Stephen King

[sfbloodbrother]

I want to get into reading one of his books, which would you recommend me reading first?

 

[Dngrsone]

Personally, I like his old stuff-- the short stories in Night Shift, Carrie, et cetera.

 

[jhtalisman]

The first one I read was "It" but is almost 1100 pages. Cujo is one of his earlier works that is classic King, or something a bit more modern would be "Cell".

 

[Dngrsone]

It was painful to read...

 

[norweger]

I really enjoyed King's non-fiction book On Writing.

 

[sfbloodbrother]

The first one I read was "It" but is almost 1100 pages. Cujo is one of his earlier works that is classic King, or something a bit more modern would be "Cell".

i've started to read "it" - no pun intended, and really liked the intro, with the kids and the murder. But I am looking for something a bit shorter. 1100 pages is a mission.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Night Shift his fifth publication is a collection of short stories and is probably a good starting place. The original stories from the movies "The Mangler". "Graveyard Shift", "Sometimes They Come Back: and a couple of others are in there. Reading those stories really helps you understand why Stephen King was so pissed at the movie industry for awhile there.

 

[sfbloodbrother]

Night Shift his fifth publication is a collection of short stories and is probably a good starting place. The original stories from the movies "The Mangler". "Graveyard Shift", "Sometimes They Come Back: and a couple of others are in there. Reading those stories really helps you understand why Stephen King was so pissed at the movie industry for awhile there.

Thanks. I will have a look on the online Library.

 

[ocnbrze]

he has got a ton of great books to read.

• cujo
• christine
• dolores clairborne
• the shinning
• the dead zone
• it
• the stand

those are the ones i have read and loved. i could not get into the dark tower series myself.

the stand and it are my two favorite books from stephen king.

 

[Dngrsone]

Night Shift his fifth publication is a collection of short stories and is probably a good starting place. The original stories from the movies "The Mangler". "Graveyard Shift", "Sometimes They Come Back: and a couple of others are in there. Reading those stories really helps you understand why Stephen King was so pissed at the movie industry for awhile there.

... and yet half the movies based off of Stephen King novels are actually better than the books.

 

[dibblebill]

... and yet half the movies based off of Stephen King novels are actually better than the books.

The other half aren't worth mentioning

My favorites/recommended:

The Dark Tower (ESPECIALLY books 1-3)
It
The Stand
Four Past Midnight
Cell
Nightmares and Dreamscapes
Cujo
The Shining
Christine

[*]the shinning

Been watching the Simpsons? Couldn't help pointing this out...

 

[NYCHitman1]

I read one of his recent books, 11/22/63, which I really enjoyed.

 

[ocnbrze]

I read one of his recent books, 11/22/63, which I really enjoyed.

i bought that book a while ago and i still have not had the chance to read it yet......LOL

i think books will always be better than the movie. i'm sorry but "it" was a way better book than the movie and same goes for "the stand" as well.

i think the only one that captured the essence of the book was maybe "the shinning", delores clairborne", and "misery".

 

[Dngrsone]

i think books will always be better than the movie.

One notable exception has to be The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton. The movie was okay, the book was crap.

 

[ocnbrze]

One notable exception has to be The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton. The movie was okay, the book was crap.

that is one of the few crichton books i have not read yet.......but that is for another thread

 

[sfbloodbrother]

I decided to check out Night Shift as it was available from the Mymediamall.com. I may want to read IT as I hear a lot of you have liked this book.

 

[jhtalisman]

i bought that book a while ago and i still have not had the chance to read it yet......LOL

i think books will always be better than the movie. i'm sorry but "it" was a way better book than the movie and same goes for "the stand" as well.

i think the only one that captured the essence of the book was maybe "the shinning", delores clairborne", and "misery".

Stand by Me (The Body), The Shawshank Redemption, and The Green Mile were all very good adaptations of his stories that followed his storyline as it was originally told.

The Dark Tower series has been off and on and off again several times as far as movie/tv adaptations go, but I don't think that the magnitude of that entire epic saga could be told without 30-40 hours of screen time.

 

[ocnbrze]

Stand by Me (The Body), The Shawshank Redemption, and The Green Mile were all very good adaptations of his stories that followed his storyline as it was originally told.

The Dark Tower series has been off and on and off again several times as far as movie/tv adaptations go, but I don't think that the magnitude of that entire epic saga could be told without 30-40 hours of screen time.

ok yes there are exceptions to this. i did forget that those were stephen king stories. i love those movies, for sure. i have never read them, however.

 

[general eclect]

'The Stand' was the first King book I read. Took me a week or three to get through it, but it was well worth the effort. Some of his books got a bit same same after a while, but over all I like his work. Can't see why some people like 'It' and 'The Stand' yet don't like the 'Dark Tower' series, I loved them.

 

[ocnbrze]

'The Stand' was the first King book I read. Took me a week or three to get through it, but it was well worth the effort. Some of his books got a bit same same after a while, but over all I like his work. Can't see why some people like 'It' and 'The Stand' yet don't like the 'Dark Tower' series, I loved them.

i tried like twice to get into the books, but i just could not for some reason when it comes to the dark tower series.......i might try and give it a go again sometime......lol

 

[Gmash]

I'm a big King fan, so many good ones, but I am surprised so many people like "It". The beginning with the kids was good, but the whole giant spider monster living in the sewer lost me. King is at his best with psychological horror/character work imo.

 

[davoid]

The Tommyknockers was the first King novel I read, and it was what got me into reading I thought it was so good. Very tense scenario with a few humans trying to avoid capture and assimilation by mind reading alien-possessed town people. Doesn't sound much put in those terms, but King's characterization is second to none and so is his ability to build tension. And this has it all.

The Stand is a very long book - longer than It but anyone who has read it will tell you it is worth it. It is almost biblical in scope. I like both novels, but The Stand has one of my favourite characters, Larry Underwood.

Misery, if you haven't already seen the movie, is brilliant. Non-supernatural, psychological horror. Brilliant tension, and not half as long as the others. This is one of the few novels that received an almost perfect film adaptation. I remember seeing a photo of Cathy Bates when the film was announced, and she looked exactly like I had imagined Annie Wilkes to be. And she rightly won an Oscar for that part. (Is this the only Oscar-winning King adaptation? I believe so.)

I have to admit I haven't felt compelled to read any of his later works, but you can't go wrong with his earlier stuff. It is why he is famous and was repeatedly top of the best-seller list for many years.

 

[Bob Maxey]

I have to admit I haven't felt compelled to read any of his later works, but you can't go wrong with his earlier stuff. It is why he is famous and was repeatedly top of the best-seller list for many years.

SK once said that he was the literary equivalent of a burger and fries. No pretensions, just solid writing people seem to like.

I like that in a writer.

Here in Utah, there is a writer so full of herself, many want to see her cut off at the knees. Many dislike her because she is a less than so-so writer with an Everest sized ego. Recently, her editor dropped her and a deal fell off the cliff, so she is writing ad copy for a small firm here in SLC.

I admire Mr. King. What he went through was sad, but at least he is writing again.

I hope the Dome does well

 

[NYCHitman1]

I recently finished Doctor Sleep, which I really enjoyed. While it was not a full-on sequel of The Shining - it was very entertaining. I would recommend it to anyone that has read The Shining and likes SK's style of writing.

 

[Gmash]

I recently finished Doctor Sleep, which I really enjoyed. While it was not a full-on sequel of The Shining - it was very entertaining. I would recommend it to anyone that has read The Shining and likes SK's style of writing.

I liked it, too. Low on the scare factor, but good character development.