On Writing, Stephen King - 4 Stars - I'm not really into autobiographies in general, but this was pretty decent. Part autobiography and part instructional guide/advice for aspiring writers out there. If you
are interesting in writing, or plan on writing yourself, I think the advice he gives is really good. He also answers all of the F.A.Q's he gets. You get interesting backstory to several of his novels, too, which I personally enjoyed. He intentionally kept it short and left in only the stuff he thought readers would actually be interested in and it is a nice, quick read at 320 pages of largish print (I read it in a day).
Exile From Eden, Andrew Smith - 5 Stars - I really loved this! Can't really describe the plot without giving away spoilers, but it's a sequel to
Grasshopper Jungle (also amazing) so if you like(d) that you like this one. Smith is a YA writer, but it doesn't feel like it with all the swearing and constant sex references (his protagonists are usually horny teenage boys). Good for a lighthearted read. His books always make me feel good
Full Dark, No Stars, Stephen King - 4 Stars - Pretty good collection of novella's. The first is
1922, which was made into a Netflix movie in 2017. It's written in the form a confession letter to the police about how he coerced his teenage son into helping him murder his wife and dispose of her body (the fact that he does this is in the first paragraph of the story so not a spoiler), the bulk of the story being the events which occur as a result. I enjoyed this story overall, although it felt slow in places. I'd probably give this 3 Stars (3.5 may be more fair).
The second novella, titled
Big Driver (4.5 Stars) I really liked. Not all that original as it's pretty much your basic Rape and Revenge story, but it's a decent one.
The third story is a short story, really, at 28 pages.
Fair Extension is about a man dying of a particularly aggressive and rapid-spreading cancer who get's the chance to buy a life extension...for a price. It's described in the blurb as "very darkly comic" but I think whoever wrote that must have been pretty fucked in the head. It's actually pretty dark and somewhat disturbing. - 4 Stars.
I actually read the fourth novella back in 2010 when this book came out - I don't recall why I didn't read the others - so remember very little of it.
A Good Marriage is about a woman who stumbles across what appears to be her husbands collection of "trophies" from women he has killed while looking for something in the garage. And now he's on his way home...
