The Shining by Stephen King

Terrible events occur at an isolated hotel in the off season, when a small boy with psychic powers struggles to hold his own against the forces of evil that are driving his father insane.

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Confession: This is the first Stephen King novel I have ever read. I have purposely avoided reading any of his books until now. 

Why? Because I've seen several of the movies based on his novels and they freak me out! The Shining still ranks as one of the scariest movies I have ever seen in my life. Not because there is tons of blood and guts, but because it is a normal enough situation that it could almost happen. The story borders just enough on the edge of reality to make it truly terrifying. I always said that Stephen King's head was not a place that I would ever want to be lost in, nor is he someone I would want to come across in a dark alley. This is grossly unfair to Stephen King, because I am sure he is a very nice person, but his imagination scares me. 

This book was no different from the movie and there were some nights when I truly regretted reading it just before bedtime. It is fairly similar to the movie story line (probably because King wrote the screenplay too), but certainly not a carbon copy. The book was everything a good thriller should be, and if you are a fan of the genre, then King is certainly right up your alley. I can't say that I "enjoyed" the book, because honestly, it creeped me out big time, but I did like it for what it was.

2015 Reading Challenge: A book that scares you