Elaine Weaver

I probably would have spent less time on the characters' romantic entanglements, which bloated the book and added little if anything to the narrative. However, overall a thoughtful look at how we would cope with a drastically altered post-apocalypse Earth.

Sometimes I'm a little perplexed by what some people consider a “classic”. I never actually heard of this as a younger reader, though its 1962 publication date should have put it squarely under my radar. Not until the Disney adaptation came out and the patrons in my library began requesting it did I learn of it.

It's not that it's a bad book, it touches upon the redeeming qualities that its young audience should certainly treasure. It's just that the method for touching upon these is flailing around in the manner of someone trying to find the light switch in a darkened room. On the way it brushes past some rather interesting ideas about navigating time and space, but doesn't really do much with them.

Character development is clumsy as well, it seems to me. It's a given that the heroine must mature before she can save the day, but there's no need to make her that annoying. The powerful and mysterious aliens (or angels, or whatever they are) are more patient with her than her own father, whom she is trying to save.

In the future I plan to check out the other books in the series, just to see if those interesting ideas ever took root. In the meantime...it's okay for a quick weekend read, but C.S. Lewis has nothing to worry about.

Riding with the King is never a disappointment. I note that there is a strong focus on technology in this collection, and also a strong focus on dancing. Although it was a pleasure to visit with Holly Gibney again, my favorite was “Rat”–I always enjoy King's views of the world through a writer's eyes. I'd thought I knew how that one was going to end, but the boss pulled the rug out from under me quite handily. And that's all right.

If you haven't partaken of If It Bleeds yet, you should. Now. Go. Your local library is probably open again.

glances at the headlines

Boy, I picked a hell of a time to re-read this one...

Some argue that there are too many books to be read out there for a person to re-read them. I disagree; like a beloved song you get something new from a book each time you read it. And what better time to re-read The Stand than during a real pandemic? COVID-19 is not as lethal as Captain Trips, nor is anyone I know plagued with weird dreams. But the journey was great, as always, and I even picked up a new word from the lexicon of the Judge...“botheration”.

Shelf-bender or not, this King classic is definitely worth the “botheration” of lugging it about. A great tale, his greatest in my opinion.