Grading: Just After Sunset

[Aaron]

Just After Sunset

Scribner, 2008

Round 2, Group III

Grading for this Book is Closed

Entertainment Quality:
2.235294117 (Graded B)

Memorability:
2.117647058 (Graded B-)

Plot Delivery:
2.235294117 (Graded B)

Overall Average Grade:
2.19607843 (Graded B-)

Combined Round 1 & 2 scores:
6.168300652

[Aaron]

bump

[mae]

Great stuff as always! Love King's short works.

AAA

[jayson]

CBC and that's being very generous. I thought "N" was great. Everything else was mediocre at best, drivel at worst.

[Heather19]

I guess I'm going to have to hurry up and finish those last couple of stories so I can vote for this one.

[Sam]

All A's

[Tiffany]

All B's for me.

[theyspunaweb]

One chapter away...

[ManOfWesternesse]

B, B, C. (Don't ask - just felt I had to give it a C for something - there were a few weak (at best) stories in here (alongside some good ones, granted).)

[theyspunaweb]

BAB for me. to justify...I really read into what we were voting on for this book. I didn't really care for a lot of the stories in the book, but for what we were grading them on, that's what seemed right. And there were a few stories I liked.

Entertainment - I was entertained through most stories. 2 of them put me to sleep, but the rest entertained me wether I ended up liking the story or not. B

Memorability - I think if you told me the title of each of these stories, I could tell you what each was about...maybe because they were all "short stories" or I liked them/didn't like them. Or because it was the most recent book I have read. In any case, memorable. A

Effectiveness of plot - I guess this is where the if I liked it part comes in. I liked about 3 stories. The rest were so-so or not. B

[Daghain]

Never read.

When is the paperback out again?

[Melike]

Never read. I have to read this one...

[Jon]

I found only 3 stories I felt worth my time to read. "Stationary Bike" was s0o-so. Maybe 3.5 then.

[Jean]

I hurried to vote "Never read", and right after that a student got me a .pdf file. Now that the ordeal is over, I will go and edit my vote, and it will be CCC. Could have been DDD, were there such an option.

BAB for me. to justify...I really read into what we were voting on for this book. I didn't really care for a lot of the stories in the book, but for what we were grading them on, that's what seemed right. And there were a few stories I liked.

For me, there were none. There were two reading which I didn't have to struggle with irresistible somnolence - Rest Stop and Mute. It would, however, be a giant stretch to say that I liked them.

Entertainment - I was entertained through most stories. 2 of them put me to sleep, but the rest entertained me wether I ended up liking the story or not. B

Only two put you to sleep? Which two?

Memorability - I think if you told me the title of each of these stories, I could tell you what each was about...maybe because they were all "short stories" or I liked them/didn't like them. Or because it was the most recent book I have read. In any case, memorable. A

I really don't think that's what is meant by "memorability"; it should have as little as possible with your memory being good or bad, in my opinion... for example, bears are cursed with worst memory in the world: they remember everything they read or hear, provided it's verbal; the quality of the text doesn't have anything to do with it. I think "memorability" is rather the quality of staying with you, staying important for you, becoming part of your own experience. None of these story will ever be that for me, I'm afraid.

Effectiveness of plot - I guess this is where the if I liked it part comes in. I liked about 3 stories. The rest were so-so or not. B

Which three? I think the plot was deplorable everywhere, except maybe Mute, where it was marginally passable.

[jayson]

Excepting "N" I largely agree with Jean. Straight D's would have been apt. Despite really not enjoying these stories, F's are a bit too harsh as I did actually finish the stories instead of dismissing them, but I had to force myself to do so.

[alinda]

I am reading them now, and so far ( actually reading stationary bike) I am ok with them, I liked rest stop too. Thanks Jean for sharing that file with me.

[mae]

Wow, Jean. Harsh.

But then again I'm a huge fan of King's short stories so each collection is a treat for me, and among my most treasured King books.

[Patrick]

I love short stories, and I've liked the ones I've read so far that appear in this book. However I have not yet read all the stories, so I marked this, "Never read."

[BillyxRansom]

BCB

[theyspunaweb]

I hurried to vote "Never read", and right after that a student got me a .pdf file. Now that the ordeal is over, I will go and edit my vote, and it will be CCC. Could have been DDD, were there such an option.

BAB for me. to justify...I really read into what we were voting on for this book. I didn't really care for a lot of the stories in the book, but for what we were grading them on, that's what seemed right. And there were a few stories I liked.

For me, there were none. There were two reading which I didn't have to struggle with irresistible somnolence - Rest Stop and Mute. It would, however, be a giant stretch to say that I liked them.

Entertainment - I was entertained through most stories. 2 of them put me to sleep, but the rest entertained me wether I ended up liking the story or not. B

Only two put you to sleep? Which two?

Memorability - I think if you told me the title of each of these stories, I could tell you what each was about...maybe because they were all "short stories" or I liked them/didn't like them. Or because it was the most recent book I have read. In any case, memorable. A

I really don't think that's what is meant by "memorability"; it should have as little as possible with your memory being good or bad, in my opinion... for example, bears are cursed with worst memory in the world: they remember everything they read or hear, provided it's verbal; the quality of the text doesn't have anything to do with it. I think "memorability" is rather the quality of staying with you, staying important for you, becoming part of your own experience. None of these story will ever be that for me, I'm afraid.

Effectiveness of plot - I guess this is where the if I liked it part comes in. I liked about 3 stories. The rest were so-so or not. B

Which three? I think the plot was deplorable everywhere, except maybe Mute, where it was marginally passable.

Jean, I understand what you're saying about everything, but I still stick with my answers. If the categories were different, I would have scored them different. It was the most recent book so how could I score memorability any other way?

The stories that I liked were N., The Gingerbread Girl, and Stationary Bike. I thought all 3 were memorable in their own way, although maybe SB could have been shorter as some have suggested. Other stories like The Cat From Hell, and A Very Tight Place, Mute, The Things the Left Behind, etc....I feel like are all very memorable, while I didn't think they were great. How could you forget being in a Portapotty like that? or A killer cat going down your throat...or being involved in 9/11? Not the best but memorable.

Maybe I'm alone in this but I was put to sleep during both Willa and Rest Stop. I skipped Rest Stop originally because I couldn't get into the beggining of it on the bus, when I returned, it was an easy read, but I don't understand why some people find that story out of the bunch to be worthwhile.

[Ruthful]

Excepting "N" I largely agree with Jean. Straight D's would have been apt. Despite really not enjoying these stories, F's are a bit too harsh as I did actually finish the stories instead of dismissing them, but I had to force myself to do so.

I wouldn't go that far. There aren't that many memorable or very entertaining stories, and I would definitely put this at the bottom in terms of King's short story collections, but overall it was worth reading, IMO. Not in the same category as total dreck, e.g. The Tommyknockers, Cujo, The Cell-I'm assuming, because I've never actually read Cell, etc...

If I could use any word to encapsulate this collection it would be "pedestrian."

[mae]

It's very interesting to read this. And of course everyone's opinion is their own, but I find it just a little odd that this collection seems to have a lot of dislike toward it and is doing rather poorly in this round, yet other short fiction collections like Night Shift and Nightmares and Dreamscapes didn't even get into Round 2 as wildcards.

[alinda]

Right , I have for a time wondered when Sai King would include a member of this board into one of his stories, having now finished Stationary Bike

Spoiler:

I think having Micheal in it was too cool.

Who's next I wonder? Back on topic tho' I am enjoying the stories so far, maybe they are not his best work, but they are all imaginative, and light years ahead of anything I could articulate, so I will thus far give it B's and suggest that may improve to all A's by the time I am finished.

[jayson]

It's very interesting to read this. And of course everyone's opinion is their own, but I find it just a little odd that this collection seems to have a lot of dislike toward it and is doing rather poorly in this round, yet other short fiction collections like Night Shift and Nightmares and Dreamscapes didn't even get into Round 2 as wildcards.

Perhaps had it been short story collection versus short story collection this one would have shown its place among all the others. Instead we did it chronologically so the older short stories went up against the older books which were good and JAS went up against newer books which are not as well liked. Just a theory.

[mae]

It's very interesting to read this. And of course everyone's opinion is their own, but I find it just a little odd that this collection seems to have a lot of dislike toward it and is doing rather poorly in this round, yet other short fiction collections like Night Shift and Nightmares and Dreamscapes didn't even get into Round 2 as wildcards.

Perhaps had it been short story collection versus short story collection this one would have shown its place among all the others. Instead we did it chronologically so the older short stories went up against the older books which were good and JAS went up against newer books which are not as well liked. Just a theory.

Still, there were wildcards, the six highest scoring losing books, and they missed out.