Favorite Stephen King Audiobooks

[Karen B.]

Bobby, I agree with you. I have a set of short stories and King narrates the first one himself. I feel like he's just reading the paper not even trying to put emotion into it. I honestly thought it was just me. There are a few other (usually indie) authors who narrate their own books and I want to scream ... "Pay for professional narration!"

[Patricia]

Anything of Stephen King's that is read by Frank Muller.

[Sara]

Honestly, I hated listening to him for the majority of the book. But then I realized the book was kinda about him (a well known author living in a small Maine town) and he put a HUGE effort into the narration, so I went along for the ride. it was obvious he was proud of his story and his characters, and did a great job on the Maine accents!

[Margo]

It's Got To be The Stand read by grover Gardner. But basically anything he didn't read himself! Authors should be banned from narrating their own work.

[Bobby]

Margo wrote: "It's Got To be The Stand read by grover Gardner. But basically anything he didn't read himself! Authors should be banned from narrating their own work."

I don't even remember what the last thing was that I listened to Stephen King read but it was like, he would emphasize the wrong word -- of his own writing! It made less sense or had less of an impact because of the way he read it. Love the guy, I really do, but holy smokes.

[Vanessa]

I'm clearly in the minority here. I enjoyed his narration in both Bag of Bones and Hearts in Atlantis.

[Doris]

I disagree with Margo on authors being banned from narrating. I love hearing Stephen King. And listen
to Neil Gaiman. I could listen to Neil Gaiman read a phone book,also Grover Gardner,(not an author), but a gifted narrator. Much as I enjoy the J.D.Robb series, I can't stand the narrators, so I don't "read" them anymore. Too bad!!

[Travis]

I like listening to Stephen King. True he doesn't have a wide range but he has a pleasant voice with smooth delivery

[Karen B.]

I will say I like falling asleep to SK's voice.

[Travis]

Karen B. wrote: "I will say I like falling asleep to SK's voice."

Valid statement. That is exactly how I feel with John Lee

[Janice]

Vanessa wrote: "I'm clearly in the minority here. I enjoyed his narration in both Bag of Bones and Hearts in Atlantis."

I also enjoyed his narration of Bag of Bones. It took me a bit to get used to it, but once I did, I couldn't envision anyone else read it.

[Karen B.]

I am trying Bag of Bones. I listened to the sample and it was okay so I got it. But it's in my TBLT (To be listened to) pile.

[Michael]

Doris wrote: "I disagree with Margo on authors being banned from narrating. I love hearing Stephen King. And listen
to Neil Gaiman. I could listen to Neil Gaiman read a phone book,also Grover Gardner,(not an ..."
I agree. Stephen King and Neil Gaiman narration are bot fantastic IMHO.

[Jeanne]

Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers

[Hunchback Jack]

I wouldn't want King to narrate all his work, but I enjoy it greatly when he does.

[Craig]

Margo wrote: "Authors should be banned from narrating their own work."

My favorite audio book of all time was The Tailor of Panama narrated by John Le Carre. He did a different voice for each character and they all rang true. But better still, you really got the author's intent in every word!

I agree with Margo in general, but exceptions can be exceptional.

[Abigail]

I found it especially satisfying to listen to Stephen King narrate the book about his own life and writing On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft because the stories were personal and he told them naturally. I often describe it this way that if you're listening to an autobiographical audiobook narrated by the author him/herself, ESPECIALLY while driving, then it's like you've got the person sitting next to you in your car telling you their life story. (I think I used this exact description in an earlier audiobook thread so sorry if you're hearing me say it again!) but it's especially true of Stephen King. I was sitting in a Starbucks listening to him in "On Writing" talk personally and openly about the accident when he got hit. To hear him talk about it now and the pain it caused him, it was very emotional for me hearing that and to hear him talking of it in his own words & voice.

But he's got a great sense of humor too so when he told humorous stories, you'd find yourself laughing out loud!


i>Craig Faustus wrote: "Margo wrote: "Authors should be banned from narrating their own work."

My favorite audio book of all time was The Tailor of Panama narrated by John Le Carre. He did a different voice for each char..."

[Michelle]

I've only listened to two by King: Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers. Both are excellent. The narrator is a perfect fit for these two books.

[~☆~Autumn]

Does Stephen King read any of them?

[Janice]

Autumn♥♥ wrote: "Does Stephen King read any of them?"

No, Mr Mercedes and Finders Keepers are narrated by Will Patton.

[Simone]

Michael wrote: "Also note that link above to Stephen King narrators is a bit incomplete. That mainly gives the retail releases. There are also some rarer ones like 1978 The Stand from Books on Tape, and The Regula..."
i have skeleton crew, downloaded via "you know what"... if you're unfamiliar with that type of contents, i could pass the book to you via Google Drive or similar cloud services. let me know

[Michael]

Simone wrote: "Michael wrote: "Also note that link above to Stephen King narrators is a bit incomplete. That mainly gives the retail releases. There are also some rarer ones like 1978 The Stand from Books on Tape..."
I've seen that version. Pretty nasty quality though. I wish I could get a better version.

[Sarah]

Huge Stephen King Fan Here!
On my audible account I have more Stephen King than anything else. Did anyone else find the narrator on The Talisman hard to listen to? I cant wait to listen to the newest book! I have it pre ordered already.

[Sarah]

My favorites are the Classics- The Stand, It, The Shining, oh and I loved Duma Key.
I never got into the Gunslinger books.

What are everybody's favorites and least favorites?

[Kimberley]

Koeeoaddi wrote: "Duma Key was well narrated. I also like Stephen King's narrating his own book, On Writing."

Thanks for mentioning this. I've read On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft but audio sounds like a great idea to experience it again. Downloaded just now. Appreciate the suggestion.

[javadiva]

I wouldn't call myself a SK fan but I listened to Misery earlier this month & it was awesome!!! I laughed at crazy Annie a few times & the ending--I could barely handle it! Just so good. I was able to dismiss the one part that SK went overboard with Annie's craziness.

I really liked the storyline, so Finders Keepers is next for me.
Oh there's one I've been wanting to read, it's about a man who exercises on a stationery bike or treadmill & believes someone is chasing him. SK always hits my funny boy. In a weird way. Does anyone else find him humorous?

[Margo]

Sarah wrote: "Huge Stephen King Fan Here!
On my audible account I have more Stephen King than anything else. Did anyone else find the narrator on The Talisman hard to listen to? I cant wait to listen to the newe..."

Sarah, I've only listened to the beginning of The Talisman and wasn't keen on the narration. Also bought the follow up book Black House narrated by the same guy. Didn't bother to listen to the sample as I'd read the print version when it came out. Still, i probably would have bought them anyway!

[SAJ]

Loved listening to the Talisman. I probably listen to it once a year. One of my favorite King novels.

[❆ Crystal ❆]

SAJ wrote: "Loved listening to the Talisman. I probably listen to it once a year. One of my favorite King novels."

I've never listened to The Talisman, but I read the book. Would be interesting to listen to...

[❆ Crystal ❆]

I love all of his new works as audios. 11/22/15, Dr. Sleep, Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers... all fantastic.

[Kathleen]

My dermatologist and I discuss books while he zaps me. He is a big fan of Stephen King and said he recently heard Kathy Bates excellently narrate one of his stories. I checked Audible and discovered she is a narrator in his Nightmares And Dreamscapes collection. I'm adding it to my very long list.

[Hunchback Jack]

There have been previous posts in this thread about the hard-to-find unabridged recordings of Desperation (narrated by King) and The Regulators (narrated by Frank Muller).

Well, they are hard to find no longer. Audible released both this month. So if you have a couple of credits to spare, go get them!

https://mobile.audible.com/pd/Fiction...

https://mobile.audible.com/pd/Fiction...

[Michael]

Oh wow that is incredible news!

[Pamela]

I enjoyed Mr. Mercedes but I'm listening to 11.22.63 now. It's. So. Good!!! I get chills thinking about it. I'm only 10 hours in, 19 more to go. I'm captivated by the clean writing, the descriptions, the character development, the pacing, the story itself! It's pretty great. I watched the first two episodes on Hulu and I can't watch anymore. The book is soooooo much better. The TV series is so off and re-written so much that it's unrecognizable in a lot of places. I'm back to the audiobook. It's my favorite Stephen King book to date.

[Joy]

Finished 11/22/63 a week ago. My first King novel. Loved it.

[Grumpus, Hearing aide]

Joy wrote: "Finished 11/22/63 a week ago. My first King novel. Loved it."

Was my first King book as well and LOVED it too. Also, enjoyed Mr. Mercedes as my second King book.

[Kristie]

Joy wrote: "Finished 11/22/63 a week ago. My first King novel. Loved it."

I read a few of King's horror books (like The Shining) back in my teenage years. 11-22-63 was my first adult take on King about 3 years ago, and I too loved it. I've since read (and loved) Bag of Bones, The Talisman, Black House, The Stand, Hearts in Atlantis, Dolores Claiborne, and Joyland. The Gunslinger didn't grab me as much, but I've heard the series is worth reading, so I will read the next one.

[Hunchback Jack]

I really think King is at the top of his game right now. You could pretty much read any of the books he's written in the last five years, if you've never read him before. And 11/22/63 is one of the better ones of this period.

[Janice]

Kristie wrote: "The Gunslinger didn't grab me as much, but I've heard the series is worth reading, so I will read the next one. ..."

The first book in the series is a bit painful. But the rest of the series is amazing. I want to read them all again, maybe next year.

I'm really looking forward to End of Watch which is being released on Jun 7th.

[Robert]

I have every audio book that King was the author of, so needless to say I love Stephen King. The audio books I like less are the ones King reads. Great author not so much on acting/reading.
My Favorites would be all read by Frank Muller (RIP).

[Bill (Just a)]

Kristie wrote: "The Gunslinger didn't grab me as much, but I've heard the series is worth reading, so I will read the next one. ..."

Stay with it. You may meet a friend from some of your previous reads... like "Hearts in Atlantis".

[Kristie]

Bill (Just a) wrote: "Kristie wrote: "The Gunslinger didn't grab me as much, but I've heard the series is worth reading, so I will read the next one. ..."

Stay with it. You may meet a friend from some of your previous ..."

Oh yes, that's right. I have The Drawing of the Three in my TBL pile. At the rate I'm listening to audiobooks these days, I should get to it by this time next year. :-/

[Latoya]

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams

It had multiple narrators but Mr. King gives the intros and history of his stores, his life etc. that was best part!

[Kelly]

I'm listening to End of Watch right now. I'm engrossed. I loved Finders Keepers.

I got Misery audio book from the library yesterday too. Glad to read a few good reviews in this thread for it!

[AudioFile]

Aurelia here for AudioFile to announce that End of Watch has arrived! And it's great.
Here's a clip and review: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/revi.... Enjoy!

[Hunchback Jack]

I'm listening to End of Watch right now, and I have to say that Will Patton is a very, very good narrator.

This trilogy, as a whole, might just inch its way into my top 5 King audiobooks.

[Michelle]

I'm also listening to End of Watch and loving this trilogy. Will Patton as narrator gives it that little something extra.

[AudioFile]

Aurelia here. Love it that Michelle and Hunchback Jane are listening to and loving the End of the Watch trilogy.

Thought you might enjoy Will Patton's profile page at AudioFile: http://audiofilemagazine.com/narrator.... He really is good, isn't he?

[Samyann]

I like the Bill Hodges Trilogy narrated by Will Patton.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

But, one I listened to years ago, Bag of Bones, is written and narrated by Stephen King. I really enjoyed, his narration was great.

[Kathleen]

I just started listening to Misery. It is even better now that my husband told me that Kathy Bates plays Paul's nurse in the movie. I now hear Bates in my head and visualize her in action.