Stephen King

[TOOL9]

Does anybody else think that the man is a literary genius? I've read almost all of his books and i have been saving what everyone tells me is his best book, The Stand, until i have enough time to invest in the 1000 page book. But anyways i was wondering if anybody else on the boards loves to read King.

[TallCoolOne]

One of the greatest writers ever. I love the man.

[rebgirl420]

I do and The Stand is my favorite book by him. Its just so intense to read. The idea of a plauge on humanity caused by the government fascinates me.

[jamstigator]

I think I've read everything he's written (Amazon + library = good). Latest was Lisey's Story, which was pretty decent. The Stand is probably my favorite book, and the short stories 'The Boogieman' (in Night Shift) and 'Survivor Type' (in Skeleton Crew) are probably my favorites. Hell, 'The Boogieman' made me too creeped out to leave my closet doors open for *years*. To this day even. ;)

[Weedhound]

He wrote several under another name...Richard..Bauchman...or something? I absolutely LOVE his older stuff and if you haven't read "Thinner" under his other name read it for sure. :thumbsup: Creepy as hell. :eek:

[rebgirl420]

He has a short story book called "everythings eventual"...its freaking awsome!

[TOOL9]

I owe so much to stephen king.... without him i probably wouldnt have picked up a book in the past 4 years

[Divadish]

My personal favourite is Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, which i think was one of the Bachman books, the film's not a patch on the book ( not as good ). Also Salems lot, IT, Apt pupil, Christine, Cujo.....yes! i tend to go for his earlier stuff too but they're all such damn good reads.

[LA.Jgirl]

I love everything by him and I have to say that Stand is one of my favorites. The first time I read it I read it in a little over 24 hrs now keep in mind I didnt eat , or sleep in that 24 hours, lol.

[LA.Jgirl]

Oh has anyone read the latest Bachman book Blaze?

[TallCoolOne]

He has a short story book called "everythings eventual"...its freaking awsome!

AND HOW!

[Mohksha]

His books are really good, especially The Stand, but they are all rather similar at times.

[texas grass]

im not a reader but my wife is
she loves KING

[texas grass]

she has every book in hardback but like 6 even the bochman, i just bought her the new bochman for her birthday

[texas grass]

my wife is almost finished with blaze, and said its real good
she also asked if anyone read the dark tower series, said to her its one of his best books

[im_a_luckycharm]

I've only read The Shining, but I loved it enough to buy it and reread it a few times.

[Veratyr Star]

I'm reading The Dark Tower series right now. So far so good.

[suhl]

i read the stand in about five days. it hooked me like good books do. really if it is going to take you more than two weeks to read it just dont till you have more free time because youll be apt to forget stuff that is going on because of the scope of it

[Madlib]

I'm reading the Shining right now, more detail then the movie, which i love and it has a good sense of impending dread and doom.

[GreenLadyOfDankDowns]

I like King's books, but must admit I enjoy his earlier writings more than what he's written in the past ten years. Oh and Diva, Shawshank is in the book Different Seasons which was published as a King title. Out of all his work my favorite has to be Apt Pupil, which also appears in the book Different Seasons.

[TX Girl]

I haven't read any SK in forever, I think the last thing I read by him was when Needful Things came out. My favorite book was IT, skeered the shit out of me. Loved Thinner, The Boogieman, Apt Pupil, and Shawshank, too.

Didn't care much for Misery, the Dark Tower stuff or the one where the guy had the visions, forget its name.

[cm8883]

He wrote several under another name...Richard..Bauchman...or something? I absolutely LOVE his older stuff and if you haven't read "Thinner" under his other name read it for sure. :thumbsup: Creepy as hell. :eek:

Yep, Richard Bachman was his psudonym (sp?) while he was in college; some of those books are just as good, if not better, than what he wrote in his later years under his real name.

But yeah, he's my absolute fav, always has been; I'm such a horror buff of any kind. John Grisham is a close second; Dean Koontz, he's ok, I guess.

[naturelovinpuffer]

I absolutly love the three part movie rose red by steven king it takes place in seattle. one of the best movies.

YES STEPHEN KING IS A LITERACY GENIUS

[dragonrider]

I really like Stephen King, and I have read a lot of his books. But I don't think he is a literary genius. Even HE doesn't think he is a literary genius. I saw an interview with him once and he said something like, My writing is not like a gourmet meal. It's more like McDonalds. It's pretty good and pretty reliable. I think that is about right.

One of the things that I noticed about his books is that they are great most of the way through, then near the end they seem to wander a little bit, and then they can end kind of weak. I read his book about writing and about his own personal writing process, and now I think I understand why this happens. He said he does not begin with a plot. He starts with some kind of image or scene in his mind, and then he tries to form characters and the begining of the story to fit with the image or scene. After that he just lets the characters work off each other and lets the story develop as he writes it. I think at some point he just runs out of steam and decides he needs to end it, and he just comes up with some way out of the story. If you read the Stand, I think you will see what I mean. If you ever get the sense that a Stephen King novel is not really going anywhere, you are probably right. I guess you just have to treat it as a journey, not a destination. It's usually a pretty good journey.

[texas grass]

im getting my wife the new book dumakey next tuesday

[bhouncy]

I just can't get into any of Stephen Kings stuff. It just seems like a struggle to read. I read a lot of horror and the only thing I liked from Stephen King was Nightmares and Dreamscapes as it was short stories. I like his ideas but I don't like his writing. Just a personal choice I guess.

[Esoteric416]

Wow. Alot of posts about King and almost none about the Dark Tower series, his best work by far. The Stand was very good, but The Dark Tower is an epic story. Some may say that the end of the last book is weak, but just think on it for awhile and you'll see how it works out, unfair to poor Roland but it works. "The man in black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed." Great line and i was hooked ever since.
For the record I liked everything i've read of his also, and i love the way he ties together alot of his books like they are all just parts of one massive story.

[gbf4ever]

The dark tower series was amazing. My favorite of his works and I've read pretty much all of them. Got to meet him at a book signing while I was living in Maine which was fun. I'd love to have a house like the one he has around bangor.

[Burn_One_Down]

Duma Key was pretty badass.. I want to get the Stand soon.

[DTRave420]

The Stand was awesome!!!Some of my other favorites by him are-

The Shining
Carrie
It
Pet Sematary
Christine
The Talisman
Different Seasons
Misery
:420thought:

[dlovejah]

Mine are the DarkHalf, Insomnia, and The Shining.....Oh I liked Cujo alot as well . Peace d:rastasmoke:

[texas grass]

i just got hardback of the new book/collective, JUST AFTER SUNSET. wife told me he is already writing another story.

[suhl]

Wow. Alot of posts about King and almost none about the Dark Tower series, his best work by far. The Stand was very good, but The Dark Tower is an epic story. Some may say that the end of the last book is weak, but just think on it for awhile and you'll see how it works out, unfair to poor Roland but it works. "The man in black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed." Great line and i was hooked ever since.
For the record I liked everything i've read of his also, and i love the way he ties together alot of his books like they are all just parts of one massive story.

The Stand>Dark Tower.

If the thing collectively were as good as the first four books it would have been fine. The problem is it is basically a five book series, with book five split into three volumes. Post Accident king got way too carried away with making up his own little speaking patterns for the world which were just annoying, not cute and adding no personality to the book. Book 6 was downright bad, more of a bridge than a book. He wrote himself into the story which was just dumb, and followed it all up with just blatantly obvious references and tie ins to other books. it was cool at first when the references were either subtle vague or in passing, but he decided to stop that on book five. I loved the dark tower, even though the quality declined post accident, but collectively it was not as good as the stand.

I didnt like the ending, not just the whole cyclical thing, but also the crimson king. all that build up for such a shitty villain. randall flagg is one of the greatest villains ever and we are to believe he is working for that unimaginative turd? uuggghhh

[roninwithnoname]

He wrote himself into the story which was just dumb,

Considering it's an epic work of metafiction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metafiction), the appearance of the author in the story is only natural :stoned:.

[LolaGal]

The Crimson King also appears in the King book Insomnia, read that and perhaps you will gain a new perspective of this character.

Stephen King's work is awesome. How could anyone not like misery? (i'm you're #1 fan) Has anyone noticed some people watch the movies and think they've read the book? None of the screenplays measure up to the book. Anyone reading the Stand should get the copy with the extras. Ci-bo-la...bumpity bump.

[Stigma420247]

King is one of the best...for those who think he just writes horror check out Hearts In Atlantis...one of his better books that isnt a horror...The Stand and The Dark Half are 2 of my favorites...i have read so many i cant remember all of em :)

[suhl]

Considering it's an epic work of metafiction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metafiction), the appearance of the author in the story is only natural :stoned:.

no;)

[BlueBlazer]

I own all of Stephen King's books. He's my favorite author and I don't really even care for the Horror genre. For me, IT is my personal favorite.

I thought the Dark Tower series was awesome and the fact that he wrote himself into the story and linked other books/characters was cool and original.

Anyone judging King's work from the movies is selling themselves short. The books are much, much better.

[BlueBlazer]

I got King's newest for Christmas. Under the Dome is over 1000 pages and I'm looking forward to reading every one. :D