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Original poster

to utterly love Stephen King?

319 replies

minifingers · 29/09/2014 14:45

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.

OP posts:
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Naicecuppatea · 30/09/2014 10:55

Love pretty much everything and re-read my SK books constantly. My favourites are the Talisman, Insomnia, IT, the Stand, Needful Things, Pet Sematary, the Shining, Salem's Lot, Shawshank.........where to stop! The only ones I didn't really enjoy were 11:22:63, Cell, and the Dark Tower series (although I will give these another try).

I need to get hold of the Library Policeman now, not read that one!

fluffyraggies · 30/09/2014 10:59

The short stories - i could go on all day.

Yes, Mrs Todds Shortcut .... sublime. Appeals to my deepest hopes and dreams that not everything is as it seems in this world.

And Popsy! A child abductor picking the wrong child to mess with and getting his come-upance from the kids dad. Who happens to be a giant winged ... ? What? And who cares! He slits the guys throat and feed him to the child!
Grin

And Gramma. An 11 year old left home alone to care for his awful ancient old ''bear-like'' Grand ma who is ... and is not ... dead. ''George suddenly hears a scraping sound on sheets; he imagines Gramma's long, ragged fingernails rubbing against her bed.'' Arrrgggghhhh.

The boy's catch phrase 'lay chilly' stuck with my friend and i as teens. Plus we'd laugh so hard randomly about ''Spoon Torture of the Heathen Chinee'' ...

ghostisonthecanvas · 30/09/2014 11:48

Anyone read The Black House? He wrote it with Peter straub? Brill book. Think there may be a sequel. Might have to start my reread with that one. My big soldier brother kept the light on for ages after reading it. Grin

hellokittymania · 30/09/2014 12:02

Loved the Green Mile!

His other books give me nightmares...

bendybrickpumpkinpatch · 30/09/2014 12:18

His son Joe Hill has just released , in my opinion, an amazing book called NOS 4R2. Its so so good and references PennyWise the clown as well. There are some definite nods to his dad in there !

Such a talented family !

bendybrickpumpkinpatch · 30/09/2014 12:18

Oh and his son also wrote " Horns " which has been made into a movie with Daniel Radcliffe in the lead role. Thats another great book.

LilAnnieAmphetamine · 30/09/2014 12:26

I have a masters and I love him. I utterly reject book snobbery and he's given me many hours of pleasure (that sounds slightly sordid :) )

I don't find his books especially scary- more sad with a lot of pathos and nostalgia and his incorporation of pop culture and sense of place is blody excellent.

insancerre · 30/09/2014 13:08

I love how his books reference other books and themes and characters
Its like entering another world
I love how it took him a lifetime to write the dark tower
I would love a webchat

deakymom · 30/09/2014 13:15

loved most of his books i totally expected dr sleep to not be worth it i honestly thought he would be trying too hard to recapture an audience and i totally loved it

the dark tower series is my favorite although i hate the ending the last book ticks me off into psychotic fan mode! ive never wrote him a letter saying so because that would just be crazy Grin (although tempting)

Thurlow · 30/09/2014 13:28

Deaky, I read the last book while still living in a house-share with a friend who had leant me the book. I finished the last page and went storming downstairs to find my friend, who just sat there grinning at me - "I see you've just finished book seven, then?" Grin

Theonlyoneiknow · 30/09/2014 13:32

Just marking place on this thread! Keen to update my reading wishlist with some of your recommendations!

limitedperiodonly · 30/09/2014 13:36

LilAnnieAmphetamine YY.

I love how he has real affection for the lives of ordinary people and the way they leave their mark on the world.

I found The Stand very moving for that.

I found parts of Salem's Lot scary and thrilling - it's been a while since I read it, but I'm thinking particularly of a part where the light is coming down and they're racing against time. I was completely caught up in that.

Forgossake · 30/09/2014 13:41

I too loved Dr Sleep. A great sequel and nothing like I'd expected. Fell in love with grown up Danny and it was fascinating to find out what became of him after his traumatic childhood. I sobbed when his father 'appears' near the end. So emotional.

Jackiebrambles · 30/09/2014 13:53

I've been reading the 're-reading Stephen King' series that the Guardian did all morning! I've hardly got any work done...

Jackiebrambles · 30/09/2014 13:54

For those that are interested, the two most recent are from June and July 2014 - Needful Things and (eek handcuffs) Geralds Game...

Theonlyoneiknow · 30/09/2014 13:56

Does anywhere sell his books in 'bundles' ?

LilAnnieAmphetamine · 30/09/2014 13:58

Limited

Oh I agree, King seems to want to commemorate them doesn't he? I am going to read The Stand- it's one of the few I still haven't read. I have always kept it as a 'someday' book because with some authors, it's lovely to live in the knowledge that you haven't read everything they've written.

Really liked Doctor Sleep although the description of that little boys murder was so terrible it haunted me for months-still does in fact.

The Shining stays with me because of the earlier part of the book, Jack Torrances early marriage and descent into alcoholism and his treatment of Danny. So moving.

ChristinaYang · 30/09/2014 14:23

Marking my place to update the reading list.

Love Stephen King - I think the Stand is my favourite.

I read the first book in the Dark Tower series - The gunslinger?! I didn't get it at all, am I missing something? I'm not sure I even finished it as it bored me so much, maybe i'll give it another go ... Confused

MrsToddsShortcut · 30/09/2014 14:53

I've just reported my own post and begged MNHQ for a webchat!

We can but ask Grin

MrsToddsShortcut · 30/09/2014 15:01

Just got a reply from the lovely Amy at HQ - they are going to see what they can do!

SmileSmileSmileSmileSmile

BecauseIsaidS0 · 30/09/2014 15:04

Wheeeeeeee!!!

MrsMinton · 30/09/2014 15:12

now that would be amazing!!

limitedperiodonly · 30/09/2014 15:12

LilAnnieAmphetamine

I was struck that you mentioned you have a masters. So does my nephew. I don't. While he was still studying we were talking about books and he was talking about Milton and Lovecraft and I mentioned derivative and explorative themes in Stephen King. He scoffed a bit, and then, because he's nice and inquisitive, asked more.

I converted him and I think it may have helped. It can't have hindered.

The Stand is a treat. You must read it. I got the mouldering paperback copy down from the shelf just now. It's the only King book I have left. It cost £1.75 in 1980.

It was dauntingly fat for a teenager, about 750 pps and close print, but I got through it in about three days.

The Gerald's Game handcuffs thing is awful, but in a good way. And also Dark Half. And that short stories selection - Skeleton Crew, was it? It was the one with Mrs Todd's Shortcut in it,which I think was the only nice one. I stopped reading him in the early '90s. I'm grateful for this thread because I'll use it to go back.

limitedperiodonly · 30/09/2014 15:13

Well done MrsTodd.

You have to be the first questioner.

LilAnnieAmphetamine · 30/09/2014 15:33

Limited

I am sure it did help your nephew because seeing themes and craft in a democratic manner will enrich the everyday for him- reading can be on many levels and we can all move from level to level in one book, to suit our own mood and level of tiredness and investment- what we want from a book.

I am very democratic in my reading and I am glad that King is getting the respect he deserves. His 'On Writing' is one of the ur books on the craft- have you read it? When I think of the pleasure he has brought millions of readers (including my daughter who adores him and tends to the quite high falutin' in her reading otherwise), how amazing it is that he has achieved all this?

My masters is in a niche area of health so fairly unhelpful in most areas of life and actually wasn't that difficult and I am not being falsely modest. Many many people would find it not taxing in brain power- the time was the most arduous thing. I did it back in the day when the health services would finance these things. Or at least give you protected time!

Carrie was the first book I read when it came out and you can imagine the impression it made. I was particularly taken with the way King uses lyrics to frame chapters or sections or events in the text because of course, at that young age, I kind of used lyrics to help me explain and express my own emotions. So Dylan's "Everybody's guessed, that baby can't be blesses, 'til she finally see's that she's like all the rest" that framed the events in Carrie resonated with me so much. Whenever I think of the book 'Carrie' I hear Fleetwood Mac's 'Sara' playing in my head because I recall reading the book to that song.