It's scary to realize my equilibrium is so fragile that finishing the new Stephen King book I've been looking forward to for months can leave me feeling there is nothing good ahead of me in life. Hell, if nothing else, there's always Lisey's Story, which comes out in October. I've also come to realize that, for now anyway, I cannot engage in online discussions about King unless they are populated solely with slobbering fanboys like myself. His work has just helped me through too many bad times, and I find myself wanting to kneecap anyone who trashes him, especially since seven times out of ten they're doing so without having read the book in question. In the past, it's never been much of a problem for me to remind myself that it is OK for other people not to like the same authors I like, even if said authors are my friends and/or the criticism is stupid, personal, and/or inaccurate. Now, though, if I so much as see a "King sucks" post on a friend's journal, I start gnashing my teeth. I shall avoid provocation for a while.

Anyway, I loved Cell, which in addition to the Soul Kitchen store contained sympathetic references to Hurricane Katrina refugees, derogatory references to FEMA, and another, less topical thing I won't mention because it's a bit of a spoiler, but anyone who has read the book will understand why it made me happy.

According to the Mary Sue Purity Test, Rickey is a borderline Mary Sue (he scored 46). I will not allow myself to find this discouraging, given that characters like Eugene Gant (Look Homeward, Angel) and Jack Torrance (The Shining) are probably also "Mary Sues" by this test's standards.

eBay auctions end today, including the hand-annotated Soul Kitchen manuscript as well as some less rare but more affordable items.