#the Bachman books

[thechaoticreader]

Rage Against Publishing

My thoughts on Rage being pulled from publishing and the outrage following.

Rage by Richard Bachman (pen name of Stephen King) is a highly controversial book written by a prolific author which hasn't been published since 1997 due to its subject matter. I see a TON of reviews and essays about how cancel culture got to it and the soft lefties are ruining publishing and I gotta say that I couldn't agree less. If you want to know why this book was taken out of print and Stephen Kings thoughts on the issue please please please read Guns (its on Kindle Unlimited), I'll be referring to it a lot.

Firstly, Stephen King himself asked for it to be pulled from publishing, no one called for its "cancellation" (at least not a significant amount of people), there was little to no public outcry, in fact it was a very niche novel that comparatively very few people even knew about!

On page 29 of Guns, he says "I didn't pull Rage from publication because the law demanded it... I pulled it because in my judgement it might be hurting people, and that made it the responsible thing to do." In my opinion getting mad at the decision to pull Rage shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship between literature and society; as well as an apathetic attitude towards gun violence and school shootings. It is absolutely true that media does not create school shooters but it can - and does - inspire those with the inclination to commit violent acts. Rage was found in the lockers, pockets, bookshelves and minds of young people who attempted and/or followed through with domestic terrorism. Did the book cause this? Certainly not. However it happened enough times for King to decide the responsible thing to do was to remove it saying "My book did not break [them]* or turn them into killers; they found something in my book that spoke to them because they were already broken. Yet I did see Rage as a possible accelerant, which is why I pulled it from sale." (Guns, 9)

*I chose to remove the names listed because I believe too much focus and attention is put on the perpetrators and Tumblr has an issue with fetishizing and idolizing school shooters

For those who want to read it, you can, Rage is out there it's just less accessible, especially for young, hurting high schoolers. I agree with Kings decision to remove it and I find it commendable that he saw a pattern of violence in relation to his book and decided to take away a potential catalyst. In the USA school shootings are on the rise and are treated as an unfortunate inevitability and it is so easy for teens to get ahold of weapons and become inspired to use them, so if even one source of inspiration is made less accessible thats good. If I had to choose between this book being easily accessible or one kid deciding not to shoot up their school, I would take the latter without a second thought.

I will write my review of the book and its contents in another post but I'm just so tired of seeing all of the white men bitching about how the sensitive snowflakes cancelled this book. It was never cancelled. After seeing killers taking inspiration, the author decided to stop publishing it. You can still find and read it.

Lastly, for the love of every god to ever exist STOP CALLING THIS BOOK BANNING!!!!! Book banning is a very specific phenomenon that is so so serious and by misusing the term, you're taking away its significance and intentionally or unintentionally harming the cause and the marginalized voices that are at the centre.

[reybeeze]

FINISHED RAGE!!! can't put it on goodreads tho bc it's technically part of the bachman books so i'll put it here

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Corey Walker

The author of a book on Jewish American identity enjoyed a sellout crowd at a rescheduled event after the original discussion was canceled over the presence of a Zionist panelist.  Joshua Leifer, author of Tablets Shattered: The End of an American Jewish Century and the Future of Jewish Life, spoke alongside Rabbi Andy Bachman at the Center for New Jewish Culture in Brooklyn on Monday. The original discussion, which was scheduled at Powerhouse Books in Brooklyn last Tuesday, was canceled at the last minute by an employee who did not want the bookstore to platform a “Zionist” rabbi.  During Monday’s discussion, Leifer lambasted the cancellation as both “wrong and antisemitic” as well as “the dumbest strategic thing you can do.” The bookstore’s owner, Daniel Power, later clarified in an interview that Powerhouse Books does not maintain an official ban on Zionist authors and that the employee acted on her own. He revealed that the employee responsible for canceling the event quit on her own accord before he could fire her.  The bookstore issued an apology soon after the incident, writing, “litmus tests as a precondition for participation in public life are wrong. Rejections of dialogue, debate, and nuance are wrong.” Despite the inconvenience, the backlash over the viral incident seems to have benefited Leifer. Roughly 300 people attended the rescheduled discussion, as opposed to the estimated two dozen that showed up for the original event. Leifer’s book currently holds the number one spot in the “History of Judaism” section on Amazon. “In large part, this sanctuary is filled because of what happened,” Bachman stated at the event.  Leifer, a political progressive and writer, has issued blistering criticisms of Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza. He has called for a change in the “status quo” of Israeli policy and has encouraged the American Jewish community to reexamine its relationship with Israel.  In an essay published in The Atlantic, Leifer reflected on the decision to snub Bachman for being a Zionist, saying that it “exemplified the bind that many progressive American Jews face.” “We are caught between parts of an activist left demanding that we disavow our communities, even our families, as an entrance ticket, and a mainstream Jewish institutional world that has long marginalized critics of Israeli policy. Indeed, Jews who are committed to the flourishing of Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora, and who are also outraged by Israel’s brutal war in Gaza, feel like we have little room to maneuver,” Leifer wrote. “My experience last week was so demoralizing in part because such episodes make moving the mainstream Jewish community much harder,” Leifer added. “Every time a left-wing activist insists that the only way to truly participate in the fight for peace and justice is to support the dissolution of Israel, it reinforces the zero-sum (and morally repulsive) idea that opposing the status quo requires Israel’s destruction.” 

Leifer still doesn't get it. Jew-hatred, in the guise of Israel hatred has become part of the progressive canon. "Critics of Israeli policy" are lionized, not marginalized among progressive Jews.

[newwavesylviaplath]

your favourite book is carrie?!! girl i LOVE that book so so so much it’s one of my favs by stephen king 🖤

AHH I LOVE STEPHEN KING HES MY FAVE AUTHOR!! i was either gonna put carrie or it but carrie won cuz the movie is more my aesthetic LMFAOO

my stephen king collection!! feat my scott pilgrim figurine

[celebswearingghost]

Stephen King

[andreai04]

The definition of an asshole is a guy who doesn’t believe what he’s seeing.

[escapeintothepages]

“In many ways the world is nothing but a pile of shit. But it can also be very beautiful.”

Thinner, Richard Bachman (Pseudonym), Stephen King

[fleabitess]

Stephen King’s RAGE and Steve Gerlach’s RAGE should make out sloppy style

[gendobowie]

I've begun a complete and total readthrough of every single Stephen King/Richard Bachman book. This is my first time reading them, though I have seen a few of the movies. I'll be making new posts whenever I finish another novel, which I will be reading in order of release date.

[thechaoticreader]

Ya’ll Im freaking out!!

As a massive horror fan, naturally I love Stephen King and I’ve been looking for a copy of Rage that isn’t hundreds of dollars so I was talking to the owner of a local used bookstore and he put my name down in case he gets a copy (he’s super sweet, once I’ve secured the book I’ll shout them out lmao).

I just got a call they on hold they have a FIRST COLLECTORS EDITION of the Bachman books, soft cover with Rage and it’s less than $100 CAD

I’m gonna snatch up that book so fast

[stephenkingporn]

I recently posted about beginning to condense/refine my collection and I’m happy to report by selling some books I have been able to purchase a rare book to add to my (refined) collection.

[haveyoureadthishorrorbookpoll]

Have you read...

The fantasy of becoming trimmer—and happier—turns into a nightmare of unrelenting terror for Billy Halleck who is 50 pounds overweight, sideswipes an old Romani woman, and receives the maledictive sentence to get "thinner." What will he do when he can't stop losing weight?

submit a horror book!

[stuckinotherplaces]

Rage by Richard Bachman (Steven King alias)

Genre: Thriller/Crime/Suspense

Pages: 131

Publication date: 1977

Rage follows a highschool student as he shoots and kills one of his teachers and takes the rest of his classmates hostage. As the book unfolds, he explains to his classmates what led him to do it.

I liked this book even though it wasn't great. This was the first Steven King book that I've read, and I don't really know if I like his writing style yet or not. The book was a quick read, but I did find myself having to reread certain passages over and over again to understand what they were saying.

The actual story was kind of lacking. It takes place almost entirely in a single classroom, and not much actually happens. Most of the story is the kids just having a conversation with the kid that's holding them hostage in the room. The emotions don't feel real or deep in the book, and its hard to like any of the characters since none of them feel particularly well rounded.

It was also written in a bizarre way that makes school shooting seem almost justified and reasonable. It absolutely down-plays the trauma, fear, anxiety, and seriousness of the situation, and even the characters being held hostage barely see it as something serious and dangerous. Steven King has even confessed to regretting writing the book after it was found in the homes or lockers of multiple real life school shooters, though he did clarify that the book didn't make them do it and sick and hurt kids made their own choices. It felt weirdly like a slice of life story, like it was just another day.

I might be too old to really enjoy this one, because it did read more like a YA novel than something for adults.

3/5 stars

Finished reading December 12, 2023

[firewireblog-blog]

Glen Powell To Star In Edgar Wright’s Stephen King Movie ‘The Running Man’

Glen Powell, the “Top Gun: Maverick” star will lead the cast of Edgar Wright‘s “The Running Man,” taking on a role played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1987 cult favorite. The dystopian action film is based on a novel of the same name by horror maestro Stephen King, which he first published under a pseudonym, Richard Bachman. Wright, best known for directing the satiric zombie film “Shaun of…

[ssaseaprince]

Rage by Richard Bachman is what Lord of the Flies wants to be

[muchotravka]

The Dark Half and The Running Man by Stephen King.