I can't think of a good reason why audio books should be considered cheating. The tradition of storytelling is a long one and this is just a modern iteration. My problem with them is a personal one - I just can't concentrate. Part of the reason is that the mind tends to wander with the eyes. If I'm doing something else, I invariably stop paying attention. Humans are notoriously bad multi-taskers (no matter what certain individuals may think!) Also, I find that audio book readings are entirely too slow - when listening to one I get frustrated because I always feel like I want to be one step ahead of where the reader is.
I'm very hesitant to read the book because I liked the movie so much. To be honest, it wasn't am incredibly brilliant movie - I'm not sure that it would hold up under really intense scrutiny. But, it just had charm and was thoroughly likeable. I'm afraid that, by reading the book, I'll be forced to overthink the movie and it will sort of collapse in on itself.
I think that King often does his best short-form writing when he stays clear of the supernatural. This collection, along with Different Seasons, is one of his best. I particularly liked 1922. You're completely right when you say that King's stamp is all over the writing. It would be completely recognizable as King's work in a blind reading. Great review!
This was the first John Irving book I read. know that "The World According to Garp" is usually considered his masterpiece, but I'm with you about this one - it was so incredibly moving that I'd say it was Irving's best. What I like about Irving (in his good books, at least) are the bizarre little details that all come together in a way that complement the story. You mention the diamond wheel, the armadillo is another good example in this one. Just brilliant story telling. Thanks for the review!
When I used to live in the States (and more recently on my occasional trips back), I would buy obscene amounts of books. Even in China where English books are hard(er) to come by, I'm still a bit of a hoarder with four or five full boxes of books I've dragged around with me as I've moved within this country. It's subsided a bit with my use of an e-reader, but I still just have a thing about collecting books. I suppose that there are much worse addictions to have!
Happy blogging anniversary and thanks for the mention. Even though I haven't been to active recently over at mine, I've still been reading and I'm glad you're still going!
I know absolutely nothing at all about Wilkie Collins but I do know that that is a fantastic It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia - I'd be watching that too!
I can always count on a King book to kill about two days. I actually planned my annual leave back in Nov. to coincide with this one's release so I wouldn't be distracted reading it. A bit pathetic, really, but so what. There's been a lot of yawing about how King seemed to get sidetracked from the main plot of this novel - focusing on Jake and Jodie's relationship rather than on the hunt for Oswald. To me, this misses the point - the book is a meditation on the inscrutability of time and the pain of loss. To me, the Oswald/JFK was almost a distraction in that it was needed to give the book a focal point but wasn't, in and of itself, crucial to the ideas in the story. Great review and glad you liked it!
Great job with the stats! I like the page numbers - I thought about going back and trying to add them all up from the entire year, but I'm not that patient. Keeping a spreadsheet to note stats as I finish is the way to go, thanks for the inspiration!
Norwegian Wood was the book that got me hooked on Murakami. Now, two and half years later, I've read almost everything he's written that's been translated into English. Norwegian Wood was his most straightforward book, but I wouldn't say any of his books are particularly difficult or dense. When you're done reading them, you'll be scratching your head going "WTF was that all about?" but you'll be smiling. They're a lot like dreams - stuff doesn't make any sense at all - except it does. Anyway, glad you enjoyed this one and hope that you move on to some others. His best is The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles but if you want another relatively straightforward one, read South of the Border, West of the Sun.
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