I just fell in love with Stephen King again…

…. not because he’s one hell of a storyteller (though he is one of the best), not because he supports his community in a wonderful way, not even because he had the smarts to marry a great woman.

I just fell in love with Stephen King again for writing the most common sensical piece about the Harry Potter phenomena and quietly eviscerating the arguments of the literary snobs and handwringers. (Note: link contains HP7 spoilers.)

19 Replies to “I just fell in love with Stephen King again…”

  1. Bless the man! Thank you for pointing me to it. What a wonderful review! Besides that I’m a librarian who orders adult fiction for a region and let me tell you he’s right about the 400 deadly dull “literary” fiction that pompous you know what’s churn out each year. I can’t get anyone to read them. Give me good strong stories with a bit of fun – popular fiction is popular for a reason.

  2. That was a thoughtful, nuanced, delicious article, wasn’t it? When I found it a few days ago I immediately sent it to my usual lists and buddies. It’s just so .

    And dear Mad Woman in the Forest, allow me to say (again) that I am about to finish teaching YA lit this summer, and they read Prom and they nearly always love it and cheer with recognition. (It’s in the Laughter, Sex, Trouble and Death unit, under Laughter).

  3. I had the same reaction when I saw the *B* word in the story. King’s been a favorite of mine for longer than I care to think about and his review just adds to my love of him. Thanks for posting the link.

  4. I salute him for his comments and thoughts. Thanks for pointing that out.
    When I covered HP7 for my Realms of Fantasy column, I felt bad… I only had a few hundred words to talk about a book that deserved thousands of words of discussion, and in the end, all I could manage was a lukewarm “It came out, it wasn’t perfect, it was a great read, it was the end of an epic saga, fans won’t be disappointed,” etc. Because two months from now when my little column comes out, that book will have been read, digested, reviewed, torn apart, contemplated, reviewed and read some more by everyone under the sun, and my tiny little block of words will be almost late by comparison. And yet, if I hadn’t included HP7 in what’s a bimonthly page-long look at YA SF/Fantasy, I’d have felt bad for ignoring the biggest phenomenon in said field. Go figure. :>

    But I digress. :>

  5. Yeah!

    More people need to stand up and say things like…

    Our children our readers
    Our children want peace
    Our children care
    Our children believe
    Our children are going to change the world

    JK Rowlings speaks it to them in the poetry of children’s lit. King states it boldly in his article. The rest of us need to step it up and convince the rest of the world that the children are coming. Thanks for adding your voice to the list Laurie.
    Kim

  6. just wanted to say hi and that i love your LJ icon/picture thing. it makes me think of the show murder, she wrote when the camera goes across the typewriter keys or something like that. miss you and hope things are going well! =) ♥

  7. The story of him telling his wife after he hit it– after the paperback rights to Carrie sold for more money than they’d seen in their lives– is one of my favorite moments in his On Writing. They seem like a really great couple.

    I’ve never quite caught the King bug, unlike my brother, but he’s smart, thoughtful, and literate. I think I’d like him.

  8. Just read it myself

    The article, review, call it what you will. I read the book in two days(not bragging). I wandered for days in a daze. It was another of King’s back page coloums though, that I felt my confusion, disorientation, and utter loss at the end of this series was understood. Can’t recall when exactly the piece was published. Probably about a week before HP7 came out. His words on the end of an era, not the end of the series only, but the end of the first real fictional world that was both omnipresent and yet finite, it moved me to tears.
    And now, I just want more. Glutton for books that I am.

  9. speak

    I just finished reading your book speak. My bestest friend Erika,let me read it for my book report,but if it was possible to read that book for ever I would.In my honest opinion,I think it’s the greatest book ever written!I haven’t seen the movie but I have a very strong feeling that it is amazing just like your book. This the first book I’ve read of yours but,i hope to read a lot more of your books.Speak is such a wonderful book to read…actually it left me all shaky when I was done reading it. Well,I just finished reading it a couple of minutes ago….but still, I’ll probably be shaky for a couple more days.I wish you could see my user name but I’m to lazy to make an account right now.My real name however,is Alexandra Morales but, i prefer to go by Alex.I cant wait to get my hands on your new book,”twisted”!

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