Personally I think The Shining was by far the best book selected for this class. The intensity is what kept me reading. What bothered me is the question on whether or not Jack would have gone crazy if he wasn't at Overlook. I think not, because there has to be a certain level of situations that is needed to drive a person crazy. A lot can be tolerated, but the events of Overlook, I think, is enough to make anyone nuts. I think Jack took the job as an escape, time to be with his family, but in the end he ended up alone and crazy. I loved how the hotel came to life, because, in a way I think that the hotel was the biggest character of the novel. This book was the only book so far that kept me wanting to flip the page, which made it a faster read.