Different Seasons, Stephen King

I picked this book of four stories up even though I’d seen two of them in movie form – Shawshank Redemption (a top 5 movie of all-time for sure) and Stand By Me. This was King’s first book of short stories which he wrote in 1982, and also that did not connect directly with horror. The stories --- about an off-beat prison break, an old man and a young boy locked up in a gruesome relationship based on mutual parasitism, four country boys on a journey of discovery, an-off-the-wall story about a young woman determined to give birth to her child no matter what. Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption was quite close to the movie form, though Brooks is more impactful in the movie. If you’ve seen the movies, it might not be worth the read as the best stories did become movies. But if you’re looking for a deeper dive into the thoughts of King and how he structured them, take a gander. Hope springs eternal and the fall from innocence. Apt Pupil and The Breathing Method could qualify as a skip.