I’m reading Stephen King’s Under the Dome,
with the #DomeAlong. Sign up and join us!
#DomeAlong Posts:
The Dome and the Darkling Plain
Under the Dome Update: Left Hanging
I’m Going Under the Dome for a Summer Readalong!
#DomeAlong Status:
Status: Finshed! 1,072 pages.
Impression: Whoa, that was IN-tense! The word smote comes to mind. I kept expecting someone to turn into a pillar of salt. And let’s just say I will never look at ants the same way again. (Cue the Dave Matthews song.)
Latest Takeaway: Trippy read. A psychological thriller/mystery, but there was plenty of really scary stuff. I am a bit worn out by this book, because you really feel trapped like the characters at the end. Overall, I definitely recommend, and it makes me want to read more Stephen King.
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Status: On p. 923
Impression: Some horrific and disturbing Halloween imagery via character premonitions. Even the children in Chester’s Mill are dreading the approach of Halloween, just days away.
Latest Takeaway: This would make a great, scary pick for a pre-Halloween read in October.
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Status: On p. 801
Impression: King quotes T. S. Eliot: “Let us go then, you and I, when the evening is spread out against the sky like a patient etherized upon a table.”
Latest Takeaway: You’d think he’d quote from The Waste Land, but it’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.
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Status: On p. 753
Impression: Another cameo by Jack Reacher! Apparently Jackie served with him in the Army.
Latest Takeaway: Now I’m thinking Reacher might just swoop in and save the day. #LiteraryCrossovers
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Status: On p. 731
Impression: My head is spinning with King’s prolific culture and pop-culture references. Beyond the aforementioned apocalyptic allusions, he tosses out nods to the Great Pumpkin, LOST, Dancing with the Stars, Ray Bradbury (natch!), Ploughshares, Readers Digest, The Mist (meta!), James McMurtry, Lynyrd Skynyrd, several Christian rock songs, and George Bernard Shaw’s play Major Barbara (about a christian charity funded by a whiskey distiller … sound familiar?!). Lee Child’s Jack Reacher even makes a cameo appearance on p. 710. My favorite so far is when Linda calls the empty, automated radio station “the RadioLand version of the Mary Celeste.”
Latest Takeaway: Oh, I really, really, REALLY miss Uncle Stevie’s columns in Entertainment Weekly!
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Status: On p. 611
Impression: So much action and so many characters keep me guessing. I hate it when books get predictable, but no danger of that here. King is still throwing curve balls. Oh, and that character guide in front is vital.
Latest Takeaway: I probably shouldn’t take breaks when reading this novel as makes it harder to keep track. What happened to Jack Evans? I remember what happened to Myra … but have spaced Jack.
UPDATE: I tracked down Jack Evans via the awesome Stephen King Wikia, which is searchable for *every* character. Clutch!
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Impression: After teasing allusions to Lord of the Flies and On the Beach (plus Alas, Babylon which I haven’t read), society is unraveling Under the Dome. Unrest, anarchy, and isolation …
Latest Takeaway: I’m so distracted by several intense subplots (à la 24) that I have almost forgotten about the actual Dome. Almost.
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Status: On p. 431
Impression: Fast read! I was hesitant to start another giant book after Storm of Swords. But, Under the Dome is not as dense, in writing style or in words per page—so I am flying along!
Latest Takeaway: The kids are really starting to creep me out. Spooky, prophesying children = vintage Stephen King.
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Status: On p. 360
Impression: Ok, there are some really messed-up people in this story. Beyond the paranormal, King ratchets up the tension with menacing characters at large in smalltown USA.
Latest Takeaway: I’m starting to think (like Reverend Coggins) the Almighty has smote this town thanks to some really bad stuff that has gone down.
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Status: On p. 219
Impression: This book is addictive and it is for real. Not just a good start that peters out, all too common in thrillers.
Latest Takeaway: The police force ‘clustermug’ so scary and unsettling. For sure, “this is not as bad as it gets!”
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Status: On p. 82
Impression: Intrigued (and feeling hooked!) from the very first page.
Latest Takeaway: Already I have that tingly thrill of anticipation that I used to get from watching LOST. Like that show, I am **left hanging**… as my book still hasn’t arrived in the mail.
#DomeAlong Posts:
Under the Dome Update: Left Hanging
I’m Going Under the Dome for a Summer Readalong!
Under the Dome Readathon Sign-up
Under the Dome, tv mini-series
Love your breakdown! I wish I was organized to document my notes this way as I read it. Makes sense for a 1,000+ page book! I can’t wait to watch the series once I finish the book, which should be any day now. And thanks for pointing out it’s a Jack Reacher reference from the actual book and not some random coincidence, which I was up in the air about that at first!
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This breakdown is great! I stopped reading when you got beyond my page count, but I’ll check it again when I finish! 🙂
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Thanks Katie! I tried not to give spoilers, but I think I may have gushed in a spoilery way.
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I can’t hold that against you in the slightest- I’m the queen of accidental spoilers. 🙂
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I agree about how you felt at the end of the book. I really felt bad for the characters, even the ones who made it alive at the end of the book. I love King’s pop-culture references. They are always so fun to find. I am about to look through all your posts on the Dome!
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Thanks Angie!
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It really is vintage King. I feel like I’m reading a old western where the good guys are all dressed in white and the bad guys are all dressed in black. King always does the unexpected when it comes to killing off his characters – broke my heart some of the times in this one. I have mixed feelings about the reason for the dome although it is an interesting concept.
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Love your play-by-play! I agree with all your points. I was kind of worn out too around page 800 or so, ready to be at the end. (Like the last couple hours of a 10-hour drive, or something.)
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