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You Like It Darker
You Like It Darker: Stories | Stephen King
From legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary new collection of twelve short stories, many never-before-published, and some of his best EVER. You like it darker? Fine, so do I, writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of lifeboth metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind, and in You Like It Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again. Two Talented Bastids explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In Danny Coughlins Bad Dream, a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Dannys most catastrophically. In Rattlesnakes, a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritancewith major strings attached. In The Dreamers, a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. The Answer Man asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful. Kings ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed. Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys, and mysteries; each feels iconic. You like it darker? You got it.
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ReadingOver50
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Pickpick

A collection of short stories plus a novella. The stories were good but not great. I would give this 3.5 stars. The novella, Danny Coughlin‘s Bad Dream, was good but felt like it went on too long. I wanted to see what happened but I started to lose interest towards the middle. My favorite stories were The Answer Man and The Turbulence Expert.

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DavidDiamond
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Pickpick

Another fantastic collection by the master himself.
While I enjoyed all of them, Rattlesnakes (which centers on a character from an early King work) and The Answer Man were two standouts for me.

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booklover3258
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Pickpick

Excellent stories, some scary and some strange ones.

For the rest of my review, visit my Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/O8nHKO0o3-A

Enjoy!

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TheBookgeekFrau
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The 12 Days of Christmas

May favorite

#12Booksof2024

Andrew65 Stephen King coming along well now. 3rd book in the last 24 hours. 3w
TheBookgeekFrau @Andrew65 Well, Stephen King!! 😁 3w
44 likes3 comments
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RedCurly
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Ruthiella Just reading Stephen King with your morning cup of blood! 😱😂 Just kidding! 3w
dabbe 😂🤩😂 3w
RedCurly @Ruthiella HAHAHA 🤣🤣🤣 I love it 😁 Just a usual morning 🫖 3w
15 likes3 comments
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RedCurly
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Pickpick

It was very good. I was so invested in the stories, but I think the longer ones worked better.

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Roary47
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Pickpick

4✨ I‘m so glad I finally got to read this one! (Library hold took forever!) I didn‘t like all the stories, but each one gave pretty memorable chills. My favorites were the longer stories of Danny‘s Dream and the Rattlesnakes. #LosersClub @BarkingMadRead

BarkingMadRead Yessssss 3w
28 likes1 comment
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Roary47
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Danny‘s Dream was a pretty good story. Didn‘t want to stop that story. 🤩

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Roary47
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Audio crafting instead of my normal Saturday chores. 🥰💛 I love having break when I can actually relax.

kspenmoll Beautiful! 4w
dabbe 🤩🤩🤩 4w
19 likes2 comments
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BoleyBooks
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Tackle the TBR 🤓📚
What are you reading?
#boleybooks #youlikeitdarker #stephenking #bookbeast #mustread #bookbuds #bookchat

33 likes1 stack add
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TamTracy
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Pickpick

Really good collection of short stories. My fav by far was Danny Coughlin‘s Bad Dream. Other standouts to me were The Fifth Step, Rattlesnakes, and The Answer Man. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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JacqMac
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Today‘s mood. Why, yes, I do like it darker. This is the perfect music for this book.

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BarkingMadRead
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38 likes2 stack adds
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FlowerFairy
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Pickpick

Doing a bit of audiobooking while working on my first ever corner to corner crochet blanket. The colors are actually very lovely ombré purples. I‘ve been listening to the newest collection of King‘s short stories off and on since it came out. Finally finished it today. While there were some stories I like more than others, this was a great collection!

BookishMadHatter Your stitches are on point 👌. Is that the red heart ombre yarn? 3mo
Tamra Beautiful! 3mo
Ruthiella Looks amazing! 🤩 3mo
See All 7 Comments
dabbe 🤩🤩🤩 3mo
KadaGul Look 👀 great. Im beginner crocheter. I crochet 🧶 while watching Football 🏈.i most make scarves 🧣 and premie hats for donations. This year im going to take a crack at a simplest pattern for Pet 🐶 🐈 🐾Shelter (edited) 3mo
bthegood beautiful 🙂 2w
SilversReviews Beautiful!! 2w
53 likes1 stack add7 comments
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BarkingMadRead
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PuddleJumper Good find! 3mo
39 likes1 comment
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Shawna
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Excellent 🙌🏻📚 3mo
Eggs Brilliant 👌🏼 3mo
16 likes2 comments
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AllDebooks
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Emilymdxn Gorgeous cover! 3mo
PuddleJumper 🧡🎃🧡 3mo
Texreader 😃🧡👍🏻 3mo
36 likes4 comments
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BarkingMadRead
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PuddleJumper 🎉🎉 Good find! 4mo
39 likes1 stack add1 comment
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BookMaven9
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Mehso-so

🎃🎃🎃 This probably isn‘t fair to Mr. King, but I‘m not a huge fan of short stories so take my review lightly. There are some standout short stories I r read in the past they actually stick, like King‘s The Jaunt. Unforgettable!!! His son, Joe Hill gave me a couple I‘ll never forget. And one of my all time favorite books is the Martian chronicle. But there are far and few between.

These were just ok, no standouts for me.

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BarkingMadRead
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Welcome to the #LosersClub open discussion for #youlikeitdarker
 Please be mindful of spoilers. We have new readers to King who haven‘t read all of his books. When referencing his other work, please keep this in mind for our new-to-King friends. Don‘t forget to tag each other in the comments so your friends can see your reply. Have fun!
#StephenKing #StephenKingInOrder #KingFromTheBeginning #ConstantReader #ReadAlong #BuddyRead #BookDiscussion

Bklover I‘m sorry- haven‘t read this one yet! 4mo
BarkingMadRead @Bklover I haven‘t finished it yet, I‘m only on the 5th story! 4mo
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BookwormAHN Rattlesnakes was the best 🖤 4mo
Bookwormjillk Like a lot of King‘s books I thought the endings for several of these stories didn‘t stick the landing. Overall I liked it though. 4mo
5feet.of.fury My notes from the stories I made it through: Two Talented Bastids- would have really worked in long form, with more background on the son it could have been great, but it was good. I hated Fifth Step & Willie the Weirdo (WtW immediately no when the young girls breasts were described) 4mo
5feet.of.fury
Danny Coughlins Bad Dream- liked it, I enjoyed that Jalbert was complex and really seeking Justice if misguided. Arithmomania was interesting. I wanted the best for Danny to get out of his predicament and go live with Stevie and hike.
4mo
5feet.of.fury Finn- did not like the torture.

On Slide Inn Road- good. Different reactions from the family under pressure.

Red Screen- AKA local man thinks it‘s more likely his wife has been body snatched by aliens than that he wore her down with weaponized incompetence.
4mo
41 likes8 comments
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BookwormAHN
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Pickpick

This is the latest collection of short stories from Stephen King. I loved it. My favorites were The Answer Man, Laurie, The Dreamers and Rattlesnakes. Rattlesnakes stands in as the sequel to Cujo and it's brilliant and creepy 🖤
#LosersClub @BarkingMadRead

BarkingMadRead I love that you loved it!!! 4mo
53 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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5feet.of.fury
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Pickpick

Short stories aren‘t my favorite format, so I usually skip these for #losersclub (&truthfully I only made it 1/2 way but library holds are calling to me) but I enjoyed Two Talented Bastids, Danny Coughlin‘s Bad Dream, On Slide Inn Road & Red Screen.

BarkingMadRead I definitely prefer full length stories! 4mo
40 likes1 comment
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Bookwormjillk
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Pickpick

Like with any short story collection some were better than others, but overall a really good read. I appreciate that King‘s characters seem to be aging right along with him. It‘s nice to read about people 40-60 being haunted 🤣

Aimeesue I love that alligator island so much! 🐊 4mo
68 likes1 comment
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Leftcoastzen
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Pickpick

I got this book when it first came out but since it‘s short stories , easy to read one or two then set it aside. I liked some more than others, one is more a novella. What always charms me about King ,he‘s always a craftsman with his writing, and delights in the details that bring characters and places alive.Long live the King !👑 This is the first day in months that Phoenix hasn‘t suffered record heat , it‘s almost driven me mad .

AmyG Ugh…I can‘t imagine that hear for so long. 4mo
55 likes1 comment
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LitsyEvents
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Via @BarkingMadRead
https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2771286
This month's book is #YouLikeltDarker Grab your copy and check back at the end of the month for open discussion! Don't forget to tag me so l can see which version you have! #LosersClub #StephenKing #StephenKingInOrder #KingFromTheBeginning #ConstantReader #ReadAlong #BuddyRead

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BarkingMadRead
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This month‘s book is #YouLikeItDarker Grab your copy and check back at the end of the month for open discussion! Don‘t forget to tag me so I can see which version you have! #LosersClub #StephenKing #StephenKingInOrder #KingFromTheBeginning #ConstantReader #ReadAlong #BuddyRead

37 likes1 stack add3 comments
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LitsyEvents
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BarkingMadRead
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Just a reminder that September‘s #LosersClub read is #Youlikeitdarker Put your library holds in now, search your shelves, or buy a new copy, and check back on or about October 1st, when we begin reading this one. Discussion will be at the end of the month! #StephenKing #StephenKingInOrder #KingFromTheBeginning #ConstantReader #ReadAlong #BuddyRead #BookDiscussion

Bookwormjillk I'm going to join you for this one since it's now available on Everand, and then I'll start over again with you and Carrie 🐷 5mo
AllDebooks That's the prompt I needed to buy the book, lol. 5mo
40 likes4 comments
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rachelk
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My top fiction read in July was the new book of short stories ‘You Like It Darker‘ by Stephen King

#TopRead2024 @CSeydel

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rachelk
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Pickpick

I could not put down this book! I liked some stories more than others but did not feel like there was a single dud. This felt like classic Stephen King with some meta fiction, nods to other authors, references to his older works and many never before published stories.

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Floresj
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Pickpick

normally don‘t read horror and I stopped reading King because he freaked me out too much 15 years ago:). Gave him another chance with these short stories and they were fantastic- believable sequence of events that are well written then dark. He‘s exceptional writer and this is a great collection. I just wish these stories/characters would stop entering my dreams after reading them.

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sprainedbrain
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Pickpick

I always have such a hard time reviewing story collections, but I‘m getting smarter: this time I rated each story as I finished it and tried to average.

I truly enjoyed every story at least a little. Two of them were legitimately scary/creepy, but all of them were dark (as promised). Cujo characters and Duma Key making an appearance (in the same story!) = very cool, and Danny Coughlin‘s Bad Dream is 5⭐️ perfection all by itself.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

AmyG I look forward to this. I am not a fan of short stories but I love his…and Ann Patchett‘s essays. 6mo
TrishB Great summary 👍🏻 6mo
Roary47 That‘s a great idea! 🤩 6mo
68 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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OwenB
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Pickpick

I'm a Stephen King fan so this review is a bit biased. I enjoyed all the stories in this book. Some were more memorable than others but overall I really enjoyed all of them. My favorite was the story titled "Rattlesnakes". Whether you're a fan of King or not, it's a great book of stories.

rachelk Rattlesnakes was my favorite too! 6mo
4 likes1 comment
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candc320
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Pickpick

Definitely not my favorite Stephen King collection but still a soft pick. My favorite stories were Rattlesnakes and The Answer Man. Rattlesnakes was by far the scariest story to me and had that great combo of terror and the supernatural I love. The Answer Man was just plain creepy! The rest were ok but not really all that “dark” to me. Will still read everything he writes 🤣! 🌟🌟🌟

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Aimeesue
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Pickpick

Haven‘t read King in a while, and I was already biased toward this one since I prefer his shorter works to most of his novels. There were two that fell flat for me, but over all, I really enjoyed this. I loved Danny Coughlin‘s Bad Dream, The Turbulence Experts, and Laurie, and the nods to Flannery O‘Connor and Len Deighton - had to go back and reread A Good Man is Hard to Find. The move toward older MCs was nice; write what you know, right?

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Lauranahe
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Pickpick

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Some of the stories have already started to fade in my memory, but some will live forever. Danny Coughlin‘s Bad Dream is hands down my favorite; I couldn‘t put it down, racing to the end to find out what happens. However, I did DNF Rattlesnakes; the grief in that one was too much for me. I haven‘t read Cujo, knowing the end, and this sequel was…sad. I hear if you stick with it, it‘s fantastic and creepy.

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Leniverse
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Pickpick

Soft pick. Not really SK at his best. Most of the short stories were enjoyable enough, but not memorable. The line editors and/or researchers could have done their jobs better, because there are some glaring mistakes in several stories. That said, the two novellas were solid. One of them (featuring a character from Cujo) really creeped me out. And there were a couple of other stories that might linger for a while.

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Aimeesue
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Library hold came in, so my weekend is made.
Having lived in Florida, I‘m hoping this giant land alligator stays put. 🐊

vivastory If it's a King story, I'm guessing not 🙃 ☠ 6mo
Aimeesue @vivastory Yeah, the odds are definitely against me here. Now I‘m just hoping she eats someone I don‘t like. 😄 (edited) 6mo
39 likes2 comments
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Jen2
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Pickpick

Great!!!!

peaKnit Love Will Patton as the narrator of his books! 7mo
51 likes1 comment
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FlowerFairy
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Everyone is scattered about today doing their own thing, leaving me to find time to paint and audiobook the newest Stephen King. Clearly I would not be able to paint without my little helper.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks ❤️🐾🖤 7mo
dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 7mo
53 likes2 comments
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Bookboss
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Pickpick

In most short story collections, a couple of the stories are great, most are good, and a few are disappointing. Not Uncle Stevie‘s stories! Every single story had me absorbed and racing to get to the ending. I loved all of the stories!

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TieDyeDude
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I feel like Leonard Cohen is an artist I could really sink into, but I'm not familiar with his work aside from a handful of songs and the album You Want It Darker, which was released just weeks before his death. I've been listening to it more this year, as I think of it every time I hear about Stephen King's latest. "On the Level" is a brilliant song.

https://youtu.be/M0uq5cgd2So

#tuesdaytunes

Eyelit Love Cohen! (And especially love this photo of him) 7mo
vivastory I typically don't tend to recommend best of compilations but in the case of Leonard Cohen I highly recommend both “The Best Of“ & “More Best Of“ I feel a bit strange saying this about best of albums but they truly are some of my favorites of all-time 7mo
TheBookHippie I highly recommend his books my favorite is 7mo
See All 8 Comments
IndoorDame He‘s one of my all time favorites! 7mo
AllDebooks @TheBookHippie I agree. His poetry collections are incredible 7mo
kspenmoll Agree with u all- he is amazing. 7mo
Kerrbearlib I love that picture! 7mo
44 likes8 comments
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Mirazzles
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I‘ve been waiting for the moment all weekend when I could finally sit down and crack this one open!

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julesG
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Pickpick

Especially liked the longer stories: The Dream and Rattlesnakes

Thanks for pushing me, without pushing me @Oryx @TrishB @scripturient

#52bookclub24SummerReadingList
#Longjump

TrishB I liked the longer ones too (unsurprisingly!) 7mo
Cathythoughts Sounds good. I have ordered. ❤️ 7mo
64 likes2 comments
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JuliaRReads
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It's been awhile since I have read Stephen King. I love that this is a book of his short stories. My love of reading started with Stephen King!!

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EverydayImReading
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Pickpick

For me no one does short stories like Stephen King. This collection is so good. Some stories are almost novellas. Danny Coughlins bad dream is superb and the Jalbert/Javert cop so sinister. The answer man, 😢 I‘m driving fast past any stands with red umbrellas on the roadside from now on. I flew through these so fast that I will go back and re read some again. Nice nod to Leonard Cohen in the title. Thank you from a Constant reader ❤️

Cathythoughts Great review Sinead. Looking forward to it. ❤️👍🏻 8mo
18 likes1 comment
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Sara_Planz
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Pickpick

These stories explore the idea of "darkness" in all the forms it comes. While all of the stores resonated with me, "Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream" is a story that had me completely engrossed. The joy of this collection is its ability to dance from genre to genre with a similar thread through each story, putting King's nuance as a writer on full display. I've grown up on his writing, and as I approach my 50's, his books continue to affect me.

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