The Shining (by Stephen King)

I've read a ton of Stephen King in my life (It was one of my favorite books when I was a kid) from Insomnia to The Tommyknockers to 11/22/63. And yet somehow I'd never read The Shining, in spite of seeing the Kubrick movie and the miniseries.  (My problem with the Kubrick movie is that Wendy is annoying. My problem with the miniseries is that Danny is annoying.) 

Growing up I had to just borrow the books from my older cousin so I am guessing she didn't have The Shining which I why I never read it.  And damn, it is scary. (I have this vague memory of a "deleted scene" that King published in Entertainment Weekly back in the day, where someone gets into the elevator and it goes down, and then it keeps going down way further than it's supposed to be able to go down. To hell, get it? Anyway it was scary too.) 

I had to keep putting the book down because the tension and horror was too much. I knew the book ending wasn't the same as the films so really didn't know how it was going to turn out. And the undercurrent of alcoholism and domestic abuse is great.  (I mean not "great" obviously but, well done. Thematically intense.)

You probably don't need to tell me that The Shining is a masterwork but, well, of course it is.  Great way to kick off my reading year.