Stephen King

[Dylan]

Hi, I'm reading Salem's Lot now and love it! I was wondering what else you guys think is worth a read from this author? I really want to read some more of his lighter works. Well, no longer than 800 pages at least! LOL! :D

[Christina Stind]

Of his earlier works, I really like Christine, It and The Shining. I haven't read a lot of his later works but I liked Bag of Bones and I'm looking forward to reading Duma Key.

[Robin]

Well his best - IMHO is the Stand but it is certainly not short. Of shorter stuff I would highly recommend "Four Seasons" which is a set of 4 novellas. Two of them became the movies "Shawshank Redemption" and "Stand by Me". I would also recommend The Shining and The Green Mile.


--
Wife of fantasy author: Michael J. Sullivan
The Crown Conspiracy (Oct 2008) | Avempartha (April 2009)
Reviews: Fantasy Book Critic | Odysssey | Amazon | MidWest Book Review | Huntress Reviews

[Laura (booksnob)]

The Green Mile is amazing. Definitely check it out!

[Slayermel]

I really enjoyed "Bag of Bones" it gave me the creeps.
I read "Salem's Lot" a long time ago as well as "Dolores Claiborne" and really enjoyed them too.
I just read "The Gunslinger" this year and was pleasantly surprised by it, not at all what I was expecting, so I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the Dark Tower series in '09.

[Bishop]

Bite the bullet and read The Stand. It is worth the time.

The Dark Tower series is very good, especially if you have already read a lot of King, primarily because it connects so many of his characters, etc. I probably wouldn't start there...

[Dylan]

Thanks guys. I'm reading It now, and after this I'll read The Shining, The Stand, Carrie, and Cujo. O.k. pick your top ten favorite King novels. This is mine so far:

1)It
2)Salem's Lot

I haven't read any other's yet.

[Robin]

Dylan wrote: "Thanks guys. I'm reading It now, and after this I'll read The Shining, The Stand, Carrie, and Cujo. O.k. pick your top ten favorite King novels. This is mine so far:

1)It
2)Salem's Lot"

You certainly have picked some winners there - Of the ones you list I would say Cujo is in a lesser category than the others. If I were to rate them...
personally it would be

1 - The Stand
2 - It
3 - Salem's Lot
4 - The Shining
5 - Carrie
6 - Cujo

For whatever it is worth.

-- Wife of GR Author Michael J. Sullivan | The Crown Conspiracy | Avempartha

[Janice]

Hi all,
I'm on this Leonard Cohen jag - reading "Favourite Game" and listening to his music as I write today.

Enjoy these holidays!

- Jan

[Kevin]

I've read a lot of Stephen King and I've enjoyed almost all of it. My very favorite King novel is The Talisman. I also really enjoyed the short story collection Hearts in Atlantis. And I would highly recommend the Dark Tower series, but maybe that should be read after you have a few more of his novels under your belt, as it does connect a lot of characters from other books.

[Stephanie "Jedigal"]

I haven't read that many, I kind of gave up on King after a while, but of the 8-10 I've read, my favs were:

The Stand
The Shining
Cujo

I also really enjoyed the concept of Needful Things, but the book was TOO LONG. Yeah, The Stand is long, but the length is better supported by the plot and character development.

My most hated: Pet Sematery. I'm fine with the idea of the book, but this one was so poor (IMO) it made me think he was just writing to meet a contract deadline.

[Kevin]

I also have to say that I loved the Stand. It was my first Stephen King. It may be a little long, but it is well worth it.

[Vicky]

Oh, You Guys!
If you are interested in exploring Stephen King (and I have read almost all of it) I am here to tell you, start with his early stuff -- I especially recommend Carrie, The Shining, and The Stand. Enjoy!

[Jen]

The Stand is definitely my favorite. In other directions, I loved The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon and On Writing.

[Melissa]

The Stand, and his newer one, Cell. EXCELLENT

[Bishop]

Cell was a little goofy at times, but I actually had a nightmare about the "flocks" of people (trying to avoid spoilers). What a frightening concept. I never have nightmares about what I see/read. It was strange.

[Melissa]

I KNOW. the thing is, it IS possible isn't it? I mean, really? We put off getting a cell phone until a few months ago, and still use it only for emergencies.

I thought it was funny that it stated Stephen King doesn't own a cell phone lol

mel

[Slayermel]

Now I'm intrigued, I'm gonna have to read it ;op

[Bishop]

Slayermel wrote: "Now I'm intrigued, I'm gonna have to read it ;op"

Don't get too excited. The idea was better than the execution, although it was nice to see King get back to a good old fashioned horror story. Fun...but not much more.

[Jenni]

The Talisman is awesome, so is the Dark Tower series. The Stand or Insomnia are probably my favorites though, I really got into those. Also, I read Duma Key at the beach this past summer and it was pretty good too.

[Melissa]

okay Slayermel, I agree. the best thing I liked about that book was that it was a good old fashioned horror story. I admit I haven't read much of his other kind of work. After It, I think. Other than misery, before the movie.

[Lorena]

I have Cell at home, along with It and The shinning ... this will be the year!

[Chad]

The first four books of the "Dark Tower" series are very good, with the last three being a little too self-referential. I still liked them though.

"The Stand" and "The Talisman" are both good, if obvious recommendations, but the off in left-field recommendation I'd make would be to read "Desperation" and "The Regulators" (the latter written as Richard Bachman) back-to-back. Its like the same starting point for a story, but driven off in different directions by two different authors. I was thorougly creeped out by those two books.

[Katie]

I've read several of his. My favourites:

The Shining
Lisey's Story
Rose Madder

I started "Duma Key" but, at that time, I wasn't quite in the mood for King. I'll finish it eventually.

[Sarah]

King's part autobiography/part how to book, On Writing, was really amazing. If you consider yourself an author or a writer at all you definitely should check that out.

Also, I think some of his lesser known books, like The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon & Lisey's Story are much better than his popular ones, simply because you don't already know the ending.

[Belinda]

I've been reading King since about the age of 12. Love his work. My fav is definitely "the Stand". I haven't been reading much of his newer books I admit. I've lost track of them all.

[Delirious]

My wife and I are both big Stephen King fans. As far as I know, I've read all of his books. We don't agree much on favorites, so don't let my preferences discourage anyone from reading a particular book. My favorites are:

The Stand
Salem's Lot
The Shining
It
The Dead Zone
Rose Madder

I recently finished "Duma Key" and thought it was excellent. One of the better endings from a King book in my opinion.

I have no love for Cujo, Tommyknockers, Dreamcatcher, or Bag of Bones.

I found the 7th Dark Tower book so disappointing that it colored my opinion of the first 6. From others I've discussed the series with, I'm in the minority so you're mileage may vary.

[Jacqui]

Hi everyone! I really enjoyed Bag of Bones, it was pretty creepy and really an amazing story. Also, for those of you that enjoyed The Stand, try also reading "Swan Song" by Robert McGammon. This book (I thought) was even better than The Stand, but with a similar premise. It is over 1000 pages, and when I was done with it, I could have sat down and read it all over again. Also, if you like King, try reading his son (pen name is Joe Hill, he didn't want his books to sell just because he's the son of "King"). I read his first book "Heart Shaped Box". It will really creep you out.....he's almost as good as his dad!!

[Kara]

My favorite books by Stephen King are the Dark Tower books, hands down. It's the best series I've ever read.

I also love The Talisman.

And Dreamcatcher rarely gets a mention, so I'll throw that one in, too. It's, as usual, far better than the movie adaptation.

No one writes character and character relationships (familial and friendly are his strong suits, imo, over romantic) quite like SK. They're my favorite parts of his stories.

[Amira]

I liked Cell, thought it was great.

[Monique]

Amira wrote: "I liked Cell, thought it was great."

I thought "Cell" was great too. It was the first King book I have read in years.

[Shana]

I used to be a huge reader of Stephen King's stuff. I quit reading his books after....Dolores Claiborne. In my opinion, the older the book, the better. He gets a little goofy onw and then. that's ok, with me, I just lost interest in his stories. The Talisman is my favorite. I also really liked The Stand. Thinner was good, and that's a very light read. All of his earlier short stories are great too. Hearts in Atlantis I liked quite a bit. I haven't read anything of his in years. I may just go back ad read a few again.

[Bishop]

YEah, the Delores Claiborne/Gerald's Game duo put me off King for a bit as well.

[Shana]

It seems like he lost his "edge" or something. He started pumping out books so fast, and I think he just lost some of what I used to think was so interesting about his story-telling.

[Cynthia]

Shana wrote: "It seems like he lost his "edge" or something. He started pumping out books so fast, and I think he just lost some of what I used to think was so interesting about his story-telling. "Shana: if you're interested in his background and rationale for some of his work, you might enjoy "On Writing," it covers a lot of King's personal demons: cigarettes, booze, car-pedestrian accidents. Gives one a lot of insight into the man and his motives.

[Vicky]

Shana -- I totally agree. I think his early work is amazing -- "The Shining", "Carrie", "The Stand" etc. The later ones, not so much. In the later books, I keep having the feeling that he has a whole staff of grad students doing the writing for him, after he has given them an outline to work from.

[Sarah]

Hmm I prefer his newer stuff to his older stuff. Weird how people like different things!

[Eliza]

I don't think anyone mentioned "Misery". That's probably one of my favorite of Stephen King's novels.

[Tenijha]

I realize the OP asked for suggestions two years ago, but in addition to the novels which everyone has already mentioned, have you tried his collections of short stories? I love them almost as well as the novels, and they are great for reading just before bed, as you can read a couple and then put it down. If you like to read terrifying stories before bed, that is!

[Maggie]

My favourite is The Shining - but I hated the Kubrick movie adaptation.

[Regine]

My favourites are The Eyes of the Dragonand Bag of Bones.

[Nathalie]

My favourites are Misery and The Long Walk.

I like his recent work.. such as Duma Key and lisey's story.. but his work from the 80's still stands its ground.

[Maggie]

My least favourite is Lisey's Story - I finished it but really disliked it.

[Yassemin]

Me too! Not a major fan of Just After Sunset either.

Aside from those and a couple of short story collections (which I'm not keen on anyway regardless of whether they are King's or not)..I love most of his work.

I love the Dark Tower Series in particular although more along the lines of sci-fi in tone.

[Justin]

King was the first author I started reading around 6th grade or so. So there may be some sentimental bias in this order.


Stand- Long, but may be the best thing he'll ever do.

On Writing- Just read it. When he talks about getting hit it reveals where his sense of humor in all his works come from.

Silver Bullet/Cycle of the Werewolf- 1st book I read

Green Mile- Great movies, but the books were a
thousand times better.

IT-

Dark Tower Series- Great. Although as stated above I thought the ending really didn't give credit to the first 6.

Cell

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.


The Dark Half

I have trouble with this short works.

Also check him out as Richard Bachman, can't remember the title of my favorite but I'll try to edit when I do.

[jb]

I just finished Carrie and I really liked it, but I don't think Carrie is on the list. This was the first King novel I had read. I did read his On Writing book which I really liked.

[Becky]

Just finished "Under the Dome" - similar to The Stand in that the horror is what happens to a community of people during a crisis. I was not wild about the ending - seemed a bit abrupt after such a build-up, but overall, well worth the 1000+ pages!

I couldn't read any SK for years after reading Pet Semetary - the "monsters" haunted me for years! I will probably never bring myself to read "It" - I think it might push me over the edge.

[[deleted user]]

I will start Under the Dome in the next couple weeks I think - I heard it was good, but not as good as The Stand (how could it be really though?).

I have rad the first five of The Dark Tower, but have heard awful things about the sixth, so I have been putting it off for a year!

[Cee]

It really is the scariest book I have ever read. Just couldn't read it at night at all.

[Scott]

Becky wrote: "I couldn't read any SK for years after reading Pet Semetary - the "monsters" haunted me for years! I will probably never bring myself to read "It" - I think it might push me over the edge."

It is my favorite Stephen King book. I read it when it came out and reread it a few years later. It is definitely the scariest of his books IMO.