The Life of Chuck Book and Movie

It's no secret that I love reading books, then watching the movie or TV adaptation and comparing them, so here's the latest... The Life of Chuck.

The Life of Chuck by Stephen King. Read this on the recommendation from a writer friend who watched the movie. I like reading the books first to see what I imagine, so I got this from the library immediately. I love the story structure and how innovative it is to have the world exist because one person’s mind created it. This was a short story made up of beautiful moments and I read it in just an hour or so because I couldn’t put it down. Even with the sad ending (at the beginning), it was so wonderful that I just wanted to crawl inside of the story. I can’t wait to compare it to the movie.

It's also super cool that the dance scene is a flip book on the movie version of the book! Little details like that make things feel special.

Now to the screen adaptation...

I don't know why I thought Chuck was Kevin Costner... something about the image looks like him to me. Am I crazy? It also made me think of the In & Out cover, which is Kevin Kline, so maybe I just merged "dancing on a movie cover" and Kevins and had that impression. I also don't know a lot of "current" actors, so me thinking it was Kevin Costner was actually me thinking that I was "in the know" and had some movie knowledge by identifying the actor from this random shot alone. But I digress.

I liked the movie overall. I liked the callbacks about math and the stars, which, if they were in the book, I missed them or had forgotten by the time I watched the movie (maybe two weeks later, but two weeks in January 2026 is two fucking lifetimes, so consider that).

I liked that some of the same actors from Act 3 were in other acts as different(?) roles at the dance in Act 1, though it also seemed that Marty was a teacher at the school when Chuck was a kid, talking to him at the dance, yet wasn't old enough in Act 3 for that to be true... Am I missing something here? I'm convinced I have a degree of face blindness because I don't recognize people until I know them very well (see also thinking Chuck was Kevin Costner), so maybe it wasn't the same actors? And I understand how Chuck knowing them when he was young would bring them to life in Act 3, the way that's framed, so maybe I'm just nitpicking too hard at something that shouldn't be a big deal.

Beyonf that, there were some differences, like Chuck's time in a band is glossed over, which impacts the dance scene in a subtle way. Honestly, the shift of that moment linking back to his grandmother is so much more touching to me. That was a great change.

Overall, I liked the book better than the movie just because I felt like it had more depth. I learned more about Chuck in the story. But in the movie, it felt like some random peeks into his life without really feeling the weight of who he is. That made the ending seem a little flat, because I wasn't connected to Chuck like I was in the story.

I keep seeing things about this being an "uplifting" movie, and maybe it's just the fact that I read the story and watched the movie in January 2026, but it really doesn't feel that way to me. It feels really dire. Knowing you're going to die and the waiting being the hardest part... yes, exactly, except now it's breathing down our necks. The moments of Chuck's life that we do get to see are sweet, yes, and though he dies young he still had a full life - I get all that. But it's not uplifting to me.

Have you seen and/or read The Life of Chuck? What are your thoughts? Let's talk about it!

January Round-Up

As 2025 came to an end, I gave myself a few reading goals. My overarching goal is to read books from my shelves, because I've bought a lot of books that sound great, then get distracted when my library holds come in, or someone recommends a book to me, yada yada yada. But beyond that, I want to read one writing book each month, and one poetry collection each month. While I feel like I didn't read much this month (dammit, doomscrolling), I did accomplish those two goals by the skin of my teeth.

Though I didn't read as much this month as I usually do according to trackability, I did read 9 short story/flash fiction collection manuscripts for Split/Lip Press, with more to read over the next two months. So I can't claim those since they're not published...yet, but I've read some great ones.

The Dragonet Prophecy (Wings of Fire, #1) by Tui T. Sutherland. My son wanted me to read this book because he loves this series. It was more violent than I thought it would be considering how much he likes it, but overall it was a good book and an interesting premise. I don’t think I’m going to blaze through the entire series soon, but if I don’t know what to read, it’s definitely something I’d be willing to pick up and see what happens.

Short Cuts by Raymond Carver. Part of my short story project for the month. I originally read this in 2008 or 2009 and probably watched the movie around then, too. I’ve re-read some of the short stories since, but this is the first time I re-read the entire collection. I read it right after watching the movie again so I liked seeing how the director interpreted some of the stories.

Murder with Lemon Tea Cakes by Karen Rose Smith. I read this for the Cozy Mystery Book Club. I love culinary cozies and I’m a tea fan, so I liked that aspect of the storyline. The mystery was fairly intriguing as well. However, the writing style seemed really basic. I was always aware I was reading a book because everything was told and explained instead of shown through action and dialogue, so that was disappointing. Daisy was a weak character, too. She had no personality and deferred to men so much. She was a widow and mentioned her late husband a bit, which is understandable, but she kept saying she “didn’t know why” she had feelings for handsome, kind Jonas, but also went on dates and seemed trying to force something with Cade, which had been her prom date but was really dismissive and somewhat controlling of her. I found it off-putting that she kept acting like she wanted to be with him even after admitting how he treated her annoyed her. Get a backbone! I wouldn’t have finished this if it wasn’t for book club. Read the full review here.

The Life of Chuck by Stephen King. Read this on the recommendation from a writer friend who watched the movie. I like reading the books first to see what I imagine, so I got this from the library immediately. I love the story structure and how innovative it is to have the world exist because one person’s mind created it. This was a short story made up of beautiful moments and I read it in just an hour or so because I couldn’t put it down. Even with the sad ending (at the beginning), it was so wonderful that I just wanted to crawl inside of the story. I can’t wait to compare it to the movie.

Very Nice by Marcy Dermansky. Wasn’t sure what to expect with this one but it was a nice, quick read as a snow storm blew into my area. I read it in one night. I liked the different points of view and how all the characters came together. The ending was a little lackluster to me, considering Chekhov’s gun and how much potential there was there, but I liked the author’s writing and would read more from them.

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. I’d heard about this since it came out and was intrigued based on the title alone. My favorite aspect of this book was definitely the cultural insights. I think the title definitely sets a different idea in your mind and the story didn’t live up to THAT, for me, but it was still enjoyable and I loved how some chapters were short, reading almost like flash fiction pieces, and sometimes the chapter titles came directly into play with the content so you had to keep it in mind as you read. The ending was kind of meh though, like leading into more of the same instead of a resolution.

The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene. I love mysteries but have never read a Nancy Drew book, so I wanted to start with the original. It was an interesting book, definitely providing a glance back at the time. I don’t think it’s interesting enough to read the whole series, but I know there are some “modern” spins on it, I think with a younger Nancy as the main character, so I’ll probably give those a try too, just to see. I didn’t necessarily dislike the book, but I don’t think it stands the test of time and can hold its own in the current literary field.

 

Writing Creativity and Soul by Sue Monk Kidd. My writing book for the month. I’ve read several of Kidd’s novels, years ago, but didn’t know she’d written a writing book. It was exactly what I wanted (and needed) to start the year fresh. I love her approach to writing and how she shared finding inspiration, nurturing an idea until it becomes a story, and more. I highlighted so much in this book - really helpful quotes to revisit when I feel stuck in my own writing.

The State That Springfield Is In by Tom C. Hunley. My poetry book for the month. Maybe a cheat because it’s a re-read and I know I’d love to read it again, but honestly, I should have been re-reading it every year since my first time (in 2020) because it’s just that good. My previous review: These poems were told in the voices of Simpsons characters - beloved and obscure. It was pretty eye-opening to think of these characters as real people, and they randomly pop into my head and make me remember them as more than just fictional sitcom characters. I can’t recommend this enough to Simpsons fans, poetry fans, or people who love fictional characters as if they were real.