Sunday, October 6, 2013

Doctor Sleep Readalong

After being pretty indecisive in my latest #FridayReads post, I decided to pick up Stephen King's latest (and highly anticipated) release, Doctor Sleep.  This follows the story of Danny Torrence after life at The Overlook hotel in The Shining.  Most King books start out very slow for me and I anticipate reading very slowly for the first part of the book, but I was really surprised at how invested I was in the story line from the beginning.  All of the POVs flowed very smoothly from one chapter to the next so I didn't experience the initial stalling of interest with Doctor Sleep like I do with his other books.


I read the first 200 pages in just over a day which was perfect timing to join in on the Doctor Sleep #Sleepalong hosted by Charlene at Cheap Thrills and Tif at TifTalksBooks.  This book will also go toward the RIPVIII reading event that ends on October 31.  Here are a few pre-reading questions:

Have you read The Shining?  Was it recently or ages ago?  Or, is your knowledge of The Shining from the movie and mainstream pop culture?
I read The Shining a few months ago and only after finding out that Doctor Sleep was being released.  I have been reading King for about 10 years now and always had The Shining on my list to read but it wasn't a priority until I found out about Doctor Sleep.  I also saw the movie when I was in middle school and that experience was much different than reading the book.

In a few sentences, describe your feelings on The Shining.  Did you like it?  What thoughts or images stand out for you?
I thought The Shining was a little underwhelming, but I think that is because I was heavily influenced by the altered story line of the movie and iconic images/scare tactics that it used.  The book is more of a slow creeping horror rather than a shock and awe horror that the movie was.  The main scene from the book that stands out is when the elevator starts moving by itself.  I was reading that part at night in bed and I honestly had trouble sleeping afterwards.

What do you expect from Doctor Sleep?
I am going in with zero expectations, and I haven't even read a plot summary of the book. I always find this to be the best way to experience any book because there is no hype surrounding the plot or characters for me to compare them to while reading.


So tell me, have you read The Shining and will you also read Doctor Sleep? Check back tomorrow for the first check in for #sleepalong!

4 comments:

  1. I am so glad to hear that you are joining us!!! Yeah!!!!

    I think the elevator scene was definitely a powerful one in The Shining as well. Different scenes stand out to me from the book and movie and they are definitely not the same!

    I have tried to avoid all spoilers and chatter about Doctor Sleep as well. I want to experience it all fresh for the first time, with no preconceived notions ... or at least try to!

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    1. So glad I decided to pick it up over the weekend - I'm already done part 2 and I'm trying to restrain myself from finishing the book tonight!

      The movie scene that sticks out most vividly in my mind is when Jack breaks through the door with the axe- I swear I had the same bedroom door and it definitely kept me up at night!

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  2. I love going into a book blind, and if it's an author or a series I already know I love, a lot of times I will avoid reviews and skip reading the summary. I hope your experience with the book is a great one, and glad to have you joining us!

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    1. Thank you! One of the best parts about reading King's books is seeing the connections he weaves into the story lines across novels (and I haven't read anywhere close to his whole collection of work). I have a part marked off in The Shining where he mentions the men in white coats because these are the villains in his book Insomnia, which came out 20 years later!

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