Friday, August 1, 2025

Randomness...

 
Recently finished reading Fairy Tale by Stephen King ... and I really liked it. It centers around seventeen-year-old Charlie Reade who befriends his elderly neighbor Howard Bowditch; when Bowditch dies, Charlie inherits his house, a sweet and aging German Shepherd named Radar, and a doorway to another realm.

King knows how to craft amazing and memorable characters, and Charlie and Radar are no exceptions. I loved both of them. Charlie's journey into Empis with Radar reminded me a little of Lucy's journey into Narnia when it needed saving from the White Witch. Empis has been overrun by evil and needs saving, too. And though he doesn't know it, Charlie is just the hero to do it.

Fairy Tale is well named because in many ways it does read like a fairy tale...a 598 page one...without any of the scary horror that King is known for in his other books. It's compelling and entertaining and full of magic...and it won't give you nightmares.  4/5 stars.


Another delightfully funny and entertaining cartoon from John Atkinson at Wrong Hands. You have to check out his website...he will always make you laugh. 




Some of my glad things from July: 
  • Seeing Pelicans, Cormorants and Bullock's Orioles along the Jordan River trail. 
  • Got my shingles shot...at least the first does...which wasn't fun, but good to get it done.
  • Saw the movie Jurassic World: Rebirth. It was very entertaining.
  • Lunch at Mo Bettah's with my niece and nephew. Yum!  😋
  • My family's annual 4th of July breakfast; it's always good seeing everyone.
  • Hearing from Sam (from Book Chase). Thanks for your comments, Sam! I'm glad to know you're alive and doing well. 
  • Eating chard freshly picked from my garden.
  • Playing a fun round of the bookish game It Was a Dark and Stormy Night with my family. (You have to guess the book title or author from just reading the first line, and there are different categories like Mysteries, Pre-1900 books, Children's books, etc.)




16 comments:

  1. I used to like Stephen King but haven't read any of his books for years. Maybe I'll try Fairy Tale! It Was a Dark and Stormy Night sounds like a great game - I'm glad your family had fun playing it.

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    1. We all love books in my family, so a game set around titles and first lines of books is a big hit with all of us. Plus, it plays fast. And I don't read much of King's books any more either...mostly because they're always so darn long. ;D

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  2. Happy Friday my friend.
    Regine

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  3. Lark, I always love to read these posts - they make me smile :) Yay to King's book - I love his work. I'm reading a book of his short stories right now - I'm hoping it will cure my reading slump. Sounds like you had a lovely July. Here's to a wonderful August!

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    1. I hope it cures your reading slump, too! It's good to hear from you. I hope August turns out to be a lovely and less stressful month for you. :D

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  4. Sounds like you had a fantastic July! I am very interested in the dark and stormy night game, my daughter, mom, and I would love that!

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  5. Looks like you had a fun July, Lark. Yes, I'll also have to tell my nieces about the game you mentioned. I have 3 nieces that are kind of obsessed with games of all kinds - ha!

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  6. Love those activities, haha! I want to see the new Jurassic Park so I'm happy you enjoyed it! I had my first and second shot of shingles a few years ago and it wasn't fun at all! Worse that Covid vaccinations, IMO, but I'm so happy I got it over with. Getting shingles could be far worse. I've heard several horror stories!

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  7. I like the idea of Fairy Tale but the nearly 600 pages doesn't thrill me. I will probably try it sometime anyway. Your review is great.

    I enjoy John Atkinson's cartoon. I have seen his cartoons before but I am glad you reminded me of where his website is.

    The Jordan River Trail sounds nice. And it is good that you got your first shingles shot. The quote is very nice too.

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  8. Sounds like a fun July! I love the sound of the Dark and Stormy Night and I love the Regency Day schedule. Too funny! I'm a few years away from my shingles shot but I'm not looking forward to it. My husband got it a few years ago and didn't feel great the next day. Better than the shingles but not looking forward to it!

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  9. Fairy Tale sounds good. I liked very much The Shining and Stephen King creates great characters. Great that you got your shingles shot. I had shingles but I was lucky mine wasn't bad but it can be and so I made sure to get the shot too

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  10. I made a note a while ago to give Fairy Tale a try. I find if the writing is good then 600 pages can whizz by. I have some chard growing too! :-)

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  11. The shingles threw me for a loop! (The second not as bad as the first.) Better than getting shingles, though, which is definitely painful.

    We grow chard, too. I think Monday I'm making chard & leek quiche.

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  12. Interesting to know that Fairy Tale is not one would expect from the king of horror.

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  13. It's wonderful you got to see pelicans and orioles! Getting the shingles shot is a good accomplishment, even if it's not fun. Lunch with family at Mo Bettah's and the 4th of July breakfast both sound like lovely ways to spend time. It's also really nice you heard from Sam. Playing "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night" with your family sounds like such a fun and unique game!

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