Books, Movies, Music & Entertainment - Any Stephen King fans in the house?

I'm currently reading Cujo, my fourth King novel. I previously read Needful Things, The Shining and Carrie.

I've read a bunch of his stuff. Duma Key was the latest. He develops some interesting characters and storylines but too often fizzles at the end. imo

Very big fan...make IT your next book.

I used to read nothing but history and biographies.

Then I stumbled upon Dreamcatcher (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamcatcher_%28novel%29) and its been sci-fi ever since.

If you're his Number 1 fan, I suggest "Misery."

If you're his Number 1 fan, I suggest "Misery."

Will do. ;)

Pet Sematary is the only book I've ever read that freaked me out enough to leave the hall light on. I was 17 when I read it.

I've read all his books between Carrie and Rose Madder, as well as a smattering of his output since Rose Madder. I have to say I prefer his earlier work, which is why I stopped automatically buying every new King book past Rose Madder. The ones you've already read are among the best he's ever written, but other highlights are The Dark Half, The Dead Zone, and Misery.

His short story collections aren't to be neglected either though. I would say Different Seasons is probably the best of the bunch. It contains the novellas that became the movies Stand by Me, Apt Pupil and The Shawshank Redemption.

And if you're interested in the writing process, and King's writing process in particular, I can heartily recommend On Writing. Brilliant book.

Read "The Stand" - fantastic book.

I also like, "Cell", "From a Buick 8", and "Dream Catcher"

Misery, Thinner, Cujo, and The Stand were my favorites. Pet Sematary was good, too. And, of course, the books were better than the movies. Although, the movie adaptation of The Stand was pretty good.

Forgot to mention the Dark Tower series.

It's... good. It's not entirely my cup of tea, but it's good. The first three in the series are excellent, and the fourth is very good too, albeit a bit different than the rest of the series. But with 5-7 it feels like King was rushing through it, and not allowing for the editing process to fully take its course.

Perhaps he did rush them, as he wrote them around the time of his near-death experience of getting hit by a car, and he's been pretty open about it igniting a fear in him that he wouldn't have enough time to tell the stories he wanted to tell.

At any rate, the series of 7 books is a worthwhile read, and King considers them his magnum opus.

Out of curiosity I had to look up his library to recall all of his stuff that I read. In no particular order. The ones in bold I recall liking the most.

The Stand
It
Salem's Lot
Firestarter
The Tommyknockers
Misery
Pet Sematary
The Talisman
Black House
Cycle of the Werewolf
Carrie
The Dead Zone
Cujo
Christine
Insomnia
Bag of Bones
Duma Key
Desperation
Dream Catcher
Different Seasons

Black House is the sequel to The Talisman and is pretty good, I finished it the other day. Both books are Stephen King/Peter Straub collaborations. You might want to check out Straub's Ghost Story too if you enjoy reading about supernatural doings and such. By far the best story dealing with phantasms that I've ever read. King and Straub had an agreement to write a novel about a haunted town, Straub wrote Ghost Story and King wrote Salem's Lot.

^Laurel MD. Nice. I grew up down the road in Beltsville.

I highly recommend Danse Macabre. It's not fiction but goes a long way towards shedding some light on Kings influences, and his thoughts on Horror fiction in general.
I always thought his earlier work was his best stuff, after It things started getting
a bit too weird. I'm not impressed with his weaving parts of other stories (characters etc.) into
his later books (Regulators into Dreamcatcher etc.). I did think Dumas Key was good and a return to form for me.
While we're discussing his works read his Bachmann books, then step back and consider he basically wrote the story Rage while he was in junior high school.

I've read just about everything he's done...Gunslinger series is brilliant and ties together all his books...just don't read the epilogue in the final book of the series.
I love The Stand, even without the supernatural aspects it is the one of the best end of the world tales ever written.
Bauchman books are good..The Long Walk is my favorite of those.

Anyone read Under The Dome? I saw it in the store yesterday and wondered about it.

Anyone read Under The Dome? I saw it in the store yesterday and wondered about it.

It's pretty good. Typical SK book, a great page turner and addictive reading but the ending is a little weak.

I thought everyone was a King fan, that's why he's got so much money

The Stand is still my favorite of all.

Anyone read Under The Dome? I saw it in the store yesterday and wondered about it.
It's too drawn out for my tastes. I'm halfway through right now and wish the end was in sight. While it's an enjoyable enough story, and King has clearly given the concept a lot of thought, there's simply too many goings on and too many characters for it to keep my interest. Fans of his longer books would probably like it.

It's pretty good. Typical SK book, a great page turner and addictive reading but the ending is a little weak.

I thought everyone was a King fan, that's why he's got so much money

The Stand is still my favorite of all.

Thanks. Sounds like par for the course on a lot of his stuff. I may try the library for it though. The Stand is still my favorite as well. Really liked Duma Key of his recent stuff.

It's too drawn out for my tastes. I'm halfway through right now and wish the end was in sight. While it's an enjoyable enough story, and King has clearly given the concept a lot of thought, there's simply too many goings on and too many characters for it to keep my interest. Fans of his longer books would probably like it.

Thanks. I was surprised at how long it was. May give it a go.

Bauchman books are good..The Long Walk is my favorite of those.

Me too. I absolutely love that one.

I'm a really big fan because I'm a big fan of many of his influences, like EC Comics and Richard Matheson, plus he's been writing as long as I've been able to read. Pretty much everything up until Thinner is gold, in my opinion, then it gets a little more sporadic with his good books. I kind of have a 50/50 like/dislike thing going on with his books now, and I can't believe he effed up the Dark Tower series as badly as he did.

The cool thing is, he's probably the most famous writer ever, so he gets to do things nobody else does, like make his own chap books, pulp novels, comic books, movies, tv series, etc. I wish some of my other favorite writers had had the freedom to do whatever ridiculous idea got in their heads.

Just remembered another of his. Storm of the Century had to be one of his better TV adaptations. Really liked that miniseries.

Read quite a bit of his stuff. 'Salem's Lot is by far my favorite. I have read it a bunch of times and love it still. Takes a pretty straight-forward horror theme and plants it nicely into the present...well, 1975. Really good book.
Pet Semetary reeeaaallly creeped me out. Man, that little kid wreaking havoc and the sister that was kept in the back room when the wife was young...brrrrr.

Several years ago I spent some time backpacking around Australia. The hostels in which I often stayed had book libraries on the 'take one / leave one' format and this proved to be a boon when preparing for long bus rides or upcoming nights in a tent, far from anywhere. Most of the books were the most unimaginable dreck, Jackie Collins, Sydney Sheldon and the like but occasionally you could score a Stephen King which made the journey much quicker.

I'm currently re-reading all his stuff, in the order it was written (or at least, published). Currently I'm up to Cujo and it's every bit as good as it was all those years ago.


Very big fan...make IT your next book.

When I first read 'It' I felt like my entire life had been vindicated.

"See? SEE? It's not just me that thinks they're frickin' creepy!"

If you're his Number 1 fan, I suggest "Misery."

On the long bus rides I mentioned in my last post, we usually got a video, or very occasionally two. These were sanitized like airline movies in that there was no swearing, nudity or violence and were often edited to the point of incomprehensibility. But not the night they showed us "Misery". I hadn't heard of it at that point and had no idea what to expect but was hooked from the get go.

By the time Kathy Bates was making sure James Caan wouldn't try to escape again (you know...that scene, I was sitting with my fist in my mouth thinking "Oh dear m*****f******G** she isn't going to...oh J**** f****** C*****...oh crap I wasn't ready for that!"

It was another 10 years before I could bring myself to read the book.

^^Yeah that movie lived up to and may have even exceeded the book.

Connell, that sounds like a good idea. I think I may have to start from the beginning also. Some of the early ones I have only read once, and it has been so long I only vaguely remember them...

IT and The Stand are the two best in my opinion, but I like all his stuff. Just bought the Dome and have not started it yet, also just findished a book of King's short stories, the title just slips my mind right now.

^^Yeah that movie lived up to and may have even exceeded the book.

Agreed. Excellent casting choices on that one. Kathy Bates was so good in it, I just can't see her in any other role, which is a bit unfair on my part.

Out of curiosity I had to look up his library to recall all of his stuff that I read. In no particular order. The ones in bold I recall liking the most.

The Stand
It
Salem's Lot
Firestarter
The Tommyknockers
Misery
Pet Sematary
The Talisman
Black House
Cycle of the Werewolf
Carrie
The Dead Zone
Cujo
Christine
Insomnia
Bag of Bones
Duma Key
Desperation
Dream Catcher
Different Seasons

You've gotta check out The Shining. That is one of my all-time favorites next to Needful Things.

^True. I've seen the movie several times and just figured it would spoil the book for me so I never picked it up.

I too am a King fan. To the point where I'm in his book club and receive all the new books in the mail. I personally did really like Under The Dome. The largest and probably the fastest book I've read (I read the uncut version of The Stand afterwards). The Dark Tower series was great and I was highly dissapointed when it ended (not the ending, just the fact that there are no other books). Then I stumbled across another writer that has a book series similar to The Dark Tower. Ted Dekker. He's a christian writer, but with a lot of King flare. His stories are more about the fight between good and evil. His circle series (was originally a trilogy, but then he added a 4th book to wrap things up along with 6 or 7 "Lost Books" that is a side story to the main story) is alot like The Dark Tower where alot of his other books and characters has important ties to the series. If interested, see the list below for the complete Circle series books:

The Circle "Trilogy"
Black
Red
White
Green

The Lost books:
Chosen
Infidel
Renegade
Chaos
Lunatic
Elyon

The Paradise Books (major ties with the Circle series)
Showdown
Saint
Sinner

I finally got around to reading "Under the Dome." I thought the ending was weak to say the least. Perhaps it is because I thought the rest of the book was a plot and character developement masterpiece, then fizzle. I mean just a let down.

I finally got around to reading "Under the Dome." I thought the ending was weak to say the least. Perhaps it is because I thought the rest of the book was a plot and character developement masterpiece, then fizzle. I mean just a let down.

+1 I just read that last month. I agree that the end was a let down but the book was so long that it didn't bug me as much to be done with it as did some of the lame endings in some of his other ones (It and Insomnia come to mind right off the bat).

Oh well, started anything else?

I read Cell also. That was decent and quick. I got my SK fix in for now - just started East of Eden last week

I love his books...I agree with the reviews on Under The Dome. I was so looking forward to reading it and then was extremely let down at the end. Same with Duma Key.

Right now, in the middle of reading Christine. Now finally getting to the good part! Hehehe!

Anyone read the new short story compilation?

Yes, Full Dark, No Stars. Dark, good stories, but no stars for sure.

Another vote for "weak finish" to Under the Dome. I really enjoy SKs work, but that ending was LAME!

I've read several of his. Pet Sematary and The Stand being my favs. Rage was a great short story in The Bachman Books.

Pet Sematary

Loved that book.

Dreamcatcher was another book of his that fizzled. The movie was a total crapfest too.

I like Just After Sunset. A collection of short stories.

some of his books really needed editing!

Loved that book.

Dreamcatcher was another book of his that fizzled. The movie was a total crapfest too.

I like Just After Sunset. A collection of short stories.

+1 That was one of the few (only?) of his that I quit on.

Liked Duma Key though.

Yes, Full Dark, No Stars. Dark, good stories, but no stars for sure.

I just finished it. I liked the 1,2, and 4 stories. Definitely not one of his best but it was a good read for me.

I've read and re-read the Dark Tower books. The first three are fantastic, the fourth was pretty good... after that it kind of lost me. The last book was good, and the end was epic. I can't wait for the movies/tv series, 2013? Hopefully Ron Howard will do the Tower books justice. I also have Full Dark sitting here unread, I'll have to get at it. Another SK book that comes to mind is The Long Walk, I think it was in a short story book? I haven't read it in years, I have to get a copy of that again, it was great.

Speaking of SK, anyone catch Nightmares & Dreamscapes, the toy soldier episode? Coolest thing ever! Excuse the subtitles, it's the only place I could find the full episode.

http://www.56.com/u21/v_MjA4Mjc3NjI.html

I've read and re-read the Dark Tower books. The first three are fantastic, the fourth was pretty good... after that it kind of lost me. The last book was good, and the end was epic. I can't wait for the movies/tv series, 2013? Hopefully Ron Howard will do the Tower books justice. I also have Full Dark sitting here unread, I'll have to get at it. Another SK book that comes to mind is The Long Walk, I think it was in a short story book? I haven't read it in years, I have to get a copy of that again, it was great.

Speaking of SK, anyone catch Nightmares & Dreamscapes, the toy soldier episode? Coolest thing ever! Excuse the subtitles, it's the only place I could find the full episode.

http://www.56.com/u21/v_MjA4Mjc3NjI.html

OMGeeze! I forgot about Nightmare and Dreamscapes! Thanks for the reminder. I never read the Dark Tower books as I always felt they were more geared toward men, but after hearing all the reviews I want to go to the library and pick them up.

I consider "The Stand" to be his best work. I enjoyed the tv mini-series as well. Can't understand why some have an attitude about it.
"The Dead Zone" is a favorite of mine. This will make you wonder about some of our elected officials. 'Nuff said.

Other King works I have enjoyed: Misery, Cujo, Needful things, Carrie, and of course, Salem's Lot. Thinner, written as Richard Bachman. I saw a bunch of Gypsies on Cape Cod once. Made it a point to steer well clear of them. Yikes! And yes, I also enjoyed Storm of the Century. Colm Feore really delivered the goods in that, and what a great speaking voice!

I agree with some other members: If you are King's "Number one fan!" read Misery.