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#30daysofreadathon #shortstories

Forgot this yesterday 😮

I read this because it‘s Stephen King‘s favorite book. And I can see the influence of many of these stories in King‘s style even today.
It was also worth reading because it (re-)exposed me to a lot of great writers, & some of the classics of this form.

A couple faves...
The Damned Thing
A Rose for Emily
To Build a Fire
The Other Wise Man

I finished these three today... and I am 27 pages shy of my goal of 50,000 pg for the year!!! Gah! I know I'll hit - I'll hit it before the end of the week. But to see that it was THAT close, but not quite done... frustrating 😣

#kingsfavourites

I totally fell off this wagon, but I've been working through these short stories this month, if for no other reason than to finish the book. I hit a dry spell, which made it harder. And then I read this one. WOW!!! A man, a dog, & an Arctic landscape is all we get. But man, this story is gripping & intense. I've never read much Jack London. After this, I'll seek him out now.

#kingsfavourites @Maike @Varshitha
A group of people of dubious standing in their community gets exiled. Yet they manage to do good & right by each other in their unfortunate circumstances.
Sounds like King's ethos for most of his characters. And Oakhurst resembles the character who flies the plane at the end of The Langoliers (was it Larry?)

#kingsfavourites @Maike @Varshitha

There's a Man in Black - 'nuff said 😜

#kingsfavourites @Maike @Varshitha
I see two connections to this story for King.
First, the idea of overlapping worlds, where one can slide into the other - we've seen this in much of his work.
Second, Forster is known for masterpieces such as Howard's End, works that do NOT nod to the supernatural. And yet here he works with this element superbly. We've watched King move from a niche writer to an author recognized for his whole body of work.

#kingsfavourites @Maike @Varshitha
Another Master I haven't read enough of...😕
Anson Hunter is reminiscent of Gatsby (though not the pretender Gatsby is), the nameless narrator of Nick, & their dynamic & the themes throughout are familiar to FSF readers.
To King readers? Not seeing a connection.
@RichardDiver66 I'll loop you in: if you are familiar with this short by FSF, can you speak to how it may have influenced Stephen King's sensibilities?

#kingsfavourites @Maike @Varshitha

I really liked this one 🙂 I wasn't familiar with it or the author, but it was great. It was published 95 years ago. Yet it feels like old people are still the same, families are still the same.
The tenderness between Ma & Pa Minick, the vitality of the elderly... These are things we've seen in King's work from early days. For some reason, Insomnia's Ralph was on my mind reading this one.

#kingsfavourites @Maike @Varshitha

Wow, I wasn't expecting this to be so macabre! I guess that's what makes Faulkner a master, right? Even as you see it coming, the impact is still powerful, reverberating through you.
It's easy to see what King would take from this: the small-town ethos, the foreshadowing, the not-so-secret secret that some of us keep, & others keep for us.
And I'm now reminded to read more Faulkner for #192019challenge ....

#kingsfavourites @Maike @Varshitha

Another re-read for me, & another classic short story.

Nothing particularly King-esque here, but ACD's work lays a good foundation for any aspiring writer. Plot, pacing, details, & efficient character development operate at high levels in his Sherlock Holmes stories.

#kingsfavourites @Maike @Varshitha
I am so far behind ?? Catching up today/tomorrow ...

A story with a literal underdog - this is as fitting as King tropes get. I thought of all the Losers Club while reading about Kid, maybe Bev just a bit more.

Also, my edition has a preface from the author with a note to the "gentle reader" ?

Well, it seems like reading commitments aren't a thing for me. I'll still follow along, but somehow I'm not able to post my thoughts on schedule. 😩😩😩 life gets in the way a lot these days. #kingsfavourites

#kingsfavourites @Maike @Varshitha

I can't make my way through this one. The style is reminiscent of The Breathing Method in Different Seasons, which I enjoyed. But I can't find a reason to care about the tale he's telling. I also feel like this is probably best read on a dark night in a comfy chair while the wind creaks around outside. And right now, we're having our first snap of good weather. So this is a pass for me right now.
Thoughts?

#kingsfavourites @Maike @Varshitha

A pretty perfect short story, & a pretty clear connection to Stephen King. I liked the British-ness about it, as well - it was neat & tidy 🙂

#kingsfavourites
@Maike @Varshitha

Join us in May to discuss these short stories, some of Stephen King's all-time favorites. They're collected in The Golden Argosy, but as they're all considered classics, you can find them elsewhere, as well.

#kingsfavourites
@Maike @Varshitha

This is another one I'm pretty sure I've read before.

Criticism of the story suggests that Paul was gay, & once he's escaped the confines of his life in Pittsburgh, he couldn't return. Others argue that he's a symbol of the tension between art & life: can you fully live both? if you commit to one path, what are you turning away from?

Thoughts?

#kingsfavourites
@Maike @Varshitha

I didn't get much out of this one, personally or King-wise. Except to note that King has never been shy about showing some of his characters' racism & bigotry. Perhaps reading pieces like this influenced some of those decisions.

Worth noting: this story was popular enough to be made into a film by none other than DW Griffith - what a surprise 😏

#kingsfavourites
@Maike @Varshitha

#4 - The Damned Thing, Ambrose Bierce

Ooh, I read this one before,but it had slipped my mind.

Reminded me of The Jaunt. Another one I could see King writing.

#kingsfavourites
@Maike @Varshitha

#3 - The Devil & Daniel Webster, SV Benet

Basically an outline for Needful Things 🙂
Very New England - every word bringing meaning to the story - King could have written this himself

#kingsfavourites
@Maike @Varshitha

#2 - The Happy Hypocrite, Max Beerbohm

Didn't strike me as very King-like, only in the broadest strokes of supernatural overtones.

Did I miss something?

#kingsfavourites
@Maike @Varshitha
😳 We're two weeks in & I haven't posted a thought - oops!
Here goes...

First story in this collection - I'm a Fool by Sherwood Anderson.

Reminiscent of King in the simple language of the main character, in the looseness of his life, & in the easy way he got himself into a trap of his own making.

Thoughts?

@Maike @Varshitha FINALLY getting to the first story tonight❤️❤️❤️
#kingsfavourites

@Sweettartlaura , @Maike & I are going to read Stephen King's top 10 favorite books! Up first is The Golden Argosy, a collection of short stories. Those of you who are interested, Please do join us!! This is our Read By schedule for April. If you can't find this book, you can still find these stories - they're pretty famous.
Use #kingsfavourites to follow the progress.

@Varshitha @Sweettartlaura and I are going to read Stephen King's 10 favorite books. We are starting with the short story collection The Golden Argosy. Please join us if you are interested 😉 above is our Read By schedule for April, single stories can also be found without getting the whole book. #kingsfavourites

We're doing this! Thanks to the inspiration from #stephenking17 @Josie & @Gayan , @Varshitha @Maike & I are going to read Stephen King's top 10 favorite books! Up first is The Golden Argosy, a collection of short stories. If you want to join us, please do! This is our Read By schedule for April. If you can't find this book, you can still find these stories - they're pretty famous.
Use #kingsfavourites to follow along.
See you in April!

Alright, @Varshitha & @Maike ... I got King's favorite book, the short story collection. And these are some AWESOME short stories. I would LOVE to read them together, and discuss. My question is this: how many/how quick? These would open up some great discussions, so I'd like to take some time with them - maybe read two a week? Only thing is ... That would take us 5 months to get through this😕. I could live with that, but how about you?