of a cell phone...."
Stars:	****
Review:	If Stephen King weren't (a) married and (b) twice my age, I'd marry him. I believe that he has the most creative literary mind in our age. How his mind work is far beyond me, but that it does work makes me a happy person. Cell is an eerie look at our time, and our ultimate reliance on technology. Think about how far we've come - fifty years ago, we had party lines, black and white TVs, and microwaves and personal computers were still thoughts for the future. Now? How many people do you know that don't have a cell phone? Not many, are there? My husband has an eight-year-old second cousin that got one for Christmas, which just seems obscene. In this horrifying look at a society under attack, King takes us out of our comfort zone and backwards in time to a world that has to rely on itself instead of technology to survive. Worse yet, it's a world where unknown forces are conspiring to take down American society - a theme awkwardly appropriate in post-9/11 America. All in all, I urge you to run, not walk, to pick up your own copy of this novel and dive into it yourself! My friend Penelope Anne also reviewed this book on her blog - check out her thoughts here! The Manic Bookworm's Ballroom: Cell by Stephen King.

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany