GOODNIGHT, FUCKERS #563: STEPHEN KING AND OBSESSION

 

I was in Anderson's not too long ago, and I broke my new rule about not buying any books. I'm moving soon, and I don't want to add to my burden. But I saw the book above on the shelf, and it occurred to me that I haven't read anything about King since, well, probably since he got hit by a van. And this book said it would talk about everything that happened after.

I thought, why not?

I used to obsess over a lot of things, and chief among them was Stephen King. I went out of my way to ravenously read everything he had available and a few things he didn't. I wasn't going to wind up stalking him like that guy from Finders Keepers, and I certainly wouldn't hold him captive like in Misery, but everything within reason? I would do.

I used to do this with a lot of things, and for some reason I stopped doing that. Maybe because there's just so much stuff out there nowadays. It's easy to overdose on stuff now. I blame the internet.

But it was nice to visit with an old friend. Bev Vincent is probably one of the biggest King experts currently on this planet, and he has access to a lot of very interesting things, which he showed us in this book. I very much enjoyed my time in this. It's neat that Fairy Tale was included, and I had my doubts that it would. But then, along the way, there are two mentions of a possible third book in the Jack Sawyer trilogy. It would have been nice, but if it happens, it will have to be without Peter Straub. It could work. King tried imitating Straub while writing The Talisman and Black House, so . . .

It's also interesting to see that King's next book will be about Holly Gibney. Well, a lot of things can change, of course, but it will probably happen. I'll bet it's going to be excellent. He's currently better than he's ever been right now. That will probably stick in a few craws, but I firmly believe that.

Funny story. One score and, like, a bunch of years ago my friend, Rob Tannahill, wrote and illustrated a few Stephen King stories using Beavis and Butt-Head as characters. The first of them was The Dork Half. So I decided to make photocopies and send it to Stephen King. I got a letter back from his assistant at the time saying that he enjoyed it a lot and was a huge Beavis and Butt-Head fan.

Fast forward to his Bag of Bones tour. I got to meet him, and I managed to ask him a couple of questions. First was for a paper I was writing for college. My thesis was essentially: Why is someone like Nathaniel Hawthorne taught to death in schools while current novelists (like King) are strictly ignored. It irritated me that I'd been taught The Scarlet Letter about four times throughout my academic career, and that's why I was writing this thing about canon. King's answer: "Because he's dead."

I'll bet that I'm the only one in that class who got a direct quote from one of his subjects in person.

The second question? I asked him if he remembered The Dork Half. He did. And then he did what I never expected to hear from him. He imitated Beavis and said, "Fire! Fire!"

It's a memory I will treasure for the rest of my life.

Sad story: Not long after I sent The Dork Half to Stephen King, there was a horrible accident that involved the loss of one of those pages. On a lighter note, if King kept his copy, he has the only complete copy in existence.

GOODNIGHT, FUCKERS #343: NOTEBOOKS I HAVE LOVED

 

I love notebooks. Always have. Every year just before school started, I'd con my grandparents into getting me extra notebooks, just in case. I even love those stupid spiral notebooks that usually fell apart pretty quickly or the wire would warp so you couldn't open it properly. To this day I still buy all kinds of notebooks that I will probably never use. Like the one above. My version has a different design on the cover, but otherwise it looks just like that. Handmade. You can still see the wood pulp in the paper. For some reason I thought I'd gotten it at the Bristol Ren Faire. Nope. Looking back I actually picked it up at Wizard World Chicago back when I still went to that wretched con. I still haven't used this notebook. I'm saving it for something special. I will probably write in it using my quill pen.

While still in high school I started writing my stories--the ones I would actually submit to fiction magazines--on these yellow legal pads. I was possibly inspired by Thad Beaumont in The Dark Half. I wrote in pencil--Black Warriors, not Black Beauties--and I was always happy with the result. I may one day return to this practice.

Then I started writing a nightly journal in composition notebooks. I felt I'd really classed myself up with this move. I used to write with Pilot Precise pens, but those wound up pissing me off because the tips were so easy to bend or break. Now I use a Uniball whenever writing in my journal. I rarely do this anymore because I write Goodnight, Fuckers instead.

I'm a huge fan of Field Notes, even though I only recently figured out what to do with one of them. I write down my ideas for Goodnight, Fuckers! In fact, Notebooks I Have Loved is written in my Field Notes. These were used by reporters back in the day. Watch on old fashioned black and white movie, and you will see reporters hounding City Hall while scribbling madly into these things. Sometimes I fantasize that I'm doing just that while writing in this thing.

I love a good Moleskine notebook. Hell, they're all good. I have one in which I write story ideas. Many of the books of mine you've enjoyed/despised had their starts in this notebook. I also got a Moleskine pen to go with it, but I stopped using it because it does not have a natural feel. Pens are supposed to be rounded for comfort, not squared so you kill your fingers every time you use one. Inspired by Warren Ellis on this one. Yeah, he suffered the consequences of his unsavory actions, and I'm glad he did, but credit where it's due.

Yes, I have a waterproof notebook. I have no idea what to do with it, but I like that I have it. I'll probably write in it with my space pen. Yes, I have a space pen. Jealous?

I also have a tiny notebook that looks like a Canadian passport. I bought it for the laugh. Who knows what I'll ever do with it. It's got a map of Canada in there, even though I was pretty familiar with it to start with. Well, more than most Americans. At least I know more than just Montreal and Toronto. There is even a list of helpful phrases for the French areas. Also, they list if an area has bears. Good to know.

The second fountain pen I bought came with this notebook. It looks pretty cool and sturdy. I imagine that when I figure out what to do with it, I will use that fountain pen to write in it.

That's the brief tour. What are your favorite notebooks? Please let me know in the comments and send me links so I can get them, too.