Stephen King?

Question

I have never really been a big fan of stephen King, but lately i was thinking of reading some of his books. Where should i start? What is one of his best books? I was thing of starting with "The Shining" Is that a good book?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Elizabeth, You have hit the nail on the head.
The Shining is a good Start, He wrote that book years ago,
when he lived in Colorado. He lived in a small town, and
asked someone where he could go for a private getaway for
some privacy. Someone told him about a lodge that was to
shut down for the winter. He talked to the owner, and the rest
is the story in the making. You will love it.
My second favorate is Lisey's Story, a very beautiful book
all the way through.
He also wrote several books as(aka) Richard Bachman for
several reasons i an Not going to get into.
This part is very important. He has written a series of books.
All dealing with the same characters in all seven books, and
over twenty years in the making called, ".The Dark Tower."
Book one: The Gunslinger. Book two: Drawing of the Three.
Book Three: The Wastelands. Book Four: Wizard and Glass.
Book five: The wolves of Calla. Book Six:Song of Susannah.
Book Seven: The Dark Tower. When and if you decide to
reat the series, you have to start with the first book and read
each book in sequence or you will be lost.
Stephen king gooks are very collectable and come in several
different languages.He had finished Dark tower three when
he was hit by a van while jooging several years ago. and all
the collectors were emailing him asking if he intended to
keep writing so they could collect the whole series.
The signed, Limited, First Edition Gunslinger in fine condition
runs about $7500.00 dollars. So you see why collectors were
worried. Well he did finish the series, and even incorperated
the scene of the accident into the story. I will not tell you which
book. Some of the books are over 800 pages long!!!!!
Misery, Delores Claiborne, and Cugo are very good ones to
start with also. You may want to buy the Stepken King
Collectables: An illustrated price guide, by George Behm.
It will tell you all you need to know about most of his books.
His newest book just came out called "Blaze". which i have
not yet read because I gave it to my Daughter to read on
vacation. He also has a book coming out this fall called
"Duma King.
His Wife, Tabitha King also writes story's that I have not read.
His son, Joe Hill King also writes under the name Joe Hill.
Which also I have not read.
The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, My Life At Rose Red. It's a very
good book, believed to have an assist by Stephen King, but
never proven. Also read "Everythings Eventual," a series of
short story's includung "1408" which is now out at the movies.
Save the Dark tower books for this winter when you have
plenty of time to read.
If you get on Stephen King's website, you can. but don't send
abook to his office to have signed. It will get sent back
unsigned. He only signs at special promotiones of a newly
published book and is known to do a unannounced drop in
at a bookstore and sign books and most of what you see on
ebay that are signed are "fake" signatures. With all that there
is to read with Stephen King, you may become "addictive."
Don't forget to print this page, so you remember!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good Luck and Happy reading. SK Fan. 8})>

Answer 2

I've never read it myself, but I have heard that The Shining was both excellent and terrifying. I have read several other books by him, though. I would strongly advise Misery and Night Shift. Especially Night Shift. It is a collection of short stories, and the best of them would be "The Boogeyman," "The Mangler," "Battleground,"The Ledge," "Trucks," and "Strawberry Spring."

Also, King has written a series called The Dark Tower, a seven book story about the quest of Roland of Gilead to find the Dark Tower. The Gunslinger, the first book in the installment, is a real snoozer, but the next book, The Drawing of the Three, is absolutely rivetting.

Another good book is Everything's Eventual. It's a collection of short stories, like Night Shift, although it's not as good. I would advise reading "Autopsy Room 4," "In the Deathroom," "The Little Sisters of Eluria" (a continuance of the Dark Tower), "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe,"1408," and "Riding the Bullet."

Good luck, and happy reading!

Answer 3

The Shining would be a very good place to start, as it's just...it's very creepy, yet, amazing.

If you DON'T want to start with The Shining, try Carrie. Short, sweet, scary as hell! Afterwards, you could move onto 'Salem's Lot and The Shining...

The Dark Tower series is amazing. The Gunslinger is the first book, and it's a mix of fantasy/adventure/western. I didn't think I'd like it, but it was fascinating.

The Eyes of the Dragon is a good, pure fantasy novel.

The Long Walk, written under the psuedonym of Richard Bachman, is a GREAT psychological thriller about a contest where 100 boys are put to the test to walk a certain amount of miles (I've since forgotten what that amount is)...and there are dire consequences for those who can't keep up.

The Green Mile is great. Split up into six mini-novels, they take place in a prison in the 1930s.

IT, while abnormally wordy and lengthy, is an amazing coming of age novel about seven kids who fight off a monster they dub "It." It comes back when they have grown up, and they have to go back to fight it.

Cujo is a smaller, gripping novel about a rabid dog that traps a mother and her son in their car...doesn't sound exciting, but it really, really is.

>_> Those are my suggestions for beginning.

Answer 4

The shining really is good. It really is scary too. That's the scariest one he wrote, in my opinion. If you want something just as good, but not quite as scary, read "Cell" or "From a Buick *" first. and work your way up to that one. "Needful Things" was one of his best books. *The movie sucked* Also, there are always his short stories. He has quite a few of them. Short stories are great, because they aren't a huge time investment, yet you'll get a taste of the way a person writes. If you want to go that way, try "Night Shift" or "Nightmares and Dreamscapes". I would caution you not to start with "Insomnia" or "Lisey's Story". They're the only two he wrote that were hard for me to get into. I was actually bored in places, and just kept reading simply because it was King. Because it was King, they picked up and were good by the time they ended, but still, if either of them had been the first King books i had read, they'd have probably been the last.
Anyway, enjoy.

Answer 5

I'm not a huge fan of King's scary books~ but I LOVED the Dark Tower series (except the very end~ but still highly recommended). There are 7 books about a fantasy world. The main character is Roland of Gilead (spelling??) Very different and exciting~ if you like fantasy, give them a try! You may also be able to get recordings of the books at your local library and listen to them on your commute or whenever....I'll never forget the characters, and King appears as himself in the story line. It seems like little parts of all of his other books show up in the series. Fun and interesting!

Answer 6

The Shining is a good read also try
The Stand (personal Favorite)
Desperation (2nd Fav)
Insomnia (3rd)
Carrie
The Green Mile (Watch the Film, if nowt else)
The Shawshank Redemption (as above)
Needful Things
Dark Half
IT
Salem's Lot
Misery
Dreamcatcher


Personally i would avoid (and I must stress it's a very personal opinion)
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
From a Buick 8
Gerald's Game
Rose Madder

Answer 7

When I was in 8th grade I started reading Stephen King's books. The Shining is a good place to start. Carrie is good, and Cujo is good. Misery is good too. I think reading his scary books is a lot scarier than watching the movies. It was scary too.

Answer 8

I have read most, but not all, especially some of the latest ones. I saw a preview of "Cell" and the first chapter was so gory, it turned me off to that book.

I like the more subtle horror ones. Needful Things, Salems Lot, The Stand.

Also, if you dont want to go scary, read "The Green Mile". Super book!! Great movie too, rent it!!

Also like his short stories: The Body (which became the great movie Stand By Me ), Battleground (I think that's the title), which became a story on Masters of Horror on Showtime (about toy soldiers attacking a bad guy), and The Long Walk (wow, great story!).

I envy you, you're getting to read them for the first time!

Answer 9

Stephen King is one of my favorite authors. "The Shining" is good. I liked "It" too but the ending wasn't par for King. A lot of his books became movies: Children of the Corn, Creepshow, Carrie and my favorite; Cujo.

Here is the link to his official site: http://www.stephenking.com/pages/works/list_written.php

You can check out his works there. Happy reading!

Answer 10

My favs by Stephen. In this order.
Delorous Claiborne
Misery
IT
Needful Things
The Shining
The Stand
Storm of the Century