Commentary on short stories

[Chiclayo gringo]

In the introduction to Everything’s Eventual, Mr. King talks about the demise of the short story; indicates it is a pleasure to see his stories “collected here like this”, and writes that the reader can give him their thoughts via www.stephenking.com.. I naively thought to myself that it is considerate of him to provide a mechanism for some one-on-one feedback, but upon accessing the site found this designed-for-the-masses-counterintuitive-difficult-to-navigate forum. At least for me.

Anyway, Mr. King, here is my commentary. I occasionally read in the evening but mostly while traveling which is normally done by bus here in Peru. Earlier this week I was traveling from Màncora to my home in Chiclayo – a trip of about seven hours counting the stops in Los Organos, El Alto, Tàlara and a half-dozen other small towns. It’s mostly desert with not a lot to see. My son in the States had sent some books to me including Everything`s Eventual which I selected for this trip. Now to the point.

On a bus (and on the sofa at home for that matter) a short story is too short. I don’t have time enough to hunker down and put myself in a I’m-really-looking-forward-to-this mood before the story ends. Secondly, if it’s a story that has grabbed me (The Death of Jack Hamilton) I don’t want it to end quickly and when it does I want time to savor it. The memory of the story preceding and the temptation to go on to the next is a distraction and in a way feels disrespectful.

A full-length novel is too long. I can’t finish it in one reading and don’t like to have to try to rekindle any involvement I may have established with the story and/or characters. Also memory is a factor at my age.

Have you got something in a medium?

Regards,

Tom
Chiclayo, Peru
August 10, 2009

[Lencho_of_the_Apes]

The format is a bit counter-intuitive, navigating the board is kind of frustrating until you learn a few tricks. The one that's most useful to me is making use of the "new posts" button from that row of buttons above the menu.

As far as good bus-ride reading, you might try Different Seasons, a thick-novel sized book with 4 short novels in it, or one of the shorter SK stand-alone novels. Carrie, Firestarter, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon come to mind...

We all float down here...

[aptpupil]

Hi

There are many SK "novellas" which occupy the ground between novel and short story.

For my recommendation, try "Different Seasons" which gave the world the stories that became the classic movies "Shawshank Redemption" and "Stand By Me". You won't be disappointed. :wink2:

[Drawn to Ka-tet]

In the introduction to Everything’s Eventual, Mr. King talks about the demise of the short story; indicates it is a pleasure to see his stories “collected here like this”, and writes that the reader can give him their thoughts via www.stephenking.com.. I naively thought to myself that it is considerate of him to provide a mechanism for some one-on-one feedback, but upon accessing the site found this designed-for-the-masses-counterintuitive-difficult-to-navigate forum. At least for me.

Anyway, Mr. King, here is my commentary. I occasionally read in the evening but mostly while traveling which is normally done by bus here in Peru. Earlier this week I was traveling from Màncora to my home in Chiclayo – a trip of about seven hours counting the stops in Los Organos, El Alto, Tàlara and a half-dozen other small towns. It’s mostly desert with not a lot to see. My son in the States had sent some books to me including Everything`s Eventual which I selected for this trip. Now to the point.

On a bus (and on the sofa at home for that matter) a short story is too short. I don’t have time enough to hunker down and put myself in a I’m-really-looking-forward-to-this mood before the story ends. Secondly, if it’s a story that has grabbed me (The Death of Jack Hamilton) I don’t want it to end quickly and when it does I want time to savor it. The memory of the story preceding and the temptation to go on to the next is a distraction and in a way feels disrespectful.

A full-length novel is too long. I can’t finish it in one reading and don’t like to have to try to rekindle any involvement I may have established with the story and/or characters. Also memory is a factor at my age.

Have you got something in a medium?

Regards,

Tom
Chiclayo, Peru
August 10, 2009

Hello Tom and welcome to the SKMB!

For medium sized stories, I can't improve on the recommendations by Lencho and other members. But I can recommend listening to the short stories and the novels on CD. I listen to many of Mr King's books on my commute. I can pick up the story at any time and I don't get distracted by what comes next.
If you have a portable CD player- I recommend listening to the stories. I have never been disappointed.
Long days and pleasant nights.

[doowopgirl]

I do somewhat share you opinion of short stories. I like something I can sink my teeth into, really get into the zone and savour. However I recently re read Skeleton Crew and in the introduction he compares a short story to a quick kiss with a mysterious stranger versus a long affair or relationship. Both fun, but in very different ways. Sometimes short stories suit me better as I am inclined to ' 'just finish this bit' and end up way past my bedtime. Other times nothing will do but a long langorous read so I can get all the characters in my head.

[jchanic]

But what happens when a longer novel grabs you and won't let go? It's anything but a "long langorous read" then!

John