Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Storyville, LLC (2009), Kindle Edition
Description
FIRST TIME ON AUDIO... An Unabridged Novella Unavailable In Any Collection! Tapping into our primal fears of modern technology that made Cell a #1 bestseller, Stephen King sets his sights on the latest high-tech gadget in UR, in which a mysterious e-book reader opens a disturbing window into other worlds. Reeling from a painful break-up, English instructor and avid book lover Wesley Smith is haunted by his ex-girlfriend's parting shot: "Why can't you just read off the computer like everyone else?" He buys an e-book reader out of spite, but soon finds he can use the device to glimpse realities he had never before imagined, discovering literary riches beyond his wildest dreams...and all-too-human tragedies that surpass his most terrible nightmares. From vintage cars (Christine and From a Buick 8) to household appliances (Maximum Overdrive) to exercise equipment (Stationary Bike), Stephen King has mesmerized us with tales of apparently ordinary machines that take on lives of their own. UR gives this classic theme an up-to-the-minute spin, resulting in a horror masterpiece for our time and for the ages.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member mama_kanga
I found this book to be very boring. The first half was basically just an advertisement for the Kindle, but since this book is only available on Kindle, I must already own one. So that was annoying. The second half had potential, but it never reached it. Low men in yellow coats show up, and they
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are always scary, but I could have used a little more of the chill. Show Less
LibraryThing member busyreadin
This is a novella be Stephen King that gently pokes fun at eBooks, via the delivery of a Pink Kindle to a college professor. As he uses it more often, he finds a separate section called UR, which includes titles by well-known authors that don't exist in the "real" world. What trouble will it bring
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him?? Show Less
LibraryThing member klarsenmd
This was actually more of a novella, available only for electronic download. I found it entertaining, as was surely the point, to read it on my kindle while the story itself is about a very unusual kindle. As is typical for Stephen King, the lead character is well developed in a very short time,
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and the plot was quick and engaging. Being a true constnt reader, I loved the end. Show Less
LibraryThing member crazybatcow
This piece of writing by King came from UR 958561. In that UR, King is no longer a horror writer, but is still as prolific in a different genre.
In UR 671023 this book didn't have its syrupy ending. And in UR 256884 King was a hairdresser, not a writer at all.
The good part of the novella? Well... I
Was there a plot? Nope... but lots of opportunity to discuss 'what if'... hey, isn't that what daydreams are for? To think about all the 'what ifs' without having to follow through with any of them.
I guess I like my 'what ifs' either to be original, or to be fleshed out into a semblance of possibility, not dropped into my lap in 4 sentences and moved along.
In UR 671023 this book didn't have its syrupy ending. And in UR 256884 King was a hairdresser, not a writer at all.
The good part of the novella? Well... I
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now know everything I'd need to know about a Kindle. Oh, and I also know King's opinion on the JFK assassination, drunk drivers and the Cuban Missile Crisis (among other things).Was there a plot? Nope... but lots of opportunity to discuss 'what if'... hey, isn't that what daydreams are for? To think about all the 'what ifs' without having to follow through with any of them.
I guess I like my 'what ifs' either to be original, or to be fleshed out into a semblance of possibility, not dropped into my lap in 4 sentences and moved along.
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LibraryThing member matthew254
UR is a shameless novella parading as a plug for Amazon's ebook reader Kindle. I own one and really like it. I like Stephen King, especially his novellas, so this was an easy choice. It's not his best but I did like the protagonist. Reminds me of someone.
LibraryThing member AmieG
Typical Stephen King. The Tower, low men in yellow coats, strange things happening. Definitely interesting, and it was a quick easy read.
LibraryThing member wingednikki
Not my favorite King story: it seemd very forced, but I know his view on Kindles!!! Even though I read this story on my Kindle!!!!!!!
LibraryThing member Apollo11
I got a real kick out of the fact that the very first book that I read on my Kindle was about a guy with a magic Kindle. I had no idea when I downloaded the book. All I knew was that here was a King book that I had never read or even heard of for that matter.
Not King's best work but not his worst
Not King's best work but not his worst
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either (I recently read Full Dark, No Stars...and that's how I would rate it: No Stars!). Show Less
LibraryThing member bohemiangirl35
UR by Stephen King is a short story about a college English professor who orders a Kindle to spite his ex-girlfriend and gets more than he expected. The story started a little slow. I get it; he bought a Kindle. Then it picked up and just ended abruptly. Right when it got scary and seemed like it
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was going to turn into a regular Stephen King horror-fest, it was over! Aaaah! And what was with the syrupy conclusion? Show Less
LibraryThing member madforbooks
This is 'lite' SK and I enjoyed it! The supernatural element is present and the story carried my interest. Some will say the ending is too tidy but I say variety is the spice of life and I am happy to see that SK can pull off uplifting as well gloomy when he so chooses. I enjoyed the story and true
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to life characters from beginning to end. After having recently read Full Dark, No Stars, this offering was like a slice of sweet pie at the end of a full course meal. Delightful! Show Less
LibraryThing member NikkiThreat
This story seemed rushed and completely out of whack with the Dark Tower mythos.
LibraryThing member Anagarika-Sean
The story had an interesting concept, but after being a King fan for almost 20 years, the same "other worlds existing within the Tower" is getting a little old. I story was still enjoyable, though.
LibraryThing member DanaJean
I liked UR. A story about a pink Kindle delivered to a college professor who has steered clear of the new gadget in favor of actual books. I listened to this on audio and enjoyed it. Quick read unfortunately, but I'll take my Stephen King anyway I can get it. Short or long, I love the way he writes.
LibraryThing member mccin68
This was a major disappointment!! I paid $3 for the download and figured anything by King would be worth it even if it wasn't his best stuff-upon readingnd very hard to believe Stephen King had a hand in this other than lending the premise. the build up was slow, much of the first pages were
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devoted to describing kindle advertising, how it works, how everyone should have one, and then just as the world begins to warp and the good stuff gets started it's over, and to top it off, wrapped up in a neat, pretty bow, very anti-King. Show Less
LibraryThing member GeekGoddess
Decent King short story, more like his older styles.
LibraryThing member smik
UR is an Amazon Kindle exclusive apparently published nearly a year ago, but I have only just come across it.
It is not a long work, more of a novella really, and designed to tickle the fancy of the Kindle owner.
Provoked by his girl friend, and by a student in his Modern American Fiction class, mild
When he explores his Kindle Wesley discovers that the Menu button presents him with a number of choices. Right near the bottom is something called EXPERIMENTAL - there are choices here for basic web, music download, text-to-speech, and UR FUNCTIONS. And so Wesley enters the worlds of UR BOOKS where he finds hitherto unknown books by great writers like Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, William Shakespeare and others.
This is really not a work that is meant to be taken seriously, but I can see on the Amazon site comments by Stephen King fans who express their disappointment in this book. I'm not a reader of Stephen King otherwise I gather that I too might have been a bit miffed at his tongue in cheek homage to the Kindle.
Here's a thought though: we are all used to the idea of the power of a book to transport us to a different reality, but what if there were millions of different realities where events that have happened in our world don't occur, where authors are born earlier, die later, and write books we don't have available to us here?
It is not a long work, more of a novella really, and designed to tickle the fancy of the Kindle owner.
Provoked by his girl friend, and by a student in his Modern American Fiction class, mild
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mannered college professor Wesley Smith orders a Kindle, out of spite. One of his colleagues tells Wesley that the Kindle comes only in white, but when Wesley's is delivered within 24 hours, he un-boxes it to find his is pink.When he explores his Kindle Wesley discovers that the Menu button presents him with a number of choices. Right near the bottom is something called EXPERIMENTAL - there are choices here for basic web, music download, text-to-speech, and UR FUNCTIONS. And so Wesley enters the worlds of UR BOOKS where he finds hitherto unknown books by great writers like Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, William Shakespeare and others.
This is really not a work that is meant to be taken seriously, but I can see on the Amazon site comments by Stephen King fans who express their disappointment in this book. I'm not a reader of Stephen King otherwise I gather that I too might have been a bit miffed at his tongue in cheek homage to the Kindle.
Here's a thought though: we are all used to the idea of the power of a book to transport us to a different reality, but what if there were millions of different realities where events that have happened in our world don't occur, where authors are born earlier, die later, and write books we don't have available to us here?
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LibraryThing member Marlene-NL
I saved this book to read this weekend for the read a thon on bookobsessed. I really enjoyed it although I must admit that at first I thought what is this? a promotional book about the kindle by Stephen King? I was wrong. I immediately realized the connection between his new book 11/22/63 but of
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course also the link to The Dark Tower and to Heart of Atlantis.I love that he always manages to make those links to his other books. This story makes me want to read more about all the urs and timelines. Short but sweet! Show Less
LibraryThing member sturlington
I realize this was a shameless plug for the Kindle. I enjoyed the story anyway. It's got many of my favorite things: Dark Tower references, low men in yellow coats, the multiverse, alternate histories. A fun read for $3 and an afternoon's leisure time.
LibraryThing member steadfastreader
A fun little novella about the Kindle, only available ON the Kindle... the Dark Tower references are always fun. I liked it, but wouldn't be surprised if Amazon had actually commissioned it. :)
LibraryThing member ennuiprayer
In UR, Wesley Smith decides to buy a Kindle after breaking up with his girlfriend - or rather, her walking out of his life. He purchases a couple of titles before exploring the Experimental option on the Main Menu. The usual stuff appears, but it's the UR Functions that catch his attention. Soon
The story's a great read, using a popular science fiction device with a hint of stories like The Queer Story of Brownlow's Newspaper and stories like it - which is the one about the reader gets future obituaries only to die of a heart attack when he receives his? It's clear, though, that Stephen King has a some beef against technology. Which is cool, considering a man who keeps writing about all the messed up ways things can kill us.
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after, Wesley discovers several novels from writers like Hemingway that were never published and some that came to being after his death. Soon, realization sets in - this e-reader taps into alternate realities, providing its owner with archive newspapers from other URs and ultimately, future newspaper editions of the Wesley's UR.The story's a great read, using a popular science fiction device with a hint of stories like The Queer Story of Brownlow's Newspaper and stories like it - which is the one about the reader gets future obituaries only to die of a heart attack when he receives his? It's clear, though, that Stephen King has a some beef against technology. Which is cool, considering a man who keeps writing about all the messed up ways things can kill us.
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LibraryThing member carlahaunted
"All things serve the Tower."
UR ties into the low men in yellow coats of the Dark Tower universe!
UR ties into the low men in yellow coats of the Dark Tower universe!
LibraryThing member melrailey
Wesley Smith is an English professor at an average college in America. As his girlfriend breaks up with him, she grabs the book he's reading out of his hands, tosses it across the room and asks him why he can't read off the computer like everyone else. Out of spite, Wesley buys a Kindle but his
UR is the most recent short story/novella by Stephen King. Leave it to Stephen King to take a normally harmless everyday gadget and make it wicked (Christine, anyone?). This short story was narrated by Holter Graham and he did a pretty good job. It wasn't outstanding or terrific but it wasn't bad either. That's about my description of the book. I became addicted to Stephen King's stories at one point in my life and found his horror stories to be mesmerizing; however, it seems as if his stories have lost that it quality that they had before. I think the main reason is King doesn't really write horror stories anymore. It's kind of freaky to think that I could order a Kindle that would access different worlds but it's not that "I've got to stop reading because I'm too scared to go any further" type of scary. Guess I'll get off my soapbox now.
UR is a good short story just don't expect to be scared.
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Kindle isn't normal. First of all, it's pink. Secondly, it gives him access to much more information than he imagined. UR is the most recent short story/novella by Stephen King. Leave it to Stephen King to take a normally harmless everyday gadget and make it wicked (Christine, anyone?). This short story was narrated by Holter Graham and he did a pretty good job. It wasn't outstanding or terrific but it wasn't bad either. That's about my description of the book. I became addicted to Stephen King's stories at one point in my life and found his horror stories to be mesmerizing; however, it seems as if his stories have lost that it quality that they had before. I think the main reason is King doesn't really write horror stories anymore. It's kind of freaky to think that I could order a Kindle that would access different worlds but it's not that "I've got to stop reading because I'm too scared to go any further" type of scary. Guess I'll get off my soapbox now.
UR is a good short story just don't expect to be scared.
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LibraryThing member Belles007
Classic Stephen King - only he make a story about books scary.
LibraryThing member Bettyb30
This is a book for true stephan king fans. It was a short read, wan't painful but wasn't up my alley either. The book was ok for what it was which was an exclusive to kindle
LibraryThing member AnneWK
More a dashed-off King than the real thing -- but still a page-turner. Mediocre English professor at a mediocre college orders a kindle from amazon but gets a pink one from somewhere else with an amazing store of books -- and newspapers.
Original publication date
2009-02-12
Other editions
UR by Stephen King
UR by Stephen King