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Michael wrote: "So, I received my hard copy the other day, and when I opened the box, I thought they must have sent me half a book. It's over 500 pages, yet was quite thin. It's good bit thinner than Skeleton Crew..."

Hi Michael, congrats on your new addition, signed? Publishers are printing on flimsier, thinner, lower quality paper than in years past. Flimsier, thinner, lower quality seems to be a 21st century trend across all markets from books to footwear to food and everything in between!
If you have any type of "older" posessions that you are fond of, keep them, newer versions, if even available, will be 💩ier! Also, hold onto any hardbacks you have, most contemporary tomes are coming out in trade paperback only!
Many Good reads to You!

Yeah, i got one of those Barnes N Nobles special editions, took a spluge for And Then There Were none

Beautiful cover and ribbon, but the paper is so thin its distracting as I can see text through on the other side, so it was disappointing.

Valerie, Book Valkyrie wrote: ". . . congrats on your new addition, signed? . . . Flimsier, thinner, lower quality seems to be a 21st century trend . . .

No, not signed. The thinner paper trend seems to be approaching phone book paper (for those who remember phone books).

We now have a short-story collection this year. From 2001 through 2023, we've had a novel each year, except for two. (Although we did have short-story collections, individual novellas, and/or novella collections in those two off years. So, novel-wise, 21 out of 23 ain't bad. Gives us a high probability of a novel this September. We'll know more when we know more. I'm sure most of us will be done reading You Like It Darker and will be ready.

Reading it in between Alien Clay..

Oh, Oh, 😃, I just picked up a hardback copy at our local library, I'm so fired up to start this read! Many new-to-me stories.
Just thumbing through I'm seized with a gasp, my thumbs are aghast at the tissue paper pages, fingers flurrying, attempting to flee the ribald insult! Feels like Scribner (Simon&Shuster) is now competing with Charmin, Scott, and Angel Soft 🧻!

Just read The Fifth Step. Really liked that one.. :)

Julia wrote: "Just read The Fifth Step. Really liked that one.. :)"

Yes, I really liked that..

Got the audiobook version narrated by the man, the myth, the legend Will Patton and just finished Two Talented Bastids. Though a bit slow and not necessarily going with the theme of being "darker", I really liked it and am looking forward to the rest of the collection.

Just finished Two Talented Bastids. 5 stars!
Maybe a Stephen King biography of sorts?

I already got my greedy little paws on it.

My ratings so far..

Two Talented Bastids - Not a bad start, didn’t grab me though. 4 ⭐️
The Fifth Step - Classic King twist on an everyday situation. 4.5 ⭐️
Willie the Weirdo - Wonderfully creepy, loved it. 5 ⭐️
Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream - Really didn’t enjoy it. Think maybe it was too long. Rounded up to 3.5 ⭐️ as I liked the characters..

Finished the next 2 stories (#2 & #3, i'm reading them in the order of the table of contents), just about 10pgs each (still detest the way the paper feels; detracts from the 4-senses reading experience 😡):

THE FIFTH STEP - aka No Good Turn Goes Unpunished. 4.5 stars

WILLIE THE WEIRDO-sweetly creepy tale that could have forseeably gone in many different directions went in a direction that I never saw coming! I'm so impassioned by King's twists. 4 stars

note: star ratings do not include the quality deficit of the fetid media 🧻

Stories 5-8:

Finn - Rounded up because of strangeness. 3.5 ⭐️
On Slide In Road - Interesting characters. 4 ⭐️
Red Screen - Great characters and plot with thoughtful twist. 4.5 ⭐️
The Turbulence Expert - Classic King. 5 ⭐️

Anyone else have this when they go to the book on goodreads?

This item does not meet our catalog guidelines and can no longer be rated or reviewed. Learn More

I've never seen a message like this before for a book

Sarah wrote: "Anyone else have this when they go to the book on goodreads?

This item does not meet our catalog guidelines and can no longer be rated or reviewed. Learn More

I've never seen a message like this ..."

I have randomly been seeing that on GR, no idea what that's about

I already had it shelved as currently reading so was able to change it to read, but I couldn't rate it.

Sarah wrote: "I already had it shelved as currently reading so was able to change it to read, but I couldn't rate it."

Ugh weird!! I think it's a temporary glitch?

Ah hopefully that's it, when you click the learn More part it says members can report books that don't meet the criteria, but the list is for short stories only published in magazines etc. So don't see why it would be reported

I get this error every time I finish a book. It will be in my “currently reading�� list and I can move it to “read�� but can’t rate. I can rate it, however, by searching for it again. Always had this error happen since I join ŷ������ in the new year.

I'm so excited to read this! Just got my hands on it..


Bob I'm not sure why that's happening to you. You can read out to goodreads but ever since Amazon bought them out they don't always answer back.

Stories 4-8 briefly:

Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream - underwhelming, 3 Hard Belief Stars
Finn - Ambrose Bierce? loosely, wtf - 2.5 Mistaken Identity Stars
On Slide Inn Road - Stephen King "lite" - 3 Stars For Grandpop
Red Screen - Somewhat better than the previous 3 - 4 Fast Stars
The Turbulence Expert - no comment - 3 Dispiriting Stars

The above stories are to King's writing as "lite" is to beer 😟.
They are as filling as peaprotein burgers.....where's the beef?
Almost feels like the author is tapped out, all fizzle-no pop 😦

What do you think? Does King have a ghost writer? Who is writing these?

Bob wrote: "I get this error every time I finish a book. It will be in my “currently reading�� list and I can move it to “read�� but can’t rate. I can rate it, however, by searching for it again. Always had this..."
This is the first time ive seen it, I tried searching it again but same thing came up. Im going to add a different book to currently reading to see if its maybe a me problem

Valerie, Book Valkyrie wrote: "Stories 4-8 briefly:

Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream - underwhelming, 3 Hard Belief Stars
Finn - Ambrose Bierce? loosely, wtf - 2.5 Mistaken Identity Stars
On Slide Inn Road - Stephen King "lite" - 3 S..."

I felt very differently about the stories than you did and do not even suspect a ghost writer. His short stories have always been all over the place, especially since he usually uses the last bit of steam at the end of a longer project to write them.

Most of these stories have been published in the past, and I didn't question their authorship at that time either.

Bob wrote: "I get this error every time I finish a book. It will be in my “currently reading�� list and I can move it to “read�� but can’t rate. I can rate it, however, by searching for it again. Always had this..."

Challenge groups I'm on have been complaining about that last 2 weeks. It's a bug I have also encountered. Very annoying.

You Like It Darker entered The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best Sellers List at Number 1 on June 9, 2024.

Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "Bob wrote: "I get this error every time I finish a book. It will be in my “currently reading�� list and I can move it to “read�� but can’t rate. I can rate it, however, by searching for it again. Alw..."

I think it's because it was added to ŷ������ as soon as King announced the release, sometime last year. So the listing is actually a placeholder without ISDN or anything. It's the most popular "edition" since it has a lot of people adding it right away, and most don't switch to the official listing when it's put up.

I found that when I switched to the edition I actually have, the error went away. I had to do it for this thread too, as it shows at the top of the thread.

Thanks Chris..

Chris wrote: "Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "Bob wrote: "I get this error every time I finish a book. It will be in my “currently reading�� list and I can move it to “read�� but can’t rate. I can rate it, howev..."

That worked thank you, i removed it completely from shelf then searched for the correct edition and it worked

Kandice wrote: "Valerie, Book Valkyrie wrote: "Stories 4-8 briefly:

Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream - underwhelming, 3 Hard Belief Stars
Finn - Ambrose Bierce? loosely, wtf - 2.5 Mistaken Identity Stars
On Slide Inn R..."
Hi Kandice, that's good to know about the authenticity of the writing, thanks so much. (Many mature writers e.g. James Patterson are selling their branded names to other, lesser known, authors to write under). The stories in this one are certainly "good' but I enjoyed King's other anthologies much more than this one. However, I think his real strength lies in his epic novels. Glad you're enjoying this and many Good Reads to You!

idk how it is in english, but in german there's like 2 stories that are like 95 pages and 1 is like 250 like i love it (haven't started reading it yet) but that aint short stories lmao

Starting this one today. Very excited to get into it!

I pre-ordered this on audiobook so it was auto-delivered bang on time.

I listened to "Two Talented Bastids" almost immediately and liked it pretty well. It was good entertainment in the background whilst I was doing other things. I just love King's writing so was happy enough with it, but it didn't demand my attention at any point.

I must say the narration was excellent. I haven't started the second story yet. I find short stories hard to stick with - complete immersion for the long haul is more my thing.

I will continue soon (so no spoilers please!!) but I've just started re-reading The Dark Tower after discovering the audio series on YouTube! I have the full series in book form and was nervous about the audio in case it wasn't as good. I needn't have worried - Frank Muller's narration here is excellent excellent excellent!! Currently reading The Waste Lands (view spoiler)[ Have met up with Charlie choo choo and am waiting for Jake to make it back through to Roland) (hide spoiler)]

All this to say, I'm enjoying the short stories but am waiting for something to grab me!

Maria wrote: "idk how it is in english, but in german there's like 2 stories that are like 95 pages and 1 is like 250 like i love it (haven't started reading it yet) but that aint short stories lmao"

LOL. I don't think it's an English thing, it's more a Stephen King thing. Writing at length is pretty much his trademark, only SK would consider 250 pages short!

So you're right... And to be fair, 'novella' would probably be a better description ; )

I know, i read the whole of the dark tower and the stand XD.
It's just that i also read night shift and they were real SHORT stories so i was suprised when i looked at the lenght of the stories.
I'm verry excited, i just don't really get why it isn't published on its own XD but i haven't read it yet, so no judgement

Maria wrote: "I know, i read the whole of the dark tower and the stand XD.
It's just that i also read night shift and they were real SHORT stories so i was suprised when i looked at the lenght of the stories.
I..."

Short stories vary by length, not sure what you mean. Sometimes he does long novellas in one edition like Different Seasons with the four long stories.

This one is 515 pages with several of those being table of contents and afterword, so averaging to 500 with 12 stories, sounds about right for his anthologies. He does have some "short" short stories but he likes longer ones quite a bit.

Maria wrote: "I know, i read the whole of the dark tower and the stand XD.
It's just that i also read night shift and they were real SHORT stories so i was suprised when i looked at the lenght of the stories..."

Haha. I know right!

A propos Night Shift I listened to that one on audiobook - whilst doing the 'boring' job of cleaning first aid resuscitation mannekins. This involves taking them apart, replacing lungs, peeling off faces and fitting new ones to their plastic skulls.

DO NOT listen to Jerusalem's Lot when performing the above task. It was the scene in the cellar... It absolutely freaked me out!... I needed light and human company PRONTO! And cleaned no more that week.

So yes, some stories are 'short' but they definitely pack a punch... )

Annerlee, that job description could be a great set up for a King story.

I’m half way through it and there’s some absolute gems and the odd forgettable one so far.

Btw, the hardback over here in Ireland is as expected. A big book with nice thick pages. I did read others complaining about the thinness of the paper, US readers perhaps?

Adrian wrote: "I’m half way through it and there’s some absolute gems and the odd forgettable one so far.

Btw, the hardback over here in Ireland is as expected. A big book with nice thick pages. I did read othe..."
I agree with your comment about a few gems. Needs to be a bit darker maybe..?
Think the thin paper problem is just in the US as you say. Hope you are enjoying the hardback.

Julia wrote: "Adrian wrote: "I’m half way through it and there’s some absolute gems and the odd forgettable one so far.

Btw, the hardback over here in Ireland is as expected. A big book with nice thick pages. ..."

Thanks Julia and yes I agree about it perhaps could have been a bit darker, although mortality seems to be the common theme.

Seems a strange choice to publish the book on such thin paper in the States.

I decided that this new release was a must-read for me. I fell asleep last night before I could finish it. I liked several of the stories that were included, and like most fans I was looking forward to the sequel to Cujo.

I also expected it to be a bit darker, something along the lines of full dark no stars.
I did enjoy this one though, some were forgettable some were great, the only one I was disappointed with was Danny coughlins bad dream I felt like the build up of the story was going great but it fell really flat 🤷‍♀�� and the fact it was so long I was expecting more

Adrian wrote: "I’m half way through it and there’s some absolute gems and the odd forgettable one so far.

Btw, the hardback over here in Ireland is as expected. A big book with nice thick pages. I did read othe..."

Hi Adrian, I think you are so right about the flimsy paper being "a U.S. thing." Please, who is the publisher in Ireland? If I could get my hands on a quality hardback I would be happy to purchase this anthology. Go raibh míle maith agat!

Maria wrote: "...It's just that i also read night shift and they were real SHORT stories so i was surprised when i looked at the length of the stories...."

He's definitely longer today. This book is about 512 pages, but has only 12 stories. Go back to 1985's Skeleton Crew, which is also about 512 pages, but has 22 stories, almost double.

Valerie, Book Valkyrie wrote: "Adrian wrote: "I’m half way through it and there’s some absolute gems and the odd forgettable one so far.

Btw, the hardback over here in Ireland is as expected. A big book with nice thick pages. ..."

Hi Valerie,

The publisher is Hodder And Stoughton.

I posted my review today and really enjoyed a full two thirds of the selections; four of them I loved. This was a far more enjoyable collection than Bazaar of Bad Dreams. In collections there will always be highs and lows which is why we do not all interpret King's works in the same way. I thought it was special that King grabbed his Title from the iconic Cohen but just modified it a bit. I too feel sad that the Master of Horror is aging, but hey, the way his mind works he will provide us with his unique literary horror for another decade minimally and maybe beyond.

No complaints on the book quality in England. Pages are normal thickness which you can’t see through. I assume it’s the same book as the one in Ireland. The only Stephen King book I own with thin pages is The Stand. These are ultra thin pages that you can see through and is the same thickness as You Like It Darker but double the length.

The german pages also have a normal thickness despite the book being 740 pages after translation and due to german book standarts

I've just started The Turbulence Expert.

So far, Danny Coughlin is my favorite, but Two Talented Bastids is a close second. I really liked On Slide Inn Road too... feels like a location he could revisit.