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PLEASE NOTE: The Reality TV World Message Boards are filled with desperate
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"Stephen King's 11/22/63 - a quick review"
Molaholic 9015 desperate attention whore postings
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11-26-11, 03:04 PM (EST)
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"Stephen King's 11/22/63 - a quick review" |
I'm not a fan of Stephen King's usual milieu. Fortunately, this work is in a very different theme.High School English teacher Jake Epping, living in a small town in Maine, is one of the few genuine patrons of Al's Burgers, which, despite (or perhaps due to) terrific prices, struggles to stay in business (rumors of 'catburgers' abound).
Jake supplements his income teaching Adult GED classes, and one evening, after reading a particularly heart-wrenching essay on a 'personal watershed moment', decides to relax with a quiet meal. While talking the day's events over with Al, he's let in on the answer to the low prices --
Al's restaurant has a secret. There's a "time portal" that leads to September 9, 1958 - and Al has been nipping back in time every few days to buy his ground beef at a fraction of the cost his contemporary competitors are paying.
Jake takes a quick trip back himself -- enjoying a 10-cent frosty root beer. He also learns that every trip back 'resets', events repeat themselves exactly the same. Plus, no matter how long the time-traveler spends in the past, only two minutes passes in 2011.
Eventually, the two decide to experiment with actually changing events from the past. First, their changes are minor (Al carves his initials on a tree, which are obviously over 50 years old when they find them the next day).
After several other experiments, including some interesting twists under the so-called "butterfly effect", Al decides to try to change a major "watershed moment" -- the assassination of John F. Kennedy. However, this means living in the past over five years (remember, he has to start in 1958). However, Al is unable to complete the mission -- so he convinces Jake to do the deed.
Jake (taking the persona of George Amberson) soon discovers that "the past is obdurate" and that stopping Lee Harvey Oswald will not be easy. I've had a fascination with the Kennedy assassination for a long time (I've been to Dealy Plaza, as well as a couple of other locales prominent in the story), which certainly had an impact on my enjoyment. King's attention to detail allows the reader to become part of the "Land of Ago", and the requisite twists and turns make this a real treat. (This was my first new purchase for my Kindle Fire)
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foonermints 14531 desperate attention whore postings
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11-26-11, 05:11 PM (EST)
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1. "RE: Stephen King's 11/22/63 - a quick review" |
I'm not a great fan of his, but this sounds good. I read about a book a week on my commute to work.
The Green Line is good for something after all @ 5:30am. "You are number 304 in the hold queue.There are 62 holdable copies."
*sigh*
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agman 11166 desperate attention whore postings
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12-07-11, 10:56 PM (EST)
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24. "RE: Stephen King's 11/22/63 - a quick review" |
I did like Misery and Green Mile, but that's about as far as I go with good ole steven!  
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moonbaby 17120 desperate attention whore postings
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11-26-11, 05:20 PM (EST)
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2. "Howsabout" |
LAST EDITED ON 11-26-11 AT 05:22 PM (EST)dishing on the Fire, too! Please? My sister is thinking of getting one, any feedback would be much appreciated  This book sounds great! Big King fan here, I'm going to hold off until this is available from the digital library. In case you don't know, plenty of books are now available in Kindle format, too, so don't drop all your hard earned cash on buying e-books, Moley. Plus if the book you want isn't available you put your name on the request list and get an email on when you can download it. Love this system! ETA: LOL at fooner's subscript. Nothing like knowing exactly where you stand in the queue. I've been first in line for the next book to read forEVER. I've been plowing through the Dexter series of books. Not for the squeamish-there are some sections I scan through as fast as I can and yet these books are a good read. I might have to see about borrowing some dvds of the show. Enjoy your new purchaseses purchi! 
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Estee 57126 desperate attention whore postings
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11-26-11, 05:28 PM (EST)
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3. "RE: Howsabout" |
I've been plowing through the Dexter series of books.You may want to skip from #2 to #4. It's not a squeamishness issue -- that's just the one where Lindsay decided to strike out for strange territory and came back carrying a shark. As for the new King -- my last one was Under The Dome and that because Amazon brought it down to about a dollar a pound. I'll probably get this one once people start sticking on their yard sale tables -- which means a minimum of three weeks, two if the weather breaks right. I'm curious to read it, but not intensely so.
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Molaholic 9015 desperate attention whore postings
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11-26-11, 06:13 PM (EST)
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5. "A Kindle Fire review" |
LAST EDITED ON 11-26-11 AT 06:16 PM (EST)I like the better quality screen, compared to my Kindle 2 (color will come in handy if I get books with pictures -- the King had only four or five as chapter intros -- I do like biographies so it should be worth it). The now familiar touch/flip navigation method is another plus. I'm still at the "playing with" stage for some of the other features (use of the Cloud, easier wi-fi/apps stuff).
A friend of mine with severe vision problems likes the alternate contrast feature (as well as the ability to increase text size to something he can use), but there is no text reader (which may be a blessing, since the voice on the Kindle 2 is absolutely atrocious). I am continuing with the assassination theme, as my next read is going to be Bill O'Reilly's Killing Lincoln. I'm not familiar with the digital library...
(One additional comment on 11/22/63; sure, the basic story has been told many times, from several conspiracy-level perspectives, but King's take is still engrossing.)
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Estee 57126 desperate attention whore postings
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11-26-11, 06:55 PM (EST)
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8. "RE: A Kindle Fire review" |
Bill O'Reilly's Killing LincolnTake the results with a salt mine. The historians who've been over it have concluded the author got bored with rewriting current events and decided to distort the more distant past instead: there's several errors in the text, and some are fairly major.
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jbug 17146 desperate attention whore postings
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11-26-11, 05:51 PM (EST)
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4. "RE: Stephen King's 11/22/63 - a quick review" |
This is on my Christmas wish list.
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kingfish 20752 desperate attention whore postings
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11-28-11, 10:26 AM (EST)
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16. "RE: Stephen King's 11/22/63 - a quick review" |
..."the "i drink too much when i type" key sticks.Fixed, and you're welcome, in advance. Buds look out for each other.
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Corvis 3130 desperate attention whore postings
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11-26-11, 07:28 PM (EST)
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9. "RE: Stephen King's 11/22/63 - a quick review" |
I have kind of gotten off the Stephen King train in the last decade or so. But this one does sound interesting. Hmmm. And I need a book to read while I'm traveling next week...
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VisionQuest 1171 desperate attention whore postings
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11-26-11, 10:01 PM (EST)
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11. "RE: Stephen King's 11/22/63 - a quick review" |
I like King's works some of the time, but when I don't like something by him, it's because I think it's a real stinker. There doesn't seem to be middle ground with King and I. Either I love it or hate it.
Like Estee, my last King book was "Under the Dome" only purchased because it was super cheap. Meh. But,I am looking forward to this one. I hope it is good. I am reading "Damned" by Chuck Palahniuk (who is another one that I find hot and cold - "Pygmy" and "Haunted" were atrocious) and as soon as I am done with that one, I am going to buy this book. Crosses fingers.
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SpotTheDiffference 455 desperate attention whore postings
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11-27-11, 07:56 AM (EST)
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14. "RE: Stephen King's 11/22/63 - a quick review" |
I've started reading this a couple of days ago. Unfortunately, between my schedule and my poor reading comprehension, it's been a slow-going process. Haven't read enough to make a decision whether I like the novel or not, but it's OK so far. I'm not yet bored with it, which is the biggest problem that I have with really long stories.King has always been a hit-or-miss for me as well, but I remain a fan. I do have an extensive collection of his books, and I don't think I'll stop collecting until his last novel comes out.
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kingfish 20752 desperate attention whore postings
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11-28-11, 10:22 AM (EST)
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15. "RE: Stephen King's 11/22/63 - a quick review" |
Coincidentally, I too am into this book. About 20 hours into it. I just finished a marathon Thanksgiving road trip (10 hours each way) and listened to it on audio CD. It is about 30 audio CD hours long. I like it so far, even if the reader is an over dramatizing ham that I can't slap when he screws up a part. And King (great name, almost a very great name) apparently has become so important to his editor/publisher that they are reluctant to rein in some of his over-long passages. I think he needs a little discipline. But over-all I'm enjoying it very much, it seems to be headed to a very interesting and original (I hope) "redrum"-ish ending.
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kingfish 20752 desperate attention whore postings
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11-28-11, 10:36 AM (EST)
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17. "RE: Stephen King's 11/22/63 - a quick review" |
Moley, if you like historical books on Presidential assassinations, you should also get Sarah Vowell's "Assassination Vacation". Very interesting and informative. She also occasionally makes mistakes, especially when she tries to correlate history with contemporary events, but she is insightful, informative, and a very interesting writer. It is a fairly in-depth coverage of the assassinations of Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley. A lot of interesting stuff I didn't know.
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qwertypie 9776 desperate attention whore postings
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11-30-11, 03:13 AM (EST)
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18. "RE: Stephen King's 11/22/63 - a quick review" |
 ?
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Molaholic 9015 desperate attention whore postings
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12-09-11, 05:46 PM (EST)
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25. "Assassination Vacation early review" |
Just about 40% through (according to the Kindle Fire counter) and it is a good read. I would classify it as a snarky travelogue, with the author not afraid to break the fourth wall (does that term work in books as well as stage/screen?). One glaring error I noticed was when the author mentioned President Andrew Johnson granting Dr. Mudd a pardon, saying that it was signed on Johnson's "last day in office -- February 8, 1869". Johnson's actual last day was March 3...
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Molaholic 9015 desperate attention whore postings
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12-12-11, 05:48 PM (EST)
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27. "RE: Assassination Vacation early review" |
LAST EDITED ON 12-13-11 AT 02:32 AM (EST)Done -- It's obvious that the Lincoln assassination was the author's main interest. While the others were covered (no explanation why JFK was ignored...) many of the details were given short shrift (except for some very un-PG13 details about Garfield assassin Charles Guieteau's bizarre life in a commune during the 1860s). I was also hoping for something on the seven attempted assassinations (Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Truman, Ford twice & Reagan). If you're enamored with a walking tour of Washington DC, go for it. Otherwise ...
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suzzee 5961 desperate attention whore postings
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11-30-11, 04:34 PM (EST)
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19. "RE: Stephen King's 11/22/63 - a quick review" |
Reading it now. I'm at work but not working (he-he). Book is propped up on the desk, I'm slouched in my chair. I took a break reading to OT for a bit and here's a post about it. Very Stephen Kingish, not Kingfish although that's a little strange too.So far so good, I love the way he paints a picture. Will report in later with a yeah or nay but I'm a King/Bachman fan from way back. 
A Tribe masterpiece
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Tummy 3542 desperate attention whore postings
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11-30-11, 05:10 PM (EST)
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20. "Threadjack - of The Hunger Games variety" |
Figured I would just put this here instead of starting a new thread. I'd heard of the Hunger Games so decided to purchase the first one on the Kindle I got for my birthday as it was only 4.something. Loved it. Have now finished the trilogy. I found the ending of the trilogy rather "meh", but overall a very good and quick read.
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moonbaby 17120 desperate attention whore postings
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12-07-11, 08:58 AM (EST)
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22. "RE: Threadjack - of The Hunger Games variety" |
So glad you posted this. I've been wanting to read these books but they're only available in the "read to me" format. I have never listened to anything longer than The Graveyard book- maybe I should give it a shot.
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Tummy 3542 desperate attention whore postings
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12-07-11, 03:47 PM (EST)
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23. "RE: Threadjack - of The Hunger Games variety" |
You should. They're a very, very quick read. Besides, you should read it before the movie comes out.
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