Friday Reads: Misery

Is there anything more suited to October than a Stephen King novel? Adam Pellman tells us about Misery this week.

Adam Pellman with Misery by Stephen King

I was really into Stephen King during my junior high and high school years, but at this point it's been close to two decades since I read one of his novels.  I'm very much looking forward to jumping back into his work, and since this novel was recently recommended to me by horror writer (and Seton Hill professor) Michael Arnzen, it seemed like the perfect choice.  It also counts toward my reading challenge for the year, which is to read one book published each year since I was born.  This will be my choice from 1987.  Here's an excerpt from the book's publisher description:

"Paul Sheldon, author of a bestselling series of historical romances, wakes up one winter day in a strange place, a secluded farmhouse in Colorado.  He wakes up to unspeakable pain (a dislocated pelvis, a crushed knee, two shattered legs) and to a bizarre greeting from the woman who has saved his life: 'I'm your number one fan!'

Annie Wilkes is a huge ex-nurse, handy with controlled substances and other instruments of abuse, including an axe and a blowtorch.  A dangerous psychotic with a Romper Room sense of good and bad, fair and unfair, Annie Wilkes may be Stephen King's most terrifying creation."