Stephen King is awesome

[Titanoboa92]

I know his stories are sometimes about the most unrealistic situations, but when I'm reading, I feel like they're really happening. He includes human details in his characters that make them extremely lifelike. Since his characters are so relatable, it makes his books even more disturbing.

[autumnmarie]

I grew up with Stephen King and highly enjoy his consistent Maine references.

[jenlb7806]

My son is 14 and a big reader. I just got him started on King. His first was The Shining.

[Smokey]

I can't say I like every Stephen King book I've ever read. I really did not care for The Tommy Knockers, for example. But when he's good, he's very, very good. The Shining, The Stand... And I do believe he is one of the very best modern short story authors of today. Many of his stories are as good as anything I've ever read in the genre.

[Monkeyface23]

I've never read anything by Stephen King. I'd really like to change that, but I have no idea where to start. Any suggestions, recommendations? Thanks!

[AlexisDaniels]

I agree.. King is awesome! I am partial to his older stuff though.

[Smokey]

I've never read anything by Stephen King. I'd really like to change that, but I have no idea where to start. Any suggestions, recommendations? Thanks!

It depends, I guess, on which movies made from his books you've seen, and if that bothers you. And how much you like horror. I love "The Shining", "The Stand", "11/22/63", "Joyland", "The Dark Man", "It", "Salem's Lot", "Dolores Claiborne", oh and on and on.

It might be interesting to begin with one of his earliest books and then move on to the later ones. I believe "Salem's Lot" and "Carrie" are two of his earliest. Not all of them are horror books, but they all have something a little eerie about them. I don't care for books involving animals that are weird or hurt, so I do not like "Pet Sematary" or "Cujo". And "Misery" is a little too much for me.

[jenlb7806]

I've never read anything by Stephen King. I'd really like to change that, but I have no idea where to start. Any suggestions, recommendations? Thanks!

I would probably start with some of his short story collections to see if you like King before you dive into one of his novels, which tend to be lengthy. "Different Seasons", "Night Shift", "Skeleton Crew", etc.

[Genova]

I think Steven King has to be my favorite author. The sheer brilliance of his themes always makes for a good read. There are true gems in his work. I started reading 'It' and never stopped with him. The thing with King is that he is able to state something mind blowingly intelligent in such a subtle and understated way.
I read the 'Shawshank Redemption' after seeing the movie. Big mistake. With King's novels, I feel that it is far better to read first and watch later. I have so far not seen a film based on a Steven King book that comes close to capturing the in depth connections he makes in his novels between people, extraordinary events, the supernatural and the unexplained. The two movies that do come to mind are 'The Shawshank Redemption' (even though the book was far better) and 'The Green Mile'.

The most disturbing of King's works was 'The Long Walk.' It never sat comfortably with me, which is King's brilliance. I can liken him to the ancient Roman poet Ovid who also wrote works that never sat comfortably with me. 'The Rape of the Sabine Women' was one of them. Both Ovid and King seem to have mastered the art of not providing the nicely wrapped up comfortable ending and not providing motivation or reason for the unexplainable.

Brilliance in its truest form.

[Smokey]

I think Steven King has to be my favorite author. The sheer brilliance of his themes always makes for a good read. There are true gems in his work. I started reading 'It' and never stopped with him. The thing with King is that he is able to state something mind blowingly intelligent in such a subtle and understated way.
I read the 'Shawshank Redemption' after seeing the movie. Big mistake. With King's novels, I feel that it is far better to read first and watch later. I have so far not seen a film based on a Steven King book that comes close to capturing the in depth connections he makes in his novels between people, extraordinary events, the supernatural and the unexplained. The two movies that do come to mind are 'The Shawshank Redemption' (even though the book was far better) and 'The Green Mile'.

The most disturbing of King's works was 'The Long Walk.' It never sat comfortably with me, which is King's brilliance. I can liken him to the ancient Roman poet Ovid who also wrote works that never sat comfortably with me. 'The Rape of the Sabine Women' was one of them. Both Ovid and King seem to have mastered the art of not providing the nicely wrapped up comfortable ending and not providing motivation or reason for the unexplainable.

I agree that the movies don't do the books justice, although some of the movies are very good in their own right.

I've never read "The Long Walk". I'll have to do that.

Brilliance in its truest form.

[Monkeyface23]

Thanks, jen & Smokey. I will look up your suggestions on Amazon and see which catches my attention most. Thank you for your help.

[1tinkerbell72]

mrs. bucket has just finished Stephen King's new book, "Mr. Mercedes". It was a little strange reading an S. King novel that was not horror or supernatural(this one being a thriller)but maybe this will be a new genre for him. As soon as I seen it on the shelves I pounced on it, and when I turned the last page I was a little sad that this tale was over. Now we have a few months to wait for Mr. King's next book "Revival".

[LorenaBBooks]

I love him. His work, in my opinion, is a master class in character development. I don't read the scary stuff, he's too good at writing it and it scares the crap out of me. The Stand is pretty much perfection and I LOVED his 11/22/63. I read that monster book in two days. I'm very interested in Mr. Mercedes. My son swears I have to read the Tower series but I couldn't get through the first couple of chapters of the first book. So...I guess there is some of his work I don't relate to. I also like that he's still writing his own work. I've heard that a lot of authors that are very well established have other authors writing their books. Has anyone else heard that?

[Smokey]

I love him. His work, in my opinion, is a master class in character development. I don't read the scary stuff, he's too good at writing it and it scares the crap out of me. The Stand is pretty much perfection and I LOVED his 11/22/63. I read that monster book in two days. I'm very interested in Mr. Mercedes. My son swears I have to read the Tower series but I couldn't get through the first couple of chapters of the first book. So...I guess there is some of his work I don't relate to. I also like that he's still writing his own work. I've heard that a lot of authors that are very well established have other authors writing their books. Has anyone else heard that?

I know James Patterson writes a lot "with" other writers and has for a long time. Recently, I've noticed a couple of other authors doing the same thing. But I've not heard of anyone completely turning over the writing of books and publishing them under their own name alone.

[smilesandsunshine]

I love him. His work, in my opinion, is a master class in character development. I don't read the scary stuff, he's too good at writing it and it scares the crap out of me. The Stand is pretty much perfection and I LOVED his 11/22/63. I read that monster book in two days. I'm very interested in Mr. Mercedes. My son swears I have to read the Tower series but I couldn't get through the first couple of chapters of the first book. So...I guess there is some of his work I don't relate to. I also like that he's still writing his own work. I've heard that a lot of authors that are very well established have other authors writing their books. Has anyone else heard that?

Stephen King is my favorite author, and The Stand is my favorite stand-alone work by him. But The Dark Tower series as a whole is my favorite work. Yes, the first book, The Gunslinger, is a little tough to get through. I read the original version, back before he completed the series and went back and edited The Gunslinger, so it was a bit painful. You have to remember, he started that book 20 years before it was ever published, and I think it took him something like 30 or 35 years to complete the whole Tower series. Make yourself get through it, and I promise, you will fall in love with the rest of the series.