2015 Reading Challenge [Closed] discussion

I really have no good reason for choosing this book other than the fact that GoodReads lists it as the most-read book from 1986... I know Stephen King is/was a popular author in the 80s, but I have absolutely no prior experience with his books other than his dozens of horribly-made TV movies (in particular, I remember being especially scared by Sematary as a child, except now I can't remember the specifics as to why)... I guess my dad read a lot of his work back in the day, too... I was waiting for someone else to post a topic for a book from 1986 that was on my to-read list, but seeing how I'm already several weeks behind and no one has, I am finally ready to commit! :) I reserved an audio copy and a copy of the book from the library and I am hoping to start it today...

I've attempted to read this a few times and have always abandoned it. It's nothing against the book because it's actually quite good, It's just very large and I tend to get distracted easily :)

But I have to say, don't judge Stephen King by his movies and/or TV movies. For some reason his work just doesn't translate well and usually comes off as cheesy. But his stories are actually really good!

Jasmine wrote: "I really have no good reason for choosing this book other than the fact that GoodReads lists it as the most-read book from 1986... I know Stephen King is/was a popular author in the 80s, but I have..."

I considered this for the Scary category but lost heart when I saw that it's over 1,000 pages! Good luck!

I am reading this for the scary book because it's so long and I am so slow reader that make me scared ;-)

It's a good book, and in my opinion not one of his scariest, so it's not a bad place to start if you've never read him before. (There are some seriously scary parts, but it's almost more "coming of age" story than horror story most of the time.)

The length is daunting, but I hope you enjoy it.

I'm ever so slowly getting into this one (doing the audiobook since I am behind), but it feels like it is dragging! I think I am around 400 pages or so. Here's to hoping that it gets more interesting! I guess I am a little confused with the all the characters and jumping around too. I might need to do some skimming/catching up in the hardcopy as well...

STILL stuck on this one. So far, I have had to return the book AND the audiobook to the library twice. But I am getting closer... about 150 pages more to go?

Please tell me that Stephen King has better books than this. Maybe I just need recs for his "best" one. Before I tried tackling this book, I had quite a few of his on my to-read list. Recently deleted about 5-6 though. If he is as long-winded as this in any of his others, I doubt I will ever have the motivation to get to them!

I do have a pop culture-related question though, if anyone knows: is this where the "scary clown" originated from? Or does anyone know of an earlier pop reference to the scary clown? (Or have people just randomly always thought clowns were scary?) I know in the early 90s and throughout most of my childhood, the scary clown popped up quite a bit in TV shows (Anyone remember Are You Afraid of the Dark?), movies, books, etc., and I'm beginning to think this book was probably a huge part of that movement...

I think it's a mixture of both. I think clowns have always been scary but that King's IT made it more of a pop culture thing. I am terrified of clowns, even in my 20s and the only think I can attribute it to is sneaking out of bed one night to watch IT when my parents told me not to. I remember Are You Afraid of The Dark and Goosebumps utilizing clowns a lot in their stories.

I think it's a mixture of both. I think clowns have always been scary but that King's IT made it more of a pop culture thing. I am terrified of clowns, even in my 20s and the only think I can attribute it to is sneaking out of bed one night to watch IT when my parents told me not to. I remember Are You Afraid of The Dark and Goosebumps utilizing clowns a lot in their stories.

Jasmine wrote: "Please tell me that Stephen King has better books than this. Maybe I just need recs for his "best" one. Before I tried tackling this book, I had quite a few of his on my to-read list. Recently deleted about 5-6 though. If he is as long-winded as this in any of his others, I doubt I will ever have the motivation to get to them!
"

This is generally considered to be one of his best books, however, I think that's by people who are already fans of his and are used to the way he writes. I think you chose quite a hefty one for your first King book and it might've been better for you to start with one of his other books and work you way up. Hell, I'm a huge Stephen King fan and I still haven't gotten around to reading this one yet. Carrie and The Shining are probably good places to start. They're shorter and move along at a fairly quicker pace.

Thanks @Francesca ! I consider myself a big fan of Stephen King and so I feel very guilty about not having read one of his most famous books such as IT, but your words made me feel better :)

In fact I started to read it for this challenge (for a book that scared me, although the fear I have it is just because it is too thick :D), but had to leave it because I can not keep pace with the others books that I need to read for this challenge and read IT at the same time ... so it will have to wait until next year :(

@Jasmine, I recommend you to read Different Seasons. It's my favorite book of Stephen King.

Ooh, yes, that's definitely a good choice @Silvia! That's one of my favourites too!

I would definitely recommend The Shining as a good starting point for Stephen King. I haven't read one of his books for years, but I'm planning on reading The Stand soon - I believe that's one of his best.

Gah, finally finished!

Sorry to all the King fans. I just couldn't quite appreciate this one. Maybe I will give him another chance in 2-3 years... But at least I can say that I've finally read something by him! I've been curious about his books since I was a little girl so it's surprising that I haven't read any since now. One more thing to talk over with my dad since he is a fan of King's...

My review here.

King is a different kind of author. Most of his stories are way out there and some people just can't get into it. I myself am a huge Stephen King fan but I have not read all of his books. If you are interested in more of his books later on I would recommend 11/22/63 this was a very good book.