Stephen King Fans discussion

And why?

Mine is The Stand. It will always be my favorite even if I read something better by him. Simply because it was the first Steven King book I read. It started the ball rolling for me. Not only did it make me a fan of him, it made me a reading fan. I wasn't much of a reader before that book. I would occasionaly chew through a book, now I devour them on a regular basis.

My all-time favorite Stephen King book is The Stand! It's just such a classic book about good and evil! I love the people in it! Its the book that I tell everyone that they should read....even those people I talk to who aren't into "horror" or traditional "Stephen King" books! This is a great classic novel! I go back to it every few years for a reread! And I'm due very soon!

My all time favorite is The Shining and The Stand.
Also my fisrt book i read by him was The Dead Zone so that also holds a special spot in my heart.

i never read the stand becaus they are hard coved books and i can't hold them.

have a good one.

Wheelchairlady,

Have you tried audio books? Or the new ereaders? Great way to get in those over large books.

My favorite SK books are The Talisman and The Eyes of the Dragon. Both are more fantasy books than horror--which is funny because King is known for horror. The Eyes of the Dragon is particularly well-done. It's a simple little book and I loved it. The Talisman started out slow, but once he got going, the alternative world he created was excellent.

Everyone says the Stand- I've never read it! lol Some fan I am.

This is the thing though- once I see the movie, I don't read the book, especially if I liked the movie- coz I figure the suspense had been killed. So I've seen the movies, but never read The Stand, Misery, Shawshank Redemption, and Shining, It.

I've never read "The Stand" either, it always seemed so daunting before but I should give it a shot.

I love "The Stand" as my individual favorite, but of his serial works, "The Dark Tower" books are my favorite. And I so agree that the movies don't do the books justice. Especially "The Stand"; Molly Ringwald was NOT the right person to play Frannie.

My favorite book is the Stand as well. If you read the book "On Writing" Stephen actually says it is not his favorite and he is always surprised that a majority of his fans like it best. He also explains in "On writing" why he kills off certain characters or why the story plot goes in a certain direction. If you are more interested in the Stand you should check out that book.

The Stand was also a major turning point book for me as well. It was the longest novel i had read up to that point, but i read it all in during my summer vacation before high school. And Salma, dont rely on the movie, it was well done, but like all Stephen King, it did not do it justice. On the note of movies, read "the Mist" then go see the movie. I really liked the way they played on the human psychosis (sp?) as being the real horror, as the mosters were always hidden from view, much like an old radio drama.

You know, I've never do this with other authors- usually I read the book first then see the movie, or at least read the book as well. Don't know why I do this with King. I'll have to check out The Stand.

Its a toss up between Shawshank and Green Mile. They border on flawless. I can read those two repeatedly and the movies only help accentuate the stories. Granted I still have more King books to read, I'm half way through the Dark Tower series, but I have a feeling my opinion will stay with those two.

Salma,

You MUST MUST MUST read "It". Scariest book I've EVER read in my whole life! Really well written, it's one of my favorites of ALL time! In my opinion, movies, never ever do the books justice. I had a previous rant about that with "Dreamcatcher" a while back.

My all time favorite is The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. It's such a beautiful mix of horror and hope and there are very few characters so it's simple and unique. My other favorite is It. Like Christy said, it is probably the scariest book I've ever read.

I read "It" when I was in college after watching the made for tv movie and it scared the hell out of me! I would have to put the book facedown on my nightstand with the pages facing me because there was a little picture on the binding too. What was so scary about the book was the idea that only the kids could see the monster and there was no one to protect them as a result. Totally freaked me out!

Joanie - I'm right there with you, never have I felt like there was "something/someone" WITH me as I was reading..... soooo freaky. What an awesome writer.

I think Stephen King single-handedly is responsible for the clown-phobia I see in so many people who read that growing up.

absolutely!

I have never read IT, I am so scared of it, and I haven't even read the book. Now that is a good book if I am scared to read it just by hearing about it.

I read "It" many, many years ago and saw the movie. For a long while I could not take a shower with my eyes closed thinking Pennywise will come out of the drain.

I tried to convince my kids to watch the movie, who refused for being too scary and got many a bad look from my wife.

But, I eventually won out and we watched it togehter last year, when they were 20 and 18!

No sleep for anyone that night.

I love It and Misery as well.Also Pet Semetary freaked me out alot when i read it years ago.

I grew up in Bangor, where King lives, and what much of Derry is based on (actually, I lived about a block and a half from King). Growing up, I wasn't a King fan - wasn't until my 20s that I got into him. My mom read "It" years ago, though, and said the scariest part to her, aside from all of the stuff that you've mentioned already, is that when he would mention certain parts of town, she knew EXACTLY what he had in mind...and it made it even scarier. I think that's one reason I'm savoring this one and haven't read it yet. Insomnia was the same way - I knew the entire town he was describing like the back of my hand.

I realized I never actually said what my fave King books are! Haven't read Stand there, so that might take the no. 1 spot later. Right now, my faves are are ties among

1) Four Past Midnight (Library Policeman is the best one)
2) Everything's Eventual
3) Christine
4) Bag of Bones

"IT" is my favorite for its all-inclusive overview about the nature of fear...how we attain it during childhood, how it affects our adulthood, and how fear has had a powerful hold on humanity throughout history. Yet at the same time, it is a hopeful book that urges the reader to keep childhood and love to fight Evil and Fear. I consider "IT" to be the Moby Dick of horror novels.

Needful Things, by far. It's not only my favorite SK book, it's my favorite book period.

I started reading The Dark Tower 20 years ago. I heard so many bad things about the ending I had a hard time finishing the books. I finally did and I was amazed. I think he did a fantastic job with those books. The Talisman and Black House are (of course) some of my other favorites.

The Green Mile, Needful Things and all of his short stories. And, if Bachman books count, I love them all! Though not one of his best, I thought "Lisey's Story" was a wonderful tribute to Tabby and marriage in general.

i listen to audiobooks while im working rather than reading physically...

my fave 5 of SK are...

1) Dark Tower Series(fantastic!!!)
2) The Stand(extended version)
3) Hearts in Atlantis( i loved teds story )
4) Shawshank Redemption
5) The bachman books....

... I know these are several books but there are some great ones there... firestarter, the running man etc

New to the group here! Hi All! IT would be one of my tops, thus the clown avatar. I also have to put The Shining at the top of my list. I also really like The Tailsman. Travelling Jack, Speedy, and Wolf are three of my fav. King characters. I just re-read The Tailsman and I have started Black House again. I almost never re-read a book.

"The Green Mile, Needful Things and all of his short stories. And, if Bachman books count, I love them all! Though not one of his best, I thought "Lisey's Story" was a wonderful tribute to Tabby and marriage in general."

Yeah, don't hear too many positive tributes to the whole ring and ceremony bit nowadays. :-)

I would say Green Mile and Insomnia.... been reading it 5 times each... and still like it..

The Dark Tower series is my favorite, hands down. The Stand, Salem's Lot, and Eyes of the Dragon are all jockeying for second place.

Hi everyone. I'm also new here but a huge SK fan. Some of my favorites are...

The Shining
Everythings Eventual
Salems Lot
The Stand
Misery
Different Seasons

This week my favorites are Firestarter, Cujo and Eyes of the Dragon. I can't pick one favorite. That would be worse than trying to pick a favorite Led Zeppelin song.

'It' is my favourite King book. I think its great.
Even though its such a long book i found my-self really racing through it and wanted it to go on for even longer.
To me the characters are the strongest part of the book. You really get to know each character really well, and find your-self really caring about them.
'It' is scary, moving and funny all at the same time and is a book i have re-read many times.

The Stand. I cant remember the first time I read it, definitely in high school though. Then when the new unabridged version came out, I received that as a graduation present. I've re-read it many times.

My Favourite is The Cell. I love the fact he has taken a modern piece of technology and used it turn to turn people into slobbering idiots albit with a flock mind mentality. What is scary is that cell phones can be used by terrorists in verious forms to cause mayhem and destruction, so maybe King isn't to far from reality where this book is concerned.

I agree with you, Hayley. I loved The Cell. I thought Stephen King met the Zombie genre head on and won. Also, after reading this, you had to seriously ask yourself....could this really happen? It was so realistic. Very scary! Loved it!

I thought The Cell was wonderful. From start to finish amazing. I have read it several times and each time find something that I haven't noticed before to enjoy.

Stephen King's book is just "CELL". "THE Cell" is that crap-tastic movie starring Jennifer Lopez. I really enjoyed this one, most especially because it was a complete departure from his other stories and was not set in his normal locale of Maine. It definitely made me leery of using my cell phone - I remember holding my phone further away from my ear than normal for a while after reading this book.

well for me it would have to be the dark tower series, specifically wizard and glass. My second would be a tie between the talisman, black house, and insomnia. i havent read the stand yet but i have it on my shelf and i plan to read it soon (after misery). oh, and duma key was great as well.

I felt like I was sitting in the park with the guy when everything went crazy. The imagry was amazing. You think Mr. King was in Boston on buisness sat in the park for lunch and just mentally wrote the book?

I have to admit I have still not read, Fire Starter, Misery or The Shinning! I know I shouldn't have the right to call myself a fan.

Kathy and Monkeybutt(my best friend call me monkeybutt - not sure why) I so agree with you, I would keep finding new bits I hadn't noticed before. Shane I was the same, for awhile I kept my phone a good distance from my ear.

I just joined the group, but am an avid Stephen King fan. My all-time favorite is "It". Besides being terrifying, I love the relationships between the kids and how they interact as grown-ups. I've read the book 3x now and I always end up calling an old high school friend after I read it, nostalgic for times when friendship was everything. I haven't read The Stand in years. I'll have to pick that up again since so many people cast that as their favorite.

Hey Julie,

If you read The Stand when it first came out like I did you read the "abridged" version. He released another version in the 90s with several hundred pages added (the way he wanted it to begin with). He also updated the time of the story to 1990. I am currently reading the new version and am loving it. It's been long enough that I don't feel like I am reading a repeat, and the new stuff is mingled all through the story and isn't just one big chunk of new material.

The Stand is one book that I love to reread! And I never feel like its just a repeat! But I know not everyone is a rereader, like me. The Stand is the one book I recommend to everyone....even if they aren't into horror! Ok, sure I'm a bit biased....but its great! :)

I must be weird, because The Stand never connected with me as much as other novels like IT or The Dark Tower.

Shane - thanks for the tip on the newer version of The Stand. I definitely read the "abridged" version. I'll have to add that to my to-read list.

Anyone who's interested, I saw that they are showing "The Stand" on the SciFi channel this Saturday.

I'm new to the group. Just wanted to jump in.
I LOVE the Stand, Insomnia, and Christine. I've read them all more than once. Actully, I think I've read all of his books more than once!