Mr. King has been one of my favorite authors since I let go of my prejudice against any genre other than Science Fiction. His ability to make a character I strongly identify with far outshines any lack in his ability to tell the story. "It" is his best in the children's perspective type books. If you've seen the movie, try to forget it. While it is difficult, at best, for any movie to do justice to the book it is based on, "It" the TV Movie is as close to the actual book as a cup of hot water is to a cappuccino.

"It" tells the story of a group of adults who return to their hometown mysteriously drawn there without knowing why. Once there, they begin remembering scenes from their childhood as well as each other. The book slowly unfolds a tale of their childhood and their camaraderie as "losers". As the memories continue to surface it becomes increasingly clear that in order to save the day, the group must capture the "Magic" that children are capable of. In a strange twist, one climax of the story involves a very adult action in order for the children to defeat the enemy. The adults struggle to recapture that ability to believe in fantasy that most of us are born with, and then lose soon after we turn ten. Without this ability, their lives, and the lives of many children in their hometown, are forfeit.

The fantastic/believable monster is classic King. The repeated sayings that King is fond of sprinkling in his stories abound; one of them, "We all float down here!", sticks in my mind even after the 5 years it's been since I last read the story.

My only criticism of this book is the same I have of most of his work, he gets so verbose that I tend to skim over quite a few pages, just to get back to the story.

All in all, this is a classic Stephen King story, and my personal favorite, well worth the $6.39 Amazon wants for it.

Stephen King: It

Book: The Elements of Style
William Strunk Jr and EB White

Never has so much information been packed into such a small space. This little book is for everyone, literally, who wants to write correct English and can't afford the time or money to take a class. William Strunk was one of E.B. (Charlotte's Web) White's professors; a stern teacher who drove his pupils to write concisely and with as little verbiage as possible. (Mr King are you reading?). I've lost more copies of this book than I've owned of any other book. It's a wonderful tool for anyone who writes. It's also a wonderful gift for a high schooler or college kid who is struggling, or not, with those communications courses.

The Elements of Style

CD: Best of Pure Prairie League

I had a deep aversion to anything remotely C&W that hearkens back to spending summer weeks with my cousin. My Uncle Vernon would play Patsy Cline, Roy Clark, and Johnny Cash until I was ready to puncture my eardrums. Then, after graduating high school and in need of a roommate to split bills with, I met a good friend of mine who would occasionally play ZZ Top, Lynard Skynard, and other southern rock until he thought I was ready to handle PPL. He turned out to have done me a favor. PPL is definitely among my favorite bands since that time.

Their country ballad "Amie" still rings in my mind on some of my morning walks. The song "You're Mine Tonight" is typical of their sound; simple, unassuming, and sung with a pure joy of doing what the musicians in this band obviously want to do more than anything. Whether you are not normally a fan of the C&W sound, or a hard core C&W fan, Pure Prairie League will lighten your step and raise your spirits on a bad day, and on a good day it will simply make you appreciate the simple things a little more.

Best of the Pure Prairie League

CD: Greatest Hits
The Marshall Tucker Band

My music tastes are eclectic, but since I've started in this vein, I'll continue with the country spectrum of my musical taste bandwidth. The Marshall Tucker Band produces music to drink beer to with your friends, listen to on a long drive through boring countryside, or simply for background music as you're typing away at your keyboard. I picked the "Greatest Hits" simply because it combines songs from many of their albums that are my favorites. "Can't you See", "Heard it in a Love Song", "Fire on the Mountain" are a few of my favorites from this album. These "good ole boys" of Rock n Roll combine the two genres better than most, if not everyone.

Marshall Tucker Band Greatest Hits

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