The Book Spot

For as long as I can remember I’ve been an avid reader. I’d hate to take a guess at just how many I have read. The attic has boxes and boxes of books, I have frequent trips to the library to pick up books, the kids have piles of books even the boy, the less book interested, does still read for pleasure on occasion. So I guess it must be in the genes somewhere.

I think in this spot on the blog I’m going to pick a book and try to say something about it. Not a review as such but rather something more personal. As a teenager I remember being a big fan of Stephen King. I’d read some of the older books first, Carrie, Salem’s Lot, The Shining but one that sticks out with me is Christine. I think that it struck a chord with me through main characters, all teenagers, the loner Arnie, his friend the popular Dennis and the Leigh as the love interest, combined with King’s use of music lyrics at the start of every chapter. The theme that sticks with me is the loyalty among friends. Being there until the bitter end, staying faithful and true. Something that I’ve always tried to with my own friendships.

The story itself was a great demonstration of horror writing. Using the car as the focus of evil with that ability to take a person, twist them to suit its own purpose and destroy lives served to ensure that you were being properly scared. I know King has used the inanimate both before and after (Tales From A Buick 8 being another car related tale) but Christine always stuck with me. I also liked (if like is the right word to use for a horror tale) the ambiguous ending. Not being sure if the car had truly been vanquished, leaving that lingering doubt that it was still out there waiting.

As I said I read this book at a teenager. I was in secondary school at the time and was doing my “work” experience. I was interested in being a librarian (the book thing again) and was working with our school librarian for two weeks. I recall that the first job we had during that week was collecting money that had been raised in a sponsored walk. I was stood outside our first computer room (there were about three computers in there!) resting on a display case. Between collecting money and checking forms I read the book, digesting a few pages now and then.

The other aspect of the book aside from the friendship, as I mentioned, was the lyrics. I didn’t have much in the way of musical influences from home. There were a few records, but nothing that was regularly played or particularly of interest to a teenage boy. So I struck out in my own direction (with some influence from school friends) . Rock and metal took my interest so many of the lyrics that King quoted were right up my alley. But there were many lyrics that I didn’t recognise and this made me go and explore some older stuff (Creedence Clearwater Revival springs instantly to mind). So as well as scaring me he managed to expand my musical horizons.

As I said – the memories for me that, even now when I reread that book, are of that period of time in school. Standing in the hallway, reading, collecting money and chatting (and of course that taking in that smell that only a school corridor could have). It was a pretty good time in hindsight, just a shame that hindsight goes back a long way!