Diary of a Crazed Bride-to-Be (Entry 2)

Good God.

On Wednesday the 13th May I had my first meeting with a florist.
Flowers... how expensive can they be, right? Well, it turns out... VERY.

Very as in over 3 x the cost of the actual venue we had in mind!!!! For a bunch of plants that are just going to wilt and die after a couple of hours anyway! What the HELL?!

Thank God I've planned to get hitched in a forest - hopefully nature can just sort itself out and be pretty.

*

Here's my top tip this entry:

Figure out if your desired flowers and plants are in season during the month you plan to get married.

I jumped at the chance to set a date, making it for late February next year... but now my dream of an enchanted forest theme covered in moss is pretty unrealistic because in South Africa, February is one of our driest months. 

Moss likes moisture... so my little dreamy vision may always be just that... a dreamy vision. 

Talk about crushing your dreams.

*

I've started looking at little wedding favors and gifts for my mother-in-law and bridesmaids - I actually had a little something made for my Fiance's mother already.
It was a combination of her wedding present and birthday present as her birthday is the day after mine:

I put the disk onto a silver chain and added on a silver fairy because she loves fairies. It made her cry which made me want to cry. Tears of happiness are truly so beautiful. 

On Sunday the 17th May (our anniversary), Sam and I found our wedding venue - deposit paid and everything. It is so beautiful it made me cry (again... bloody tears).... like literally tear up and get all emotional like I never have before. 

It was seeing the venue, seeing where I'd walk linked through my dads arm, that it all became really real to me. 

The wonderful thing about the venue is that everything is included! Chairs, tables, reception room, ceremony area, accommodation for the bride and groom. The owner is a photographer and gave us an exceptionally good quote to do the photographs. They also cater with drool worthy menu's. Granted their catering is very expensive (we have to cut our guest list quite a lot which is really sad but necessary... I mean at first our guest list was sitting on 160 people and that's almost R 40,000.00 (roughly ₤ 2,200.00) just for food. Which I'm not sure about for people earning pounds, but for us South African's that is astronomically expensive!

On Friday the 22nd May, I went to a trial for my bridal makeup. 

I've decided I want something different... something that makes people go,'wow!' 

I really don't want to be just like every other bride... 

I'm quirky and artsy and a bit weird... so I want to portray that in every possible way. 

So here's my bridal makeup:

What do you think!?

My dad thinks I look like an alien. He's not a fan of the sparkly stick-on bits but that was to be expected. He's a traditionalist...... but I'm not. 

When the world zigs I am going to zag!

The latest happening was this past Sunday the 24th May when we finally got to throw our engagement party. Things kept coming up and we had to keep postponing it. Either Sam having to fly out of the country for 10 days to Malawi or family members not being able to make it - we finally thought, 'screw it,' and threw it anyway.

We made these cute Save the Date cards with our thumbprints meshed together to create a heart. We bought a pair of funky scissors to create the squiggly cut effect, punched holes into the photo-paper and strung some raffia through the hole:

I think they came out pretty great!! It's personal and quirky, just like I wanted.  

Proper invites will be handed out later once we've designed them but for now I thought this was quite a cute idea just to give to people who attended the engagement party. 

The party was amazing - it was so special to be able to celebrate our love with our friends and family. 
It was also the nerve-wrecking day that our parents met for the first time! It seemed to all go down well - though I was rushing around trying to divide my time between so many people that I hardly had time to see how they were really getting on.

Guitars were strummed, stories were told, shooters were had and a professional photographer captured the entire day. 

My brother jamming on an acoustic

My dad - proud..... I hope!

Jenson - happy little nephew of mine

Having some Auntie / Nephew time

Sam and I soaking up the love

It's like everything is finally coming together. 

The venue's booked, the makeup artist is booked, the photographer is booked... ahhhh... so much stress has been lifted from my shoulders! We even have a caterer friend that would love to cater the wedding. We still need to go and chat with her and see what her ideas are but I must say that even that will be a huge help and bring down the costs immensely. I find it incredible how when you really need something, you find it. Sometimes the world just offers you what you really need.

Sam is getting involved now too finally which is great. It's not cool to be left to do it all by yourself. 

I have a wonderful selection of bridesmaids that are so happy and ready to help though: 

 - and trust me, you need that! I have a ginormous amount of bridesmaids actually... I couldn't choose, so I decided not to. 
I have eight women that have really been there for me throughout different times and areas in my life and I can't place one in front of the other. So now I have six fantastic, hilarious bridesmaids and two wonderful maid of honors and each and every one of those ladies is in the bridal party for a reason. 
It's going to be much more expensive with so many of them - like dresses! That's EIGHT dresses I need to purchase... ouch. But I'll figure it out. 
The more the merrier anyway - we've started planning and brain storming and sharing ideas with one another. It's great!

Trying to do it all yourself is so crazy. You forget to eat, you loose track of the time, get hopelessly drunk to calm your shot nerves, you end up in a ball on the floor in tears... your emotions just go hay-wire. 

I've cried twice now excluding the tears of happiness.... it really is so stressful but fun at the same time. 

I never ever thought marriage would happen for me. It didn't seem to be in the cards. Out of all of my extremely long relationships, it never happened and to be honest it made me lose hope. I started wondering if I even wanted marriage. I started getting scared of it... started getting scared of commitment and children and the whole shebang. 
Then Sam came along....

I can't begin to tell you how good it feels to not be this woman anymore:

(Although I still do have my cat.... but luckily she loves Sam just as much as I do...)

Now I'm off on a road-trip with my mother and one of my six bridesmaids to the big city to try on some designer wedding dresses! I couldn't be more excited. 
I did have a dress appointment somewhere a bit close to home last week and to be honest, I fell pretty in love with a dress - but I don't want to rush finding the perfect gown. 

I'll update you all again soon.

Review | Mumford and Sons : Wilder Mind

I am a HUGE Mumford and Sons fan - I always have been. 

I remember years back driving to the beach with a stack of surfboards in the back of a rusting Colt bakkie, listening to 'White Blank Page' from their first album 'Sigh No More.'

When their second album, 'Babel' came out in 2012  they exploded... 'I Will Wait' is possibly one of the most successful songs I know to date! 

They are just pure geniuses. 

The indie, folk band with their rocking banjo's released their third album, 'Wilder Mind', in May this year (pretty much on my birthday.. best gift EVER), and as I'm sure everyone that has listened to it knows, it's extremely different to the first two albums.

It's as though their third album was de-folked. 

The banjo we all came to know and love is gone and I'm not too sure how I feel about that. 

They made hill-billys have sudden sex-appeal for goodness sake!!

Honestly, at first I don't think I would have recognized the music as Mumford and Sons if I'd heard it on the radio. Everything that made them who they are is gone. 

It was nothing short of a drastic change but that doesn't necessarily mean that the third album was a bust though. Quite on the contrary, I haven't stopped listening to it!!! (Not just because I got robbed and every CD I ever owned was stolen.... but because it's just beautiful).

Do I have a favorite song??? 

No. 

I want to say Track 1 (Tompkins Square Park) and Track 2 (Believe) - they are so filled with emotion and meaning and fantastic melody... not to mention I really connect with the lyrics - but then there's Track 12 (Hot Gates), Track 7 (Snake Eyes)! Gorgeous! Ear-gasm.... I'm not kidding. Track 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11 too!

I have only had it for a few days so I haven't had much time to really indulge in all tracks yet but I've heard The Wolf and Cold Arms are also two very incredible songs to enjoy.

Marcus Mumford did an incredible job on the songwriting as he always does - though I heard the others all wrote the lyrics along with him which is why the album is so diverse. Everyone from all over the world can relate and connect with their fantastic words on relationships, sorrow, regret and more. 

Their words (their art) has the overwhelming ability to riddle you with goosebumps and shatter your world in the most beautiful way.

Get to your nearest music store now - it's absolute. 

Finding Colin Firth by Mia March Book Review

Only an idiot would attempt to make a pie – a special-ordered chocolate caramel cream Amore Pie – while watching Pride and Prejudice. Had she put in the vanilla? What about the salt? Damn Colin Firth and his pond-soaked white shirt.

At home in Boothbay Harbour, Maine, Veronica Russo loves to lose herself in watching Colin Firth movies and baking pies filled with good thoughts. Pies that can bring you happiness, hope, even love (everything she feels when Colin Firth is on the screen, in fact). But Veronica is not so in touch with her own feelings and has deeply buried memories of that one heart-breaking summer, when she was just 16...

In Boston, college graduate Bea Crane has received an earth-shattering letter. A year after the death of her wonderful mum, she reads that she was adopted at birth and that her biological mother lives not that far away, in Boothbay. But is she brave enough to find out more?

Gemma Hendricks has come to Boothbay not to find something, but to run away. She’s accidentally pregnant, suddenly unemployed and under pressure from her husband to give up on her career and settle down, away from her beloved New York City. With all this on her shoulders, Gemma would rather watch Bridget Jones’ Diary with a bowl of popcorn rather than face the truth. But she can’t hide away for ever.

With Colin Firth in town to shoot a new movie, all three women find their lives become closely entwined. They might be looking out for Colin Firth at every turn, but they’ll also find new and important friendships along the way.

In the chapters of this book you will follow:

Bea - 22, with her whole world having just been tipped upside down. A year after her mothers death she receives a letter in her mothers handwriting. The letter explains the fact that Bea is actually adopted. Bea goes off on an adventure to Boothbay Harbor in Maine to find her birth mother... and herself...

Veronica - mid-thirties, a waitress and legendary pie maker who got pregnant as a teenager. Her parents sent her to a home throughout the course of her pregnancy and disowned her. She gave the baby up for adoption but even after twenty-two years she still updates her contact details just in case her daughter wants to get in touch with her one day.

Gemma - recently let go from her job, married and pregnant... but hubby doesn't know about the pregnancy and they aren't exactly seeing eye-to-eye at the moment. Gemma wants to stay in the city but hubby is pushing her to move to some tiny town and live next door to her in-laws. It isn't what she wants... so she heads off to Boothbay Harbor in Maine to take a breather - and to write an article about a home for pregnant teenagers.

When I found this book in the second-hand bookstore I was instantly attracted to it. All things Jane Austen fascinate me. A light, girly read was exactly what I was looking for after quite a gnarly Stephen King book, so after seeing all the gleaming book reviews on goodreads.com I was really excited......... but I need to say that it hasn't taken me this long to read a book in a long time! 

The writing style........ shudder! It annoys me to the extent that I actually just want to rip the book to shreds! I'm sorry.... but it really does! I don't think I've said that about a book EVER... toss it against a wall maybe, but rip it to shreds??? This book made my tolerance levels reach new heights.

I find the writing to be repetitive and incredibly over analytical. How my FATHER is currently working his way through it I have no idea.

The surroundings and features of every room and character was explained to perfection and to me that can get a bit much! I want to know about the STORY not about the sandy blonde hair or wooden floorboards.....

The writer, Mia March, was so hell-bent on trying to get us to understand what the characters were feeling and thinking while at the same time trying to pour in a hearty amount of mystery and intrigue that it ruined the book!

In a book, I think you need to give the reader the freedom to figure some of the things out for themselves... or at least try not to underestimate them. Seriously... a lot of what she wrote was so self-explanatory already that I felt it was wasted ink on paper!

I feel like the 'magical' pies (Special Elixir Pie, Hope Pie, Happiness Pie, Spirit Pie, Cast-Off Pie....blah blah blah...) were a bit lame.

The story-line is intriguing I guess. That's the only thing that kept pushing me to turn the pages.

If you're adopted or have adopted and perhaps if you like pie and have an unhealthy obsession with Colin Firth then it'll be your cup of tea... but if you're anything like me and ATTEMPTING to eat healthy due to *my wedding* (eeeek... still weird to say that out loud! It's my engagement party this weekend too!) coming up then reading this book where there is a constant mention of PIES will really test your self-discipline.

I don't know... this book just wasn't for me.

Have you read any good books lately? I'm always on the hunt for something new to devour (something that isn't pastry based.................).

*As a writer, I hate writing bad book reviews because I know how much it can sting... but a big part of my blog is based on book reviews and I have to be honest with my opinions.

This is just one point of view and there are MANY sterling reviews over at Goodreads so I guess you just need to read it and find out for yourself. 

Diary of a Crazed Bride-to-Be

Entry 1:

12 May 2015 

(9.5 months until Wedding Day)

I am freaking out. 

Why is it that no one but the bride seems to sense the urgency in planning a wedding? Sam (better known as Handsome Bearded Fellow on my blog,) proposed to me on Saturday 25th April, when I was least expecting it. I bet all brides say that, but I really mean it. The Friday before he popped the question he started being really weird. He was supposed to come over and house-sit with me but ‘fell ill’ and couldn’t make it. He was also being incredibly distant. 

I was sure he was going to break up with me. He’d never acted so strange before! So me being the free-spirited, loose cannon that I am got recklessly drunk that Friday night - so drunk that I woke up the next morning in my mothers bathtub in a pool of my own puke (classy is obviously my middle name). Needless to say, I literally could not move on Saturday. 

When Sam finally came over it took him over ten minutes of knocking on my window pane to stir me from my sleep (this is now obviously after waking up reeking of vomit in the tub and shamefully dragging my ass to an actual bed). 

It turns out that Sam had planned this amazing hike for us that day where he was planning to propose, but after taking one look at me he realised that it wouldn’t happen. Instead, he got me Chinese take-away, season 6 of Californication and filled up my hot water bottle for me; putting me under a blanket on the sofa.

While watching the show and sipping on a vodka to try and cure my other-worldly hangover he started blubbering like an idiot, unable to string two words together - or maybe I just can’t remember what he was trying to say… whatever he said though, he then hauled out this little black box (THE little black box!) which instantly made me choke. 

Was this really happening!? Now?! Here?!

“No!” I breathed, refusing to look down at the box he’d now flipped open. 

“Yes!” he said shakily.

“No…” I repeated, tears forming as I stared right into his eyes in complete shock.

“Yes…” he whispered, holding the box higher up until I had to look.

I didn’t want to look. I was so scared! 

I think my next word may have been ‘Fuck!’ as he removed the ring from the pristine white cushioning and slid it onto my finger. 

The truth is, I didn’t even care what it looked like. 

My biggest and most shallow fear since proposal came a tangible thing to me was that I’d hate the ring… I mean, it’s something you have to wear every day for the rest of your life! What if you hate it??? And there’s honestly no denying that I’m a fussy cow - but……… it wasn’t what the ring looked like that mattered! It was the symbolism of it. I only realised that right there and then.

It was beautiful though. So beautiful, in fact, that it completely broke my heart but made it whole at the very same time. A sort of wholeness I’d never quite felt before. 

Sam knew just what would suit me - what resembled who I am and what we are. The ring is just ‘us.’ I’m overwhelmed by just how well he knows me - it’s better than I know myself. That is why he is my best friend. He knows me for all of my goodness and all of my shitiness - and he accepts it. He loves it! He loves me, with all of my faults and imperfections - God knows someone finally had to! And I love him. With all of his silliness and rebellion. With all of his stubbornness and clumsiness… he’s still my Sam. Adorable and heart-meltingly wonderful. 

After the white gold band was around my ring finger on my left hand, he demanded I get dressed and put some makeup on (I looked catastrophic… the fact that he proposed to me looking like that PROVES his love!! He’s said and and has my sister-in-law!). He wanted to take me out for champagne. 

Well, ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you that the best hangover cure EVER is definitely a proposal!

I pulled up a high-waisted black skirt, squeezed into a floral long-sleeved top that used to be a dress but has now depressingly become to small for me…. I plaited my hair, threw on a black jazz hat and off we went to my favourite bar. We popped champagne, toasted and celebrated. It was such a crazy whirlwind, it still all feels like a bit of a dream. 

Since then, chaos has broken out. 

Our first step was setting a date. When that was done we went out for oysters and wine while we worked on our guest list out in the last bit of Spring-ish sun. 

They were the fun bits - the bits that didn’t overwhelm…. but then Sam left for Malawi, leaving it all up to me. 

Sam said that I should be in charge of it all because it’s my day. I disagreed and told him, no, it’s our day and I really need his input. I know weddings are more feminine things but a guy must have some sort of an idea of little bits and bobs he’d like on his big day too, right??? I don’t want the day to just portray me and what I like. I want it to have chunks of us both as individuals, showing off our personalities as well as bits representing us as a couple. 

I feel it’s really important to plan the day together.

I know there’s little he can do while in Malawi so I’ve taken a bit of a head start. We only have 9.5 months to plan the most important day of our lives! I know I’m being a pedantic planner and over-bearing but so what? HOPEFULLY your wedding day only ever happens once (no offence to those of you who have re-married or who are planning to!), so I really just want it to be perfect. 

The reason I’m so hellbent on planning at least the major things for our wedding day right now is because in just one month we are leaving for Southeast Asia. That’s where I thought if anywhere, he’d propose. Like I said, huge surprise! 

Basically, I want to get a head start so that by the time it comes to us packing our bags for the Philippines and Bali next month, we can take a real break. 

To be honest I think everyone will be relieved when I’m half way across the world…..

I’ve assigned certain things to each month leading up to our wedding day. That way we’re more organised and not so overwhelmed with the crazily intense list of what really needs to be done for a wedding. 

Seriously… there is SO much to think of, I can hardly believe it!!!

So this is my list (so far):

• April:
             Get used to the idea of being engaged.
             Compile Guest List.
             Choose Groomsmen.
             Choose Bridesmaids.
             Choose Best Man.
             Choose Maid of Honour(s)
             Choose Ring Bearer.

• May: 

                     Wedding Venue Month.

                      Research Florists.

                      Research Photographers. 

                      Research Caterers.

                      Research Cake Maker.

                      Assign Master of Ceremony. 

• June: 

                     Wedding Dress Month. 

                      Research Ministers.

                      Research Bands.

                      Research Vintage Car Companies.

• July: 

                     Break.

• August: 

                    Create Invitations.

                    Bridesmaids Dresses.

                    Waist Coats for Men.

                    Save the Date Cards.

                    Begin Makeup Trials.

                    Begin Hair Trials.

                    Decorations!!!

• September:

                   Book Florist.

                   Book Cake.

                   Book Makeup.

                   Book Hair.

                   Dress Fittings.

                   Wedding Shoes.

                   Send Invitations.

                   Decorations!!!

• October:

                   Music Playlist. 

                   Thank You Gifts.

                   List of People Giving Toasts (let them know).

                   Wedding Lingerie.

                   Decorations!!!

• November:

                  Printing of Name Cards and Menu’s. 

                  Assign Seating.

                  Decorations!!!

• December:

                  Marriage License.

                  Bridesmaids / Groomsmen Gifts. 

                  Mother-in-Law Gifts.

                  Make Ring-Bearer Shirt.
                  Decorations!!!

• January:

                  Enter R.S.V.P’s to Final Guest List (Contact people who haven’t responded yet).

                  Last Dress Fitting.

                  Hair Appointment.

                  Start Stocking Bar.
                  Decorations!!!

• February:

                  Bachelorette’s / Bachelors.

                  Spa Day.

                  Get Married!

Is there anything missing!? If you can think of anything please let me know.

The reason that May is so jam-packed is because I wanted to be able to set a budget and as someone that has literally NO idea what weddings cost, I needed to request quotes and price lists beforehand to get an idea on what people actually charge. 

So far, May has been MANIC. Not just with wedding stuff either.

Firstly, I get my journalism degree this month and my pathetic online college that offers the worst service in the world takes 6 months to respond to one email (I’m actually not joking). If that isn’t stress enough, I’m also preparing for my travels overseas next month and this morning I had an email saying my accommodation was unexpectedly cancelled in the Philippines. 

As a 24 year old traveling alone to a brand new country, all I want it to feel some form of safety and security so this obviously brought on panic attacks already. Not to mention it’s typhoon season in Southeast Asia right now!!! 

I organised this trip months ago so that I didn’t have to worry about it right now - but it’s all going pear-shaped!

Furthermore, it’s my birthday this Friday and I’m being mucked around with my schedule, I’m trying to plan as many dress appointments as possible during my ONE DAY in the city at the end of this month and I’ve started to get photography and venue quotes which is scaring the living daylights out of me! I never knew weddings were this expensive! 

It just feels like everything is hitting me all at once and this break to Bali couldn’t come soon enough. Now I finally understand what a honeymoon is for… it’s not to make a baby! It’s to unwind from the months of planning one day that’s over before you know it! Phew!!!

One of the most important things I’ve recently learned is to decide on a venue. This will help all further quotations from photographers, videographers, makeup artists, caterers, florists and more.

So before Sam left we went to view one venue which was beautiful. It was in a forest and very bohemian just like we want - but as perfect as the reception area is, the forest can only seat 40 people. Everyone on our guest list is there for a reason and I don’t want to cut one single person out if possible - so we’re continuing to look.

I’ve booked four more forest venues for us to scope out when he gets back from Malawi and already I’ve been to one wedding dress shop where I tried on two of the most vile dresses I think I have ever seen.

I live in a tiny town so there really isn’t much here - that’s why I’ve made appointments in the city for the end of the month. I have three dress appointments at very high end designer stores and here’s a little secret: I have already fallen in love with a dress…. the problem is that it’s 3 times my salary…. Like I said, weddings are expensive.

I haven’t even gotten to telling you about the cake quotes and my hunt for forest wedding decor like moss for the tables etc. 

I really do seem like a crazed bride-to-be and I guess I kind of am. I’ve already got a folder exploding with quotes and pictures and ideas… I think Sam’s going to get quite a shock when he gets back into the country…

But I really do need his help and other people’s help too for that matter - I mean, I had NO idea you need to tell the minister what you want. I thought that you’d interview a couple of them and they’d tell you want they offer and you’d basically pick and choose. 

How naive am I??? 

When I’ve attended weddings in the past I never really paid attention to what the minister was saying… I was always more interested in the food and booze - sad but true.

So I guess that’s the first place to go from here - quotes and words that we’d like the minister to say… stuff that represents us as a couple and as individuals.

Right now all I know is that I want it to be unique and quirky. 

I want the ceremony to be completely different from what people have seen and heard before. I want it to be something that makes them go, “Wow!” and laugh and be enraptured with… I don’t want it to just be your average, typical wedding.

I want it to portray who Sam and I are - so choosing quotes that symbolise us seems like a good place to go from here - I mean this is what I know we want so far:

• Theme: Bohemian
  
• Venue: Forest
  
• Music: Bongo Drums / Didgeridoo’s
  
• Car: VW Campervan
  
• Color scheme: Mint Green
  
• Cake: Macaron Tower

And what we still need? Well, that seems to be a never ending list…

People say that when it finally gets to your big day, no matter how much you’ve planned it, it will all come together perfectly because you’re spending it with your loved ones and you’re marrying the love of your life. I get that, but I still can’t help but want to try and make it a day that no one will ever forget.

I’ll check in with you soon. 

All my love,

Crazed Bride-to-Be

Blonde or Brunette On My Wedding Day!?

Aloha Bloggers...

So, I'm a bit torn by how I want my hair to be on my wedding day and I'm asking for your opinions!

In the comments below please leave a 'Blonde' or a 'Brunette' so that I can try and figure out what to do. 

Thanks in advance and have a gorgeous day further!

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King | Book Review

"Long live the King" hailed "Entertainment Weekly" upon the publication of Stephen King's On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer's craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King's advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported near-fatal accident in 1999 -- and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it -- fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.

I've never read a Stephen King book before which is odd considering my love of all things horror. I'd actually never even been tempted to pluck one of his books from the shelves in my local bookstore, despite him being incredibly well-known as one of the Greats.
Why that is, I'll never really know... all that matters is that I've read one of his books now.

On Writing fell into my hands when I needed it most - and it was given to me by a very special person in my life... Handsome Bearded Fellow's mum, Cathy.
She's a published author of a book I still have yet to finish reading but from what I've read thus far - I can confidently say that it is absolutely terrific!
She told me upon giving On Writing to me that this was the book that gave her so much inspiration, advice and guidance when she was writing her novel.

She wasn't wrong.

As you all know, I'm in the process of having my book published... or perhaps that's a bit optimistic.
I've sent my manuscript off to literary agents in London and have received an acceptance letter from one so far (no rejection slips just yet.....fingers crossed...). The agent requested the rest of my manuscript along with a handful of other things which I prepared and sent off to her as fast as I possibly could.
That's where I am today - Waiting... Holding my breath.

This book had a calming effect on me. To be damn bloody straight, I couldn't put the damn thing down. Ask Sam (my fiance.... smile), he lost me for a couple of days. I was enraptured in the first book I'd ever picked up of King's and also the first book on 'writing' that I have read as a writer.
The book acted as a guide, it was extremely clever and had an endless supply of (witty) wisdom on the craft at hand.

Another review on this book that I read mentioned that King came across as a 'pretentious sod.' 
More than a couple of reviews had similar things to say.
At times, yes, I admit he seemed a bit condescending... a bit of a knob... but you know what? He says somewhere in this golden little book that  "...if you expect to succeed as a writer, rudeness should be the second-to-least of your concerns. The least of all should be polite society and what it expects. If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered, anyway."  - Too true. So anyone who feels his book is written by a bit of a dick - then that's because he's just telling you the cold, hard truth. Someone has to.

Every writer / aspiring author should definitely treasure a copy of this book.