October | 2018 | Megan's Book Stacks

This is Halloween! And in the spirit of the season, I find it only fitting that I should talk about the King of Horror.

Stephen King lives in Maine, and is known for his creepy, spine tingling stories. Many of his stories have been made into cult classic movies, including: The Shining, The Mist, Pet Sematary, IT, and The Shawshank Redemption. There have also been numerous remakes of the movies, most notably IT in 2017, with chapter two expected to come out in 2019. Each remake attempts to remain as close to the original as possible, but sometimes what King writes is too extreme to put on film. Indeed, King talks often about how some of the things he’s written scare even him, especially IT.

Fun Fact!: King often allows several pre-approved short stories to be optioned for movie rights by not-for-profit festivals, students, and demo reels; they’re affectionately referred to as his “Dollar Baby films.”

Oddly enough, King has been in my sphere of books since I was a kid. My mom only owned so many books, and amongst those for the longest time were King’s. In fact, I read my first King book when I was in the eighth grade: The Stand. To this day, it’s still the largest book I’ve ever read and it took me a solid three months to finish the whole thing. From that moment on, I understood why King was so popular and why his books were so chilling.

I haven’t read a lot of King’s books, so far I’ve only had the chance to read The Stand and his first book, Carrie. There are a substantial amount of his books still floating around my house, from Under the Dome to The Green Mile. I’ve seen so many more of his movies than read his books, which is something I almost never do. His books are so large, and I’m so impatient! I don’t read many horror or thriller stories, but I’d recommend Stephen King in a heartbeat to anyone who asks, even if it’s just a movie recommendation (my favorites to watch are IT and Misery, if you need some Halloween ideas)!

Fun Fact!: He originally threw the draft for his first novel, Carrie, in the trash. His wife, Tabitha, encouraged him to submit it to publishers, and the paperback rights sold for over $400,000, allowing him to quit his day job and write full time.

The more I watch, the more I want to read. King has become a bonding point between my mom and I- most recently, we watched both versions of IT and spent an hour comparing and contrasting each. My mom read the entirety of Harry Potter for me, I find it’s only fair I dabble in her favorite books too! My introduction to King was what started to grow my reading sphere, and strengthen my relationship with my mom, which seems bizarre given the content of his books!

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Hi! My name is Megan and I’m currently a college student, majoring in English literature. I’ve been passionate about reading since I was given If You Give a Mouse a Cookie as a child. Since then, I’ve read a multitude of books, of various genres and topics, from young adult to the classics. But no matter what, there’s always those that stick with you far after you close the cover. They might not be the most popular or widely known stories, but in some way they struck a chord in me, and I’ve never been able to forget them. In fact, I’ve read these books multiple times, which is something I rarely do! There’s never any feeling so good as when you read a favorite book for the first time, so I hope these recommendations leave you with a rush and longing for more. I’m also always looking for more books to read, so if you have any favorites you reread constantly, I’d love to hear what the are.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell- This is my all time favorite favorite young adult book. It follows Cath, an up and coming college freshman who is struggling with all the changes in her life, from leaving her dad to drifting apart from her twin sister, Wren, and having a tall lanky guy named Levi eating her granola bars. Her one constant is her Simon Snow fanfiction, and she’s motivated to finish her story before the final book is released. I first read Fangirl when I was a senior in high school, worrying about college applications and where my life was headed. I saw a lot of myself in Cath, making her one of the easiest characters to relate and look up to. I’m almost done with college now, and I’ll still sit down and read this book cover to cover for a pick me up. It’s like coming home, reading this book, and I take a lot of comfort in seeing characters who share similar struggles because it makes me feel like less of an anomaly
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell– I know, it’s unusual to place to books by the same author together on a list, but Rainbow Rowell is the only author I’ve read who just understands teenagers so well! Eleanor is new to the area, her family is broke, her hair is a huge fireball, and she weighs more than most. Park is half-Korean, loves comic books, and is a quiet outsider. The pair meet on a school bus and from there, their relationship develops in the most innocent way a first relationship can. Eleanor and Park normalizes the oddities, the weirdness we all feel when we’re trying to find ourselves. There’s something to be said about an author who picks unconventional characters, and yet still makes it possible to see pieces of yourself in all of them. I find it so easy to relate to Rowell’s characters; I find pieces of myself in everyone, especially Eleanor and Park, which is why I love them so much. I cry every time I read this book, and I am a-okay with that.
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado– A collection of short stories, I read Her Body and Other Parties for a college literature class. I loved it so much, I established a reputation in class for always talking about it in comparison to our other books. All of the stories deal with heavy themes, such as rape or fatphobia, but in fantastical and almost unbelievable ways. The stories are striking in their description, heartwrenching in material, and politically charged. With the rise of the #MeToo movement, this collection is sure to show you why we need it. I don’t read political pieces often, mostly because I’m already an outspoken activist. Sometimes, I just want to read to escape but other times, like in this case, I’m very glad the lines got crossed. I really fell in love with the collection because of how outspoken it is, but at the same time it manages a certain beauty.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer– I’ve loved fairy tales since I was a little girl, so when I got older and discovered more mature retellings for young adults, I immediately set out to find some. Cinder is a series composed of four main books, and each book introduces new characters and deepens the plot. This series is unique in that it is a sci-fi retelling of fairy tales: the wolf from “Red Riding Hood” is really a human abused in a science experiment, and Rapunzel is trapped in a satellite orbiting the moon rather than a tower. Vaguely dystopian, countries have new names and boundaries, and the moon has been colonized and developed their own race: Lunars. The first book (Cinder) is a retelling of Cinderella. A young android who makes her living as a mechanic, Cinder is approached one day by Prince Kai. Meeting Kai changes everything about Cinder’s life and sets her on a mission to find the lost Lunar Princess. As the series progresses new and old characters meet in intricate and unbelievable ways, hitting a crescendo in the final book where all the fairy tales coalesce in one epic conclusion. However, the absolute best thing about this series to me is the diversity- almost half of the main characters are characters of color. Aside from the amazing writing, I love seeing the diversity and how it influences the characters and their stories. It’s one of the most ethnically diverse series I’ve ever read, and I’m living for it. There’s also a side story retelling of “The Little Mermaid,” where Ariel is an android. Cyborgs, diversity, space, what’s not to love?!
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld– Also a series of four books, Uglies takes place in a dystopian world where everyone is considered “ugly” until they’re old enough to have plastic surgery and become “pretties.” Tally is just days away from her surgery when she meets Shay, a girl who doesn’t want to become pretty. Shay takes off for a secluded tribe where no one has had surgery, and Tally is enlisted to follow her and bring her back. However, things don’t go according to plan when Tally begins to understand why people would refuse the surgery. Uglies is the series that jump started my reading obsession after a lengthy time of not being able to find interest in any story. I checked out the first book hesitantly, thinking I wouldn’t actually read it. Luckily, I couldn’t put it down, and I scoured stores and libraries for the remaining books, checking them all out at once. This series was probably my introduction to dystopian books, and boy was it an introduction! I love the characters because it isn’t often I see character development that is so honest and raw, nor worked so hard for. And the way the story progresses, events just flow into the next book.