Summer Reading Project, BookLikes Satellite

Most of the time, I read the book before I see the movie. (If I see the movie at all, that is.) This time, I saw the 1980 movie version of The Shining before I read the 1977 novel by Stephen King. The biggest reason I read the book first is so that I can create version of the characters in my head before a movie puts a concrete interpretation there. Because I’ve already seen the movie, I couldn’t help but picture Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Cruthers, and that kid with the bowl cut acting out a slightly different version of events as I read. I kept waiting for the “Here’s Johnny!” moment even though I know Nicholson ad-libbed it. Because the film and the book are so similar (apart from the endings), it was hard to not compare the two. Both versions creeped me right the hell out. They succeeded there. But the endings? It’s hard to decide which is more satisfying. At this point, I can’t choose which version I prefer...

Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.