11/22/63 by Stephen King
On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. Unless…
In 2011, Jake Epping, an English teacher from Lisbon Falls, Maine, sets out on an insane — and insanely possible — mission to prevent the Kennedy assassination.
Leaving behind a world of computers and mobile phones, he goes back to a time of big American cars and diners, of Lindy Hopping, the sound of Elvis, and the taste of root beer.
In this haunting world, Jake falls in love with Sadie, a beautiful high school librarian. And, as the ominous date of 11/22/63 approaches, he encounters a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald…
For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge
The Reason
This book is a reread. I read it a while ago and remember loving it but not much else. I watched the film adaptation a couple of years ago and wanted to reread then but didn’t, and then I found it as a buddy read recently, so I thought why not.
The Quotes
“When all else fails, give up and go to the library.”
“I’m one of those people who doesn’t really know what he thinks until he writes it down.”
“If you’ve ever been homesick, or felt exiled from all the things and people that once defined you, you’ll know how important welcoming words and friendly smiles can be.”
“We never know which lives we influence, or when, or why.”
The Narrator(s)
Craig Wasson. Okay, I don’t know if it’s a narrator issue or a sound engineer issue, but the volume inconsistencies were painful, literally, to my ears. The narration and the different character voices were great, in themselves, but there were parts where the characters shouted, or spoke harshly, and they were loud and painful! If I turned down the volume, I couldn’t hear the quiet parts well. If I turned up the volume, I had to brace for pain. It was not fun.
My Thoughts
The audiobook wasn’t fun because of the volume issues, but the story itself was amazing, and I think I love it more the second time around! Partly because it was a buddy read; reading with others and having discussions about the book help me notice details I otherwise wouldn’t have noticed, and make me think about things more.
Also, funny enough, while I’m still unhappy about the volume issues with the audiobook, I feel like listening to it this time around actually helped me notice some things I didn’t before, especially with some of the theme and repetitions in the story. It’s interesting because I usually notice things more on print and miss a lot of details when I’m listening to a book, but I think when things get repeated so many times, and if the narrator emphasizes those parts, I definitely take notice.
This audiobook was a 30-hour chonker but it was such an incredible journey. I got so much more out of it this time, and I’m definitely thinking of rereading it again eventually because I believe there’s still more to get out of it!
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
I’ve been contemplating reading this for a while! I’ve only read Carrie by Stephen King, but thought this concept was more to my liking (I don’t care for horror). But the size has definitely put me off to reading it. I thought about doing the audiobook but 30 hours is so much!
Oh but it’s so worth it! I hope you do end up reading it and loving it! There’s also a limited series based on the book that’s quite true to the story, if that’s more your jam.