Welcome to Litsy!

This is my second time reading “The Long Walk” because it‘s the October selection for the in-person Constant Reader book club I belong to. Sadly, my opinion of this book has diminished compared to my initial reading. The plot and ending are excessively ambiguous to my liking. I enjoyed the contestants and appreciated the significant toll the walk took on the characters, both physically and mentally.

Full Review abookandadog.com/blog/the-long-walk

They did such a good job on this movie. Dare I say, maybe I liked it better than the novella? The friendships were done beautifully and the ending was better. It was very moving overall.

🎶 It‘s the most wonderful time of the year! 🎶

I chose number 4 as my lucky pick. I read the book 20ish years ago and hated it, but I‘d like to give it another shot, because the movie looks good.

#CastTheDie

Ahh this is a hard one! Full disclosure I saw the movie first and loved it! It‘s heartbreaking and hard to watch at times but they did an excellent job of building the relationships between the walkers, keeping the tension high, and ended it in a somewhat satisfying way. The book…did not. It‘s not bad by any means - I love me some King - but it dragged on and don‘t really solidify the friendships. And the ending - no thank you! 📚🌟🌟🌟 🎬🌟🌟🌟🌟

Oof, this powerful psychological thriller is raw, unflinching, and difficult to. A powerful story of fame, fortune, and control, it has me thinking about media, money, and power. I found the ending to be unsatisfying, but I hear the movie ends differently. I‘m pretty squeamish when it comes to the screen, so not sure I‘ll see it, but I‘m tempted. While not a favorite, this kept me reading and i‘m glad I read it.

The movie was epic, it strayed the littlest bit from the book, but it was so beautifully done. It was very very gory though, so if you‘re not into that, I wouldn‘t go see it.

Saw the adaptation on Monday. If you‘ve read the book I highly recommend not googling anything and going in blind so you can be surprised by the movie ending. Enjoyed is probably not the right word but I think this adaptation was really well done.

Getting ready for the movie with my 3rd read of @stephenking 🎧📖🔖

#thelongwalk #stephenking #richardbachman #ebook #audiobook #goodreads #bookworm #bookstoscreen #goodreadsreadingchallenge #totefairie

Wow what a great read about a contest where teenage boys walk until one remains and wins the prize.

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

https://youtu.be/l9P1tq6tFMU

Enjoy!

This is one of my favorite of King's books. I can't wait to see the movie this September.
Set in a dystopian America, 100 boys are chosen for the long walk, where they walk until only one is left. If they stop, if they try to leave, if they are too injured to continue, they are shot dead. Ray has signed up to be in the walk. How far will he get? It's so bleak but so engaging 🖤
#LosersClub @BarkingMadRead
#WickedWords #teenagers @AsYouWish

April‘s #losersclub pick but read in May. It was physically exhausting getting through this one as someone who struggles with daytime drowsiness reading about how tired all these guys were. 🫩 Which maybe made it a more immersive experience? 😂 I did find the 4mph rule distracting since I was listening to the audio. Holding a conversation is taxing at 3mph let alone 4 so I had to suspend disbelief in that aspect. ⬇️

Picked off a few books #OffTheShelf2025 (granted, some of these were new purchases)
@Librariana

#AprilReCap

Welcome to the #LosersClub open discussion for #theLongWalk
 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

Initially read this years ago, had almost forgotten how great it was - knew I liked it, but I hadn't remembered the intensity of the boys.

It was kismet that one of my co-workers (who saw me reading) had also randomly picked this one up! So we have been discussing too!

Picture from one of the protests (felt like it belonged here)

#LosersClub #StephenKing #StephenKingInOrder #KingFromTheBeginning #ConstantReader

#TheLongWalk
@BarkingMadRead

Ooo - It references another book club book we read :) #HashTagBridgage

#TheLongWalk #StephenKing
#LosersClub @BarkingMadRead
#StephenKinginOrder
#KingFromTheBeginning
#ConstantReader

This is the lower end of the pick scale for me because I don‘t think it needed to be this long. King could have conveyed everything — the tediousness, the hardships, and the slow descent into madness for some of characters of the long walk — in a novella. I‘m also not sure how I feel about the ending.

Really excited about this! #thelongwalk #losersclub #StephenKing #StephenKingInOrder #KingFromTheBeginning #ConstantReader #ReadAlong #BuddyRead #BookDiscussion

I get that it‘s a metaphor for (in particular the Vietnam) War. I see what the purpose was. But holy moly was it boring.

I thought this book went on a little longer than it needed to, but I gave it a pick due to the shout out for Wilkie Collins‘ A Woman In White. #LosersClub

Currently on #TheLongWalk 🚶 in #StephenKing land (Maine)
#WhereAreYouMonday @Cupcake12

#LosersClub @BarkingMadRead
#StephenKinginOrder
#KingFromTheBeginning
#ConstantReader

Starting The Long Walk on my short walk

This month‘s book is #theLongWalk 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

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

Think I was in the right place at the right time to acquire this rare Stephen King paperback from 1980. Fantastic condition for a 45 year old paperback. This was a complete indulgence, or more money the sense moment. 🤔

Still only 1 work away (The Little Sisters Of Eluria) from completing my SK Collection.

Cheezits, this is a grim, bleak story. 100 boys set out on a walk that only ends when all but one are ☠️. Somehow, it‘s worse than you imagine. It‘s a purposeless Vietnam era dance-a-thon inspired by Jackson‘s “Lottery.” You like the Hunger Games but find it too uplifting? Craving a novel abt totalitarianism in America?! You‘ll love The Long Walk!

I appreciated the queerness of the MC; the layers of attraction, shame, and emotional bonding.

I liked this one a lot. It has the makings to be a very good movie too.

4mph???? Lol there's no way. I loved this, last few pages I was sad...then confused then quite disturbed. King doesn't disappoint 😁

King‘s incredibly tense novel about a dystopian America with a yearly walking competition for teenage boys is one that will stay with you well after the last mile. King wrote this when he was only 18, and it is a strong example of his ability to make non-horror scarier than his most vile monsters. When taken as an allegory for war (the Vietnam War was happening while King wrote it), the depth and poignancy of this novel is King at his best. 4⭐️

Yesssss! Little Free Library win 🤩🙌💃

Really great read. Exceeds expectations; mine were low at first considering it‘s based completely on boys walking a long distance. It explores the meaning of friendship, mental fortitude and the limitations thereof. Go King 👏👏

@shortsarahrose Thanks for my creepy Christmas package! Which segues perfectly into my last read of the year. 100 boys/men are picked for the annual Long Walk in an unclear just how dystopic America. Each participant will walk until they cannot walk any longer at such time a soldier will shoot them. It sounds so simple a story and then King puts his magic on it. You care for these guys and become invested and then affected. So good.👇🏼

My favorite book is “Battle Royale,” so I‘m no stranger to the theme of dystopian regime holds a competition that kills teens. However, I found this book to be underwhelming. Maybe it‘s because I wasn‘t emotionally attached to any characters, so their deaths didn‘t affect me. Still, I‘ll be thinking about this when I‘m walking around Seoul on Saturday afternoons 😅

I'm biased with this one. I discovered it at a young age, and it's always been a favorite of mine. While the concept itself is a good deal older than this book, I love King's take. The characters are memorable, the conversations are interesting, and the examination of our innate death wish is provoking. Despite a few "speed bumps" along the way, The Long Walk is one I consider worth taking time and again. 5/5

This was a re-read that happened to fit the next #PromptMaze (decade I was born). Because it's a Bachman book, it's rather dark in tone, and no happy endings are to be had here. Like the Hunger Games, there can only be one winner, so lots of dead kids walk these pages. This is a story I've read multiple times, and depending on my mood when I read it, I view the ending differently. Can't believe this hasn't been made into a movie yet. #Scarathlon

Picking up an old favourite

Stephen King is not rly my vibe but I will say he‘s a very good writer and can relay that doom-feel super well. However, I was a bit on the fence with this one. I know it was published back in the day but I extremely dislike how he uses casual gay bashing and the n-word for effect. It bothers me and detracts from the overall experience 🤷🏽‍♀️
This was a cool premise tho and altho there‘s not much world building, I was so intrigued abt ⬇️

Waiting room reading! I‘m late...this is my May #bookspin 📖

@TheAromaofBooks
#bookspinbingo

I read this during long haul flights from Australia to Spain and back, which felt fitting to the discomfort. Overall it left me unsatisfied. Why is there a Long Walk? What are the Squads? Had any winner survived? What actually happened at the end? Interesting idea but not a book I'd recommend, probably would have enjoyed as a novella but pointless as a novel.

Ohhh...I‘m excited! My #bookspin is The Long Walk and my #doublespin is Seabiscuit! Looking forward to both!

@TheAromaofBooks
#bookspinbingo

First in my 12 books in 2022. Absolutely wild.

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs
#Beginswith Long

Day 15/16

It‘s #Two4Tuesday time with @TheSpineView !

🕐 I prefer a fast moving plot, but when I look at my favorites list from last year it‘s full of mostly slow burners so 🤷🏼‍♀️?
🕑 This is a book about walking, and, wow.

Thanks for the tag @TheRiehlDeal ! I tag anyone who wants to play!

🏆 This was my favorite book read in March!

📷 Photo taken in the Mojave National Preserve (on an infrequently used road)

#12BooksOf2021
@Andrew65

I struggled to finish this one. Probably my least favorite King novel.

#scarathlon #teamhendrix @StayCurious
5+1+(6h×10×7r)=426
#screamathon @4thhouseontheleft #littenlisten @aperfectmjk #spookoweenreadathon @TheSpineView #panspookathon #wickedathon #realikehellathon #frightfall

Book 117

I listened to The Long Walk by Stephen King, a dystopian story about an annual walk during which, if you stop walking, you get shot. The entire thrilling novel takes place during the walk. Characters could be better developed and the ending could be more satisfying. 3.5 ⭐s

“In the near future, when America has become a police state, one hundred boys are selected to enter an annual contest where the winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life. Among them is sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty, and he knows the rules—keep a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings and you‘re out—permanently.”

As promised, here is my King ranking. This is 1 of 2 posts. This includes books 16-30 & are ranked horizontally from left to right starting at the top row. I broke the series down for this ranking, a ranking including series in place of individual book entries would look diff. Also, I'm planning on reading “Four Past Midnight“ in the future, but “Langoliers“ was read as a separate book.

#LitsySummerCamp @ImperfectCJ

Keeping things morbid here in Camp Bitches Be Readin', this is the first book that came to mind when I saw the prompt talking about a significant walk. I've read novella many times, because the ending still haunts me. The book is about a group of young men who sign up to do the long walk, where the last person still alive is the winner. Your feet will ache just reading it!