Created at: 2026-01-03
I'm on a mad streak of Stephen King books.
I thought it would be hard to beat "The Stand" but somehow 11/22/63 was quite an interesting read and ended up being such a page turner despite the voluminous size.
The book is a historical fiction around the JFK assassination; or better, around someone trying to stop the JFK assassination. We all know how this book ends, well... JFK is dead. But the best part is seeing the character (who has travelled from the future) unfolding Lee Oswald's steps towards going from a fanatic revolutionary to a murderer.
I must confess that I learned a good deal of American history through this book, as I had no idea about anything JFK related.
She was helpful, even charming, but she had the same watchful reserve as everyone else I’d met in this queer place—Fred Toomey being the exception that proved the rule.
The reception will be a lawn party at my house the following day. Two P.M. until drunk o’clock.
The air-conditioning in my rented house on Mesa Lane was good, but not good enough to withstand that sort of sustained assault.
jingoistic
What interested me was the way de Mohrenschildt listened. He did it as the world’s more charming and magnetic people do, always asking the right question at the right time, never fidgeting or taking his eyes from the speaker’s face, making the other guy feel like the most knowledgeable, brilliant, and intellectually savvy person on the planet. This might have been the first time in his life that Lee had been listened to in such a way.
is just waiting for the word to stick their heads between their legs and kiss their asses goodbye.”
The creases in his pants looked sharp enough to shave with.
He was in a tux and flashing a grin that seemed to show as many teeth as there are keys on a piano.
Before I finish, I want to thank one other person: the late Jack Finney, who was one of America’s great fantasists and storytellers. Besides The Body Snatchers, he wrote Time and Again, which is, in this writer’s humble opinion, the great time-travel story. Originally I meant to dedicate this book to him, but in June of last year, a lovely little granddaughter arrived in our family, so Zelda gets the nod.
The music that made the biggest impression on me was rock ’n’ roll from the early fifties. I tried to get into the book the excitement that the kids felt to hear someone like Jerry Louis, Chuck Berry, or Little Richard. The first time you heard Little Richard your life changed. The first time I heard Freddie Cannon do “Palisades Park” I thought to myself, “This makes me feel so happy to be alive.”
“Honky Tonk Women,” the Rolling Stones
That’s Right (You’re Not from Texas),” Lyle Lovett:
“She’s About a Mover,” Sir Douglas Quintet: “Guest appearance at Miz Mimi’s wedding party.”
“The Wah Watusi,” the Orlons: “A dance that was banned in most high schools, because it involved boys and girls thrusting their pelvises at each other. Oooh, no!”
“Bristol Stomp,” the Dovells: “The Dovells were by far the best of the Philly doo-wop groups. They almost caused a riot when they appeared on American Bandstand. Those boys were handsome dogs, and they could shake it. Their signature dance-move was called The Baseball. It beggars description; all you can do is fall down and worship.”
“Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” Jerry Lee Lewis: “This record’s fifty-five years old, and still nasty.
“Thriftstore Cowgirl,” Red Meat: “This is how time travel is supposed to be.”