Scary Movies

Originally posted on Facebook on 6/20/2010

In case you haven't noticed, I like to read. I'm hooked on phonics. I am always reading at least one book, sometimes several at a time. I've been like that for as long as I can remember. 

At least a few times a year, I read something of the "classic" nature. You'd think that I would have read them all in college, what with my English/Mass Communications double major and all, but there are so many left to read. 

One of my favorite authors is Stephen King. I feel like he is totally underrated. Every time I read one of his books, I am so jealous. In his prime, he wrote 3000 words a day. In his 6th decade, he still writes 1800 a day. Aside from being beyond prolific, he just blows me away with his prose. It's really quite unfortunate that he has been written off as "just a horror author." If you have written him off, please reconsider. I promise, after he dies, he will be the subject of many literary arguments over good versus evil. Bygones. I love to love things other people overlook. 

Here's the problem. I hate scary movies. How can I hate scary movies and like Stephen King? This is one of life's mysteries. I think maybe it has something to do with the written word. I can feel happy, scared, amazed at his ability and also find it impossible to stop when I'm reading. When I'm watching a scary movie, all I feel is scared. All I want to do is shut it off. When I close my eyes, it's all I can see. This is not to imply that after reading IT, I didn't imagine sailboats and clowns when running up the steps from the basement. It just means that I also remembered that the kids win in the end.