Book review: The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King

In 2010 came out very good collection of short stories by Stephen King called Full Dark No Stars. Since then, the writer published several novels and prepared a new volume of stories - The Bazaar of Bad Dreams.

In The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (see description on Amazon) there are twenty short stories, each one has an introduction, where King tells us how he came up with the idea, and why he decided to write it down.

The author devotes a lot of space reflection on death, suffering, aging. And it's not surprisingly, you have to remember that King has almost 70 years old. The writer himself, however, points out that he looking mainly for a good story, so looking into these categories - unfortunately, some stories are weak or have a bad ending.

This does not change the fact that Stephen King once again proves that it is an extraordinary observer of daily life and has an incredible talent for concise, short dialogues that reflect the great character of the people and the relationships between them.

I love the work of King (see my rating of his books). Would I recommend The Bazaar of Bad Dreams? Only those who already know other collections of the author and want to learn what's new Stephen King wrote. To everyone else I can recommend the previous volume of short stories - Full Dark No Stars, which are very, very, good.

I think that The Bazaar of Bad Dreams is not a book for people who previously did not read other works by King, because I am convinced that this only discouraged you to read another books by Stephen King.

Writer admits he is primarily a novelist and loves long stories that allow readers to sink in the world. They are like a marriage, while the sort story is only like fleeting romance :-)

Which stories I liked the most and deserve attention in my opinion? I will mention seven: Premium Harmony, Ur, The Dune, Bad Little Kid, Blockade Billy, Obits and That Bus Is Another World.

Buy this book on Amazon.com  >

Interesting biography of Stephen King by Lisa Rogak

Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King is an unauthorized Stephen King's biography written by Lisa Rogak. If you want to know how Stephen began his career, reach for this book.

For forty years Stephen King published books that have sold in hundreds of millions of copies. I'm a big fan of his work and I've read all this novels, short stories and books (like Dance Macabre and On Writing). See my top ten best novels by Stephen King >

I also read the biography of the King of Horror written by Lisa Rogak. Even if you know facts from King's life from e.g. Wikipedia or this autobiography On Writing, you should read this book. Why? Because it is well-written, contains lots of anecdotes and comments of King's friends and family.

Rogak writes also how Stephen King fared with fame, fans and critics. Besides, there is a lot of information in it about the circumstances in which Stephen King created his stories, so you can look at his novels with a completely new perspective.

This is a official description of a book:
"One of the most prolific and popular authors in the world today, Stephen King has become part of pop culture history. His best-selling novels such as Carrie, It, Christine, and many others have captured the imaginations of millions of readers. But who is the man behind those tales of horror, grief, and the supernatural? Where do these ideas come from? And what drives him to keep writing at a breakneck pace after a thirty year career?

In this unauthorized biography, Lisa Rogak reveals the troubled background and lifelong fears that inspire one of the twentieth century's most influential authors. Despite his dark and disturbing work, Stephen King has become revered by critics and his countless fans as an all-American voice more akin to Mark Twain than H. P. Lovecraft. Haunted Heart chronicles his story, revealing the character of a man who has created some of the most memorable and frightening stories found in literature today." (from Amazon)

Stephen King still writes
This is a good book, but you have to remembered that Rogak has written it in 2008, when Stephen King published Just After Sunset - collection of short stories. Since then a lot has changed. On the market there are seven new novels by Stephen King. Latest novel - Revival - which is the seventh since 2008, has premiered on the 11th November this year. A new collection of short stories and several TV series based on his work also add up to his achievements.

It is clear that Stephen King, though sometimes he says that he plans to retire, still does not meet his threats, right? :-) Although he could live a comfortable life with what he has earned, still he creates and shares with readers the new great stories.

I read "Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King" with curiosity and I recommend it to anyone.

10 great books about writing fiction

I love to read novels, but I am also interested in the writer's workshop. I want to know what are the different ways to create a good story and why sometimes even a great idea does not work and after reading a few pages the book turn out to be disappointing. If you are also interested in the process of creating the novel or you are a beginning writer, check out what is worth reading to learn about writing fiction.

I looked for guides how to write novels and create a bestseller to know the tools that a writer must learn to use to create interesting, memorable story with good narration, a credible background and psychologically convincing characters. Knowing that I can read novels more consciously, sometimes I can figure out why story does not convince me or what is main problem with someone's style (e.g. I think: hey, you should read a book on how to write dialogues, because these are terrible :)).

Of course I realize that there are some brilliant books that had been written against the advice given in these guides, but - as they say - to break the rules, you should first know them. Therefore, in view of all aspiring writers and people who are interested in the process of the creation of the novel, I made a list of ten great books about how to write a good novel.

What every aspiring writer should read and what every reader interested in the writer's workshop should know? Here is my list of ten guides to creative writing!

1. Writing the Blockbuster Novel by Albert Zuckerman
2. How to Write a Damn Good Novel: A Step-by-Step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling by James Frey
3. Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain
5. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
4. Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne
6. The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers by John Gardner
7. Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity by Ray Bradbury
8. On Becoming a Novelist by John Gardner
9. Elements of Fiction Writing - Characters & Viewpoint: Proven advice and timeless techniques for creating compelling characters by an award-winning author - Orson Scott Card
10. Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg

This is the initial list of books that I think are worth exploring. If you are writing in English you should also read The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White. However, if you write in another language, look for a good manual of style and grammar. Even if you feel strong with grammar, you should still read about it!

If you know other interesting guides about writing books - I encourage you to publish their titles on my blog!