Can you really shut down your brain?

     

     I really must admit at the get go that I do not claim to be 
able to actually answer any of these questions, nor am I going to cite any studies or official sources of information on this subject or any other subject I bring up for that matter. I can only claim, and promise this, that I will try to speak of these topics from a personal point of view, out of personal experience, hoping that maybe you, or someone else out there, will come across it and think "someone out there is feeling the same as me and I am not alone".

     You will probably say that in this day and age and with the all encompassing existence of the internet no one still feels they are alone, no matter how rare, or weird for that matter, whatever it is they are experiencing may be. Well, true and not true. True because, Duh! I can't deny a fact like that, but not true because I believe in two things: one, that with everything on the internet brining everyone closer and connecting those who used to think they were lonely islands in the world, there was someone who started writing about it or posting about it or whatever about it at some point. Not only that, but people with a certain interest in a certain topic continue to post stuff about it. No one has ever reached a point regarding any topic on earth and said, "Oh, I guess there's enough of that out there. Let's declare this topic closed or on hold till further notice."
Just look at all the porn out there. Not that I know of it myself, but people talk.

     The second thing I believe in with regards to this point is that maybe my post, my meagre little two cents on the subject turn out to be the post that you read from among all the heaps out there. Maybe my words strike the chord and you can make that connection you were longing for and that brought you here in the first place. And yes, I do believe my words can have that effect. Well, not really, but I kind of hope so.

     So, to sum up, there are loads of stuff out there already on almost any and all topics. Someone started it and people have never stopped since despite the enormous information already out there. So I will also continue to add to the pile. And despite the pile being humungous, my words could be the needle and you could be the lucky one to find it in the haystack.

     Now that being said, you may wonder when I will begin dazzling you with my unprecedented insights and heart-felt words, and gut-wrenching prose that will bestow upon you the epiphany of your life?

     Well, I already have. You see, the topic is, Can You Really shut down your brain? And the five previous paragraphs you've been wading to until now are the answer to that question, No, you can't really shut down your brain. No matter what you do, your brain will continue to think and come up with ideas words and images that can be world-changing or in other cases, like what I have just been writing and you have just read.

     So, before you curse me or throw something at your screen and before you start sending hate messages to me on Facebook or Twitter (I won't mind it by the way, I am desperate for attention), hear me out. If I, since I cannot get to shut down my brain, have taken these past few minutes from your life and have had the audacity to type out these words and post them to waste the time of unassuming poor souls such as yourself, then you might as well do the same. I know you can't shut down your brain either (the title did grab your

attention after all), and now you are either so angry at me, or so amused by my wit, or so impressed by my abilities, in all cases, now is the best time for your to pull out a fresh page and take it out on the world!
You are, after all, unable to shut down your brain, might as well

lay it down on the world, because when you do, I'm quite sure you will send into the world something better than what you've just read, and maybe, just maybe, you can actually get to make a difference.


M.Refaat
2nd March, 2015
On an airplane to Dubai.

Stephen King: A suggested reading list

        When it comes to Stephen King, I find it difficult to choose what his best novel is. This could be in part because I am a big fan and my opinion is biased, it could also be in part to the fact that I am still very much behind on reading enough of his work to be able to make such distinctions. So, when asked "what should I read first if I want to begin reading Stephen King?", I can only draw on my own experience which admittedly isn't very long, but I think can be helpful nonetheless.

Stephen King writes big books and although they are engaging enough to keep you hooked and entertained throughout, they still can be off-putting for the uninitiated. So bearing all the above in mind, here is what I think a new reader of Stephen King should start with: (click on any name to go to its Amazon page for more reviews)

1- The Shining

2- The Dark Half                         

3- Bag of Bones

This is not by any means a list of my top three SK books but if you have it in you to read big books then you should read these and in this order, I read them all can attest to that.

If you prefer starting of with something a little shorter then Misery and Carrie are for you and of course you must not miss the most famous SK story, The Shining.

1- Misery

2- Carrie

3- The Shining

If you would like fast paced easy reads and more recent King books then you can begin with Mr. Mercedes, which is a great crime thriller and then move down the list. 11/22/63 is a monster of a book but worth every second of reading. If you don't want to tackle a book this size, then of course, yes you said it, go for The Shining

1- Mr. Mercedes

2- Revival (you can also check my review of Revival here)

3- 11/22/63

                  

Here is a list of the Stephen King novels I have read in case you would like to discuss any of them of ask about any of them. Below that are the SK novels on my To-Be-Read list.

Have been read:

• 11/22/63
• Bag of Bones
• The Dark Half
• Doctor Sleep
• Joyland
• Mr. Mercedes
• Revival
• The Shining

On my TBR list:

Misery

The Stand

Lisey's Story

Needful Things

Pet Sematary

Salem's Lot

Carrie

Cell

Desperation

Duma Key

Gerald's Game

It

Thank you very much for reading. Enjoy your journey into the vortex that is Stephen King writing.

WARNING: if you get hooked it will be bad for your wallet and for your time. You have been warned!

Revival

“Lightning never strikes the same place twice,” or so the common wisdom goes. However, unlike lightning, Stephen King strikes over and over and over again.

With his latest book, REVIVAL, released in November of last year, American author Stephen King adds yet another juicy, entertaining and well-thought story to a long line of successes that started with Carrie and ending with Mr. Mercedes (his last novel published before Revival in June of 2014). Although Revival might not rise to the status of some of his other stories such as The Shining or IT, it still does present us with a very rich reading experience. And here’s why.

First off, if you’ve ever listened to any of King’s interviews you will know one important fact about his story telling (and if you haven’t listened to his interviews, I am about to tell you anyway!), he always builds his stories around ideas of What If? Regular, mundane, everyday occurrences that he might encounter which then beg the question, What If? Then he takes that What If, runs with it, and then brings us these entertaining stories that he’s been sending out into the world since the seventies.

Revival is no different in being another one of those What If stories. I can’t really tell you the What If in this book because then I would be giving away some important plot points. But it begins with a young priest, a 5-year old boy, and a lot of what ifs in between until it reaches the climactic ending.

Another important fact about Stephen King’s story telling that shows very well in Revival is his complicated multi-dimensional characters. In Revival, the character of the priest, Reverend Jacobs is the one that stuck with me more, but it was a fulfilling experience to follow this character’s development over the course of the 400+ pages and the five decades over which the story unfolds.

Revival was released worldwide last November but is hitting our shelves recently, and you should pick it up because it has something for everyone. If you never read a Stephen King novel before, this could be a good starting point. If you are a fan, well you really don’t need this review anyway; we both now you’re going to read it no matter what I say. If you are in it for an entertaining read, then you will get the great characters, interesting plot line, and an above-average ending, that doesn’t take away from your overall journey.

But after all that being said, the beauty and strength of Revival and the reason I chose it as a subject for this review is that it’s thought-provoking. In this story, the author tackles so many themes, I’m not even sure he intended to highlight all of them but they struck a chord with his readers nonetheless. There are aspects of friendship, religion, faith, family, addiction, recovery and the big question of what happens after death. The great thing about King is that he does not force his opinions on the reader. He does express them, but he gives you, the reader, room to make up your own mind. And man is your mind going to be tripping after this book!

I can easily say that Revival is one of the most influential books that I have ever read. And the theme of lighting that runs through the whole story felt like the perfect metaphor for what I felt was going on in my mind after finishing it. Even if you don’t want to bother yourself with too many existential questions you are still in for a great ride. I can at least promise you that within the first fifty pages you will encounter one of the few scenes that will linger in your memory or a long time after closing the book.