Tuesday, December 6, 2011

The 3rd Quote of Christmas

Insecurity is cutting others down to make yourself feel better.

I had a strange train of thought for this quote. It all started with Christmas Cards! I love getting them and hanging them up and seeing how my friends' kids have grown. At the store it's hard to pick from all the pretty, sparkly, crafty cards plus the funny, silly cards. Thinking of cards reminded me of looking for a good birthday card. They come up with some funny ones and the sound ones are good too, but some are lame or gross. And that reminded me of shopping for t-shirts for my boys and all the sayings and pictures on them. I was amazed at how many "I'm smart & you're lame" type sayings I saw. Blasted with so many wasn't funny after a while. It was like the shirts were having a dissing contest! There are enough bad attitudes without bored t shirt makers trying to come up with more inventive ways to be rude. Maybe I'm being over sensitive... (pic source)

Why is being good not cool? Society could use a shot of kindness!

But to end on a positive note, I have a book review!

During my travels, I finished Stephen King's latest collection of short stories, FULL DARK, NO STARS. A huge book that was a quick read. How is he so good? (pic source)

One word: Gripping!

Here is my take on each of the tales. Overall a fabulous read, par for Stephen King, but not as horrific and gory to my pleasant surprise.
 
1922 - good old, reliable ghost story. the moral is, if you kill someone, it will make you crazy so even if you don't get caught, you pay for it. =)
 
Big Driver - hard to read because it was so close to possible. graphic and scary! but a positive ending. =/
 
Fair Extension - reminded me of the twilight zone! good story, but not a just ending for me. =(
 
A Good Marriage - great, great story! shock, suspense, justification, hope! =D
 
Under the Weather (a bonus story) - creepy classic, made me shake my head and smile. Loved it! =D

Like my faces rating system? BTW, I'm struggling with my latest reads, looking for something GOOD! I have NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern & VARIANT by Robison Wells on my Xmas list, but I want something now! Not YA or romance... a good thriller? Any suggestions?

15 comments:

Cortney Pearson said...

It's sad how people think that being funny = being mean! That's why I don't watch a whole lot of stand up comedy, it seems like they just stand there and bash people instead of being truly FUNNY. And I've never read anything by Stephen King, but the short stories sound good!

Jennie Bennett said...

Maybe I'm sensitive too because I think those t-shirts are awful as well. I wish I had a good thriller for you, but I don't. Have a great day!

Angela Cothran said...

I never ever send out Christmas cards. I kind of like it that way...less work for me. Yes, I am that lazy :)

Angela Brown said...

I have to think back to high school to realize that it was the cool, popular kids who tended to be sort of aresey - at least to a nerd like me. So it seems to be a reflection of society as well. Not something I like either.

As for a thriller recommendarion, the only one that comes to mind does have some romance in it somewhere: Monarch by Michelle Argyle. I have it at home and am itching to move through my TBR list so I can devour this book.

Leigh Covington said...

You are right about those t-shirts. They get old fast. Why do people have to be jerks? I dunno. I had a friend that was into that kind of stuff and it was funny at first, but then I thought... man, are you ever happy? Ugh. Get's old.

Anyway... thanks for the review. This sounds great. And yes... I love your rating system! lol. I wish I had a good book suggestion for you, but I don't. I do love Mary Higgins Clark books. LOVE THEM! You might enjoy something like that. She rocks.

Dana said...

I completely agree with you about the T-shirts. That industry is really out of control, and I shudder to think what it will be like when my own kids are old enough to want those kinds of shirts.

I don't have any recommendations for you, but the King book sounds great!

Laila Knight said...

Well I don't think being mean to people is a good think at all and make it a point to remind my stepsons. As someone who was picked on often as a kid, I can certainly relate. :)

Thanks for the cool review.

Julie Flanders said...

Thanks for the review, I love Stephen King and definitely want to read this book.

And, I totally agree about the t-shirts. I have always hated mean "humor," and don't see why it's funny to put someone down.

Christine Rains said...

I don't like anything that builds someone up while bringing others down. I see that way too much these days. I think helping to build other people's confidence will help your own in the end. :) I love Christmas cards too. I sent out about 60 of them already. Usually I only get 16 back, but I do know people appreciate receiving them even if they don't send anything back, so it's worth it for me.

Ooh, I didn't know about the new King book. Maybe Santa will bring it for me!

Anonymous said...

I bought a t-shirt that said " I'm with Grumpy " not realizing that the picture on my shirt meant that I'm dopey. I'm a little slow sometimes. ha-ha. I'm saving the shirt for Disney.
I love to send out and receive Christmas cards. I start out early and try to say something good in them.
mom

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Maybe you need to start your own line of positive message t-shirts!

C R Ward said...

I remember when T-shirts used to have funny sayings on them. Now they're downright snarky!

I love your rating system for your reveiw of Stephen King's short stories. :-)

If you have an e-reader, you should download Angel Eyes, by Alex Westhaven (from Amazon). It's the most thrilling thriller I've read in ages!

mshatch said...

Have you read Daughter of Smoke and Bone?

Jessie Humphries said...

Variant is the bomb! Wait, is that saying out of date, like dumb t-shirts? ;)

Heather Henry said...

I definitely agree with you on the insults, I don't understand why being rude has become okay and being nice or kind, is frowned upon. I like your positive, upbeat attitude and you are good at spreading it around.
Very exciting to hear about the Stephen King book. I haven't read his stuff in quite awhile, but now I'm thinking I need to. Sounds like a great book!

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