Book Review: Under the Dome by Stephen King

The first Stephen King book I read was The Shining, and it scared the hell out of me. I'm a night reader- if I don't read before I go to bed, I typically have trouble falling asleep. But it was a mistake to read The Shining at night. I would reach a terrifying part, then continue to read so that something could serve as a buffer between horrifying descriptions of ghost women and my dreams. But of course there was no buffer- the terror kept coming. So I didn't sleep very much during those few days.

And of course I loved the book. Even though I haven't read even a fraction of Stephen King's enormous library, I love most of his books that I pick up. Although he is usually remembered for his horror stories like The Shining and It, his forays into science fiction are wonderful. His literary brilliance traverses the genres wonderfully.

Summary

The quaint New England town of Chester's Mill is suddenly engulfed in turmoil when an invisible but powerful dome cuts the town off from the rest of the world. With limited cell phone access and no way to breach the shield, the citizens of the town struggle to adapt to their new world of isolation. Ex-army sergeant Dale "Barbie" Barbara, town selectmen and used car salesman James "Big Jim" Rennie, his son Junior, and newspaper reporter Julia Shumway attempt to avoid political turmoil and potential disaster as the situation grows more and more desperate.

Review

If you've read any of King's books, you know his writing style is very distinct. Regardless of whether you are reading one of his classic tales of horror like Carrie or are enjoying one of his science fiction novels, you're likely to find there are some terrifying moments. Although The Dome isn't about grotesque ghosts roaming around town, the townspeople are horrifyingly evil, particularly Rennie and Junior. Unbelievably evil.

SPOILERS
For example, both Junior and Rennie have serious issues with Barbie. Junior (who is admittedly a teeny tiny bit completely insane) attacks Barbie and ends up getting his ass handed to him (cue embarrassment). Right after the dome comes down, Barbie, a former Army sergeant, is promoted to colonel by order of the president. Rennie doesn't handle his potential loss of power too well. Both kill two people, then decide blackmailing Barbie for all four murders is a good way of dealing with the bodies and their simultaneous hatred of Barbie.

Nothing says father-son bonding time like murder and a good frame job! 

And on top of this, Rennie creates additional chaos (such as orchestrating a riot at the local grocery store) so that he can swoop in and save the day/earn more power. He also stocks the police force with local idiots and thugs who are just looking for an excuse to beat up people. This guy definitely has issues.

end of spoilers

Something about these two just drew me out of the book. I still enjoyed it immensely, but the absolute corruption of these two characters always threw me off. I just simply cannot imagine that there are people so power hungry to be in charge of a small town of a couple thousand people that they would do these awful things.

As for the show.

I started watched the show almost immediately after I finished the book. And wow is it different. A lot of the characters have been mashed together or switched or have completely new stories. I really enjoy it because I can watch the show and see how else the story would have played out. Some of the characters are so completely different, but they are a lot more realistic than those in the book.

Ultimately, I love the book and I highly recommend it. Be sure to take it with a grain of salt, though.

Cheap Books for Cheap People

Books are, unfortunately, quite pricey. I have one six-shelf bookshelf and one three-shelf bookshelf completely full, and I don't even want to imagine how much I've spent on all of those books.

My old go-to store was Barnes & Noble. Borders was fine, but I never felt I could relax in the stores (probably had something to do with the stores impending doom that was bankruptcy.) When I lived in my college town, I could either go to the campus Barnes & Noble or Books-a-million (which was owned by Barnes & Noble.) Clearly I was loyal to the company.

Once I graduated and moved, I discovered so many more places to buy books. Here are the best.

Goodwill

It is crazy what people will give away to Goodwill. I found a brand-new hardback copy of The Help for $1.50. Some stores have larger selections, but most have incredibly popular books in both paperback and hardback.

Garage Sales

Spring and summer are all about the garage sales. Most people who hold them just want to get rid of their stuff, otherwise their tables, TVs, and "gently-loved" mattresses would be on Craigslist. Among the never-used espresso machines and baby clothes, you can usually find some good books.And if they do turn out pretty bad, then you only spent 50 cents, which I'm sure you could find in your couch or car or maybe even last season's clothes.

Used Book Stores

This one is kind of a "duh" place. Half-Priced Books is a great store, and there are quite a few across the country. You can find paperback copies of some classics for a buck, and most other books are between five and seven dollars. The store does have new releases, but those are a bit pricier than the rest of the stock. If you dig through the impressive inventory, you can probably find any book you are looking for. There is even a selection of first-edition copies of classics. And Half-Priced Books also has a vast collection of DVDs, games, comic books, and even VHSs for all of you hipsters out there!

Ebook Library

One of my favorite aspects of having a Kindle is that every month I can borrow a book from Amazon for free, and every day new daily deals are offered, usually just a couple of dollars each. Around holidays, Amazon offers special deals. Sometimes hot sellers, such as Hunger Games, will randomly be $3 or so. Barnes & Noble offers similar deals for the Nook.

Library

I am not a big library-goer, which is probably weird. But if you have an e-reader, you can borrow an ebook just as easily as you would a physical book. Due dates and everything apply, so you can renew a book if you need to. And of course the library has traditional books as well.

 
I also "borrow" a lot of books from my family. A lot just sit around gathering dust, so I can usually take one back home with me after a visit.

So don't worry about spending all of your money on $30 books when you can just head around the corner and find some new hidden gems.