Amazon exceeded expectations and I received my order today. To make free shipping I threw in some things from my wish list. Now it appears I neglected to include the very title I intended to buy, like a dope. So I thought I would pick up a Kindle copy for two or three bucks, but it is not available because "there is an issue with its description, content, or formatting." Too bad, because legitimate Kindle books enable sharing of notes and highlights which would be handy for a group reading. Hunting around for a free electronic copy, I happened upon masterandmargarita.eu, a (possibly NSFW) stupendously devoted fan site for the novel, probably crammed with spoilers, with links to social media accounts, a mobile app for the novel, and extensive background information and notes, including a map of locations. I will hold off exploring until I start the book, but it looks like a good resource.
Oh cool a map would help out a lot, that's a good find. As a side note, The Stand is a fantastic book, good choice! At the moment I started the book and am almost finished with the second chapter (like 25-30 pages). I'll stop here and wait for everyone to get it and read up to the same point , but right now its great a really unique plot.