Stephen King Book • Page 11

After listening to the first 2 books again the past couple of weeks, I realize how much they actually left in the films from the books. Granted those are the shortest books so definitely understandable, but my point being I feel like they are VERY true to the books

 

Ha, Joe won best horror and King won best mystery in the goodreads reader's choice awards.

 

It's so cool that the kid from Creepshow is responsible for stuff like NOS4A2 and The Fireman (I haven't read the latter, but it won the reader's choice so that's pretty darn cool to me!)

Just wondering, what's your favourite King book? I know you're a big fan and I'm not sure I've seen you say what it is. Top 3?

 

I know right? We're so lucky that he's continuing King's legacy and he's started so damn hot, he hasn't released a single bad story imo. His comic series is also incredible. You'll definitely love Fireman if you liked the Stand.

I actually kept a list while I went through King's entire bibliography a few years back. I haven't updated it recently so for the most part the list was just made based off of my immediate opinion upon finishing the books.

Here's the list Stephen King Books

Top 3 are
3. Under the Dome
2. Dreamcatcher
1. IT

 

Sweet! I haven't read a lot of his bigger books (IT, 11/22/63, The Stand) because I like to read when I walk and I haven't got the upper arm strength for a lot of that stuff, but I think I'm going to pick one to dive into over Christmas break. I thought Under the Dome was fantastic - loved the deep sense of community that he created with that one.

Interesting to see stuff like Carrie, Different Seasons, and even Misery as low as it is on the list, but Cujo so high. I'd love to hear some of your thoughts on those ones. I know by necessity, some stuff has to be lower than others. That's the problem with seeing lists like this with no descriptions, you know? One person might read it as "Anything out of the top 10 is bad!" but maybe the books you love start as early as 59 or something!

 

I'm definitely more of a fan of his larger work, epic horror is something you rarely see in any medium and I'd say it's my favorite genre. He's so excellent at creating characters and communities, before taking them down in the worst ways imaginable, I love it. It also helped me save money when I was in college and reading all these since they were so damn long, haha. Some of the books, like Dreamcatcher and Under the Dome, I read way before I started going through his bibliography though, so there is definitely a lot of nostalgia tied to some of those.

Oh yeah, definitely, I usually make special mention when I post that list that I literally don't dislike anything on there. On my Goodreads I believe Carrie and Blaze both still have 3 stars. Have you read Carrie? I do not like the way it's written. The story is wonderful, I love the movie, but the book is told through like newspaper clippings and weird povs. It's a style of writing that King has never gone back too, which makes me think he didn't much like it either. It's been a long time since I've read it, I might feel differently now, but I just remember a lot of disappointment. To bring up Joe Hill again, I think his first book, Heart Shaped Box, is a much better first book than Carrie. I do not have an excuse for Different Seasons, that's just simply a case of liking other things more. That's a perfect collection. Misery also was one that I felt terrible putting something above it every single time. I remember sort of using that one as a mile marker, where I'd start when I was thinking "Did i like this less or more?"

I'll say unabashed love starts around 53 with Everything's Eventual. Like that's where my favorite all time books list would start with every other author under it, haha.

That sort of list is absolutely fundamentally flawed, mainly just did it for myself so I could have a little help keeping track of my thoughts.

I'm glad you asked about Cujo because I have strong feelings about that one in particular. It's from one of the most interesting periods in King's life, the book is basically soaked with alcohol and cocaine, and it shows more so than any of his other books (besides maybe Tommyknockers which maybe went a bit overboard with the drug fueled rants). The book is really about divorce and the destruction of a marriage from different point of views. It's kind of crazy to think King wrote so well about divorce without ever going through it. The family drama is as painful and horrifying as the stories "monster." King's books tend to have a sort of gloss of perfection over them, one of the reasons he's so popular in the main stream, but Cujo feels like they left a little bit more out of the post-first draft writing process and it works, giving the book some very raw passion. It's also a sort of all things leading to one big act sort of story and watching the pieces fall into place when you know what's coming is great. It's also a pitch perfect ending that got fucked for the movie. It's also a great representation of one of King's strengths, taking something we love and turning it into something worth being terrified of. That and Dead Zone and my go to's when someone asks where to start with King.

 

Wow, love it!

I have read Carrie and I remember being pretty put off by the style it's written in, mainly because I didn't feel like each piece was written by the person that was supposed to be writing it, so it didn't have quite the effect it could have. You're right though, the story still shines through, and there's some cool stuff in there with the way he conveys telepathy.

I thought Cujo was kind of bloated with all the stuff about the breakfast cereal, but it did feel like it was all building to something, and it definitely paid off with that ending. And the way he depicted Cujo struggling with what's happening to him was brilliant. Much better than the way he wrote the dog in Gerald's Game, I think, which was kind of tiring.

Haven't read Dead Zone. I really ought to. I've heard the villain in that one is great.

What do you think about Christine? Another one that might be a bit too long, and when I was reading it, I kind of thought it was like a more mature Goosebumps book, but I look back on it really fondly. It's just such a comfy story that's soaked in Americana and teenagehood (is that a word?) and I actually kind of miss it, though I've got a few others to read before I should consider going back to that one.

 

I think that's the kind of stuff that I loved about Cujo, things that would normally be edited out for bloat were left in which gave it a much more raw feel that I think fit perfectly well with the themes of the story. King is such a dog lover its crazy, he does something with his dog in the Stand that is absolutely brilliant and completely turns the dog always dies cliche on its head. I think things like that shine through in Cujo as well, it's a lot more than just "monster dog kills people." I don't specifically remember the dog in Gerald's Game though I did adore that book.

Yes! Dead Zone is a must read, and I think it's fairly short, or at least it's something you read quickly. I think it's a good middle ground between his horror and his dramatic work like Green Mile and Shawshank...I wouldn't tell a new fan to read either of those first because you're not really getting the entire King experience and you'll have different expectations going forward with his books, but Dead Zone sort of threads that line while also showing some of his best character work. You are correct, the villain is truly marvelous. And the great thing about that one is you get a goddamn David Cronenberg adaptation to watch after and it's really good.

Love Christine. It was one that I read a little bit later when I was going through them because I was slightly put off by the plot. The joke everyone levels at King is that he just takes a random object and the turns it into something scary. So I thought an evil car? bleh...but then I was surprised with how amazing it is. The teenager characters are super interesting and he writes them really well. Plus when I found out it's not an evil car and King explains it I thought that was really interesting. I also recall loving the books format, like the way he named chapters and split them up and one not. I don't remember specifically why but you probably know what I'm talking about. It also had one of his more fun action sequences right at the end.

 

I think the way you feel about Cujo is the way I feel about Christine. If I were more connected to the characters in Cujo, I don't think I would have minded all the breakfast cereal stuff, because it was basically there in Christine too - the whole middle of the book is the main character in a hospital bed and descriptions of Arnie becoming better looking, but I was into it.

I see you have Doctor Sleep pretty close to The Shining. I haven't explored much of King beyond the 90s, so I haven't gotten around to reading that one, which is weird because I absolutely love The Shining. It's a worthy follow up?

I'll definitely get around to the Dead Zone very soon. That Cronenberg film waiting for me should be incentive enough. What's your favourite screen adaptation?

 

Yeah that makes a lot of sense, they both sort of deal with seemingly aimlessness for the sake of character development and the more you like those characters the heavier that stuff is going to sit with you. Do you have thoughts on Tommy Knockers? It's one that is very much criticized for going over the top when it comes to that sort of thing. I have no problem with it, by that time I'd say my love for King was pretty unconditional so I wallowed in King's long ass rants. It's also one of his small town gets taken over type novels like Under the Dome and Needful Things so your character list starts getting huge. It might be bad that I don't remember any of the characters from TK though...haha...I remember Gardener but nothing about his personality. In all fairness I read a lot and forget about just as much.

Yes I absolutely believe Dr Sleep was a worthy follow up. It's not The Shining 2, that's for damn sure, and I could see someone being disappointed if they expected that. It's not a story of a haunting. There was a poster in the AP days and I don't know if he made it over to Chorus, but he had a lot of interesting things to say about the way the story affected him personally. Danny is now a recovering alcoholic and you can imagine King has a lot to say about that. That's sort of the central them about the story, mixed in with redemption and all that fun stuff. Most importantly there's something that happened in the climax that I believe elevates the Shining and makes me look at certain things a different way. Also one of King's best villains, Rose in the Hat, she's amazing.

Green Mile is my obvious answer for best screen adapt, Dreamcatcher is my controversial answer that no one agrees with, haha. Speaking of Christine I thought that adapt was solid enough.

 

IT is going into test screening next week.

 

I think IT and The Dark Tower are going to lead to more big King adaptations. I know it's been brought up and fizzled out a few times, but we'll probably get a theatrical version of The Stand sooner rather than later. Then again, I haven't seen Under the Dome or 11/22/63 - maybe that format is better for the expansive stuff

 

Unless they suck which could be awful. It definitely has the possibility of being a big turning point for better funded King adaptations. I still have plenty of worries about IT and a really bad feeling that Dark Tower will get bad reviews. With Netflix and Hulu becoming bigger who knows what's ahead. If we can keep getting mini series as incredible as 11/22 than I'm more than happy with that. Under the Dome was pure shit and the exact opposite of what I want out of a King adapt. I also love the idea of Flanagan making a Netflix movie (Gerald's Game) so it can be as fucked up as the story deserves. We'll see how that turns out.

 

I'm reading a Dan Simmons book called Darwin's Blade and I'm wondering how close King and Simmons are. You always see them quoted on each other's work but I noticed this book was dedicated to him

"...for Steve, who felt the cutting edge of Darwin's Blade via someone else's lethal stupidity, gratitude that you're still with us and willing to tell us more tales by the campfire"

Darwin's Blade meaning a car accident or something, I don't know I haven't started.

 

I forgot about Flanagan doing Gerald's Game! I'm so excited for that. I love movies that take place in one room and I'm really hoping it ends up being as claustrophobic and tense as it ought to be

 

Are King's Bill Hodges books (finders keeepers, and end of watch) worth a read?

I read the first (Mr. Mercedes) and it wasn't bad....but I usually stick with Michael Connelly or Tony Hillerman if I want to read a detective novel.

 

Hell yes they are

 

I listened to the Audiobook of all 3 a few months ago and loved them. Incredibly thrilling and movie-like. These were my first foray into King so take that for what it's worth.

 

Book 2 is basically a completely different story and the characters from book 1 don't show up for awhile. Book 3 is way more classic King but it's best if you don't know why.

 

Yeah that's one I'm not worried about at all. All of Flanagan's work has been top notch in my eyes. The fact that it's on Netflix is good too because unless it has Colin Farrel or Ryan Reynolds a claustrophobic movie can be a tough sell.

 

Do I need to read them in sequence, or can I skip to classic King in book 3? I feel like I need some classic King, but am willing to put in the time to get there if you folks say book 2 is essential.

Thanks in advance for the info.

 

As @Vivatoto has said book 1 & 3 are related with the same characters and it's not really understood how book 2 relates to the series until book 3. I think you might be okay without book 2 but maybe the others would know better than I do

 

Book two was my favorite, but it's pretty much completely irrelevant from the rest of the trilogy. It's a lot of fun though.

 

Definitely would read them in order. I like 3 the best then 2 then 1.

 

Hopefully going to be finishing Pet Semetary tonight. Going to read the Bill Hodges trilogy next or 11/22/63, not sure yet.