(WPF) On Writing / Stephen King - 4****

[Book Concierge]

On Writing – Stephen King
Audiobook narrated by the author
4****

My original rating when I read this in 2011 was 3* and here’s most of that review:
This is both a helpful book on how to write, and a memoir of King’s own journey from young boy to published author. Frankly, I think he should have either written a memoir, or written a how-to book rather than trying to do both. He does explain in the afterward what he was thinking of organizing the book this way … first a sort of resume explaining how he became a writer and giving his credentials to tell others how to do it, followed by the how-to part. He also explains that the writing of this book was interrupted by the serious accident in 1999 when he was hit at high speed by a van, requiring five major surgeries and two years of therapy to be able to walk normally again.

I am not an aspiring writer myself, but I found that the how-to portion of the book was more interesting to me than the memoir of his childhood and youth. I think hearing King expound on what makes a good writer, will make me a better reader. Perhaps what most disappointed me in the book was that I did not get the sense that he was particularly passionate about writing, or that he derives great joy from it. He says those words, but I didn’t really believe him. Maybe that’s because he narrated the book himself, and there was something about his tone or accent or inflection that failed to connect with me. Perhaps I would have had a more positive experience if a different reader had performed it, or if I had read it instead of listened to King narrate it. Whatever it was, I ended up feeling lukewarm to the whole package.

UPDATE July 2022
I don’t know where my head was at when I first listened to this book, but on re-listening I really liked it a lot. In fact, despite my original rating and review, I’ve been singing this book’s praises to people over the last decade, remarking how King’s book on writing has made me a better reader by giving me a better understanding of the craft. And, I thought his narration on the audiobook was perfect. I cannot imagine another person reading it, for the story is so personal.

This time, the text edition that I got from the library was the tenth anniversary edition (there is a 20th anniversary edition as well), and it included some very interesting additional material that was not on the audio at all, including lists of about 200 books he’s read and found enjoyable.



LINK to my review