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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
Novembers #KeeperofKing read was Danse Macabre. This is a nonfiction book and I don't typically read nonfiction but last year I read and loved On Writing so I thought I would give this one a try. Unfortunately this one didn't work for me. He was talking about a lot of books and movies that I haven't read or watched and he was spoiling all of them for me and I also found myself just not caring so instead of forcing myself to read it I decided I would give up on it and focus on other books I was really interested in reading.
Read this for college (and kind of skimmed some pages) so I won't be rating it, it was only marginally useful for my thesis and quite rambly but you can tell that King is very knowledgeable about the subject. Idk if I'm super into his delivery of that knowledge, though, it was mostly short essays on movies/book through a non-theoretical, personal lens.
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced
For the first half or so of this book I was fascinated - even the lengthy asides were interesting - but by the end I was skimming and felt like giving him a shake and saying "Get to the point, Steve!"
the only thing this book added to me is trauma and an appointment for the therapist
“We fall from womb to tomb, from one blackness and toward another, remembering little of the one and knowing nothing of the other ... except through faith.” - Stephen King, Danse Macabre
How would someone explain what is the most maligned genre of art? How would this brave soul take a brief guided tour through what people consider the underbelly of movies, music, and literature?
Firstly, they would have to have an intimate knowledge of the genre. Not just the standout pieces that break through into "The Mainstream," but the pieces that showed on the back half of a drive-in double feature when more people were necking or nodding off than were watching the show. Staying up late to watch the reruns of shows taken off the air too soon or that wound up a shell of their former selves, whether they caught the debut showing or not. The penny, then nickel, then dime dreadfuls of the pulp genre as well as the hardback or bound leather showpieces.
Then they would take all of this knowledge and put it through filters of their own making. Probably putting a cap on the timeframe, say 30 years? Only covering film, television, and literature with a brief homage to the origins of the genre in each category as they exist today. Understanding what makes each category different and what qualifies success and failure in each wouldn't hurt, would it?
What's more, they should have a deep, abiding love for it in all its forms. They know about the films and television programs because they watched them incessantly. They understand what makes the writing work because they are a writer. And they should be able to break the fourth wall to speak directly to the individual reader instead of the reader as a mass of people looking at the stage of a performance hall during a lecture, by injecting personal anecdotes and opinions when necessary, and occasionally when unnecessary because they're enjoyable to speak with.
Put all of this together and you have Stephen King authoring the book Danse Macabre, covering the horror genre from 1950 to 1980 in the realms of film, television, and literature.
If anything, this book sorely needs an update. Forty years have passed since King and the reader left the Dance Hall after wiling the night away, and King appears to have kept his status as curator of horror, popular and unpopular.
Yet, I'm satisfied with King's analysis of the genre as he presented it. A lot of people wouldn't be interested enough in taking the mask off of horror to see what lies beneath, but King's work patiently waits for the knowledge-hungry so they can comb through the gears and cogs of the animatronic together, see what works and what needs to be greased.
How would someone explain what is the most maligned genre of art? How would this brave soul take a brief guided tour through what people consider the underbelly of movies, music, and literature?
Firstly, they would have to have an intimate knowledge of the genre. Not just the standout pieces that break through into "The Mainstream," but the pieces that showed on the back half of a drive-in double feature when more people were necking or nodding off than were watching the show. Staying up late to watch the reruns of shows taken off the air too soon or that wound up a shell of their former selves, whether they caught the debut showing or not. The penny, then nickel, then dime dreadfuls of the pulp genre as well as the hardback or bound leather showpieces.
Then they would take all of this knowledge and put it through filters of their own making. Probably putting a cap on the timeframe, say 30 years? Only covering film, television, and literature with a brief homage to the origins of the genre in each category as they exist today. Understanding what makes each category different and what qualifies success and failure in each wouldn't hurt, would it?
What's more, they should have a deep, abiding love for it in all its forms. They know about the films and television programs because they watched them incessantly. They understand what makes the writing work because they are a writer. And they should be able to break the fourth wall to speak directly to the individual reader instead of the reader as a mass of people looking at the stage of a performance hall during a lecture, by injecting personal anecdotes and opinions when necessary, and occasionally when unnecessary because they're enjoyable to speak with.
Put all of this together and you have Stephen King authoring the book Danse Macabre, covering the horror genre from 1950 to 1980 in the realms of film, television, and literature.
If anything, this book sorely needs an update. Forty years have passed since King and the reader left the Dance Hall after wiling the night away, and King appears to have kept his status as curator of horror, popular and unpopular.
Yet, I'm satisfied with King's analysis of the genre as he presented it. A lot of people wouldn't be interested enough in taking the mask off of horror to see what lies beneath, but King's work patiently waits for the knowledge-hungry so they can comb through the gears and cogs of the animatronic together, see what works and what needs to be greased.
fast-paced
dark
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Este librote fue una montaña rusa de emociones. Es un libro que constituye parte de mi trabajo final de la universidad así que me he encariñado con él. Sin embargo, creo que independiente de mis sentimientos, es un libro extremadamente detallado acerca de King y su relación con la ficción de horror. No solo en su experiencia escribiendo horror, sino enfrentándose a este en sus diferentes presentaciones. Aborda principios básicos del horror de King como los puntos de presión fóbica hasta la importancia de la imaginación y la niñez.
Como les digo, es un libro bastante extenso del autonombrado escritor "verbo diarreico", pero si quieren pegar una ojeada en la mente de King está super recomendado. También les va a dar recomendaciones de libros, series y películas de horror que les durará al menos unos 2 años en ver y yo anoté mas de un par.
Me despido con una de mis citas favoritas e intencionalmente el fin del ensayo:
"Y creo que éste es, de verdad, el final. Gracias de nuevo por haber venido y que descansen. Pero, siendo quien soy y lo que soy, no me veo con ánimos de desearles felices sueños…"
Como les digo, es un libro bastante extenso del autonombrado escritor "verbo diarreico", pero si quieren pegar una ojeada en la mente de King está super recomendado. También les va a dar recomendaciones de libros, series y películas de horror que les durará al menos unos 2 años en ver y yo anoté mas de un par.
Me despido con una de mis citas favoritas e intencionalmente el fin del ensayo:
"Y creo que éste es, de verdad, el final. Gracias de nuevo por haber venido y que descansen. Pero, siendo quien soy y lo que soy, no me veo con ánimos de desearles felices sueños…"