To bookend yesterday's post: why keep buying all these Stephen King books? Well, I have LOST to thank, as well as the Harry Potter books.
One of the biggest, most rewarding elements of watching LOST and reading all seven Harry Potter books is how there's a great human story combined with lots of payoff for those paying attention to details. You are rewarded for rewatching an old episode or re-reading a passage based on what you know happens later.
In other words, this stuff isn't just meant to be a standalone venture. If you're a fan, you'll be rewarded handsomely.
As somebody who likes seeing references doubling as Easter eggs, Stephen King's body of work is filled with them. That's why I wanted to pick up the entire Dark Tower series, as well as books like It, The Stand, and The Tommyknockers. Sure, you can get plenty out of just reading the books by themselves, but there's a lot going on with canon and continuity that you can't help noticing. That's why I get a kick out of seeing Arnette, Texas be referenced in "The Monkey" and The Stand. I like that Randall Flagg shows up a lot in different books. And I've got no problem seeing the towns of Hartford, Castle Rock, and Derry be repeated.
I can accept the criticism that this kind of minutiae is trivial, but I don't think it's trivial at all. Seeing that kind of stuff is further proof that the author really cares for those hardcore fans while also understanding you can't please everyone.
So yes, paying attention to the little things in life does help.
One of the biggest, most rewarding elements of watching LOST and reading all seven Harry Potter books is how there's a great human story combined with lots of payoff for those paying attention to details. You are rewarded for rewatching an old episode or re-reading a passage based on what you know happens later.
In other words, this stuff isn't just meant to be a standalone venture. If you're a fan, you'll be rewarded handsomely.
As somebody who likes seeing references doubling as Easter eggs, Stephen King's body of work is filled with them. That's why I wanted to pick up the entire Dark Tower series, as well as books like It, The Stand, and The Tommyknockers. Sure, you can get plenty out of just reading the books by themselves, but there's a lot going on with canon and continuity that you can't help noticing. That's why I get a kick out of seeing Arnette, Texas be referenced in "The Monkey" and The Stand. I like that Randall Flagg shows up a lot in different books. And I've got no problem seeing the towns of Hartford, Castle Rock, and Derry be repeated.
I can accept the criticism that this kind of minutiae is trivial, but I don't think it's trivial at all. Seeing that kind of stuff is further proof that the author really cares for those hardcore fans while also understanding you can't please everyone.
So yes, paying attention to the little things in life does help.
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