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What was your first Stephen King book?
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Roberto
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Aug 31, 2014 04:12AM
My first one was Duma Key, but it was the second one, 'Salem´s Lot, that really got me into Stephen King's books
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My first was Misery. I was a sophomore in high school. Then I proceeded to read nothing but Stephen King novels until I graduated high school and my college professors insisted I broaden my horizons. I even wrote my senior year thesis on Stephen King.
My First Stephen King book was Carrie. Even though, I read it after seeing the movie years later. I also thought the book was better. Still love the movie though.
My first book was The Shining. In the first few years I probably read Christine, Salem's Lot, Cujo, The Shining, and Pet Sematary. Once I was hooked I couldn't stop.
My first Stephen King book was Night Shift. I checked it out of my junior high school library during lunch. Many years ago! :D
It was IT, and I was so scared...even years later!
My first was Different Seasons. Stand by Me has always been my favorite movie, so I had to read the short story it's based on. Started with The Body, quickly finished the other novellas in the collection . . . then moved on to Carrie. The rest is history!
The Bachman Books collection starting with Rage....pretty powerful when you're 14!
My first one was Misery when I was 17, I guess. I loved it and I'm still in love with it. It's my favorite from King and I think I'll never get tired of this great, great book.
I'm guessing I may be a bit unusual in that my first book by Stephen King is On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft :)
I'm not sure I can remember the very first King book I read, but the one that really got me started to read more was The Dark Half.
my first Stephen king was about a possessed car called Christine.
Paolo wrote: "I'm guessing I may be a bit unusual in that my first book by Stephen King is On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft :)"A pretty great place to start... though it does give away some plot secrets.
MiZzy wrote: "my first Stephen king was about a possessed car called Christine."My 3rd... and I really loved it. Loved it even more on my second reading. Lots of great insights into teenagers and their relationship with their parents. (Not really counting Arnie, of course)
My first King book read was The Gunslinger of the Dark Tower Series.
"Carrie" was my first SK novel. I read it in 1976 when I was a junior in high school. SK is the author that was the most definitive of my lifetime.
Carrie was the first SK novel for me as well. I remember not really understanding a lot of it because I was so young. I can appreciate the context much better now, her victim/villain persona. Salem's Lot was the book that thrilled me, and frightened me, the most!
For me it was “Shining” in Russian :)Still remember it, because I wasn’t really fan of so called “horror” style (yes, where I came from, everyone thought of King as “horror” writer), and was ready to stop reading once it is obvious that the book is boring, like I found many other “horror” books. But in fact, this one turned out to be great, and I realized how stupid are those who classify King as merely “horror” author. This also was the second book in my life by then (I think I was somewhere at the end of the high school, speaking in US terms), which actually scared me.
This translation was not bad actually, which is not at all true for many many other King’s books unfortunately. At that time I didn’t read in English other than easy school stuff, so I had to read translations, and that is one of the reasons I didn’t read many of King’s books. Generally Russian translations are not bad, but that is true about more “classic” literature. As for King, he was popular when Soviet Union started to break apart, and people were able to print and publish anything they want. But unfortunately with the freedom of contents came freedom of quality :)
And since King was finally allowed, demand was huge, and mediocre (and sometimes simply bad) translators, sometimes students, were hired by newly created small publishers to quickly create many King’s translations (I’m sure mostly they were also illegal from copyright point of view).
Anyway, once I came to US, I returned to reading King, now in English, and found out (surprise!) that he is even better writer than I thought :)
It was so long ago, probably at least 25 years, but I think my first was probably Skeleton Crew. I binged on a bunch of others immediately after that.
stansult wrote: "For me it was “Shining” in Russian :)Still remember it, because I wasn’t really fan of so called “horror” style (yes, where I came from, everyone thought of King as “horror” writer), and was ready..."
That's the most surprising thing for most critics, King is an excellent writer, one who really knows his craft. The other things they miss is that it's his character development that sets him apart. As for translations... now you know how we feel when we try to read Dostoyevsky. Yes the translations are higher quality, but still not the real words.
Nick wrote: “…now you know how we feel when we try to read Dostoyevsky. Yes the translations are higher quality, but still not the real words.”Nick, not every Russian knows Dostoyevsky well actually. I honestly tried to read him, but no luck :)
His way of writing is too strange for me, so maybe later…
As for translations from English (and other languages) into Russian, it’s rather interesting topic. Thing is, when we speak about “classical” literature, especially the kind that was officially published in Soviet times in USSR, the translation was mostly of a very good quality. Main reason is that many intelligent and talented writers could not write and be published (because the things they wrote were not in line with censorship), so what they did for living was translating, which provided them decent income. So you had a remarkable amount of really good writers who put their creativity to work by translating others. There is a well-known saying (some even attribute it to the author himself) that Kurt Vonnegut’s Russian translations are better than originals :)
But the choice of what to translate depended on what will be published, and that depended on censors and authorities. So things that were “questionable” from this or that point of view didn’t make it. For example, science fiction was generally frowned upon (nobody cared about demand, which was really crazy), so there was a very small amount of writers who for some reason were considered “progressive” enough to be published in USSR — and others were omitted. Partially it was not bad, because in most cases those who made it were really good (Ray Bradbury, for example, was extremely popular; Kurt Vonnegut is another example). But this also left out many good writers, who were not progressive − whatever that meant :)
My first Stephen King Book was Dolores Claiborne.
stansult wrote: "Nick wrote: “…now you know how we feel when we try to read Dostoyevsky. Yes the translations are higher quality, but still not the real words.”Nick, not every Russian knows Dostoyevsky well actuall..."Thanks for the insights. Great story about the translators. Finding a fresh and good translation of a work you like is a real treat. Also I didn't mean to stereotype -- though assuming that all Russians are required to read Dostoyevsky can hardly be considered a negative, I hope. When I was in school we all had to read Mark Twain. I read Huckleberry Finn for three years in a row and re-read it every time, same with Wm. Falkner. Anyway, if you go onto e-bay, you can get the classics illustrated (comic book) version of Crime and Punishment - which was the first one I read. Pretty great. Given America's rich history of comics it makes great sense. Those comic books were so well done you could use them to study for final exams and pass even if you never read the original.
Nick wrote: “Also I didn't mean to stereotype -- though assuming that all Russians are required to read Dostoyevsky can hardly be considered a negative, I hope”No, I didn’t think about stereotyping or negativity − it’s more about too positive view; we are not that educated, alas :)
Well, for me comics are undiscovered yet; we didn’t have such thing as anything more than simple stories for small kids. I know a lot now about it, but still can’t make myself read at least one :)
As for Mark Twain − since he wasn’t in school program fortunately, I loved him. Of course, I read him in russian, and it was really good. I still like him very much. But most of the stuff (Russian classical literature) we learned at school made me hate it. I slowly change the attitude during my life, but not sure if I ever read War and Peace, Crime and Punishment or A Hero of Our Time, although I now agree they are probably great books.
The first was Carrie in '75, and about 16 more over the next 20 years. Then not a single one for the next 20 years or so. Tons of other stuff though. All genresNow, picking him up again, for me, is like going back to your childhood home town. It's familiar and comfortable, and there's an appreciation for it that wasn't there before.
Nick, you intrigued me with that English translation. I have to look it up one day. Dostoyevsky has such a rich language. King is simple, there is no fancy there, everybody can read his work. Dostoyevsky is opposite. I absolutely love Crime and Punishment, its such a great piece. I never read it in english , and because its such a simple language, it must have been difficult to execute the 'atmosphere' of the book. Definitely something to check out.
Susan saying King uses simple language makes me really think about how his work would be translated. Of course I know it is, because I see the foreign editions pop up, but it's hard to wrap my mind around how that might change his meaning. Hmmm...I have a tendency to really love novels translated from Swedish. I wonder how much that has to do with the way Swedes speak and therefor write? So do American writers have similar quirks/styles simply because they are American?
stansult wrote: "Nick wrote: “Also I didn't mean to stereotype -- though assuming that all Russians are required to read Dostoyevsky can hardly be considered a negative, I hope”No, I didn’t think about stereotyping..."a good place to start with comics are the graphic novels of the dark tower series. They start with my favorite part... wizard and glass. check them out. as for the classics, I loved The Idiot and war and peace. Also the 1966 Russian film version of war and peace may be one of the very best film to book conversions far better than the american version.
Susan wrote: "Nick, you intrigued me with that English translation. I have to look it up one day. Dostoyevsky has such a rich language. King is simple, there is no fancy there, everybody can read his work. Dosto..."I thought the atmosphere came across really well in C & P. For some reason I just got hooked on Dostoyevsky plus this books all had great plots which is something that Mr. King would approve of. BTW I do think King's descriptions are beautifully written. I mean it's not easy to do... as I always ask how many ways are there to describe a sunset. King brings originality to that task.
Kandice, Swedish is soooo similar to English. It may not sound like it at first, but when you get into it, it really is. Plus basically everybody born in Sweden speak English pretty much perfectly. In tv they dont use dubbing, just subtitles, and because they love american stuff, you can hear that their accent is quite "americanized". It used to be quite a nice country, beautiful views, and you can see moose occasionally :P.
Nick I absolutely agree. Also, because he writes in such easy way, everybody can enjoy it. I think in "On writing" there was something about "keeping it simple", if I remember correctly.
One more thing: before I moved permanently to England, I used to get used books here, and sell them back home. King was always hot. I mean, I never had a chance to even look at a page.
UK is the same. They love old Stephen a lot in here. Makes it easy, charity shops always have Kings, so you can get a book for 50 pence or a pound ( about 80¢-$1,60).
Susan wrote: "Kandice, Swedish is soooo similar to English. It may not sound like it at first, but when you get into it, it really is. Plus basically everybody born in Sweden speak English pretty much perfectly...."It's hard to write simple from the get-go. I have to rewrite and rewrite to turn my convoluted sentences into simplicity. But once I get the thing going I think I can keep the voice consistent and the style simple.
Night Shift. I read it on a class trip to Washington, D.C. in I'm gonna say 1984. I honestly can't remember how I happened upon that book, but for the whole 10-hour trip, I ate it up like it was pancakes for Sunday breakfast. And, of course, later on some of King's beasties popped into my dreams to say howdy -- Hall's giant rat queen, Beth Rogan's timberwolf, Lester Billings' Boogeyman, the thing that used to be Richie Grenadine, the Mangler, and an adorable little vampire. I was always hooked on short-story anthologies (I loved the ones compiled by Alfred Hitchcock, like Get Me to the Wake on Time and Stories Not for the Nervous; they were a scream), and I think that Night Shift might've been the first one I read that was all written by one author. More often than not, though, those compilations were boring. Not this one.
stansult wrote: "Well, for me comics are undiscovered yet; we didn’t have such thing as anything more than simple stories for small kids. I know a lot now about it, but still can’t make myself read at least one :)"I've never been a comic reader either, even as a child. But one thing I've come to learn is that the characterization and back story of comic characters is rich and exquisitely detailed. Anytime I hear of something that is based on a comic book, it gets my attention because, similar to King's work, they all seem to have such a rich history.
My first King book was Desperation back when I was a wee lass of 11... I'm 26 now lol. It scared the lights out of me then... and it scares the lights out of me now. Certainly one of my favorite King novels by far, and I can't understand how some people don't like it. Tak!
Different Seasons <3 I read it last year and still my favourite book ever <3 <3
Megami wrote: "My first King book was Desperation back when I was a wee lass of 11... I'm 26 now lol. It scared the lights out of me then... and it scares the lights out of me now. Certainly one of my favorite ..."
I'm one of those guys who didn't like it. To me it was beyond gory, unredeemably so. And there didn't seem to be a moment of brightness in the whole thing. I was also disappoint in just who survived and who didn't. But I think it's time to give it a re-read. Lot's of people whose opinions I respect really like it. So it's on my list of books to go back to and reconsider.
Kandice wrote: "Susan saying King uses simple language makes me really think about how his work would be translated. Of course I know it is, because I see the foreign editions pop up, but it's hard to wrap my mind..."So true! He uses so much slang and dialect in his books that I can't imagine how they come across when they're translated.
Dolores Claiborne comes to mind.
I read somewhere that often the American slang is translated as colloquialisms or slang from the area being translated for. I think it was Alice Walker talking about The Color Purple.
Speaking of slang, I just finished Gone With The Wind. I honestly couldn't read some parts of it the dialect was just so..... over my head.
E. wrote: "I read somewhere that often the American slang is translated as colloquialisms or slang from the area being translated for. I think it was Alice Walker talking about The Color Purple."You are right. The American slang is translated as colloquialisms or slang of the country it is translated for. And that can be quite annoying. I live in Belgium and my native language is Dutch but I always read his books in English. Having said that, when I was young (a thousand years ago) I read them in Dutch and still thought they were great!
John wrote: "The Bachman Books"Wow! For The Long Walk to be one of your first King's! I've been reading him since Carrie, but didn't read the Bachman books as they were published. I so, so wish I had.
The Stand, back when it first came out in paperback and I was in junior high. Carried that mammoth sucker with me every school day, looking for free time to read it. Think it took me all school year long to read it. Couldn't believe what I was reading.
C. wrote: "The Stand, back when it first came out in paperback and I was in junior high. Carried that mammoth sucker with me every school day, looking for free time to read it. Think it took me all school yea..."Do you remember what the paperback cover was? I have one of the original HBs and that cover is one of my all time faves.
There is a series of re-releases (is that the right word?) of his novels in paperback that I really dislike the covers.
How could you replace the original Cujo cover (that I can't find on here, but you know the one!) with this?
my first king book was "Firestarter" ... i worked at the shakey's pizza where charley and her dad drive by in merrilville, indiana ... the bartender there was reading the paperback and showed me the passage ... i borrowed it and have been hooked ever since
It was the 80s and we had been watching his TV series / movie adaptations for a while. My brother was a huge crazy fan of his and got his books. First one I read was 'Misery' - remains my fave.
My first book of his I read was "The Green Mile" and I'm so glad I did.
"Carrie" was also my first Stephen King book. I actually saw the movie first then read the book a few years later. This definitely started my interest in his other books!
E. wrote: "The first was Carrie in '75, and about 16 more over the next 20 years. Then not a single one for the next 20 years or so. Tons of other stuff though. All genresNow, picking him up again, for me,..."
Your SK "journey" pretty much mirrors my own: started with Carrie in the mid-70s, read everything I could get my hands on thereafter, stopped for about 20 years, and then decided to reread The Stand this past summer. So glad I did! You said it perfectly; it was like coming home again.
Stephen King Fans
Books mentioned in this topic
Nightmares and Dreamscapes (other topics)The Long Walk (other topics)
The Mist (other topics)
The Eyes of the Dragon (other topics)
Christine (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Stephen King (other topics)Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (other topics)
Ray Bradbury (other topics)
