Now for a few completely different choices.
29. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester
This is one of those non-fiction books that you just can't believe is true (and where the maxim of "truth is stranger than fiction" holds out). The book explains the history of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary (the OED) and contrasts two major figures in its history. One is a British professor and editor of the greatest attempt to gather the completeness of the English language. The other is a volunteer contributor and American ex-pat former Civil War surgeon who found and catalogued thousands of examples of uses of words in literature, and happened to be an institutionalized murderer. What a fascinating story, and told beautifully by the author.
30. Blindness by Jose Saramago
This is an older novel (1997 in English translation) from a Nobel prize winning author which tells the story of a plague which erupts in a major metropolis. The plague causes blindness, and the novel tells the story of the fragmentation of society that results. It was an arresting read. I enjoyed the author's writing style (but it does take some getting used to).
31. On Writing by Stephen King
Continuing my re-read of Stephen King's oeuvre. This non-fiction short work is part memoir, part instruction manual for wanna-be writers, and part recollection of King's accident and recovery (which almost took his life). The book is a worthy companion to Danse Macabre and I think together present a great sense of why and how King writes. The brief autobiographical snippets at the beginning are fascinating for their insight into his youth and formation as a writer, and for someone who wants to write for a living (not me), I imagine his instructions and explanations would be tremendously helpful - kind of like a master class in writing.
A few to update:
32.
The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker
Interesting book for those of us who lead meetings, plan conferences, or just simply invite friends over for drinks or dinner. As we come to (I sincerely hope) the waning days of the pandemic, this seemed an interesting and appropriate book as I begin to travel for work again and see more people in person. Lots of great lessons here (your guests - who to include and who not to, the lead up to the event, how to be a great host, how to end the meeting), and many of these are common sense, but the author does a great job of really tying together some wonderful ideas.
33.
Dreamcatcher by Stephen King
Like
The Tommyknockers, this is a story about aliens. But unlike that book, this one is also about sh*t weasels (I know, trust me). This novel was written in long hand by KIng as he was recovering from the accident which almost took his life. He has revealed he was addicted to pain killers while writing this, and as a result, doesn't remember much of the process. Well, all I can say is that he still writes a completely engaging and terrifying story. Part a celebration of a group of childhood friends who share a special bond (think
It), part an alien body snatching novel (think
Invasion of the Body Snatchers), part
Alien the movie, this long novel (over 600 pages) does move. Especially as you get to the end, the pages fly by with a final confrontation which is breathtaking.
And now, more of the graphic novel Marvel Comics Dark Tower series:
34.
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - Last Shots
This one is a collection of stand-alone stories bridging the gap between the two novels of the series,
The Gunslinger and
The Drawing of the Three. I really enjoyed reading Sheemie's continuing story and thought the way this was presented added something to the overall narrative of the series.
35.
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - The Prisoner
36.
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - House of Cards
For anyone who has read the novel
The Drawing of the Three, these first two books in the graphic novel series tell the backstory of Eddie Dean, and how Roland entered his life. This roughly corresponds with the first third of the novel, and does an excellent job of framing the story. What I appreciate most about the graphic novel adaptation is that the story is told from Eddie's perspective and in his voice. This is a beautifully illustrated and well scripted version of the story.
37.
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - Lady oof Shadows
38.
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - Bitter Medicine
Continuing with the second part of the novel, these two graphic novels introduce Odetta / Detta Holmes and tell her story and her meeting with the Gunslinger and Eddie. Again, the graphic novel shares the story from Susannah's perspective (I know, lots of different names, but it makes sense), and I appreciated the story, the art, and the pace. I do struggle a bit with the characterization of Detta, but the graphic novel is true to King's character as it was created. I will say that the graphic novel took great care to introduce a (well-needed) lens of racial equity in the story which may have been in King's original but was more muted there.
39.
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - The Sailor
Jake Chambers makes a confused and troubled return, both alive and dead, and Roland is not sure if there was a boy or wasn't a boy. This graphic novel correlates to the ending of the novel and all of what you would expect is here (including a stunning interlude with Shardik (the Bear Guardian). We learn more about the mythology of the Tower and the Beams, we connect back with Eddie's story (and his brother, Henry) and the climactic scene takes place in the "Haunted House" of our world where Roland and friends try to bring Jake to Mid-World to complete the ka-tet. A fitting conclusion to this part of the series, and I hope Marvel continues releasing books in the graphic novel series.
