Recommendations where to start with Stephen King books?

Zer said:
I really like The Long Walk and think it'd make for a great introduction. It's one of the books he released under name Richard Bachman, and I think this little collection is a good platform in general. It includes The Running Man which became the Arnie movie (The book is completely different) and also Thinner, which became a real gem in amongst his movie adaptations
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Agreed fully on the long walk being an ideal
place to start.
 
rex kramer said:
It's getting to be that spooky time of year, and this year I want to finally read a Stephen King book.

I've seen pretty much all the movies based on his work, and for years I've been meaning to read some of his books, but never quite got around to it. So this year I'm gonna read my first Stephen King book.


You guys have any favorites of his, or recommendations on a good one to start with?


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The left one.
 
rex kramer said:
It's a collection of short stories? That would be ideal.
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There's a ton of released short story/novellas collected in different volumes.

The Jaunt or Graveyard Shift are both something you can read in one sitting and be a great introduction. The Jaunt is more of a low key, unsettling sci-fi and Graveyard is more nightmare fuel.

4 Past Midnight has 4 novellas, 2 of them are great. The Langoliers and The Sun Dog would be excellent.

The Mist has been regarded by many as one of his best short form works.


What kind of stuff do you like? His earlier stuff was more pure horror/scary, but they can also be a bit dated at this point. As he got older he stared incorporating more influences and even though he still has a rep as a "scary" writer, so much of his stuff is either a lot more than that or not even a horror story. Shawshank Redemption, The Body (adapted into Stand By My) are classic stories and movies without a hint of supernatural or horror.

His classic novels often tend to be pretty long. Both It and The Stand sail past the 1,000 page barrier.

Pet Sematery is a good one that's doesn't turn into a door stop.

More recently I thought The Outsider was one of his best novels in a long time. The HBO adaptation was pretty faithful.

I'm about midway through his latest, Fairy Tale, and it's got me pretty hooked. And it's just pure fantasy, not a horror novel.



And, like others have said, Long Walk would be a great intro to King. But I wouldn't really classify it as horror. It's also the first book he ever wrote, even if it wasn't the first he published
 
Oh, yeah, there's also some you can avoid.

Tommyknockers.
Cell.
Dreamcatcher.
Liseys Story
Rose Madder

I wasn't a fan of Insomnia but I've heard other people dug it.
 
Pet Sematary is far and away my favourite.

Good length to start with
Actually pretty horrifying.
 
Bob Gray said:
Oh, yeah, there's also some you can avoid.

Tommyknockers.
Cell.
Dreamcatcher.
Liseys Story
Rose Madder

I wasn't a fan of Insomnia but I've heard other people dug it.
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I couldn't get through cell. The movie was horrible too. Coming from 11/22/63, it was a huge disappointment. I'm hooked on time travel and the storytelling was awesome.

The way King describes the consequences of giving the wheel of time the big FU is remarkable. It's ominous.

I suppose they can't get them all right. I'd love to see the book become a movie.
 
chimpoehurricane said:
I couldn't get through cell. The movie was horrible too. Coming from 11/22/63, it was a huge disappointment. I'm hooked on time travel and the storytelling was awesome.

The way King describes the consequences of giving the wheel of time the big FU is remarkable. It's ominous.

I suppose they can't get them all right. I'd love to see the book become a movie.
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Did you ever read The Jaunt? Its an awesome little sci fi short. I think its in Skeleton Crew.
 
chimpoehurricane said:
Why is it your favorite? 11/22/63 is my favorite.
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I liked the atmosphere of it.dark, pretty depressing.

The thing that one me over was how the writing changed ever so slowly as Lewis gets a bit more fucked in the head.
It was actually really spooky

Plus the premise of it was awesome.

From the Stephen King I've read, I think his best quality is character building.


The movie was awesome too.
 
1. Salem’s Lot
2. The Shining
3. The Stand
4. It
5. The Green Mile
6. Four Past Midnight
7. Joyland
8. Skeleton Crew (The Mist)
9. From a Buick 8
10. Dr. Sleep
 
rex kramer said:
It's getting to be that spooky time of year, and this year I want to finally read a Stephen King book.

I've seen pretty much all the movies based on his work, and for years I've been meaning to read some of his books, but never quite got around to it. So this year I'm gonna read my first Stephen King book.


You guys have any favorites of his, or recommendations on a good one to start with?


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Spooky-Halloween-Audiobooks-to-Scare-You-All-Month-Long.jpg
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I did a newsletter thing for my work last year. Obviously chose to base it on King!

A voracious reader since a young age, Cooz
considers himself lucky to experience what
some people call the golden age of content.
Although his preferred medium is still print and
digital books, he loves some of the most recent
film and series adoptions of novels and comics.
To date, Cooz has not found anyone that
is impressed by his proudest reading
accomplishment, but he shamelessly plugs
it with every opportunity he gets. He’s read
98% of novels, novellas, and short stories by
Stephen King and can confirm that no author
can draw you into a story and characters
the way King does within the first 10 pages.
Unfortunately, he also feels that the ending of
King’s stories most often leave something to be
desired, but hey, it’s the journey that counts.
So…keep reading for Cooz's Stephen King
favorites!

Salem's Lot
A small town may
have a vampire
problem. An intense
and anxiety-inducing
story, and the only book
that has ever made me hold
my breath while reading a
page. Fun fact: the recently
released Midnight Mass on
Netflix has been called “basically
Salem’s Lot”.

N
A delightful novella
that ties obsessive
compulsive disorder
rituals to the possibility
of them doing more than providing
temporary relief to the
sufferer. The right number
of knocks on a door, or the
correct distance from a coffee
mug to breakfast plate—what
if these rituals do more than
just stave off the feeling of
inevitable doom, and instead
are the only things keeping
our world secure?

Pet Semetary
Not since has a book been
more aptly named. While
most people leave the
book wondering about
their pets, Cooz made an
oath to never let his kids
have access to a scalpel.

Needful Things
A common theme
in King’s stories
is that ordinary people can
turn into monsters under
the right circumstances. The
proprietor of the Needful
Things store in Castle Rock
can certainly make those
happen. An added bonus is a
slightly eerie feeling whenever
on vacation and you go
into a small shop.

The Running Man
Before Squid
Games and Hunger
Games, there was the Running
Man. First published
under King’s pseudonym
Richard Bachman, it tells the
story of a dystopian future,
where ordinary people can
sign up to a deranged game
show. One of the few times
where the movie was better
than the book (naturally,
because of Arnold).
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Items 3 through 5 are not really in my top 5 (or 10) even, but they are good!
 
Madmick said:
It's pretty simple.

Read his early works. When he was ambitious. The stuff from the 70's and the 80's.
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I’d say it’s like he stopped listening to his editors at a certain point. Most his books are decent at the core but a lot of the newer ones are bloated to hell and take forever to get anywhere
 
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