I found St. John absolutely terrifying, like cult leader sort of energy. Yet the writer seems to leave him on a good note? It was crazy for me.

However, I think the contrast is clear, Rochester is someone who actually loves Jane, but as questionable morals, and St. John loves no one as far as I can tell but has "perfect" morals (though according to the actual Bible that dude is not going to heaven because works without love is meaningless, but anywho). Jane rejects a life of duty without love and returns to Rochester because she cannot live without love.

Better ending: St. John peaces out to India and Jane and her two awesome female cousins live together in tranquility.

I haven’t read Fairy Tale, but Kings whole catalogue is hit or miss. He rarely has good endings, but sometimes the journey is better than the destination. And sometimes it’s not. And sometimes it’s just weird.

I liked it. I read for fun and relaxation. Most books have some unreal characteristics, but if I wanted 100% real, I'd read non-fiction.

I used to have this problem. I'd try to choose nonfiction books that were basically a series of vignettes, as I could keep track of what was going on better if I could get each chapter in a different sitting. I gave up on audiobooks for a while until this past year. For some reason, something seemed to click and I can keep track of the plot better.

I'm wondering if part of the change is due to the books I'm selecting. I started getting into audiobooks when my friends were reading Becoming by Michelle Obama and I really wanted to hear her read it out. I was able to keep track of progress pretty well. Shortly after my library had a long wait list for a book that was immediately available as an audiobook. Since then, I've been doing a lot of relatively short novels.

I don't remember reading any of his other books, but this book really stuck with me. I remembered the title a few years ago, but could not remember the author, and there actually quite a few books called 'Run'. It was the cover that finally sealed it for me, and there at least two different covers. So, I may have run across it before and didn't know it was what I was looking for.

Anyway, it's a pretty basic book, but I'm happy to have finally solved this mystery.

Try reading "The Eyes of the Dragon"

It really was pretty great. I think they were particularly lenient with me because I somehow found myself in some kind of trouble every day at recess. Better to have me in the library than stirring up some shit on the playground.

Then you'd be missing out, 'cause a lot of great authors weren't great people.

But hey, you do you, I guess.

I am a fan of King's work but the more I read him the more I dislike the novels. The majority of them have really bad endings that I would say ruin the stories, a lot of wall of text to say something irrelevant or that you could have say with less words. Characters are often very, very similar between stories to the point that they have the same job, wear the same shirts and talk similar. The worst part is that most of these stories are absolutely irrelevant or unbelivable. His dark tower series has very three books (2-3-4) but after that is just fanfiction level and he just re-uses characters and situations we already read while also putting himself into the saga which is the most egocentrical shit i have ever read. I read Joyland a while ago and I literally can't remember almost anything. King has some wonderful books and stories that are part of my life and are some of my favorites ever like IT or Misery, but the dude writes a lot and most of it is the equivalent of a McDonald, I really belive you can't put quality when you release a book or more a year for this long.

It was a mediocre king book. He’s a compelling enough writer to keep me reading even when I know the book isn’t good, and there was some interesting world building mixed in with everything else in Fairy Tale sure. In the last 10 years it’s the second worst thing he’s written (behind sleeping beauties, and that was a project to get his kid published). That said, King has a pretty high floor, people finish his books even when they don’t like them, he’s got such talent for plot progression.

Have you read Daemon/Freedom by Suarez?

Without audiobooks I wouldn't be the "reader" I am today. I probably wouldn't have graduated highschool... What you're describing reminds me of when I'm reading a book without an audio companion.

Maybe the narrators are the problem.

I listen while I am knitting or walking. Have to be doing something with my body. Sometimes while walking I might get a bit distracted by a thought but then i just go back a bit. I find that the narrator has to be good. Andy Serkis made me discover new things in the Lord of the Rings even though i must have read it about 40 times.

Just finished the book recently as well! I agree with the discussion about the writing style (which was dialogue heavy and straight forward) but I think that definitely made it an easier read. The story I enjoyed a lot and the end was definitely heartbreaking. Evelyn is a fascinating protagonist and I did like how she wasn’t a perfect / good person. Although the one thing I thought while reading this was how this would be a much better mini series on tv rather than a book where they could flesh out characters more (cause I do think I was wanting more from all the characters not named Evelyn due to the writing style).

The Dreamland stories are my favorites. I have an idea for a ttrpg campaign where during the day, the players are Call of Cthulhu PCs and during the night, they're D&D PCs in Dreamland. I think it would be fun to play/run, but alas none of my friends agree with me lolsob

When you listen to nonfiction, try taking notes. We generally do that when we read nonfiction, at least by underlining. So do the same with audiobooks. Your brain doesn't automatically start remembering things better because you're listening to it. You have to use all the same techniques you do with print books.

I don't read stories by racists.

Oh man... I'd almost forgotten Fark existed. I used to spend way too much time on that site.

Thank you for that insight! I knew he’d gotten divorced, but nothing more than that. That’s super understandable to make writing a lower priority in that case. Although, honestly I’m the kind of person that believes if he’d wanted to fuck off and make pottery for 5 years, I think that’s just as valid.

Mmm I read Recursion and Dark Matter within weeks of each other and I have to say I agree with the broad strokes as presented.

Some authors use the same hammer on multiple books, and it shows.

The [science concept + psychedelic] formula was there for both books, enough to the point that I’d considered it to be his “thing”.

I haven’t read the one that is the subject of the OP yet but if the pieces are there then we may have a pattern.

Well, I tried it, read the first pages, and I could not get into the story. All the prose reminded me too much of the female writer in the Tandem Story Writing Assignment joke. The one that started: >At first, Laurie couldn't decide which kind of tea she wanted. The camomile, which used to be her favorite for lazy evenings at home, now reminded her too much of Carl, who once said, in happier times, that he liked camomile.

I could not concentrate. I give you the first lines of the book so you all can judge:

>The deep sea is a haunted house: a place in which things that ought not to exist move about in the darkness. Unstill, is the word Leah uses, tilting her head to the side as if in answer to some sound, though the evening is quiet – dry hum of the road outside the window and little to draw the ear besides.

>“The ocean is unstill,” she says, “further down than you think. All the way to the bottom, things move.” She seldom talks this much or this fluently, legs crossed and gaze towards the window, the familiar slant of her expression, all her features slipping gently to the left.

Me neither! Life is too short to read crap! 😉

>Not for nothing, but the Caiaphas Cain books are a lot of fun as well. Probably the closest Warhammer 40K gets to being an intentional comedy.

Like Robert Asprin, or Terry Pratchett?

yesss I also think it's an allegory for PTSD. Leah comes back with this experience she can't explain that has utterly changed her, and she's no longer able to connect with Miri (or anyone, really).

So now I know why a bear might seek cocaine.