Whole New Worlds

Back in July I mentioned my plan to start reading more short stories. So in early August I picked up The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction. It's a collection of short stories edited by Gardner Dozois. I've been reading through it at a leisurely pace, usually at night just before going to sleep or during lunch breaks at work. I'm about a quarter of the way through, and it's been an enjoyable read. I've had so much fun experiencing so many authors for the first time, as well as the wide variety of stories and styles. Each story has been an opportunity to enter a whole new world.

Also on my current reading list is Stephen King's Insomnia. While I'm very familiar with King's career and have always paid attention to his interviews, I actually haven't read one of his novels yet. Strange but true. I think part of the reason for this is that I tend not to seek out horror books, but a bigger reason is that they're so darn long. It's rare for me to read a 700-page book for pleasure.

For whatever reason, this summer I've been pulled closer and closer to finally reading a King novel. It started a few months ago when I was perusing the library and stumbled across Lisey's Story out on a desk. I read the jacket and flipped through it a bit. I thought about borrowing it, but I figured that if I were to read a King novel it should be one of his more well-known stories. Otherwise, I could envision this conversation:

Person A: Have you ever read a Stephen King novel? 
Me: Yeah.
Person A: Which ones?
Me: Lisey's Story.
Person A: Is that it?
Me: No, I haven't read It. Just Lisey's Story.

About a month later I had another close encounter with a Stephen King novel. I was at the library on a completely different mission, but as I went through the "What's New" section I came across Under the Dome. I picked it up, read the jacket, scanned the map of the town and the list of characters, maybe even read a page or two. Then I set it back down, unwilling to take a flier on such a long book that I had never known anyone else to have read.

And so when I heard about a week ago that M. Clifford was reading Under the Dome, I got curious and asked him for some Stephen King recommendations. And voila. On my next trip to the library I borrowed Insomnia. So far I'm on page 311 out of 750+. Right now I'll only say that I plan to finish. And who knows, I might do my best Her Book Self impersonation and write a book review. We'll see.

As ever, I'm trying to expand my horizons. And I'm also changing something about this blog today by activating the comments. I had left them hidden because I didn't like the idea of some stranger ripping my work. Constructive criticism from someone I know is fine, but the idea of being criticized by a stranger bothered me. But starting with this post, comments are open. My hope is for this blog to be more of a place to exchange ideas, as opposed to just me writing in a vacuum.