I think some of his best work has been in the last decade. For me, his low point was the 90s and early 2000s. The Mr Mercedes / Bill Hodges Trilogy and 11/22/63 were fantastic.

I finished it over the weekend. I've read all but about 10 of his full length novels. Eventually I'll read them all. I'd put The Shining somewhere in the bottom 25%, maybe even bottom 10%. I think he really shines with books that are heavy on fantasy. Horror books, books that are just trying to be scary with a thin plot, aren't enjoyable for me.

I thought Fairy Tale was fine. Not great, but somewhere solidly in the middle of his catalog. The sex paragraph kind of came out of the blue and didn't fit in very well, but it is what it is. Up until then, I kind of expected the two female prisoners to be lesbians, or if not I thought Charlie might hook up with Jaya since they interacted a lot throughout the story.

I think you summed him up pretty well. The only book of his I thought was above average was Recursion. The rest were adequate, but just left me feeling empty at the end.

I do about the same and have minimal to no cracks in the spines of books I read. I don't make a conscious effort to avoid damaging the book, but I'm not one of those people that open the books so far that the left side pages wrap around to the back cover and they hold the book in one hand. I either read with two hands, or if the book is light enough I'll hold it open with my thumb at the bottom.

They're usually only a couple pages, so I figure I'm not out much if I read them, but I might miss something if I don't.

I've kept a few damaged and returned a few damaged. Kind of depends on the damage and the book. If it's an expensive hardcover it's going back. Softcover with a big crease or tear in a cover it's probably going back. A creased page or a small stain I'll keep.

But based on a true story. That gives it some value. If it was just somebody's dark fantasy, then I'd say it's trash.

I kind of want to read it after reading your post.

Usually none. Maybe the last sentence if there was a break in the middle of the page.

I agree as well. As a general principle, I try to avoid most books that spend a long time near the top of Amazon's best seller list. I'm not the audience for those.

I don't remember much about the book. I read it about a year ago. I remember liking the first 50 pages or so, but once he met the alien creature it went downhill fast. It would be an entertaining children's book I guess.

I agree. That's the only book I've ever stopped reading without finishing.

You would probably enjoy rereading books then.