The Stand
One man escapes from a biological weapon facility after an accident, carrying with him the deadly virus known as Captain Tripps, a rapidly mutating flu that - in the ensuing weeks - wipes out most of the world's population. In the aftermath, survivors choose between following an elderly black woman to Boulder or the dark man, Randall Flagg, who has set up his command post in Las Vegas. The two factions prepare for a confrontation between the forces of good and evil.
Stats for nerds
7recommend
33mentions
29people
2009–2025years
24% recommend67% neutral9% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- The Soul Of A New Machine, by Tracy Kidder - The history of computing fascinates me, and this is one of my favorite books on the topic.
Hackers, by Steven Levy - Again, computing history, and especially relevant to me because I started personal computing in the mid-80s and like reading about the stuff I missed. Levy is always fun to read. There are a lot of good books on the microcomputer revolution, this one is just my favorite.
Bird By Bird, by Anne Lamott - It's not just a book about writing, but a book about living. Lamott is a born storyteller, and every one of her non-fiction books is inspiring and highly readable.
On Writing, by Stephen King - I am not a King fan. The only fiction piece he's written I come back to is The Stand. But the story of how he became a writer, and his life as a writer, gives me hope for my own writing. And his advice is valuable; even if I don't like his books, I can't argue with his success.
- Hey there. I'm not sure where I'd start, to be honest. My wife and I recently had our 3rd child. As a result, I've been opting for easier reading material over the last ~4 months. I don't really maintain reading lists, or lists of reading recommendations. But, I do endorse the books that I read and enjoy.
Here are the books I've read in the last 4 months, not in order:
* Frank Herbert - Dune
* J.R.R. Tolkein - The LotR trilogy + The Silmarillion
* Stephen King - 'Salem's Lot
* Stephen King (short story) - Jerusalem's Lot
* Stephen King (short story) - The Night Flier
* Stephen King (short story) - The Children of the Corn
* Stephen King - The Stand (uncut version)
* Stanisław Lem - The Cyberiad
* John Whyndham - The Day of The Triffids
* Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky - Roadside Picnic
* Vernor Vinge - A Fire Upon the Deep
Okay, so... Dune was a re-read ahead of the film release. LotR was a re-read that was provoked by some conversations I had with a group of friends (who form a loose book and movie club) after we discussed the Dune film and books / universe.
Lots of comparisons were being drawn to LotR (both the books and the film adaptations) and I wanted to confirm that my memory of Tolkein's prowess and effectiveness as a writer were accurate (they were).
I had never read Stephen King before this year and I found that I quite liked him. I started with 'Salem's Lot and Jerusalem's Lot because of the TV series Chapelwaite (an adaptation of Jerusalem's Lot -- I am a fan of horror film and television) which I want to watch.
I really liked King, so I pushed a little deeper. I'll come back to him later this year.
The books that remain are Sci-Fi books that I had either had on my own backlog (Roadside Picnic and A Fire Upon the Deep) or were recommendations that I saw in HN comments (The Cyberiad and The Day of the Triffids).
edit/ There were probably between 4 and 6 books that I started, read a few chapters of, and put down in this time frame, too, FWIW.
- Christine by Stephen King. I am a King superfan and even I could not get through this, was just boring, there is only so much you can write about a possessed car and the novel is undeservedly huge. I have no problem with his other giant novels like The Stand and IT, love them.
Tried As I Lay Dying recently, maybe I just wasn't in the right headspace for it but I really couldn't make head nor tails of it. I was looking forward to reading Faulkner too, and this has soured me for a little bit.
Napoleon by Andrew Roberts defeated me. I was finding it interesting but I guess the sheer size put me off. I don't often read non-fiction so I find those a lot more difficult to get through, I want to work on that.
- The best books I've read in the last decade (that I can remember, I've only been keeping reading lists since ~2015) are mostly important because they have contributed to my inspiration and style as a writer.
* The Road - Cormac McCarthy
* Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy
* No Country for Old Men - Cormac McCarthy
* On Writing - Stephen King
* 11/22/63 - Stephen King
* The Stand - Stephen King
* Hell's Angels - Hunter S. Thompson
* East of Eden - John Steinbeck
* Slouching Towards Bethlehem - Joan Didion
* In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
- Elevation by Stephen King. I'd count King among my favorite authors. I regularly go back to reread classics like Salem's Lot and The Stand. But I've fallen out of the habit of reading him lately because his output is so prodigious, and his books have taken on a sameness that I find wearying. In that context, Elevation, which is sweet-natured and short, is a refreshing change of pace and probably my favorite King book of the last 20 years.
And another vote for the Murderbot Diaries. Not groundbreaking, but fast and fun with an interesting POV character.
- I had no idea what I was getting into when I read The Stand back in high school. I thought Stephen King was a "horror" author, and the only thing I knew about him was that he wrote IT. The Stand remains one of the best books I have ever read.
