New Book: Different Seasons by Stephen King

A couple weeks ago, I finished reading Gregg Allman's autobiography, My Cross to Bear by Gregg Allman with Alan Light.  It was a really good autobiography.  Allman had a crazy life, moving around the South as a kid and going to military boarding school for a bit, along with older brother Duane.  Of course, then they formed a band with two guitarists, two drummers, a bassist, and a singer.  Allman always had a voice that seemed older than his body.  Of course, tragedy hit the Allman Brothers Band twice, first in 1971 when Duane died in a motorcycle accident and then a year later when Berry Oakley also died in a motorcycle accident.  Allman and the band kept trucking for a few more years before breaking up and then reuniting several times over the years.  He also had a pretty successful solo career in the '70s and '80s, married Cher and about four or five other women, had a few kids (but not more than one per wife), and, of course, did way too many drugs.  It was a good read, and if you're an Allman Brothers fan (even just a casual one), you should check it out.

I have since started Different Seasons by Stephen King.  I do enjoy me some Stephen King, especially in the fall.  Different Seasons is comprised of four novellas, three of which have been made into major motion pictures and one of which is forthcoming.  "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" is, of course, the basis for The Shawshank Redemption.  I am one of the six people in the United States who has not seen the movie in its entirety.  Sadly, I saw the last 45 minutes of the movie in a business class in college, so I know what happens.  The novella was good, though.  "Apt Pupil" was the basis for the 1998 film of the same name.  I haven't seen that either, but I remember the trailers, and I am quite certain one of my landlords in Bloomington was the inspiration for the old man.  "The Body" was adapted into '80s classic Stand By Me, which I haven't seen in over 25 years, so hopefully I've forgotten more than I've remembered.  Finally, "The Breathing Method" is scheduled to be adapted into a film in 2020.

Books Read in 2018:
-How Music Works by David Byrne
-But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past by Chuck Klosterman
-Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
-My Cross to Bear by Gregg Allman with Alan Light