This three hour audiobook was as intense and special as Stephen King always is. Thoughts of love, death, moving on and letting go, intersect in the life of one man, Scott, who, while he never changes physically, is suddenly and dramatically losing weight. All of it. But you'd never know it to look at him. If his weekly tracking is correct, it won't be long at all that his body will experience complete weightlessness. What's causing it? Does it matter anymore? And truly, what can he achieve in the time he has left in Castle Rock that will resonate with his friends, new and old? And most importantly, can he help them learn anything as well?

This is a gem of a tale with a short bonus story, which felt like a very special and surprisingly good "b" side track from your favorite band. It really doesn't matter what King writes about; he does it well and makes this reader always happy. When in doubt on what to read next, I just settle down with a King tale and I thank the lucky stars above that he hasn't hired writers to do his bidding or to write in his style (a la many famous mass market writers of today), and instead just continues to produce, one uncomfortable and insightful story after another, or one sweet and sad scene after another. There isn't anything in the human emotion and in life that Stephen King hasn't been able to deliver and articulate well into his stories, something that doesn't strike immediate nervousness or fear, or increasing sadness and empathy, and for that, I will be ever grateful. Stephen King continues to provide us with everything we always need, if we only continue to give him those chances to hear him out again and again.

Side note: I listened to this audiobook from my library's Libby app, and it is read by the great man himself; he is an EXCELLENT narrator, that I will also emphatically state each and every time. It's not often an author is as good as reading their work as they are to write it, so with Mr. King, it is quite a pleasure to hear his voice yet again.

Disclosure: I downloaded this audiobook for free from my library's Libby app. Check with your local library if they participate with Libby (they probably do).

About the Author


Stephen King is the author of more than fifty novels, including The Stand, The Dark Tower series, It, The Shining, Under the Dome, Pet Sematary, 'Salem's Lot, oh...what more can be written that one doesn't already know. So here you go, click here to visit this wicked cool author's official website.

When in doubt, just read Stephen King.

So goes my mantra in 2012, and will continue on through next year and for many more to come. If I'm left conflicted between which of two books I want to read, I invariably drop both and end up going for Stephen King. Even with ones delivering a bizarre and unintentionally funny plot (*coughcough* The Tommyknockers), I usually always find something in it that ultimately leaves me happy and thrilled I read it. With this short story, I was extremely happy I settled into this for a rainy, cold evening in Virginia Beach.

A quick read at 230 pages, The Mist was originally published as part of an anthology of short stories included in the release of Dark Forces in 1980. It was released a few years ago as a novella and I guess now I'll have to rent the movie. (Although I will not hold my breath for it, King movies notoriously are poorly executed.)

David Drayton, his wife and young son live on Long Lake in Maine. After a particularly frightening series of storms one summer night forcing them to seek cover in their basement, the next morning unveils the beginning of an unnamed sense of dread. When David sees a weird mist of fog across the lake, quiet fear settles in. He heads to the store with his son and neighbor, and the mist moves even further, trapping the shop's customers in. It's here in this tiny supermarket, somewhere in Maine, that the battle for survival begins.

I marvel at King's ability to build tension.  It actually reminded me of the first part of The Stand and I was completely freaked out by the unknown constantly squawked to myself over and over "what is in the mist? Please, someone tell me, what the heck is that, oh my gawd, what is that??" and the subsequent breakdown of a group of people exiled from everything and other humans, a la Lord of the Flies. And while I was disappointed with one choice David made, he was otherwise a likable character.

The Mist hit the mark yet again for me; a great Stephen King tale to while away the time and scare the stuffing out of you. Diving once more into fear of the unknown, King doesn't meander into side stories much as it's confined to a shorter length, but don't expect for it to be tied up into one nice and neat little bow at the end, which even the main character points out. Instead, you can anticipate another solid story by the master of fear to keep you up late, late into the night.

The only thing missing? Stephen King's introduction or afterword of some sort. I have gotten used to reading his insights into the development of a story, most especially his self-deprecating humor, and I was looking forward to it.

Passage of Note

You know what talent is? The curse of expectation. As a kid you have to deal with that, beat it somehow. If you can write, you think God put you on earth to blow Shakespeare away. Or, if you can paint, maybe you think - I did - that God put you on earth to blow your father away.

Others said:

Bay State Reader's Advisory (audio review)

Publisher: Signet, a division of Penguin

Release Date: My copy is 2007, originally 1980

Pages: 230

FTC Disclosure: I purchased this from my local independent bookstore.

About the Author

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty novels, including The Stand, The Dark Tower series, It, The Shining, oh...what more can be written that one doesn't already know. So here you go, click here to visit this wicked cool author's official website.

The Stephen King Project. My education (and others') continues. The Mist is another selection for the challenge Kathleen and I are hosting. The site can be found (with other participants' reviews) here.

1899. The Awakening is released.

Many have already stated this and I must also echo the same, and unashamedly so. This is the sort of book that I, for just a second, wish I was around during the time it was published so I could see how society responded. After all, the topic is no acceptable thing back in the day.

Scandal! Illicit affairs! A woman choosing to live her life, separate from her husband and children, and society's expectations! To have her own identity?! *scoffs* How dare she?!

What an intriguing peek into this time. Although part of me shrugged and said, "meh" about the characters, another part of me was thrilled at the sauciness and independence of it all. Scandal and intrigue is always a bit fun to read about.

I wasn't completely blown away, though, but I love a classic. Yes, it was beautifully written, but it was Shelly Frasier's voice that kept me rapt with attention. A few months ago, I listened to her narrate the hilariously freaky and sometimes gross, Stiff  by the fantastic Mary Roach. Shelly Frasier, I will listen to you tell me any ole story, I do believe.

Edna is a woman of respectable stature, married to a prominent businessman in Louisiana. With two children, they create the very image of a young and affluent family. Edna, however, isn't quite pleased with her life, and feeling empty and dislodged from everything, begins to have deep feelings for another man. The eventual affair is tense, yet minimal, and it is more of Edna's discovery of who she is, that reveals her independence. She has awakened and finds she no longer wants to be represented as a wife and mother. Unhinged from her family ties and society labels? Yes, she is. I'd also hasten that she became unhinged mentally as well, but it's not surprising considering it must feel like she became completely untethered to all the things that once made her who she was. That can be tough to deal with. The labels one defines themselves with, while they can be wrong or unfair, are still ones that define a person and give something of a foundation. Not having those self-defined labels while the rest of the world still has them over you, can make you feel adrift.

Without question, this is a story I'm sure rocked the times. I can picture this book hidden away, women gasping over the pages, yet ultimately finding some sort of their own awakening, a personal revelation or epiphany that maybe, just maybe, they don't need no man to get it done. Why, they can do it all on their own. My heavens! Such a thought.

There is a haunting and quiet feel to the story that I did enjoy, and was curious to see how it would all turn out. I suppose, while the end was a little surprising, it was to be expected. Edna is selfish in many ways, but her perspective and eventual change in her outlook was a little bit fascinating. Of course, if this were a contemporary novel, I probably wouldn't have been all that interested.

Note: So that you're not surprised, there was definitely an inordinate amount of racism, which of course is attributed to the times, but still. Some really horrible terms were used, and I cringed every single time.

Audio Notes: Shelly Frasier is just AMAZING. This story was a much better experience because of her voice, the accents of Louisiana, and the lilting drawl of French New Orleans. Her voice is like a lazy raft ride down the river on a summer day. Click here to listen to the sample.

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Release Date: 08/23/05

Audio Time: 5 hours, 5 minutes

Narrator: Shelly Frasier

Others said:

Avid Reader's Musing

Iris on Books

Sarah Reads Too Much

Soy Chai Bookshelf

Things Mean a Lot

FTC Disclosure: I downloaded this for free from the Virginia Beach Public Library.

About the Author (from KateChopin.org)

American author Kate Chopin (1850-1904) wrote two published novels and about a hundred short stories in the 1890s. Most of her fiction is set in Louisiana and most of her best-known work focuses on the lives of sensitive, intelligent women.