JerryB Needs to Read EVEN MORE Stephen King

[Jerry]

Abbreviations, Conventions:
RIWICOOSA = Read It When It Came Out Or Soon After
SIDFI = Started It, Didn't Finish It
ROPOTO = Read Only Part Of This One
# = the number of times I've read it, otherwise once (1)
Boldface = This is for legitimate SK "TBR" books; arbitrarily, I don't feel obligated to include (a) nonfiction, (b) collaborations, (c) edited books
√ = read it

Carrie (1974) - yes, believe it or not, I haven't read this one
√ Salem’s Lot (1975) RIWICOOSA
√ The Shining (1977) RIWICOOSA
√ Rage (1977) RIWICOOSA
√ Night Shift (1978)
√ The Stand (1978) RIWICOOSA
√ The Long Walk (1979) [by Richard Bachman]
√ The Dead Zone (1979) RIWICOOSA
√ Firestarter (1980) RIWICOOSA
Roadwork (1981) [by Richard Bachman] SIDFI
Danse Macabre (1981) ROPOTO
√ Cujo (1981) RIWICOOSA
The Running Man (1982) [by Richard Bachman] SIDFI
√ The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (1982) 2
√ Different Seasons (1982) RIWICOOSA
Christine (1983) - another inexplicable omission
Cycle of the Werewolf (1983)
√ Pet Sematary (1983) 2
The Eyes of the Dragon (1984) SIDFI
√ The Talisman (1984) with Peter Straub
Thinner (1984) [by Richard Bachman]
√ Skeleton Crew (1985) RIWICOOSA
√ IT (1986) RIWICOOSA
√ The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three (1987)
√ Misery (1987) RIWICOOSA
√ The Tommyknockers (1987) 3 RIWICOOSA - say whaaa? yeah, this was the first SK book I read that I didn't love, but it has come to be one of my all-time favorites; don't get me started! I love this book!
√ The Dark Half (1989) RIWICOOSA
The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition (1990)
√ Four Past Midnight (1990) RIWICOOSA
√ The Dark Tower: The Waste Lands (1991)
√ Needful Things (1991) RIWICOOSA
√ Gerald’s Game (1992)
√ Dolores Claiborne (1992)
Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993) ROPOTO
√ Insomnia (1994) 3
√ Rose Madder (1995)
√ The Green Mile (1996)
√ Desperation (1996) RIWICOOSA 2
√ The Regulators (1996) [by Richard Bachman] RIWICOOSA 2
√ The Dark Tower: Wizard and Glass (1997)
√ Bag of Bones (1998) 2
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999) SIDFI
√ Hearts in Atlantis (1999)
Storm of the Century (1999)
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000)
√ Dreamcatcher (2001)
Black House (2001) with Peter Straub
√ Everything’s Eventual (2001) RIWICOOSA
√ From a Buick 8 (2002) 3 - another widely disrespected SK book that I just happen to love; again, don't get me started!
√ The Dark Tower: Wolves of the Calla (2003)
√ The Dark Tower: Song of Susannah (2004)
√ The Dark Tower: The Dark Tower (2004)
Faithful (2004) with Stewart O’Nan - ROPOTO
The Colorado Kid (2005)
√ Cell (2006) RIWICOOSA
√ Lisey’s Story (2006)
The Secretary of Dreams: Volume One (2006)
Blaze (2007) [by Richard Bachman]
√ Duma Key (2008) 2 RIWICOOSA
Just After Sunset (2008) - SIDFI
√ Under the Dome (2009) 2 RIWICOOSA
Blockade Billy (2010)
The Secretary of Dreams: Volume 2 (2010)
√ Full Dark, No Stars (2010)
√ 11/22/63 (2011)
The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012)
Joyland (2013)
The Dark Man (2013)
√ Doctor Sleep (2013)
√ Mr. Mercedes (2014) RIWICOOSA
√ Revival (2014)2
√ Finders Keepers (2015 RIWICOOSA
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015) ROPOTO
√ End of Watch (2016 RIWICOOSA
Charlie the Choo-Choo (2016) [by Beryl Evans]
Gwendy’s Button Box (2017) with Richard Chizmar
Sleeping Beauties (2017) with Owen King SIDFI
√ The Outsider (2018) RIWICOOSA
Flight or Fright (2018) coedited with Bev Vincent
√ Elevation (2018) RIWICOOSA
The Institute (2019)
√ If It Bleeds (2020) RIWICOOSA

[Kandice]

What is the difference between SIDFI and ROPOTO?

[Michael]

I've had your Tommyknockers experience, where I didn't like a book that much on the first read, but appreciated it much better on the second.

[Jerry]

Kandice wrote: "What is the difference between SIDFI and ROPOTO?"

Ah, a very astute question. It's actually more about the difference between novels and other kinds of books. Books of short stories and nonfiction books are things I can dip into here and there so those can be ROPOTOs, whereas novels pretty much need to be read from the beginning, so those are always SIDFIs. 😊

[Jerry]

Michael wrote: "I've had your Tommyknockers experience, where I didn't like a book that much on the first read, but appreciated it much better on the second."

It's very odd, isn't it? But experiences like this do make you a bit more humble about evaluating books, when you see, not just how different one person's reaction to a book can be from another person's, but how different your own reaction can be from yourself at a different time, in a different mood, with a different attitude or approach.

My Tommyknockers experience, though, has been an extreme version of this ... this novel literally changed status from "first SK book I didn't like" to "one of my all-time-fave SK books".

Was your experience with a Stephen-King book, or something else?

[Kandice]

I've said this many times, and it bears repeating, the books never change, but I do.

[Michael]

Jerry wrote: "Was your experience with a Stephen-King book, or something else? "

I was just short of hating DESPERATION the first time, but really enjoyed it the next. To a lesser extent, I wasn't keen on CELL, but liked it much better the second time around.

[Laura]

Me neither. For me there is a big age effect (first reads were as a teenager). But the better understanding of the messages and themes in the books did make me quit some of them because all of a sudden they were too horrific for me. Hahaha

[Laura]

So true. I have not nearly read all of them but i think the books he wrote in the last decade are different from those he wrote at the beginning.

[Angie, Constant Reader]

I like the title of your thread!