Welcome to Litsy!

Enjoyed breakfast for lunch (eggs, hash browns, and a chocolate chip pancake) at the counter of my favorite cafe while reading my book before heading to my infusion treatment for my Crohn‘s. Had a nice conversation with a couple waitresses about what books we were reading, too. Perfect way to start a weekend.

This is a slow burner, laced with dread; as is most of King‘s work. King is the only author who makes me feel genuine fear. He has an uncanny ability to write small towns and lifelike characters, and this is evidently displayed in ‘salems lot.

My first foray into vampires, and these are definitely not the ‘sparkly‘ kind. Another solid book from the master himself!

“‘Sounds more like the Good Humor man to me,‘ Parkins said, and tapped his ash into the vase again.”

“Matt stood on his stoop for almost a full minute after the sound of the car had died away, his hands poked into his jacket pockets, his eyes turned toward the house on the hill.”

King‘s classic tale of vampires infiltrating small town America is just as creepy as I remember. This is slow burn horror at its finest, and when things start to ramp up, you‘re stuck on the rollercoaster until it‘s time to get off. King creates just as many lovable characters as evil ones, and The Lot‘s ragtag band of heroes is no exception. A remarkable second novel with impact. I won‘t be looking out my bedroom window at night anytime soon. 4⭐️

“‘There,‘ he said. ‘Oh, Susan.‘”

I met my #20in4 goals this past weekend by finishing one book and reaching 50% on my February Stephen King pick. With this, I am on track to meet my 2023 of 100 books! Thanks for the inspiration, Littens!

“And then she felt the cold flesh of his wrist and the lack of movement in the light blue tracery of veins beneath her fingers, and she ran for the nurses‘ station to report a death on the ward.”

“Floyd left. The Bryant kid put another dime in the juke, and Dick Curless began to sing ‘Bury the Bottle with Me.‘”

Unexpected day off work because of a snow day (a real perk of working at a college!). April and I are taking full advantage #catsoflitsy

“‘I‘m scared,‘ he said.
‘I am, too,‘ the tall man answered.”

Lunchtime read. Very intriguing start to this novel!

I re read this whilst on holiday. I still loved it but maybe not as much as my 16 year old self. I‘ve always had a soft spot for a good vampire novel!

#Pop23 Oops! I don‘t have much to choose from for published books in my birth year. I was super excited to see Salem‘s Lot but for some reason in my head I was thinking The Stand, which I started yesterday and I‘m hooked on! So I‘ll finish that as my longest book on my TBR and read Salem‘s Lot this year as well. Going old school King this year!

A thoroughly enjoyable read. I can't say I found it all that scary, but I was riveted none the less. 🧛

And, of course, I got books for gifts! 🎁 📚 #bookhaul

The set of Stephen King from my Mom, who has certainly read all of these at least once and is excited that I‘ve hit my King-reading phase. The tagged will probably be the first I read.

A chronic illness memoir from my sister. We both have Crohn‘s (I‘ve been diagnosed since 2013; she was just diagnosed this summer). The author also has Crohn‘s, so this is now on both our TBRs.

A very good King novel. I was expecting gruesome horror and this was more psychological; not a lot of physical action, even at the end. And, having read The Dark Tower first, I was surprised Father Callahan didn't have a bigger presence. One of my favorite things about King, though, is that you really get to know all his characters, and you care about the town before the nightmare begins.

Lazy morning reads. Things have been quite hectic for the last month or so, but relief is in sight.

#TeamMonsterMash @StayCurious Another Bingo! #scarathlon

#wondrouswednesday Thanks @Eggs for the tag!

1) tagged, in high school, in the 80s—the wind was howling and tree branches were scratching my window. I was terrified. I loved Stephen King back in the day!
2) Tough pick: two series: Discovery of Witches and Practical Magic
3) dark blue or deep green

Want to play: @MaleficentBookDragon @Catsandbooks @julesG @Mitch @MatchlessMarie @Lizpixie @Librarybelle @IndoorDame @aperfectmjk @TheAromaofBooks ?

#ScarathlonDailyPrompts #Day23 #Story There‘s no greater storyteller in my opinion than Stephen King. This is my favourite King novel, scared me stupid as a kid. I still can‘t sleep with my neck uncovered & with the curtains open. That miniseries with the scratching on the glass😱 #Scarathlon #TeamSlaughter 6pts

#ScarathlonDailyPrompts #Day16 #Scared I don‘t think any other King book scared me quite as much as this one did when I was 13. Also, the mini series in the 80s terrified me! That kid scratching at the window?😱 #Scarathlon #TeamSlaughter 6pts

#thoughtfulthursday @MoonWitch94 tagged by @Eggs ❤️

🎃 Mistery for sure
🎃 I like both
🎃 Salem's Lot

Everybody is tagged

Returning to Stephen King today, as this is one of the scariest vampire stories I‘ve read (maybe because I read it as a kid - oh, the 80s/90s). Little Danny Glick as a child vampire haunted me for years. #scarathlondailyprompts #vampire #teamslaughter

I‘m slowly making my way through SK‘s backlist and selected this “vampire” read for #scaralthon I started this Saturday and finished it this evening this #chunkster was quite the page turner. I can see how this one terrified one of my friends when she read it as a kid. #TeamMonsterMash. This read is my October #bookspin book as well! @StayCurious @TheAromaofBooks

Audiobook pick:
Finished this vampire classic today.

An incredible read. This remains one of my favorite stories about vampires. The pacing is economical, the "stakes" feel real, and the characters are largely compelling - especially in the case of Mark Petrie. There's a reason I keep coming back to Salem's Lot. 5/5. #ReadKing

I wasn't on Litsy much yesterday so I somehow missed the posts celebrating King's 75th birthday started by @reggie I have posted extensively about King previously: about how I read IT during a week off from work 5 years ago & the scope & ambition completely changed my idea of what a horror novel could be; I have also talked of my abiding love for the genre bending series & the memorable characters in the Dark Tower; a few times I have mentioned

If all goes to plan I‘ll be a guest on a Podcast at the end of September to talk about Stephen King. I‘m so excited. And to prepare I‘m re-reading my favorite King novel. And reading Danse Macabre as well. I can‘t wait to fangirl over King‘a works. #returningtoSalemslot #books #stephenking #goodtimes

Ok. I'm excited now.
I was just mentioning yesterday that I wanted to watch the original 'Salem's Lot and then complained to hubs that I couldn't find it anywhere. He just came home with a present! Our Walmart has next to nothing for movies do what are the odds?? It's too late tonight but I'm diving in by the weekend.
Thinking of turning my #ReadKing into a #ReadAndWatchKing experience now. There are SO many adaptations it might be a good time.

A creepy little reread and one of my favourite King's so far. Back when vampire stories were done right! Now to see if I can find the mini-series before I move onto the next #ReadKing

#ThingsInCommon
A Lullaby for Witches + 'Salem's Lot = Set in New England

#bookspinbingo #Roll100 #aestheticallymatched
@Clwojick @TheAromaofBooks @PuddleJumper

#MarchStats

Books completed:
The Fellowship of the Ring - 4.5⭐
'Salem's Lot - 5⭐
Aurora Rising - 4.25⭐

Still reading:
The Lord of Chaos
The Wolves of Calla
Aurora Burning

Total pages read: 1,491
Avg. pages/day: ~48.1

I'm a lil bit in late 😅😅

#SundayFunday @ozma.of.oz
Thanks @Eggs for the tag!

1. Vampire novels... I'm not sure it can be considered as a proper genre 😅
2. Tagged one ❤
3. Anne Rice, of course ❤❤

1️⃣ Horror 💀
2️⃣ ✔️
3️⃣ Robert R. McCammon

#SundayFunday @ozma.of.oz

I was wondering why everyone was so quiet today...my #tarottakeover post for yesterday never posted!!!

The last draw is the unknown. What is underneath. What worries us. And of course the card is the Three of Swords. A card steeped in isolation, heartbreak, and betrayal. They just can't ever be polite can there?

I will likely never wax rhapsodic about Stephen King‘s sentences or comment on his lyricism, but damn if he isn‘t one of the best storytellers out there. Here, he builds suspense beautifully, shows us just enough, and isn‘t afraid to take down major characters. And he‘s so good at creating deplorable characters! This one was fun.

My reading buddy is making sure I don't get too scared.

#catsoflitsy

Outside Verbatim

I hadn't read this one before and it was a good one. An oldie as its King's second novel from 1975 focused on vampires in the small town of Jerusalem's Lot. An enjoyable read!!

2022 Reread #2 - A while ago, I decided to start reading King in order of publication. I considered skipping books already read, but after rereading Salem‘s Lot, I‘m not. I originally read this in 2009, which was long enough for me to forget some details. I thoroughly enjoyed this all over again. I forgot how much I loved and loathed some of the characters. Ugh, Mrs. Norton. Definitely worth 18 hours on audio. #Booked2022 #adaptedforthesmallscreen

I have not been active in Litsy for some time. I‘m going to try to remedy that. I signed up for two buddy reads four-ish years ago. I bought a lot of hardcover and softcover books by Stephen King for the #losersclub. I also signed up for the Terry Pratchett read along. I‘m not sure why, but I quickly lost interest in the Pratchett books. Around the same time, we had a couple of deaths in the family, both of my parents passed. Continued…

“Ben Mears has returned to Jerusalem‘s Lot in hopes that exploring the history of the Marsten House, an old mansion long the subject of rumor and speculation, will help him cast out his personal devils and provide inspiration for his new book. But when two young boys venture into the woods, and only one returns alive, Mears begins to realize that something sinister is at work—in fact, his hometown is under siege from forces of darkness.”

I've decided that the current flu floating through my house is not a flu but an evil demon of sickness looking for the perfect host.

I'm over it. Time to boil that bitch out!

#bookandbath #ReadKing #exorcismbath

Haven't read enough King to say how this ranks in comparison to others in his bibliography, but it was suspenseful.

“Salems Lot” by Steven King is about a man named Ben Mears who has returned to his hometown Jerusalems Lot to explore the history of the Marsten house. A old large house that is the subject of story‘s that may or may not be true and will help him with inspiration for his new book. But when two young boys travel into the woods and only one returns alive Mears begins to understand that something evil is at work.

I mostly enjoyed this. Like much of Stephen King's books there was some weirdness in the depiction of women. Parts of it got quite spooky, but it's not my favourite of his books.

I'm still working on these, but wanted to make sure that my hours counted toward my point totals!
#scarathlon #teamslaughter

#panspookathon #20in4 #campweekendween #itsbritneywitch #trickortreatathon #wickedathon #spookoweenreadathon #vampathon #bookspinbingo #fallintoreading #spoopathon #spooktober
12*10*20=2,400+1=2,401 pts
@Clwojick

Look what came through my letterbox today 💕

Thanks for alerting me to the availability of another literary miscellany that I needed in my life @vivastory - it looks amazing 😊

Also looking forward to another Stephen King... he's one of the most readable authors I've come across.

Thank you again @MaleficentBookDragon #AllHallowseveswap

Thanks for the tag @Ast_Arslan 🙋‍♂️

1️⃣ Not particularly but I did read 'salems Lot last year around Halloween time, another one I think is a cool read for that time of year is 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' by Ray Bradbury 🖤

2️⃣ I certainly hope so because we've got lots of candy, cakes and little Halloween baggies for it! 🍭🍬🍪

#two4tuesday @TheSpineView

I lost my post 😂 so here is the short and sweet: not a great week for #screamathlon2021 but I saw my kids ❤️ @StayCurious #teamhendrix

Week 2: 250
Total Points: 700

The King delivered (as usual) ready to watch the series.