Group Read: The Stand

Me and Marcia are planning a group read for The Stand by Stephen King. With group reads the motto always stands, "The More, The Merrier", so please feel free to join in if you are interested in reading this book.

The planned lift-off date is April, 1 and the expected date of finish is Dec, 2009.

The version I have has 78 chapters and we plan to read it in chunks of 9 chapters per month. This ofcourse is only a suggestion, individuals would definitely take their own call on their reading speed.

The Stephen King group (King's Dear Constant Readers) is also doing a group read of The Stand. I'll be happy to participate in this read of it, too! Thanks!

Hi!
I would like to join your group read of The Stand. I have never read it, but I have heard good things about it. It has been a while since I read any Stephen King. Should be fun! :)
--BJ

Hi Georgia and billie,

Glad to have you two here, I am sure we will have a grand time reading The Stand. It would be my first Stephen King this year and am really looking forward to it.

Hello! As the aforementioned Marcia, I shall be joining in. Hopefully it will go better than my group read of War and Peace, which I've just about decided might be too much while college is in session. I'm hoping The Stand will be a little less challenging. I've never really read any Stephen King and have always wanted to, so it should be exciting!

I'm in, too. I'm a sucker for Stephen King, and this in an all time fave. Okay, okay, so it's a re-read! I know. I am psyched to discuss it with you fine folk, though!

I'm also rereading The Stand with Georgia and the King's Dear Constant Readers group but I will stop in here and join in. I actually just got the uncut version (what a beast!) I read the edited version some 20 years ago.

Here are the two threads fromthe other group read, I interested.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/56451

http://www.librarything.com/topic/59232

I am here cheering you guys on as you read. The Stand is not for me, but I hope you have a wonderful time with the group read!

Stasia, if you start it now, you can be done by bedtime and post your review here. ;)

I'd like to join in -- I've never managed to make it the entire way through the beastly unabridged version, even though King is one of my very favorite authors.

Looking forward to it!

Come on Stasia, do join us, (with innocent puppy eyes) The Stand is not scary at all :)

#11: Somehow, I do not trust your innocent puppy eyes, Piyush. I wonder why?

#9: Whose bedtime, Cal?

Yours, I go to bed much earlier than you!

Well, I guess that all depends on how you look at it :) , but I am still not reading it, Piyush's puppy dog eyes notwithstanding.

Cultural differences not withstanding, no one trusts my puppy eyes :(

Nope, not a book for me either...

I finally started the book. We were supposed to read it in Feb. and March for King's DCR group read but I just got the book. I will be early for this group and late for the other. :)

I have tried to read the Stand six times and given up every time. I'm going to try again.

If it makes you feel better, the middle of the book is hard to get through but the end is so worth it.

I got my copy at B&N today, so I am all set.
--BJ

I read the extended version last year, my one and only book by Stephen King that I've read. I hope you all enjoy it.

Oooh I just noticed that my mom bought this one sometime last year, so I'll also be reading this with you all. :) Apparently this version has between 500 and 600 pages, so I'll probably finish it during the summer. ;) I've wanted to read this one for quite some time now, but I always forgot about when I was at the library. xD

Hi all!

Hope you have all started with The Stand, I finished Chapter 1 today and while it is too early to say, I did like it so far.

I started it a couple of weeks ago for the King's Dear Constant Reader's group. I borrowed the big, fat, mammoth uncut edition from the library. I'm a couple of hundred pages in and I'm still liking it. I remember when I read it 20 or so years ago, It was boring in the middle but the ending made up for it.

I've read both versions, the uncut a couple of times, love it and would love to join in. The trouble for me with The Stand, I don't think I'll be able to read just 9 chapters a month. I always seem to get so caught up in it that I finish it in a few days. Not that I'm going to let that stop me, mind, but I might not start right away. Or maybe I will and just try really really hard to restrain myself.

P.S. Unlike apparently everyone else, I loved the middle part almost as much as the beginning and the end, although I have to agree with whoever said it was sort of like three different books written by three different authors, rather than just one, each part being so, um, different.

I started today! :)
--BJ

I already finished with this month's reading and a bit more :P
But now I have shut it up for good and wont open it till next month :)

I am not joining officially, because I just reread The Stand in December, but it is my favourite King book, and one that I have read many, many times, so I might butt in on the discussion, as long as that is ok!

Like Storeetllr, I love the middle section on the book - I actually think that the ending is the worst part! Enjoy you guys!

I read this month's reading also. I might find it hard to wait to go on. But I need to read more on DQ and W&P, so I will stop for now.
--BJ

I drove 45 miles to where my books are being stored just to get my uncut version of The Stand, but I could find only the original version so brought that home with me. I figure that, when I mess up and read the entire thing in one week (since my will power is nowhere near as strong as Piyush's), I can then go back and find the uncut version and read that one. Maybe by then I'll be able to restrain myself... Then again, probably not.

Cait
Please feel free to join in, it is good to hear nice things about the middle section of a long book.

billiejean
I have finished my this month's W&P too, now only have DQ to complete amongst my present group reads.

Mary
LOL, My will power isn't as strong as you make it to be, I have to keep the book out of my sight to be able to resist (in another apartment, 20 KM away from my parents' house to be precise)

:)

I guess I should confess that last night, in lieu of the early review novel I SHOULD have been reading, I finished 17 Chapters of the original edition of The Stand.

It was SO good!

We can understand your dilemma!

I've read 64 pages so far. My version only has 520 pages, so I don't think it's going to take me very long to finish it. There are quite a few books that I need to return to the library this month, so I'm going to have to read those first. Will try to read a few pages of The Stand every week, but won't be able to really read much before June. Loving it so far though! Can't wait to read more. :)

Well, I am up to page 534. I did manage to finish my Early Review novel, but I haven't gotten round to writing my review of it yet, because I can't seem to stop myself from reading The Stand every possible free moment of my day! :)

ETA my edition has 823 pages.

I'm to page 257. I have to return it to the library but I will definitely be picking it back up later in the week!

I have managed to hide my copy for a few weeks, it is so d**n addictive!

I was a very bad girl. I finished The Stand last night. Very satisfying, and then I had dreams.

I haven't read any further in the stand since I read the first 64 pages sometime last month. So I'm finally going to start reading again this week. :)

Storeetllr

Congratulations on completing the book, glad to know you liked it and do tell us more about the dreams.

Tammiejx
Good for you, it will still be some time before I take back to reading this book.

I'm still plugging along. It's been nice out and now I am in a slump. I'm about 300 pages in and am stuck.

Piyush ~ I used to remember my dreams clearly, but these days I seem able to retain only the vaguest impressions. I just know my dreams that night were unpleasant and somehow threatening, leaving me feeling troubled and out-of-sorts when I awoke and certain that it had to do with events in The Stand. In a way I am glad I can't remember exactly what it was I dreamed. I would not like to know that Flagg was haunting my dreams. *brrrr*

Just checking in to say, as in the other group reads, that I am behind in my groups due to my daughter's graduation, but I hope to catch up soon. Also, I don't think that my book has the same number of chapters as others have. I have the Complete and Uncut version -- whatever that means. Do we have a target end date? I can use that to kind of divide up the book. I saw that it was on tv last night. But I did not watch it. Don't want to spoil the book!
--BJ

I have the uncut version and I'm still reading it too. If you go in order of publication the abridged version would be first but I only had the uncut version available to me so that's what I am tackling. The 75 book group is reading the Stand as a group read so I use that as my excuse. They are reading it through December. King's Dear COnstant Reader group is pretty laid back so whenever you want to post and talk about it, go ahead! We are always glad to discuss King.

I'm to the part where Nick Andros overcame his infected leg and had the dream that he could talk and hear.

Thanks so much. I can figure out how to divide it from there. :)
--BJ

HAHAHA I have to laugh at myself! I just realized that I wrote a response for the King's Dear Constant Reader group not this group. Whoops!

Here is what I should have wrote in message 45.

We are taking this group read pretty slow and I think the target end date is in December.

My library only had the uncut monster version available so that's what I'm reading.

The King's Dear Constant Reader group read the abridged version of The Stand for their Feb/March group read but I am using this group as an excuse for not getting it done on time. ;) They are reading King's books in order of publication as monthly group reads and the uncut version wasn't released for awhile after the abridged version but I'm at the mercy of the library.

Hey, cal!
I had heard about the group reads of all of his books over there, so I knew exactly what you meant. :)
--BJ

:)

Finally, a group read I am well in sync with! I am too afraid to visit the W&P and DQ group read threads.

Apologies for the delay in post.

We will be reading Chapter 19 to 27 this month, Chapter 19 in my book starts with, "It had been so long since Larry had been in Times Square..."

I recetnly started this book and reached page 300. My copy is "complete and uncut" with 78 chapters and has 1153 pages. I will have to read it at a faster pace or I may forget all the characters.

Hi! Just checking in on my group reads today. I am still reading about 9 chapters a month of the Complete and Uncut version, so I am still on track with the book. I seem to do ok keeping up with all the characters at this pace. Maybe later when I am more caught up on things, I will read a bit more each month. :)
--BJ

Still plugging along. I'm about halfway through, Mother Abigal and the gang have just left her farm to head west.

I'm finding myself getting bogged down in just about the same places as the last time I read it. It was boring to me from just after the epidemic until Mother and the rest headed out west. I realize that the background on the characters was needed but.....Yawn.

I am right about where you are. I am sticking to 9 chapters a month because of all the juggling of books, but I think that this one is starting to get interesting. I love the Mother Abagail character.
--BJ

Just checking in once again to say that I read the 9 chapters for September.
--BJ

Just checking in to say that I read the 9 chapters for October. I am thinking about going ahead and finishing it up for Halloween. I am not sure yet. It is still holding my interest. :)
--BJ

I decided to go ahead and finish this book since I was so close to the end, and I really enjoyed it. It was a great read, so thanks for the group to encourage me to read it!
--BJ