IT's Over....

So you know that saying, it's all about the  journey not the destination? Well, that's how I KINDA feel about the whole #italong because there were many things that I really dug about the book IT but the community behind #italong and the amazingness of Steven Weber narrating it made it twelve shades better.

SPOILERISH SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

The thing about IT is it truly is your worst nightmare.  I loved that as a scary concept.  I tweeted to Care that he was the clown version of Freddy Kruger because It moves into whatever might frighten us the most - or use whoever might frighten us the most.  THAT'S what makes it horrific, the particularness to the victim makes it nearly impossible to battle.  Unless you stick together...which is what this book is ALSO about.

I love how King brings about community also and the importance of it.  I'm basing this merely on my experience with #standalong and #italong but there's a definite vibe that you can't battle life's evilness by yourself.  You have to count on people; you have to form a tribe.  I wonder if that's why most of his books are set in small towns?

So we have this group of kids who come together as children because they were unaccepted by others.  Unable to deny the supernatural forces that are taking over their hometown, Derry, they join together to fight the evilness.  IT is told in both flashbacks and present day scenes, and although that had the potential to be confusing, unnecessary, over the top but it didn't. 

However, I am totally with the majority that Mike and his lemme tell you a story narratives on Derry history DID turn into snore fests.  Even though Weber was this amazing narrator, my mind would wander during these excerpts.  I imagine, if I'm going to be honest with myself, I'd probably do a lot of skimming had I read the actually book.

I know also that the Bill & Bev thing irritated many readers for various reasons (why throw the s3x ball in there; what about the fact that both were married - even if only one was happily, who has s3x when THIS is going on, etc.) but it KINDA made sense to me.  I mean, I can see how these people are in this emotionally charged moment in their life where they don't know if they're even going to make it and they're surrounding by nostalgic memories ESPECIALLY Bill and Bev.  They had a connection.  *shrug* it makes sense that they worked it out, so to speak, through a little bowchickabowwow.

However the tween group-on, well...I'm not even going to go there.

Also, I thought the ending was a bit anti-climatic.

Another thing that I found interesting was my middle school self compared to my adult self.  See, I read both The Stand and It in middle school and as a kid I hands down would have said that The Stand was the superior work, however now?  Well, I don't know about superiority but I definitely liked IT much more.  The characters were very attainable.

Title: It

Author: Stephen King

Published: 1986 Pages: 1090

Narrator: Stephen Weber

Audio Duration: 44 hrs; 57 mins

Genre: Horror.

IT Post One OR I Freakin' Made it Halfway!!

You guys! Can we all pinky promise that there will be no chunksters of a readalong for like at LEAST a few months now?

Serious.

Pinky Promise.

Because you know I CAVE when someone says readalong.  I seriously need a support group, yo.

Okay.  Now that we've gotten that out of the way......

I have achieved (and surpassed) midway status.  And very much like an arse, I didn't write my midway post immediately after hitting the midway post - mainly because I'm listening to it and the narration is BRILLIANT.

So for all of my #italong clowns, I don't want to ramble to much about what's happened and my thoughts because I can't remember where I should stop thinking and writing.  Therefore, you get a bunch of randomness LIKE

Every time I think of "The Losers Club" I start singing Beck's song....



Aaaaaaand there's gonna be a MOVIE?  SOMEDAY?!

You know what's the craziest about King though?  He writes this horrifically mean and violent book called It and you're all like - man that guy is f'ed up - right?  But then you find THESE sorta quotes in the mix of the blood and gore:

“Maybe there aren't any such things as good friends or bad friends - maybe there are just friends, people who stand by you when you're hurt and who help you feel not so lonely. Maybe they're always worth being scared for, and hoping for, and living for. Maybe worth dying for too, if that's what has to be. No good friends. No bad friends. Only people you want, need to be with; people who build their houses in your heart.”

Pretty deep right?


So here's also a quiz that you can play...there's some questions that obvs come from the end...but they're quotes, and if you know the characters, you can figure out who said them.  Fun times.

I'll see all you clowns in another few weeks with TONS of SPOILERS and REACTIONARY CAPS.

'Til then.  Beep beep.

North and South RAL (#4)

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

You guys, this has been the longest-quick read EVHAR.  Seriously.  I've only been reading it on Sunday for the last three sessions (glaring at my return to work), which means it seems as though it has dragged on, but really it didn't because I was mostly suckered in while reading.

There were a fair amount of  oh no they didn't moments in the final section.  For example when dear ole Poppa Hale died so unexpectedly... well who saw that one coming?  If Gaskell was trying to foreshadow, someone should have told her that foreshadowing usually involves pages and chapters prior...NOT a evening chat with your buddy talking about mortality and what will happen to dear ole Mags only to peacefully die in one's sleep THAT night.

Oh and Edith truly annoyed the snickers out of me.  How I wanted to strangle her.  I don't know what I was thinking earlier in the novel thinking she was so pleasant.  Oh wait, now I remember.  Edith barely talked in the beginning.

I know that there are some Mag haters out there, but I still think that she's a fairly self-aware, stoic lady who truly was the foundation in her family.  Also, I loved how her character changed because of Milton's influence. And her last line?  Actually Mr. Thorton AND Mag's last line - "That man."; "That woman". Heh.

But the ending??? As Mistress Fizz tweeted, "I kept trying to get my nook app to turn the page. So confused when nothing happened."  It was all very anti-climatic.  Especially because I wanted something SWOON-WORTHY.  I realized that the end was in sight - two pages left and bit my lip in frustration because I knew that I'd have to eat some chocolate to fulfill my romantic urges.  (That sounds a wee bit dirty, doesn't it?)

Favorite part?  Ohemgee....roasted cat?  Anyone? ROASTED CAT.  It's like I felt as though The Stand and It merged in Gaskell's world.

Cheers out to Andi and Heather for hosting this RAL.  (I am suuuuuccch a readalong addict now!).

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Not so shameful plug...if you haven't signed up yet for #italong (you know you wanna) scurry over here.