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The speaker discusses their love for spooky books, particularly those written by Stephen King. They talk about how they became a fan of King's work at a young age and how his books captivated their imagination. They share specific memories and scenes from some of their favorite books, such as "It" and "Misery." They also mention their preference for the book version of "The Shining" over the Stanley Kubrick movie adaptation. But fear had settled around his heart, deep and dreadful, around his heart, and around that indecipherable word he had seen in his spirit's mirror. I know, right? So that's just a little excerpt, and I always have such a hard time saying that word, from one of my absolute favorite spooky books, Lori. How are you doing today? I'm doing good. I'm so excited about this. Me too. So today we are going to talk about some of our favorite books by my absolute favorite author, Mr. Stephen King, the King of Horror Novels. I'm really excited about this episode because I have a whole shelf of Stephen King books, and I'm looking forward to diving into some conversation about my favorites with you. I am too. So we're doing this because it's Halloween, and we wanted to talk about, we've talked about Stephen King a fair amount on the podcast, I feel like. Like he's come up. Yeah, it's hard. I'm a total fan. I'm a total fangirl. So yeah, I think I've talked about it. Yeah, several times. Well, and I grew up reading Stephen King. So I was kind of a precocious reader, and my parents didn't limit what I read at all. So I can't quite remember the first book of his that I read, but I want to say it was it. I think there's a decent possibility it was it. And it came out when I was 10, and I didn't read it then, but I don't think I was older than 12 when I did read it. And that kind of led me down the Stephen King path, and I read a ton of his books. And so I read like all through being a teenager, I was reading Stephen King, I went back and read a lot of them, I would kind of look for new ones that would come out at the library. And it really, it really got me into reading horror, and reading more of like adult books, not like adult themed, but like, Oh, no, right. Adult content. Adult like, yes, yes, exactly. So I have a comment here because it is a very large novel. And the fact that you read that at like 12 or 13 is absolutely wild to me because I feel like at that age, I was looking at those size books and being like, yeah, there's no way I'm going to read that. I've always been a really fast reader. Yeah, and I was just a huge bookworm. We had a library that was, I don't know, three blocks away. And I would walk up there by myself starting probably like age nine or 10. And just get a stack of books, and, you know, come back the next week and get another stack. And so I really, it was a mix between like young adult, and then adult books, like I was reading. I think I read Clan of the Cave Bear when I was like in fifth grade, I was I was a weird kid and did a ton of reading. I in fact, I got in trouble sometimes for reading so much. So I mean, I am an avid reader. Stephen King kind of hooked me into reading though. When I when I started reading Stephen King, I was so enthralled with his stories and the detail and I felt like I could envision everything in my head and yeah, he was the first author that really did that for me. And so when I, you know, when I say I'm a Stephen King fangirl, I think it's because he is the one who really developed my love for reading. And I became this complete bookworm and I could not read his books fast enough. And I wanted the next thing and I would, you know, read one and then I'm like, what's the next one I want to read? And I'd wait for his new books to come out and I'd get really excited about it and I'd go by the hardcover and I'd carry around these giant hardcover books with me to school and, you know, to wherever I was going and I would sit and read these giant hardcover books and people were like, what are you reading? And I'm like Stephen King and they all thought I was a weirdo, you know, so I feel like he really helped to, you know, pique my interest in reading and how a story can just like totally transport you to a different time or a different place, you know, and even if it is a scary place and maybe, you know, thinking back to that time period in my life, you know, like I was going through a lot, you know, and just personally as a young adult and so for me it was really, it was an escape and it didn't matter that it was a spooky escape. I loved it and it's funny that you read it at that age because all the characters in that book are around that age and so like I'm sure, I can't even imagine the relatability regardless of the scenario just like with all of their emotions and everything that he describes that's happening, you know, with their feelings and stuff that had to have been really cool. Yeah, it really was and it's funny what you said about like being able to visualize it. There are things that, I mean, there's books that I've read over and over and over of his that I, you know, I don't know how many times I've read it, but there's also, you know, some of his collections of short stories and novellas and things that I've only read once that I still have like a very vivid image from the story in my head and it will come to me just out of nowhere. Like there was a short story in one of his collections about this couple that suddenly they have a finger poking out of their bathroom sink drain and- Oh my God, I remember that. You remember that? Yeah, and like- I do. I will get that image in my head, like I still think about that and I probably read that story when I was like, I don't know, 18, maybe. Just like a random intrusive thought of a finger poking up through the whole sink drain. Well, and it's funny how you mentioned that, though, because I think there are certain parts in his books that kind of like stick with you. Like, for instance, in It, and this is kind of a weird part and I can't remember which of the characters it happened to, but I remember one of them, probably. And I've read It several times, but I can't remember all of the characters' names. I can't remember, and you'll have to tell me, but the part was one of the kids is like walking home from school and he starts getting chased by like a giant crow and he gets chased into like a pipe and the crow has him like trapped in there. And for some reason, that part of the book has always just kind of stuck with me, like it was the fear. And who was it? I can't remember which was the kid. It was Mike. Okay. It was Mike. The one who was the only one who stays. Who stays. He's the one who stays. Yeah, yeah. And that part in the book really just kind of has stuck with me forever. That's the part that I remember from that book as just being like terrifying to me. Yeah. I didn't read that book until I was probably, I was probably like 15 or 16 when I read that book. And that was the first like really big Stephen King book that I tackled. And I don't remember how long it took me. Like I said, it was that time period in my life was kind of, there was a lot going on and I used it as an escape. And it was just, I don't have many recollections besides reading books and going to school. Honestly. Yeah. But the first Stephen King book that I read was Misery. And so I want to say I was probably about 13 or 14 when I read that one. And I just, I absolutely loved the detail and that the story just was so captivating to me. Like Paul's being held a prisoner by his crazy fan. And yeah, that like she's like, you're going to write this book and it's going to be for me. And he's like, you're crazy. And she's like, I sure am. Mr. Man. Rugging. I know, Mr. Man. And yeah, I think the part that stands out to me the most in that book, and I will never forget it. And it's just one of those things where sometimes like, again, almost like an intrusive thought that pops in your head is when she cuts off his foot, because he tries to escape. And he is describing how he is trying to go back to his honeymoon, and the smell of his leg being cauterized is reminding him of a pig roast that he attended at his honeymoon. And he like goes to this place to escape, even though it's like his actual flesh that's burning that is bringing him to that place. And that part in that book just like stood out to me. Yeah, and it's something that yeah, like, you know, sometimes when I smell meat cooking, it's one of those things that'll just kind of pop into my head. And I'm like, Oh, God, like he just does that to you. You know? Yep. It's pretty rough. And yes, when I saw the movie, I was very upset because I was, I was, I don't know, like, I have this weird thing where I wanted to see that happen. Even though it was gross, super descriptive, because it didn't come off in one fell swoop. It was, it took her several chops. No, she was hacking at it. Yeah, yeah. Oh, God. Yeah. So anyways, that little paragraph, I'm going to talk about my like, one of my all time favorites by him as well, which I'm very excited about. Yeah. And I'm actually rereading it right now. So that that little tidbit that I was that I started out with is from The Shining. And so I know most people are familiar with The Shining from the Stanley Kubrick movie, I highly recommend if you're not willing to read the book to watch like the 90s TV miniseries on it, because I think you it's, it follows the book more closely. I mean, it's not exact, right? Because it's really hard to do that. But the problem I had with the Kubrick movie is that I feel like it really vilified Jack and almost made him just seem like this evil, evil person. And oh, my God, yes, I guess a million times. So I was just listening to another podcast that they were talking about. There's been a lot of like The Shining coming up in my life lately. So I feel like I need to kind of I probably need to reread it too. Okay. But this podcast is called You Are Good. And they talk about movies, they pick a different movie each time. And I was listening to one about The Shining. And they were talking about that how like, in the Kubrick movie, Jack is like a sketchy dude from day one. And right seems like, like, when he starts to go crazy, that is it's not unexpected. Whereas in the book, he's more of like, he's a regular guy. And he's trying, you know, yeah, he's a dry drunk. And he's like, trying to trying to do the best for his family. Whereas in the movie, he just seems like he hates them right away. Right? Well, and I also cannot stand Wendy's character in that movie, because she just... No, I can't even watch it. Honestly, it's terrible. I know. Well, and the thing is, is like, I watched it not too long ago. And it every time I watch it, it just kind of brings this back to me. And I'm like, why do I even watch this? It just is, it kind of just makes me angry. But it's also cinematically, like, I think it's, it's a good movie from like, a spooky kind of cult classic type movie, right? But it does not even come close to the absolute epic awesomeness that is in this book, like the character development and just everything you learn about Jack. And yeah, like you said, he's a dry drunk, he's made some mistakes. He was tormented by his father, which he's dealing with a lot of that. And like, Wendy is really struggling with like, trying to forgive him for what happened when he was drinking with Danny. And Danny is just absolutely in love with his dad. In the book, Danny is like, he loves his dad. And he sees all of this crazy, scary shit. And like, then he meets this cool dude, Dick Helleran. And I think in the Kubrick version, like, they don't do Dick justice in that movie. Because like, what the hell? And I was watching it. And there's like that part where he's down in Florida and he's in like his apartment and it's just like naked lady pictures on the walls. Uh-huh. Yeah. He's just like laying in bed and he's like, oh, something bad's happening. No, no. He's been having like conversations basically with Danny in his mind. Like it's just, to me, it doesn't do it justice. I do like the 90s made for TV version. I thought it was really good. And also the whole like maze thing, the hedge maze. It's not a head. It's hedge animals. Yeah, it's a topiary animal. Not a maze. Yes. And those things are terrifying. Yep. So. I fully agree with you. Yeah. That's like everything you said, honestly. I don't even need to elaborate. No notes. Yeah, I just, that's the thing, I think. And I'm very excited about this. I started rereading The Shining because I am going to visit the Stanley Hotel in Colorado in early December. Oh my God. For, I know, and it's in December too. So I'm like really excited. I'm like, I hope there's some snow. I'm staying there for two nights, Friday, Saturday night for a concert I'm going to see. I'm going to see face to face. But anyways, I was reading up on, you know, how Stephen King kind of came up with this idea because that is something I've always been super intrigued about. Like, where does he come up with this stuff? Because it's absolutely wild. And he has stayed there with his wife. And this was back when the hotel used to close down for the winter. And he was staying there. And it was like a day or two before the hotel was shutting down. And so it was very empty. And he talked about how they sat in the dining room and they were the only people in there eating dinner. And it was just like this very eerie feeling. And he had had a dream. Like it was like a nightmare. And it kind of like he woke up and he says he woke up and he had kind of like the base for the book in his mind, which is baffling. I mean, the man was writing three to four bestsellers a year. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't even know what to say. Yeah. So I'm excited to reread The Shining for probably, I want to say this is like my fourth time reading this book. But it's that good. Like you can just read it over and over again. Yeah, for sure. So what about you? What like what are some of your favorites? Besides Ed? I mean, I can't pick a favorite, honestly. Like I can't either. I can't. No, I don't have a favorite. I have some favorites. I picked a couple that I go back to a lot. Okay. And then I picked a couple that just there are things with them that really stick with me. One that I go back to a lot is it's one of his sort of later ones. I think it was 98. It's called Bag of Bones. And it's a- I love that book. Yeah, yeah. It's so good. Yeah. So it is about a writer whose wife dies. They're both in their 30s and his wife dies suddenly and unexpectedly. And it's about him kind of dealing with that first year of grief. And then, you know, a year after her death, he goes back to their cabin. I mean, it sounds like a pretty big cabin on the lake. Oh, yeah. It's right on the lake. It's gorgeous. The way he describes it, it sounds amazing. Yes, yes. It's Dark Score Lake for fans will recognize the name. Mm hmm. So he goes back and he starts experiencing, like, unsettling things and starts having weird dreams. And he had had writer's block. But at the cabin, he's able to actually start writing. And he meets this young widow, very young widow, with a little girl and befriends them. And sort of there's like a beginning of a romance between the two. And then the little girl, her dad, he was the heir to some like tech fortune. And the grandfather is trying to take the little girl away from the mom. I'm going to have to reread this because it has been a while. And I recall some of it. Like, but yeah, no, go on, go on. So while all of this is going on, the cabin that he owns is called Sarah Laughs. And it's named after a group of performers who were traveling around Maine in like the very early 1900s. Local legend about it says that tragedy befell the group. There was a little boy who drowned. And then the Sarah was kind of the leader of this group. And she I don't even remember what they said happened to her. But of course, it turns out, well, in the group, it was black performers. And yeah, then of course, it turns out that like, it was much more horrible. And it was due to like some extremely horrific, violent racism. And so there's this whole big, like ghost kind of thing going on with it. But then it's also Yeah, isn't it like the lake? Basically, yeah, isn't it? Yeah, the lake is haunted. Yeah. Okay. And so all of this is going on. And it culminates in like this really big scene that you know, there's a huge storm. Of course, it's breaking a heat wave that's been going on all summer. And there's some significant deaths. And so anyway, it's a really good book. I think a lot of people at the time, I remember that the reviews were kind of mixed. And people were saying, Oh, why is Stephen King trying to write a love story? Well, I mean, it really wasn't. It was a ghost story. I think it was a really excellent depiction of grief and trauma. Yeah, which he's great. And like, I'm sorry, like if that's not and that's not the first time you've used that, you know, in his book. So I don't know. Anyway, yeah, the you know, I had a couple issues with it. The the way the little girl talks is very inconsistent. So when we first meet her, it's, it's a very adorable, like, I go my swimsuit, I go beach, kind of, like, you know, toddler talk. And then that kind of goes away. And she's just talking like, like a pretty, like a kid with a pretty good vocabulary. Her dialogue later on. So like, it's, it gets a little inconsistent there. That was just always something that sort of it felt very jarring to me. Mm hmm. I think there was kind of a complicated thing with like, the dead wife and the dead girlfriend. And he, he even as the writer, who is the main character, sort of addresses that, like the convenience of the dead woman in the story of a man in an interesting way. But also, like, that is a piece of it. But you know, he, it's a hell of a story. And his writing was so, you know, he can come up with some of the most amazing writing that's out there. And I think that gets dismissed, like, not every book is like that. Not every book is, is an amazing piece of writing. And, you know, some right, I haven't read a bad one. But when he's on, holy shit. I know. Well, and it's just, I and I don't know, I feel like a lot of times to people kind of get down on him for being overly descriptive. Whereas I find that to be captivating, right? Like, I want to know all of these very minute details that really might not matter. But it helps me create this picture in my mind of, you know, what's happening or what's going on. And just the way that he describes things, I think a lot of times he gets criticized for it. And I love it. Yeah, I do too. I mean, yeah, there's some of that in here. And I also think one thing that strikes me about this book, especially now, is it really gets to the idea of the bad guy as a nice guy in a way that was much earlier than we were talking about that. And it, it felt like, you know, the neighbors, they're all like, real friendly, you know, good guy, but they have some really hidden, horrific beliefs and prejudices. And how, how people live like that, like, I think that a lot of people understand that being labeled a racist is bad. But that, that doesn't mean that they think racism is bad. So, like, and I mean, we've seen that really open up. Oh, yeah. In the last, last decade or so. And it feels like a really good depiction of that. Yeah. And I honestly, I haven't read that book in a long time. And I can't say that it's one that I've read multiple times, either. But I, I might have to just go back and pick it up. It's been a while. And I remember it being a really good story. Yeah, I, he's, he's, the stories he writes are. So I, I have to talk about The Tower here, because I honestly didn't want to talk about The Tower, but I have to talk about The Tower because I've read it seven times now. Okay, and I have to confess, I have not ever read it. Okay, okay. And, and that is, that is okay. That is okay. I have read it seven times. So I've read it enough for seven people, apparently. And, you know, and there's, there's seven very long books. I think the shortest book is the first one, which is The Gunslinger. And so The Gunslinger is a very early novel. It was his first novel, wasn't it? It started as a short story that he wrote. Carrie was his first novel. Carrie was his first novel. Okay, so, but The Gunslinger started as a short story that was published, I believe. It was one of his first published, but it wasn't the full book. But it's, it's, it's difficult to get through for a lot of people. I think I've read it so many times that it's just like, I love it because we need the main character, Roland, who is the one of the last, the last gunslinger. And, and he's our, I don't want to call him a hero. He's more of like an anti-hero, anti-hero or, you know, like he's not really a hero. He's kind of an asshole when, when you read through it. But he's also like that asshole that you fall in love with. But he's, he's just, he's a tower junkie. And his sole purpose is to get to the dark tower. And the books are absolutely insane. The story as a whole is so good that I was willing to read thousands of pages multiple times. So much, I love it. And, you know, the second book, I think, is one of my favorites in the series. It's called The Drawing of the Three. And that's where you meet Eddie and Susanna and you, you meet Jake and boy, and they start like this journey to go find the dark tower, which is like the, it's, it's like the centerpiece of all the worlds. And it kind of like holds the world together and it's falling apart and they're trying to save it. And, you know, one of the books is like the backstory of Roland and it's them traveling to get to the tower. And it touches on so many of his other books, like there's characters from his other books that are in the dark tower, which is very cool. Kind of the way he like combines it together. And it's also one of the most controversial endings, I think, especially in a seven book series. And it took him a very long time to write it. And I think a lot of people thought that he wouldn't get through it because he had his, his accident, you know, and people were scared that that those last books weren't going to come out. But he finished it and very controversial ending, but so emotional. And like, you get so invested in these characters and you're very excited and you can't wait for them to get to the tower. And I don't know, I love the series so much that like, I named my cat after Roland Deschain and he was the, he was the last gunslinger kitty. I also have two tattoos that are dark tower related as well. I have a quote from the book, which says, there are other worlds than these, which is a famous quote from the book. And then I also have a tattoo of the rose and the key and the rose symbolizes like the tower and it encompasses all these universes. And the key is, is very symbolic in that, you know, it's, it's the way to get between the worlds. And so I highly recommend it. I know it's a lot of books to read. Some of them can, you know, they're long books, like they're, they're not the quick and easy reads like Misery, but I am a, I am a tower junkie. I've read it a lot of times and it's, it's real good. Like, so anyways, that's all I'm going to talk about the tower. For those of you that have read it, like, I don't know if you love it or not. Some people love it. Some people hate it. I absolutely love it. I've read it, like I said, several, like, like seven times. I think one of those times I might've listened to it on audiobook, but I've got through the story seven times. With that, that's my absolute all time favorite, but it's hard to like pinpoint that, right? Because there's seven books. So you're like, which one, which one do you like most? Well, if I had to pick one that I liked the most, it would be The Drawing of the Three, but Wizarding Glass is really good. And, you know, The Wolves of Bacala is really good. So highly recommend. All right. So I really love The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. I don't know if you've ever read that. I feel like I might've listened to that one on audiobook. It was a long time ago. Yeah, it came out in like 99. Yeah. And the plot is pretty simple. It's actually a, it's a really quick read. Like you can, if you have two hours, you can probably, two or three hours, you can probably finish it. But it's about a nine-year-old girl who is out on a hike with her mom and her brother on kind of a branch off the Appalachian Trail in Maine, or maybe it's New Hampshire, I think. And she gets lost. And she is out in the woods by herself, like in the forest, way off of- In the deep forest of the Appalachian Mountain. The northern Appalachian Mountain. Yeah. That sounds scary. As an adult, that sounds scary. And she has with her, her lunch that she had packed. It references surge, which is a nice little blast from the past. Oh my God. So she has her lunch and she has bug spray or sunscreen, one of the two in her backpack, a water bottle and her Walkman. And she, you know, she like panics at first and runs and gets more lost and finally kind of like gets with the program that she is truly lost in the woods. And it becomes clear that it's going to be like at least overnight. And she's able to get her Walkman to work. Even out in the woods, she can pick up AM. And so she can listen to baseball games, the Red Sox playing. Yep. And she's a Red Sox fan, like her dad and her mom and dad are in the middle of a divorce. That's pretty nasty. And so she's got that like complicated relationship with her dad. But their, their thing to do is like, they're both Red Sox fans and they listen to the baseball games and talk about the players. And her favorite player is Tom Gordon, who's a closer for the Red Sox. So she's out there far longer than you would think a nine-year-old could survive. But it's, you know, it's late spring, like the weather's nice. She's healthy and she's able to like make some decent decisions. But she has that Walkman that she can like listen to for comfort every night. And that's one of the things that I really love about this book is that like listening to baseball on the radio. I'm not a big sports person, but I love hearing baseball on the radio. I absolutely love it. There's something like really comforting and that piece of it like really hit home reading the book, you know, and she's like this spunky nine-year-old and she's, she's really smart and she's, she's funny. And it's kind of her inner narration going through the whole book. But of course, because it's Stephen King, something is kind of stalking her through the woods. Of course. And it's like, it's maybe a bear, but it's not really a bear, the way it's described. Yeah. But it's waiting for her to be ready to let her fear take over and all of that. And she like has a face down with it at the very end of the book. And I'm just going to spoil it. She does make it out because if a nine-year-old died in the woods, I don't think I could recommend it. Like reading it now as the parent of a nine-year-old, like it's even more, gives me even more of that knot in the stomach. Yeah. So I really, I'm a big fan of that one. Yeah, I, and you know, I might have to read that because I don't recall that one very well. I don't. And it's funny because there's certain ones I think that stand out to me. And you know, when, when you talk about some of like his shorter novels or the short stories that he writes, one of my absolute favourites was The Long Walk. I don't know if you read that one. I think he wrote it under Bachman. Yeah, he did. I want to say it was part of the Bachman books. Yeah, totally messed up, totally messed up. It's about these kids that are in like, it's a competition and I haven't read it in a very long time, but I remember just being enthralled by it because the whole point of it is, is that you are supposed to walk as long as you can. And if you stop, you get shot. So, and whoever's left standing at like the end is the winner. But yeah, it's like, it's just this bizarre story about this weird competition. And I can't remember a lot about it. But the premise of the story is that, and I think it's only boys, I think it's, it's like teenage boys or whatever. And they're on this, the long walk. And if you stop or you slow down, I think it's like, if you fall a certain amount behind the rest of the group, or if you stop for more than 10 seconds, like I think you get a warning. And then after your first warning, you're only allowed like one more and then you just get shot. And so yeah, there's like these gunmen that are picking off these kids that are walking for their lives, literally. But it's a quick read, right? Like, yeah. I'll never, never forget that one. I think I read that one when I was in high school. And I do have to backtrack here because I did a little research and the Gunslinger was not published prior to Carrie. So that was my mistake there. The first story was published in the magazine of Fantasy and Science and Fiction. But that wasn't until 1978. And Carrie was published in 1974. So I don't understand why you have to turn this podcast into a house of lies. I know. And you know, here I am claiming to be a fangirl and I don't even know. I think I'm just, I'm so in love with The Dark Tower that I'm like, no, that was the first thing he ever wrote. So, but anyways. Yeah, I just, I think he has so many good books and I've got a shelf full of books. And I read a lot of the stuff that he comes out with now too, which a lot of the stuff that he writes now isn't as like horror. It's more like murder mystery kind of stuff, which I like. I mean, the Mr. Mercedes series that he wrote, I thought was really good. But he wrote a book recently that reminded me a lot of like the Shining Firestarter series type kind of premise. And it was called The Institute. And it's about these kids that like kind of have powers, but they get like kidnapped and take to this institute where they're trying to like harness the powers very similarly to like the Firestarter. But anyways, yeah, that book was really good. He wrote this book called Fairy Tale recently that I read that was really good. Was it? I was looking at that recently. Like it looks interesting. I liked it. It was very like fantasy adventure type book. And I kind of liked that. Like I like this kind of different tangent he's gone on. You know, I mean, there's still, he's still like likes to describe the gory stuff. Right. But it's more like murder mystery type thriller type stuff that he's kind of writing now. And I've been into it. I mean, some people don't like that direction. And I will read Stephen King for the rest of my life. I just I love his books. I've actually been telling myself I need to open up my interests to other books because I really have a tendency to be like, I'm just going to reread this book because it's on my shelf, you know, I've been making like a list of books I need to read that are not Stephen King books. Okay. Well, I can tell you for horror. There's a couple of amazing indigenous writers. Yeah. Who are writing really, really good horror. One is Stephen Graham Jones. And he's got here. Yeah, do his. The first book of his that I read was called The Only Good Indians. And then also Mongrels. And now he's got a trilogy that's like a giant love letter to slashers. That is, I think it's called the Spirit Lake Trilogy. But the first one is My Heart is a Chainsaw. And the second one is Don't Fear the Reaper. And the third one is Not Out Yet, which I can't wait because it's really good. The other one is Sherry Dimaline. She has some a couple of young adult novels out. One is called The Marrow Thieves. And the other is Hunting by Starlight. And then she has an adult novel. And the name is Failing Me. But that one is very good. And she has a new one out too, called Venko that is on my to be read shelf. But those are a couple of authors I would highly recommend. Well, I wrote all of that down here. I have like, I have a list of books that I want to read. And I always just end up finding myself picking up one of my Stephen King books. Like here, well, in my defense, like I picked up The Shining again, because I'm going to the Stanley Hotel. So I wanted it to be fresh in my mind before I go there. So I can be all creeped out and spooky, spooky mood when I'm there, you know? For sure. I think too, like there, at least for me, I have so many memories tied with Stephen King. For example, one of the books that I was going to talk about, and I don't have a ton to say about this one, because I wouldn't call it like one of my favorites. I think it's probably one of his weaker books. I only read it like twice, I think, which is pretty low, pretty low reading count for me and Stephen King. Yeah, it's called The Dark Half. And it's, I really like that book. Well, so, so briefly, it's about a writer who had an absorbed twin. So yeah, like this happens sometimes. But basically, when you have twins, one of them, one of the twins dies. And like, they never know. It's so early that nobody knows that they're twins. Yeah. And they just kind of get absorbed into the other person. Yep. Like the, all the tissue breaks down, and then the other fetus absorbs it. So in very rare cases, this can result in like these small tumors forming in the body, and they sometimes they're, they have things in them that grew from the stem cells. So sometimes there's like teeth in them. And I know this sounds like an urban legend, but I promise you it's not. It's very rare. Well, Laurie, for our listeners who don't recall, Laurie is in the medical field. So I'm sure she's, she's probably a good person to know at least some of the facts on this. I mean, sometimes, sometimes, you know, sometimes I'm full of shit. But most of the time, I'm pretty cautious with like wild medical claims. But yeah, it's a very rare thing. But it has happened. And so in the book, this is, this guy starts developing these cysts. And at the same time, his absorbed twin, who is like evil, starts kind of taking over his body. And he starts doing bad things. He's doing very bad things. Yeah. Yeah. So anyway, the whole absorbed twin thing. I remember when I read that book, I asked my mom about it. My mom was a nurse. I was like, is this really possible? And she was like, yeah. And it was this thing, like it became this joke. This is like, it's a little dark. But so it became this joke between like me and my mom talking about like, oh, that is that a pimple? Or is that like a bunch of, you know, fingernails under your skin? Is that your absorbed twin? Yeah. And so my mom died of a glioblastoma, which is a brain tumor. And being a nurse, like she knew even before the biopsy was done, they had thought it probably was a glio. And then she knew what that meant. And like, was pretty, obviously, we're all pretty upset about it. And we were talking about some family traits and people in my mom's family often get lipomas, which are like small, fatty tumors that kind of you'll have them on your arm or your legs or, and it just looks like these little bumps. They're just fatty tumors that they're harmless. And so we were talking about it, about that. And my dad was like, well, I was wondering, like, is there any possibility that, you know, this in your, in your brain that this could be a lipoma? And my mom and I were both like, no. And, and then I looked at my mom, I was like, but maybe they'll find like a little ball of teeth in there or something. Stop it, oh my god. That is the last time that I like really laughed hard with my mom. And so like that memory is really, that's a really big one for me. And yeah, you know, it's that it's really tied to that book. So wow, wow, Lori, that's, that's wild. That's a great, great memory to have. And yeah, it's a little dark. But I mean, yeah, I didn't, it's, that's, that's crazy. Because I, I remember the whole absorbed twin thing from that book. But the thing that stands out to me the most is the sparrows. And anytime I see large groups of birds together, it makes me think, it makes me think about that book. But your story is way back. Like, that was kind of a weird, funny joke, like a weird inside joke to have with your mom. And thank you for sharing that story. I think, you know, when we can take our literature and, and tie it back to, you know, the memories that we have with people that we love that kind of make us smile a little bit. So thank you for sharing that. And yeah, I mean, I had, it's a great book. But I mean, it's definitely not one of his best works. But I thought it was a great book, because it's kind of got that whole mystery thing to it again, you know, that he did where you think somebody's setting him up when in actuality, he just has a weird absorbed twin tumor that was taking over him. So, and with that, I could go on about Stephen King for hours and hours. I mean, I have so many books I would just sit here and talk forever about. But yeah. So I do want to ask you one quick question. What do you think is the scariest Stephen King book? The scariest definitely has to be It for me, because I, at that book, I'm still, I'm still afraid of like a clown popping out of, like my thumb pump area in the basement. Like, I have weird intrusive thoughts about, yeah, the weird clown jumping out of my thumb pump when I'm down in the basement trying to do laundry. And so for me, scariest book was definitely It. Okay. How about you? Yeah, I mean, It is a very close second, but honestly, I think it's Gerald's Game. Oh, oh, I forgot about Gerald's Game. That is a scary book in a different way, in a more way realistic way. Yes. Well, and there's so much, there's so much dread in that book. Because she's so helpless. And like, yeah, and that guy coming in and staring at her, like several nights. I forgot about that book. Stop it. Oh my God. Now I have nightmares. Seriously. Thanks for that, Lori. Yeah, that is a scary, scary book. My Halloween gift to you. Yeah, if you want to be scared, go read Gerald's Game or It. I mean, it might not scare you as much as it does me. But I have, part of my brain is apparently still that of, you know, a 12-year-old child who is jumping from the doorway to the bed because she's afraid of a creepy hand coming out from underneath and grabbing her ankle. I am not going to lie. I do sometimes still get like in the middle of the night when I have to get up and go to the bathroom or something. And I kind of just get like this heebie-jeebie feeling and I will legit run to my bedroom and jump into the bed. So yeah, thank you, Stephen King, master of horror to make my brain this way. Ernest is a healthy, well-adjusted adult. Yeah, yes, fabulous as always. So yeah, I'm going to stop now because like I said, I could go on for hours. Lori, it's been a blast. Happy Halloween, you know. It's a full moon on Saturday. So watch out for the weirdos. Yeah, yeah, watch out for those weirdos. And tell me I'm having a weirdo fire like doing witchy things. So yeah, watch out for me, basically. We are the weirdos, everybody, in case you didn't know. And don't forget, nobody's going to give your kids free drugs. Yeah, no, that's not happening. Thank you for that PSA, Lori. PSA, the more you know. Apparently some people still need to hear that. So good to know your kids will not get drugs in their Halloween candy. Drugs are too expensive. People aren't handing that shit out, so. Correct. I love you, Lori. We'll chat soon. I love you, too. Boo. Okay. Bye.