#booksky Surprisingly, and embarrassingly, I have never read a Stephen King novel. I have just read 11.22.63 and loved it. This means I have a lot of reading ahead of me! Next up?
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So, a majority recommended The Stand as my next #StephenKing. A third of the way through. Pages have flown by but I'm not relating to the characters in the same way. Obviously rooting for Frannie but, I don't know what it is that's not clicking? Too many characters? No interaction between them?
Been a while, but The Stand is still a favorite King novel of mine. I really liked It too, but if you don't care for clowns, you may want to skip that one.
The Running Man is grim, but excellent. His book On Writing is great if you’re interested in the craft. Im 3 books into The Dark Tower series and that’s just delicious fantasy.
Welcome to the "Constant Reader"club! If you want to take a deep dive, I would suggest going in chronological order of the published date. There are so many Easter eggs throughout his novels that I think you might miss by not starting with the older works.
I just finished a Stephen King “trilogy” - Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch. Features Det. (Ret.) Bill Hodges & Holly Gibney. Read Fairy Tale earlier this year - fantastic! You have lots of great reading ahead.
That’s the only one I’ve read, though I love a lot of non-horror movies based on his stories like The Green Mile, Stand By Me (story title; The Body), The Shawshank Redemption, etc. so I’m definitely going to read more.
You have to read them alone, in a strange house that you're house and pet sitting, where you don't know the house noises 🤣🤣🤣🤣 it's more fun than an amusement ride. I read "It" that way 😬😳😵💫🤣🤣🤣
Interesting. I used to read Ray Bradbury when I was a kid, and always thought King must have been influenced by him. The sense of sudden acceleration into a vortex where the language is enriched.
I will look out for Joyland thanks.
At my godmother when I was in 1977 on the couch overnight and couldnt sleep, so my godsister handed me The Shining to read. Needless to say, of course I fell asleep at 6am after finishing the book because I couldn't put it down!
The Dark Tower series! It's my favorite he's ever written, followed by Desperation, The Regulators, Dreamcatcher and Christine. But I definitely recommend the entire Dark Tower series.
Stephen King bibliography https://en.wikipedia.org
King has published 65 novels/novellas, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, and five nonfiction books. He has written over 200 short stories.
God!
Ooh I'm so excited for you to go on this journey! A lot of people have mentioned some great ones - The Stand in particular - but my personal favorite is Bag of Bones, which I consider to be really underrated. If you liked 11/22/63 I think you'll like Bag of Bones.
I was a teenage boy when I read Stephen King's, The Long Walk. Some of those scenes, in the mist of my imagination, are to concrete to ever be forgotten
I love reading.
I love watching the movies made from Stephen King's work.
Why I haven't put the two togther yet is beyond me.
Next time I am in a used bookstore ...
I’d never read any of his novels until I read 11.22.63. I loved it so read more. I still only read/like his non-horror novels. Pick wisely if you’re not into horror.
I've never even picked up a Stephen King novel. Last year I read my first horror novel but it was pretty tame. I'm a bit nervous to try to jump into any of his texts to be honest.
I'm not a horror fan. 11.22.63 was great but I don't and right up my street being historical science-fiction but I suppose you can't read King without trying out the horror too
First SK I read was novella The Body because Id seen film Stand by me. Later read The Shining due to King's vocal discomfort with Kubrick's interpretation. And I read Carrie year's after seeing the movie. I come from a film analysis background. Which should be my next King read remade as a film.
Oh and Shawshank Redemption, I'm in habit of seeing films first reading his books second, any book I should read that stands alone without a film or series
The Stand was my first Stephen King Novel. I own and have read at least 70 of his novels. If horror isn’t your thing the Stand and Dark Tower series are wonderful. I don’t really think of most of his stories as horror. More supernatural than horror.
I just finished Eyes of the Dragon for the fourth time! It's not as long as some of his doorstoppers and it's written like a fairytale. (A *good* fairytale!)
There are characters and place names that tie in with the Dark Towers but it spoils nothing.
Different Seasons. One of his best works (three of the four novellas are adapted): "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption," "The Body," and "The Apt Pupil." @stephenking.bsky.social
Just because I don’t see it mentioned here, I have to recommend Fairy Tale (excellent as an audiobook). If you’re like me and can’t handle serious horror these days, this is such a great story.
Unrelated: Pet Sematary scarred me for life.
That was my favorite, so far. I read it over a weekend, stopping for a few short breaks. Pet Sematary was also a great read. But now I'm taking my time reading his On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. I'll admit that I've seen more of his films than read his books.
A few (probably already listed, I can't see replies) - Carrie, Christine, Cujo, Salem's Lot, The Shining. NOTE: Alphabetical order, not necessarily order written. One more I forget the title, guy is working in a carnival & gets clairvoyance.
I grew up reading all the classics (Tolstoy, Hugo,etc). My husband had pushed me to broaden my horizons. So I chose S King. Started with Bag of Bones, Needful Things, & Under the Dome. Loved them all. Kept going. Now I read other horror and think "how would King have better written this story?"
I would say, Eyes of the Dragon, the Stand, then the Gunslinger. That order should give a decent overview of the mythos/world building. And you bookend the Stand with two shorter novels.
I read Stephen King does not like his novel Tommyknockers. But I loved it! I read it twice, long ago, not sure if it holds up, but I remember it being a fresh, interesting, vivid, weird story that worked well as a fable about addiction, obsession, and technology. And I loved the characters.
My absolute favourite piece of writing ever is his "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption", which is novella-length. It was in an anthology that I don't remember the title of, sorry. "Fairy Tale", his latest, was very readable but ultimately kind of disappointing.
I've read The Stand five times over the course of my life starting when I was a teen. Each time read completely different, depending on that phase of my life. It's a truly exceptional book!
So many great places to start!
Some favorites of mine: Eyes of the Dragon; Cycle of the Werewolf; Rose Madder; Delores Claiborne; Gerald's Game (VERY intense) Insomnia.
Avoid Dreamcatcher.
Have fun!
Not a single recommendation for Gerald's Game. But there it is! Not quite horror. More suspense thriller. It's so good and is as close to watching a movie I feel like I've ever been while reading a book. (The movie version didn't quite land for me though.)
I'll be honest, I read that book with such a clear vision of what the film version should be, any other adaptation was never going to hold up. Not to take anything away from Mike Flanagan tho. He did a fine job.
I never did like fiction, but when I watched some of the movies that were made from his books, I thought I should read them and see how close to the book the movie is (The Green Mile is very close). From then, I can't stop reading them!
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I will look out for Joyland thanks.
https://en.wikipedia.org
King has published 65 novels/novellas, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, and five nonfiction books. He has written over 200 short stories.
God!
I love watching the movies made from Stephen King's work.
Why I haven't put the two togther yet is beyond me.
Next time I am in a used bookstore ...
Stand.
There are characters and place names that tie in with the Dark Towers but it spoils nothing.
Cell
Under the Dome
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordan-this one unnerved me for quite a while
I don’t like horror, but these worked for me. Oh, probably Misery too, although I watched the movie first and so it’s not quite the same.
Unrelated: Pet Sematary scarred me for life.
YMMV
For reference, I was an inpatient with nothing else to read. I chose to wait days for my own books to arrive instead of reading his annoying ass 😭
Some favorites of mine: Eyes of the Dragon; Cycle of the Werewolf; Rose Madder; Delores Claiborne; Gerald's Game (VERY intense) Insomnia.
Avoid Dreamcatcher.
Have fun!
The movie was terrific !!
Thanks for reminding me 🙌
The Shining. Yes, even if you saw the movie.
Firestarter. Yes, even if you saw the movie.