I swear I started writing this post a week ago. When it comes down to the end of the year, there just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done. I was holding off on this post until I had the pictures done, and with the time change, I kept running out of daylight. So which is why we're midway through November and I'm just posting about October's book. In any case, no more excuses.
I'm loving how the photoshoot turned out. I knew that for a Stephen King book photo shoot, I wanted it to look different than what I have done in the past. I tend to go with the pretty hipster style shoot, so the best way for me to get outside of my shell was to make the ISO really high (I think I was at 6400) and to shoot at dusk. I really loved how doing this washed out the background but since the book itself is very bright and unnaturally colored, it really stood out.
Cell by Stephen King
Rating: ★★★★☆ 4/5 stars
Synopsis:
Clayton Riddell is a graphic artist that has just landed the deal of a lifetime; a publishing deal that ensures that his family will never have to worry about money again. He is on his way to share the good news when a strange signal comes through the cell phones that causes strange, violent behavior in the listeners.
Thoughts:
“Leave it at this: man has come to dominate the planet thanks to two essential traits. One is intelligence. The other has been the absolute willingness to kill anyone and anything that get in his way.”
Is anyone else afraid to pick up their cell phone when it rings after reading Cell by Stephen King? I mean, the man doesn't own a cellphone to this day- does he know something we don't? How do we know we haven't already been programmed with mind altering propaganda through our phones already and we just don't know it? Maybe it will be programmed into the next call you receive? Dun dun dun....
Just kidding. Outside of the social commentary on how our "smart phones" are turning us into zombies, we're not to the point of wiping out our brain hard drives with a radio signal just yet. But we'll keep hoping. Ha ha.
Most of what I liked about this book, however, is the social commentary of who is the real enemy? When we don't understand someone else's motivations, they are. Clayton made the point of saying that it is possible that living the "flock life" might actually be better for the planet and society, but that would mean the elimination of his way of life. That made the flock the enemy. As you progress through the novel, the flock starts to develop more rational behavior. They take care of their sick, remove the dead, communicate through telepathy, and eventually develop their own type of justice system. Logically, they are better suited as a population than what happens when normal society breaks down- we are violent to each other. The (not so) Crazies sleep thousands at a time in one place every night. We can't live in a stadium in a natural disaster without people getting raped and murdered. But I guess that is the cost of a free-thinking society.
Tom McCourt (Samuel L. Jackson), Alice Maxwell (Isabel Fuhrman), and Clayton Riddel (John Cusack).
I definitely enjoyed reading this book. It wasn't as terrifying as I was expecting from Stephen King, but then again I'm thankful for the lack of accompanying nightmares. Best of all, the book is being turned into a movie starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson, so that's something to look forward to.
Book Club Discussion:
So below I have put together some hopefully thought provoking questions to start a discussion about the book. Feel free to answer whichever questions you feel so inclined, but also if you have any other thoughts that aren't covered do feel free to start a new thread.
You'll need to create an account to comment. Just click on the question you want to discuss and create an account. If you don't want to create an account, you can answer the question in the comment section at the bottom of the post. Easy peasy.