I enjoyed this book so much I have re-read it about a thousand times. Stephen King is my favorite author and I have almost all his books and this one is one of my top favorites! Would definitly recommend this book.

DIFFERENT SEASONS by Stephen King

I walked into this book thinking, wrongly, that it was all horror. Maybe that made the stories a little less entertaining for me, I'm not sure. What I liked about DIFFERENT SEASONS were mainly the characters and the writing style. All the characters seemed to have a life of their own; they were written wonderfully. The attention to detail in each novella made the settings come alive and made it that much more easy for me to sink myself into them. I think I enjoyed how each was written more than what was being written, with the exception of my favorite one. I thought RITA HAYWORTH AND SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION was by far the best of the 4 novellas; the story, characters, and how it was all put together flowed perfectly one scene to the next. For the other novellas I felt myself wishing that things went slightly different, but they were still enjoyable, just not my favorites. These stories weren't quite like anything I usually read so I wasn't exactly bouncing off the walls in excitement, but for those who love that genre, I'm sure they'd be more appreciated. To me, DIFFERENT SEASONS was a new experience, and the novellas were certainly interesting and unique to read.

Overall Opinion: B

Check out my blog for my full review, including my favorite quotes.

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I have never read anything by Stephen King before, maybe because there was always so much hype about his books that I just avoided them, but now I can see why. All of the stories were well written but I had to push myself through the book. I really didn't enjoy the stories as much as I thought I would but I will say that his books inspire great movies, so I guess that's something to his credit.

4 shorts; including source material for the films Stand By Me, Apt Pupil, & The Shawshank Redemption.
King takes a break from horror here... it's a fantastic book I always go back to.

He's done it again!

I liked some parts, but overall I hated how long this book was. Some parts really dragged. Like the whole last story. The Breathing Method was total crap. Shawshank was okay at best. Apt Pupil was better, and the Body plain sucked.

I give it 3 outta 5

I really enjoyed this book. I think that these books really show you can get a thrill or chill from somethings that aren't all gore and blood. He come in for the longer scare in the back door. The story the shawshank redemption is really quite fascinating and if you've only seen it on screen you should read it in the way it was meant to be.

I have been a King fan for years and have read many of his books, both the good ones and the bads ones. THis book has to be the best he has exer written.

Stephen King has proved himself to be one of the great contemporary writers with this body of work. A riveting page-turner from the start of Book One to the last page of Book 4, it is no wonder this book has inspired 3 major films. King's brilliant way of twisting and turning plot lines and his unbelievably imaginative ideas are both testaments to his brilliance. He shows the infalablity and evil that reside in some, yet also shows that hope does "spring eternal"

this book is very good if u like intense stories. Different Seasons is 4 stories in 1 book and each has its own emotion and its a very intense book so i suggest for u to check it out

Four entirely different short stories make this book up, three of which were made into great movies. 'Rita..& Shawshank' was every bit as great in the book as people rave the movie is. I would by this book on the strength of this short story alone! But there's more. Interviews I have heard with King have informed me that most of 'The Body' (Stand By Me) was based on his own childhood experiences, and fine ones they were. Once again King writes about children trying to survive the horrors of an adult world in the 50's and 60's. Another great tale! 'Apt Pupil' was a so-so story that starts off with true genuine suspense, but then trails off into a series of events that aren't quite explained and don't make sense. 'The Breathing Method' wasn't very good, but who cares? It's the shortest of all the stories, and hardly the attention grabber here. 'Shawshank' and 'The Body' are the two excellent stories that I strongly reccomend you read. 'Apt Pupil' is pretty good, and of course, a must for fans of the movie. I didn't even finish 'The Breathing Method'.

If you have seen and enjoyed the three movies The Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil and Stand By Me then this book is for you. Three of the four novellas are those movies (Rita Hayworth & The Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil and The Body)and every one of the novellas is BETTER than the movies, which themselves are excellent. The fourt story The Breathing Method was a bit of a dissapointment after the first three but it wasnt enough to bring the book down. A must read.

This book was great, absolutely one of his best. The stories were each magnificent, usually you only like a couple storys in a novella book but I found I loved all of them!

An excellent collection in which Stephen King truly shows what he's made of. "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" is a stirring testament to a man's hope, although somehow not as moving as the film. "The Body", one of the finest novellas I've ever read, is better than the movie ("Stand By Me") and could be one of King's most personal works. "Apt Pupil", also better than the film, is a terrifying portrait of homicidal mania. And the very Lovecraft-ian "Breathing Method" is just plain creepy. A fine sampling of stories from a master storyteller.