Welcome to Shelf Control — an original feature created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies.
Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out my introductory post, here.
Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. See the guidelines at the bottom of the post, and jump on board!
Title: Thinner
Author: Stephen King (writing as Richard Bachman)
Published: 1984
Length: 188 pages
What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):
Billy Halleck, good husband, loving father, is both beneficiary and victim of the American Good Life: he has an expensive home, a nice family, and a rewarding career as a lawyer…but he is also fifty pounds overweight and, as his doctor keeps reminding him, edging into heart attack country.
Then, in a moment of carelessness, Billy sideswipes an old gypsy woman as she is crossing the street–and her ancient father passes a bizarre and terrible judgement on him.
“Thinner,” the old gypsy man whispers, and caresses his cheek, like a lover. Just one word…but six weeks later and ninety-three pounds lighter, Billy Halleck is more than worried. He’s terrified. And desperate enough for one last gamble…that will lead him to a nightmare showdown with the forces of evil melting his flesh away. And away. And away…
How and when I got it:
I picked up a used copy about a year ago.
Why I want to read it:
Sooner or later, I want to read everything by Stephen King! I remember hearing about Thinner for years and years, and after reading King’s more recent book Elevation, I saw a lot of reviews comparing it to the concepts from Thinner. I need to see what I’ve been missing all these years!
What do you think? Would you read this book?
Please share your thoughts!
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Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:
- Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
- Add your link in the comments or link back from your own post, so I can add you to the participant list.
- Check out other posts, and…
Have fun!
Bookshelf Fantasies 
I bought Thinner the year it was released and it was right when the news got out that Bachman was King, so my copy doesn’t even have King’s name on it. Its a very good, creepy tale!
I remember when the news broke about Bachman being King! I’ve read only one Bachman book so far (The Long Walk), but it was great!
I haven’t read King yet, somehow very sceptical that he will be too creepy for me. In fact I was just looking at Cujo among my parents’ books, but did not feel tempted to pick it up. Thinner does sound intriguing though
I woudn’t start with Cujo if you’ve never read King! (In fact, I don’t recommend Cujo in general) — but he has such a variety of books, and plenty that aren’t super creepy. I love his writing!
I don’t mind a scary story but the thought of King’s books alone is chilling. I don’t actually plan on picking up Cujo–my mom who brought it years ago had long warned me off it. But Thinner does sound interesting, who knows, may be I’ll pick up a copy if it comes my way!
I have yet to read a Stephen King as Richard Bachman book, but my next King read will be Bachman’s ‘Rage’. I’m intrigued by the collection of books he wrote as Bachman, see if they’re differ much from his King work.
I’d like to read Rage too! The only Bachman book I’ve read is The Long Walk, which is SO good, but didn’t seem particularly un-King-like in any way.
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed The Long Walk – that’s on my list too! Good know that it’s still feels like King!