to utterly love Stephen King?

[minifingers]

Ex secondary English teacher, who snootily resisted his books and the whole horror genre for decades, in favour of Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Jane Austen, and lots of serious modern authors like Saul Bellow.

Had children, got too knackered and thick to read serious fiction so tarted on the Stephen Kings.

I find that I absolutely love his books. Love them, and the mind which created them.

Worried that I'm going to end up like that woman in Misery - you know, the Kathy Bates character. Obsessed.

Anyone else got a Stephen King pash or is it just me? He's not very mumnsetty.

MrsTodd

I so so hope this happens. You deserve to be first questioner if it does !

LilAnnie, my love of Bob Dylan was definitely fuelled by King's love of Dylan and his use of his lyrics in Carrie.

If Mumsnet manage this webchat I will be in HEAVEN!!

Are you actually me ?!
Loved Under the Dome.

Recently read 'Joyland',and really enjoyed it too.

Jackie one of the reasons why King is the, well, King isn't it?

How many authors use lyrics so poignantly? When he quotes Creedence '"I see a bad moon rising" at the beginning of a book is it such a contrast to that slightly winsome, melancholia he employs initially that is a little bit nostalgic and cosy, even if we know it won't remain so. The rest of the writerly world uses pathetic fallacy....King has something far cooler up his sleeve.

I would shit twice and die if SK came for a webchat!

One of the most moving quotes I ever read was in Joyland when he talks about being told of his friends death (not SK, the charactor)

Anyone read Danse Macabre? Love that book, it's made me read so many more of the classic horror stories (and watch the movies)

Example of my question for SK on a MN webchat

" I love you so much!!! I can't believe your here!!!!! OMG!!!!!!!OMG!!!!!"

And repeat

We'll need a high pitched scream emoticon.

I've had a good close friend since we were kids. I have a photo of us together with an SK quote under it. "But I never had any friends again like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?"

The Body, the novella the film Stand By Me was based on. Love them both.

Massive fan of SK, he's an amazing writer. Took me ages to read the Dark Tower series but I'm glad I did get around to it, it's fantastic.

Cheerful

That quote makes me all weepy.

I still think that the end of, 'The Dark Tower' series is the only possible ending there could have been. I finished it for the first time a day or two after number 7 came out and immediately went back to number one and read all 7 again (the only possible response to the only possible ending, maybe?. :)

I always think about The Long Walk when I'm struggling home carrying too much food shopping, wondering what it would be like to know you were going to be shot when you couldn't walk any further. Can't say it helps much.

I loved the ending to the dark tower
My favourite is hearts in Atlantis and the stand

I love this thread
I can't tell you how much

Does anyone know if it's true SK appears briefly in everyone of his films. I always make a point of looking for him but don't always see him.

Theonlyone, if you look on eBay at the moment there are loads of sellers selling bundles of SK, ranging from three books to entire collections.

Maisyblue this is the list of his appearances

stephenking.com/library/appearance/

I know he used to. He played the minister at the funeral in, I think, Pet Semetary. He was in The Lonely Death of Jordy Verrill in the much underrated Creepshow.

He appeared as the bandleader in the TV version of The Shining. Can't think of any others.

While we're on the subject of films, what does everyone think of The Shining?

I know it's regarded as one of the 'great' horror movies, but having read the novel before I saw the film, I really thought Kubrick completely missed the point. Would be good to hear what others think?

Thank you MrsMinton.

MrsTodd

I don't find the film at all frightening. I was bitterly disappointed with it and it taught me a lesson about risking having my own interior fantasy life destroyed by watching a film version of such a loved book. I watched 'Misery' though and that wasn't so bad.

Have you watched 'Room 237', the documentary film about Kubrick and The Shining? All kinds of barking theories about what Kubrick was trying to say - the prominent native American iconography and symbols such as the tins of Calumet in the kitchen store cupboard scenes was interpreted as Kubrick wanting to symbolise the struggle of First Nation people and their slaughter. Or the claim that the whole film is a confession of Kubrick's involvement in the faked film of the moon landings!

I thought Kubrick turned Wendy into an annoying whiney woman and although I accept that 2 and 1/2 hours is a short period of time to work with, the characters were very poorly drawn. And how could he kill Dick Halloran? He was the most wonderful character and his survival was pivotal. The movie became nothing more than a gore-fest in the end.

Liked the depiction of the Overlook though. Pretty 70's spot on.

Absolutely hate the film version of, "The Shining." The woman playing the wife is an abomination - woefully inaccurate portrayal.

Can't wait to watch The Shining again to spot him as the band leader.

And Shelley Duval is such a good actor but I believe was doing the best by a very shitty and limiting script.

I'm listening to The Shining at the mo (always have several audio books on the go) and it's very clever.

The slippery movement between the present, flashback, memory and paranormal is very well done. It darts from one to the next quite extravagantly.

I agree about the wife, bad casting.