Thinner by Stephen King/Richard Bachman: A Book Review (No Spoilers)

  https://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrazyJake451?feature=mhee  
     Hi I'm Jake Stief and I am going to review the novel Thinner by Stephen King or Richard Bachman, they are the same people.  And that is precisely what it is.  Thinner.  If you have read King before you would know that this book falls short of Kings standard book size by about 300 pages.   But longer isn't always better.  I would have never finished this book had it been 600 pages.  If it was too short the story would have ended having you feel a little empty.  Some people say they don't want to read this book because the synopsis of this book sounds like a prolonged short story.  I disagree though, because there is a lot of subplot which is something you can generally find in a king book.   I rate it 5/5
      As for all of my book reviews I must give away part of the plot in order to convince you to read this book.  I will only give the bare minimum though so continue at your own cost.  So this books main character is Billie Halleck and he accidentally runs over a Gypsies daughter while his own wife is... Well I'll let you find that one out.  After going to court the old Gypsy puts a curse on him by rubbing his old shriveled finger across Billie's chubby face while whispering the word Thinner to him.  Since then Billie who is obese as it is begins to lose weight each day.  Once Billie realizes that the gypsy cursed him, he tries to find the gypsy and traces him all the way up the eastern sea border.  The rest is for you to find out.  There are of course other variables and subplots which I mentioned earlier such as Billie's daughter, researchers trying to study his case and such.  The horror part of King doesn't really come out from King really until the last 1/3 of the book, so I'd classify this one as thriller or a very subtle mystery. 
      One thing I didn't really like is that the old Gypsy was portrayed to be an Antagonist, while really he is just a father looking for revenge.  I honestly don't see anything wrong with what the gypsy did in the book.  On the flip side Billie is made to look like the protagonist but he wasn't cursed for any reason.  He killed the man's daughter, so he should pay. 
       The ending was actually one of King's better endings.  If you ask me I'd say his books as Richard Bachman better than MOST of the books under King's names.  They just seem to be layed out better and have better endings that leave you hanging.  In thinner the ending is a twist and almost makes the whole story irrelevant but if it wasn't it just wouldn't be Stephen King.
      Need I tell you about detail?  Come on.  It's the King we are talking about.  Perfect amount of description for everything with just a hint more for the gruesome parts, just the way I like it.

If you have any question comments please Email me at crazyjake451@yahoo.com
Be sure to subscribe and have a great day!! : )

Jake E. Stief
LZ Productions
Biblophile Productions

Recognizing first edition of 11/22/63 by Stephen King

https://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrazyJake451?feature=mhee

      Hello!  In this tutorial I will show you how to determine a first edition/first print of 11/22/63 by Stephen King.  This book was published on November 8th, 2011.

The front of the dust jacket on the book should be a newspaper clipping with a bit of red at the top that acts as a background for the title 11/22/63 and the author, Stephen King.  Below the name of the novel you should see the phrase "A novel"  The clipping portion of the jacket should have a gritty texture and the main title should read JFK SLAIN IN DALLAS, LBJ TAKES OATH.  There should be a color photo of J.F.K right before he got shot.  The spine of the jacket should say the author again, then the publishers name (Scribner) and their logo, then the title of the book.  It should be on a grayish background.  The back of the jacket should have another clipping that reads JFK ESCAPES ASSASSINATION, FIRST LADY ALSO OK.  Below this is a black and white photo on J.F.K and his wife.  The ISBN around the barcode should be 978-1-4526-2728-2.  The cover price should be $35.00 U.S/$39.99 Can.  That other code to the right of the barcode should be 53500.  I will explain what this is in another video.  The inner front flap should have the cover price again, a few thoughts about the book, and a blurb.  The back flap should have a few reviewers' quotes, the author's photo and copyright info concerning the dust jacket.  The author's photographer should be Shane Leonard.  The Jacket Design should be by Rex Bonomelli.  The photographers should be Bettman/Corbis and Neal Lankster/Alamy.  Then it should say printed in the U.S.A by Simon & Schuster.   

      The boards of the book should be bright red and it is quarter bound in black cloth.  The top and bottom threads are yellow.  There are no engravings on the boards.  On the spine you should see in gold lettering Stephen King, 11/22/63, the publisher and their logo.  The paste downs for the front and back are white as well as the front and back inserts.  You should see a page just with Scribner's logo, then the title page.  On the copyright page you should see the following info:
"A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020"
"Copyright © 2011 by Stephen King"
"First Scrinber hardcover edition November 2011"
"DESIGNED BY ERICH HOBBING"
"Manufactured in the United States of America"
"1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2"  (If this number is off but all other info matches what I told you, then you a first edition but not first print.)
"ISBN 978-1-4516-2728-2"

     Then on the dedication page you should see "For Zelda 'Hey, honey, welcome to the party.'"
Do note that there is a table of contents in this book unlike most of his other novels.  There is also a photograph of JFK after the table of contents.  The last page number listed should be 849. 

If you have any question or comments E-Mail me at crazyjake451@yahoo.com

Thanks for watching an LZ Productions.  Be sure to subscribe : )

Jake E. Stief

Recognizing First Edition of Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

https://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrazyJake451?feature=mhee
In this video I will teach you how to determain or recognize a first edition first printing on Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King.

      The dust jacket should be gray in color, darker around the edges than in the center. On the front of the jacket Stephen King's name should be written in red and the title of the book, Full Dark, No Stars should be written in silver. There should be a photo of a guy holding his head stretching out his arm on the front. On the spine of the jacket there should be written, Stephen King, the publishers logo, Full Dark No Stars, and Scribner. On the back should be a monotone photograph of Stephen King. In the bottom right hand side will be the bar code with an ISBN of 978-1-4391-9256-6. There should be a cover price of 27.99 U.S dollars and 32 Canadian dollars on the back. the jacket code should be 1110. On the inside flap of the jacket should be a blurb about the four stories contained in the book and the price should be listed again on the top of the page. On the back flap should be some info on the author, a publisher ad, and copyright info for the dust jacket. The copy right infpo should read as follows, "JACKET DESIGN BY REX BONOMELLI JACKET PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFF BARK, REPRESENTED BY RAY BROWN AUTHOR PHOTOGRAPH BY DICK DICKINSON" Then it should say that it was printed in the U.S (c) 2010 by Simon & Schuster.
    
     The boards should be a light gray, light blue color and quarter bound in a black cloth. There are no inscriptions on the front or back. On the spine written in red is Stephen King, Full Dark No Stars, and the publishers logo as well as Scribner. It should be bound with a solid red thread. Paste downs and front and rear pages are white. Here is the important things you should see on the copyright page, "A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020", "Copyright (C) 2010 by Stephen King", "1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020", "First Scribner hardcover edition November 2010", "DESIGNED BY ERICH HOBBING", "Manufactured in the United states of America", "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 2" (If you do not see a complete number line but every thing still matches the terms I listed above then it is probably a first edition, but not a first printing. Because this book was recently published, print generally won't matter among people (unless collectors) and your book will probably have the same value. Over time though I am certain this will change. Within ten years you first edition first print could be worth $1 while the first edition first print is still worth $15) and finally "ISBN 978-1-4391-9256-6"
The dimensions of the book should be roughly 6.4 X 9.5 X 1.4 in or 16 X 24.1 X 3.1 cm. If it smaller than this it is probally a book club edition.

Thanks for watching,
Jake E. Stief

If you have any question about determaining a first edition or want to be sure i read your comment then E-Mail me at crazyjake451@yahoo.com