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Favourite Stephen King?


Michelle

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My favorite has to be The Stand, simply because it's such a cracking good story and also a situation that one can easily imagine happening. All the characters are very well drawn out (at least in the Uncut version), and the story itself is brilliant (but I've always been interested in end-of-the-world scenarios). It's the one I'd recommend to anyone who hasn't read him yet, simply because it's his most popular book, and it's got a great story alongside the horror element in it.

My next favorite is IT, and I'd say this is more of a "horrorbook" than The Stand. Again, it's got a great story, and I think so many people can relate to the kids in the 1958 timeline. For me, it's the children's friendships that make the story so enjoyable, and I just love the opening chapter (with Georgie and his paper boat).....what a great start to the book!

 

I've read most of his other books, but the majority were read when I was in my late teens (so a fair while ago :P ). I plan on reading them again, to see if my thoughts about them have changed. There have been a few that I haven't enjoyed (just couldn't get into Salems Lot), but those are a minority.

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Ya I couldn't get on with 'Salem's Lot either. 

If I'm recommending King, I recommend either 11/22/63 or Mr. Mercedes.  People always have a preconceived notion about him.

 

My favorite King is Thinner.

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I liked Thinner as well, Anna.  Very "Twilight Zone-ish".. 

 

I haven't read a lot of Stephen King, but have to agree with above posts.  The Stand was a marvelous story of how people cope in terrible times.  What proves important, really important in their lives. 

 

I enjoyed 11/22/63 a lot, partially because I like reading about what people think happened, really happened.  Plus there is the whole 'wanting to change the world' scenario.  We always wonder about the path not taken, how would our lives have turned out, what would be different, would it be vastly different.....for the better, or worse.  And, even if you know the basic outlines of a historical period, what  unknowns can throw a monkey wrench in the works.  It's the details that'll kill ya. 

 

So, I guess The Stand is my favorite, so far.

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I liked Thinner as well, Anna.  Very "Twilight Zone-ish".. .

Very creepy!

 

I enjoyed 11/22/63 a lot, partially because I like reading about what people think happened, really happened.  Plus there is the whole 'wanting to change the world' scenario.  We always wonder about the path not taken, how would our lives have turned out, what would be different, would it be vastly different.....for the better, or worse.  And, even if you know the basic outlines of a historical period, what  unknowns can throw a monkey wrench in the works.  It's the details that'll kill ya. 

Good description!

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I loved most of his early books.  My favourites are Cujo, The Dead Zone, Salem's Lot, The Shining, Firestarter, Misery and Pet SemataryThe Talisman was brilliant, too - although how much of that was down to him and how much to Peter Straub I don't know.  I also liked Christine, Thinner and The Stand, although not as much. 

 

Cujo is my overall favourite.  It's a long, long time since I read it (mid-80s), but I remember being amazed at how he was able to keep my eyes glued to the page for the second half of the book when it was just two characters trapped in a car.  It shouldn't have worked but it really did because of his innate ability to get the reader inside the characters' heads.  I thought it was fantastic and scary and completely involving.  I'm kind of scared to re-read it in case I don't feel the same way about it now :hide:

 

He lost me from The Tommyknockers onwards.  I gave up after Desperation and haven't read any since but keep meaning to go back.  A friend has loaned me Duma Key so I'll get around to that at some point.

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The Stand is one of my all-time favourite novels, but please make sure you read the complete and unabridged version. It's longer, at over 1000 pages, but it's so much richer and more satisfying.

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I haven't read a lot of Stephen King books yet (I have a lot on my TBR though), but my favourite will probably always be IT, because it was the first book by him that I read, when I was a young teenager and I absolutely loved it. It's so epic, I liked the characters and the two different time periods it takes place in, when the characters are children and when they are adults.

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Try more recent than that - Doctor Sleep was pretty good, as was Full Dark, No Stars

 

I nearly bought Doctor Sleep when I was in Waterstone's the other day.  Might go back for it.  I should probably re-read The Shining as well :smile:

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Oh okay, thanks :smile:   I was actually planning to re-read a few of the older novels a couple of years ago but only got as far as The Stand (revised edition), so it might be an excuse to start going back to them anyway :smile:

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He lost me from The Tommyknockers onwards.  I gave up after Desperation and haven't read any since but keep meaning to go back.  A friend has loaned me Duma Key so I'll get around to that at some point.

 

I think he went through a wobbly patch as there are some books around the same timeframe that I just haven't been able to get into.

 

Try more recent than that - Doctor Sleep was pretty good, as was Full Dark, No Stars

 

Oh yeah, I keep meaning to read Doctor Sleep! Full Dark, No Stars was good.....very dark and disturbing.  They are making Big Driver into a TV movie this year.

 

What about Lisey's Story? Has anyone read that? For some reason I'm reluctant to pick it up but I don't know why. :blink:

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  • 4 weeks later...

This is a very difficult question because I have so many favorites. I couldn't pick one absolute favorite if my life depended on it, I'd probably just point and pick at random.

 

My favorites include IT, The Stand, Carrie, Cujo, The Green Mile, Misery, and Needful Things. If I was hard pressed, from these books I could narrow it down to Cujo, The Green Mile, Misery and Needful Things

 

The set up of Needful Things is so brilliant. And it's just so beautifully crafted. It's great to read on and see how things start to escalate. Little by little. It's all very subtle. And then, BAM!!! Mayhem!!  :devcat:

 

And Misery's just an absolute classic. It was one of my all time favorite books as a kid. I underlined the best lines, and let me tell you, I underlined a lot :D

 

I've also read and really enjoyed Christine, Rose Madder, Pet Sematary, and Dolores Claiborne. RM used to be one of my favorites, too, but the second or third re-read wasn't as good as I'd hoped so I guess it's come down a bit in my estimation. But bloody hell, I remember being so scared when I was reading that book. The evilness of some people! 

 
 

My favorite has to be The Stand, simply because it's such a cracking good story and also a situation that one can easily imagine happening. All the characters are very well drawn out (at least in the Uncut version), and the story itself is brilliant (but I've always been interested in end-of-the-world scenarios). It's the one I'd recommend to anyone who hasn't read him yet, simply because it's his most popular book, and it's got a great story alongside the horror element in it.

 

I agree, The Stand was amazing, and one great example of how King is just such a master of making his characters come alive and seem like real people. I think it's one of King's trademarks (and hallmarks, too?). :yes: I think IT is another example of excellent characters. 

 

Cujo is my overall favourite.  It's a long, long time since I read it (mid-80s), but I remember being amazed at how he was able to keep my eyes glued to the page for the second half of the book when it was just two characters trapped in a car.  It shouldn't have worked but it really did because of his innate ability to get the reader inside the characters' heads.  I thought it was fantastic and scary and completely involving.  I'm kind of scared to re-read it in case I don't feel the same way about it now

 

I agree. Fantastic, scary,.... Really really scary! It was so scary I didn't want to read on, but at the same time I couldn't put it down. I was on the edge of my seat. And I cried and cried. 

 

And this was during a re-read, too! ;) I personally think that upon a re-read, you'd still find it a great, great story :yes: 
 

What about Lisey's Story? Has anyone read that? For some reason I'm reluctant to pick it up but I don't know why.

 
I've read Lisey's Story and it's the newest book I've read by Stephen King, I haven't gone for any of his newer books. Probably because in hindsight, LS didn't really live up the expectations I have for King. I demand a lot from him, because his books that I've loved have been so great. It might be unfair towards him but hey, the man is making a good living and he keeps writing them books and others still read them :D He doesn't really need my validation :giggle2:

 

I don't mean to say I didn't like Lisey's Story at the time when I was reading it. I gave it 4/5! But looking back, I can't compare it to my favorites. 

 

The same goes for Bag of Bones. I remember loving it when I read it, but it's gone down in my estimation after so long. It would be interesting to re-read it and see what I think of it now. 

 
 
The ones I haven't been too keen on are: Thinner, The Regulators, Gerald's Game (I loved the premise of the story but it was too long winded, even though the ending and the twist was a real shocker and it really made up for a lot), and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon which is my least favorite for sure.

 

 

Writing this post has really made me want to re-read a lot of King's books :rolleyes::D

Edited by frankie
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I couldn't get into Desperation and The Regulators. They just didn't grab me, but that was quite a few years ago when they first came out. I really must go back through his books and read the ones I haven't yet read.

 

Frankie - as you liked Dolores Claiborne, have you seen the movie? It's very good. I don't remember enjoying the book that much, but I really like the film and have seen it several times.

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Reading threads like this always remind me of the fact that Stephen King is probably the main 'should have read his books, but haven't' author, for me. I've only read Cell, Blaze and 11/22/63--the latter of which I thought was great, but I know I'm missing out having not read his earlier novels.

 

Hmph. :(

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I couldn't get into Desperation and The Regulators. They just didn't grab me, but that was quite a few years ago when they first came out. I really must go back through his books and read the ones I haven't yet read.

 

Frankie - as you liked Dolores Claiborne, have you seen the movie? It's very good. I don't remember enjoying the book that much, but I really like the film and have seen it several times.

 

I liked Desperation when I read it the first time, which was ages ago. The second read wasn't as good. And The Regulators, oh I really liked the concept and it started out really well but then it went in weird directions and didn't like it at all. 

 

Yep, I've seen Dolores Claiborne, and I thought it was an excellent movie. One of the best King filmatizations in my opinion! I actually saw the movie in the theater when it came out, in 1995. Oh heck, I was only 14 or 15 years old :D It was scary and so sad and depressing. I have to say Kathy Bates is a superb actor, I really admire her.

 

So I first saw the movie and didn't read the book until a few years after that, but before 1998 because I haven't marked down the date on my manual reading log, so it must've been before 1998. 

 

I don't think I could watch the movie again, it is so terrifyingly sad. But it was so well made, and the twist! :o The twist! 

 

Reading threads like this always remind me of the fact that Stephen King is probably the main 'should have read his books, but haven't' author, for me. I've only read Cell, Blaze and 11/22/63--the latter of which I thought was great, but I know I'm missing out having not read his earlier novels.

 

Hmph. :(

 

Why the sad face? Think of all the great books you get to read by him in the future! You're lucky! :)

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The Stand and IT from his early full length novels, Different seasons for his short(er) stories and 11/22/63 and Under the Dome for his later stuff. But I actually pretty much love everything he's written with a few exceptions in the middle. Probably quicker for me to list those (Desperation, The Dark Half, Bag of Bones). There are a number of books from around that time that I still haven't read, but I do have them as Kindle versions on a CD somewhere in the house.

 

At some point, I'm going to have a marathon King re-read and try to read all his full length novels in order.

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  • 4 months later...

my favorite is IT but The Dark Tower Series is second best especially the books Wastelands and Wizards and Glass. I thought that "Blaine The Mono" was scary and the riddle contest with Blaine kept me reading where I couldn't put the book down.

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I have 11/22/63 checked out from the library right now, but it's so long and I'm not sure if I should read it or not. Is it really good or waste of time?

 

Also when I think of The Shining all I can picture is how Joey on Friends keeps it in the freezer because it's too scary :lol: I haven't read any King books yet. 

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