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.

"He once described short stories as a 'kiss in the dark' and that is exactly how his best ones make me feel."

I blame Stephen King for my weight gain (and having a baby of course ) I'm having to cook increasingly elaborate meals so I can listen to more and more of my SK audiobooks!

love him.

Bag of bones scared the crap out of me.

Stephen Kiing fan here but I love Dean Koontz . Actually sent a short note to him 5/6 years ago and he wrote back !

Ooh am I the only fan of The Dead Zone? Book mainly although Christopher Walken is suitably scary in the film.

Oh the Langoliers!

The Mist (story) bothered me so much. Being separated from your family and not knowing what's happening really got to me.

No PolarBear, that was one of the first I read and it hooked me.

I also found Duma key pretty scary.

I'm now feeling a strong urge to start re reading them all again.
I read a lot, and a lot of different genres (classics such as Austin, Bronte ect being favourites, also I'm a BIG sci fi reader (Alistair Reynolds, Peter F Hamilton) but I always come back to SK.
There really is something about his style of writing and his characters are very compelling. SK was my first love of the book world.

BalloonSlayer ooh, that's intriguing. I wonder if we do know each other. To narrow it down my DC is a boy - does that match?

Groot, that's amazing!

I'm on book 7 at the moment and have just read the bit with the Breakers where a certain character has just departed, tried not to cry on the train

It's the sheer volume of his creativity, the lives and people he creates in his writing. Like he has thousands of parallel worlds inside his head. I can't get over it - there's something a bit miraculous and god-like about it.

Sorry if that sounds a bit star struck, but I think I am....

I mentioned it up thread Polar...love the Dead Zone! Poor Johnny. :(

The psychic parts really get me...the one where he tells the doctor his mother is alive, the one with the fire, him realizing who the serial killer is...I'm shuddering just writing it!

I think if I ever got the chance to meet SK I would probably wee myself a little bit

Ah I'm so happy that CheerfulYank mentioned Firestarter - it never seems to come up in SK threads and I love it, it was the only SK I had read for years and nothing else has come close tbh

I want to try 11.22.63, definitely.

Like he has thousands of parallel worlds inside his head. I can't get over it - there's something a bit miraculous and god-like about it.

Are you sure you haven't read the Dark Tower yet?!

Another vote for The Dead Zone as a personal favourite. Also loved 11.23.63 (hope I got that date right). Currently half way through Mr Mercedes.

I'm always surprised by how many big fans of The Stand there are. I've only ever read it once, nearly 30 years ago and it did nothing for me. What are you seeing in it that I missed? Should I give it another go?

I love SK. He is even more adorable, likeable, warm when interviewed. He comes across as modest even though he is probably besides JK rowling one of the most read authors on the planet.

HOWEVER. Of late, he is work seems to owe more and more to HP Lovecraft. Creatures under the sea and what have you.

I am watching Haven at the moment on iturnes, based on the Colorado Kid. love it. little nods to other novels.

I also agreed with him when he said the Shining wasn't his favourite film adaptation of a novel. In honesty, I think most of his work does't go well onto screen. There is something about his writing, the engaging nature of his characters that just cannot be reproduced. Except the Shawshank Redemption...though that was perhaps Tim RObbins and Morgan Freeman are brill actors? I bet SK is sittng there hugging himself with delight that LolaNoOne likes and dislikes some of his films?

This year, we are in USA and we are going to Maine...oh yes. I have waited a life time, read a million lines about the place and have got a shot at a trip. I don't want to be disappointed.

Joan I love Firestarter it's so underrated!

I love the old man who took them in... When the Shop is after them, he asks to see their warrant and they say they don't need one. He says "you do unless I woke up in Russia this morning!" :o Having lived in America all my life, it's just such a perfect bit of characterization...it's exactly what a man like that would say. If I'm making any sense!

I love the Talisman too. It's like a dear friend. Black House isn't as good but I still liked seeing the characters again.

The Dark Tower is a MUST READ I do it every year, at least once, all the way through.

Reading IT when I was 13 gave me terrible constipation, I just could not go to the toilet for more than a minute as there was a grill in the wall and I swear I could see a clown's face in there. I learnt to pee in record time, however

Evil yes I'd give it another go!

"Goodbye, East Texas. It's been pretty goddamn good to know you."

The reason I like the Stand is the same reason I like The Walking Dead. Its interesting to see what ordinary people become in the ruins of the world.

I LOVE THIS MAN. I have read everything he has written at least once (even Cell )

I can remember reading Cujo for the first time age nine and having the book taken off me by my mother. I didn't finish it until last year.

What is interesting about The Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption, The Shining, and It was that they were very successfully converted into superb films; managing to remain close to the spirit of the book. I usually find that movies of books are disappointing.

Stephen has the knack of really bringing characters alive and making you care about what happens to them. It took me over a year to read Misery because I found it all too stressful and had to keep putting it down.

Stephen King is one author I read and re-read several times.

I have not read The Dark Tower books but am thinking of getting them on my kindle. at some point.

This year, we are in USA and we are going to Maine...oh yes.

I'm very jealous! Me and DH are desperate to go to Maine purely because we've both read so much SK. I'd love to go see the Paul Bunyan statue in Bangor

I love spotting all the connections between his various novels/stories, it's fascinating.