Standalong

I'm deviating from my regular Wordless Wednesday post today to announce that I'm joining a readalong of The Stand this summer. I might be crazy but that's okay, it will be fun!

Trish at Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity is hosting a readalong (or as she's calling it, a Standalong) of Stephen King's epic novel The Stand. After years of having this one recommended to me I've decided to buckle up and read it. King is not an author I read frequently and I've never read one of his big books so I'm a bit nervous, but it will be fun. We're starting tomorrow, June 1st, and finishing at the end of July. Join in if it sounds fun to you.

Trish's Standalong Get to Know You

1. What makes you want to read The Stand?
People have been recommending it to me for years.
I'll say, "But I don't like horror." They'll say, "Read it!"
I'll say, "I scare easily." and the response is still, "Seriously, read it."
So I think I need to read it.

2. Describe your preconceived notions of The Stand.
It's scary and dark and I'm not sure I'm going to like it.

3. What was the last scary(ish) book you read or movie you saw?
I read "The Passage" last year and I watched and read The Woman in Black recently.

4. Which version of the book will you be reading from?
I'm reading the 1980 paperback shown in the picture above. I know there is an original version and an uncut version. I had already bought my paperback when I figured that out, but I decided to do a bit of research to see which one more people recommended. It was split pretty evenly down the middle, but I decided to read the original version. One major complaint I tend to have with long books is that I wish they had a better editor. It sounds like the uncut version is more suited for people who are already big fans of King's work.

Original vs. Uncut version debate. Do you guys have a preference? If a bunch of you say the uncut version is the way to go then I will definitely get a copy.

5. What are you previous experiences with Stephen King?
In high school I read On Writing, his nonfiction book about his experience as an author, and I loved it. In college I read his short story collections Different Seasons (which includes the story that Shawshank Redemption is based on) and Everything's Eventual. More recently I picked up his screenplay Storm of the Century and his first novel, Carrie. At this point I've decided he's a talented writer, but he's a bit dark for me. I've never read one of his mammoth books. I've always loved his Entertainment Weekly columns (he used to write a monthly one), where he recommended audiobooks, music and movies.

6. Anything else you'd like to add (bonus points for being extra random).
I'm kind of a baby when it comes to scary stuff, but I'm hoping this one isn't bad. I'm kind of nervous about this one because King definitely has a stigma of being pretty dark.

Also, the three scariest movies I can think of off the top of my head are Rebecca, The Ring, and The Bad Seed. I think psychologically scary stuff is much scarier than a bad man chasing you is (like Halloween). I also don't do gratuitous violence scary movies, like Saw. I just can't handle those. 

Readalong info here, second photo by moi.