Stephen King 2025 read-along discussion

Once again fellow Constant Readers it is that time of the month to pick a new read and March is going to be a fun one! Following Kayla from BooksandLala's Buzzword Reading Challenge cover prompt, March is to find a book with "books on the cover". We're going with two different options for this. One of which is 11/22/63 (we're not being super literal with this because it has a newpaper on the cover but it works!) and the other option is On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

11/22/63 is a fiction novel that was published on November 8, 2011 and immediately went to number one. It stayed on The New York Times Best Seller list for 16 weeks, as well as winning multiple literary awards. The story follows Jake Epping, an English teacher who is presented with the possibility of time travel and is given an immense task...preventing the assasination of JFK. According to King, the idea for the novel first came to him in 1971, before the release of his first novel, Carrie (1974). He was going to title it Split Track. However, he felt that a historical novel required more research than he was willing to do at the time and greater literary talent than he possessed. Like his novel Under the Dome (2009), he abandoned the project, returning to the story later in life. King and longtime researcher Russ Dorr prepared for the novel by reading many historical documents and newspaper archives from the period, looking at clothing and appliance ads, sports scores, and television listings. King and Dorr also traveled to Dallas, where they visited Lee Harvey Oswald's apartment building (now a private residence), found the home of Gen. Edwin Walker (a target of an assassination attempt by Oswald), and had a private tour of the Sixth Floor Museum in the Texas School Book Depository. On Presidents' Day in 2016 a Hulu mini-series adaptation premiered starring James Franco, Sarah Gadon, George MacKay, Chris Cooper, and a plethora of other well known actors and actresses. It was met with very positive reviews. 11/22/63 is tied for my second favorite King novel (neck and neck with IT). It truly has everything. Action, adventure, historical accuracy, horror, and one of the absolute best romances I've ever read. The Hulu mini-series, in my opinion is an awesome adaptation.

On the other hand, if you're looking for a non-fiction, we have you covered on that front too. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is a memoir that describes his experiences as a writer and his advice for aspiring writers. Originally published in 2000 by Charles Scribner's Sons, it was King's first book after he was involved in a car accident a year earlier. The book is organized into five sections: "C.V.", where King highlights events in his life that influenced his writing; "What Writing Is", where King urges the reader to take writing seriously; "Toolbox", discussing English mechanics; "On Writing", where King details his advice to aspiring writers; and "On Living: A Postscript", where he describes his roadside accident and how it affected his life. Stephen King began composing On Writing in 1997. After completing the "C.V." and "Toolbox" sections, he set aside the manuscript in February or March 1998, explaining in the final section of On Writing that he was uncertain how or whether he should proceed with it. In June 1999, he reread the uncompleted draft and became determined to finish it. On June 19, 1999, King was hit by a van while walking along Maine State Route 5. He subsequently struggled to return to writing, uncertain whether he could publish another novel. In an interview with NBC, he said: "After the accident, I was totally incapable of writing. At first it was as if I'd never done this in my life. ... It was like starting over again from square one." In January 2000, King wrote on his website that he had finished On Writing and was more optimistic about his career, stating, "My endurance is much less than it was and my output has been cut in half, but I am working." In 2008, Entertainment Weekly listed On Writing 21st on their list of "The New Classics: Books – The 100 best reads from 1983 to 2008". Over the years it has become a must-read on every list of books aimed at aspiring writers. As it is a memoir, there has been no adaptation slated.

We are EXTREMELY excited for this month's round of our Stephen King read-a-long. Have you read these in the past or is this your first time? Either way, we're happy to have you along for the ride in our continued King journey!

Hi guys hope all is well. So I’ve read 11/22/63 and don’t really want to read it again. I like most people I really wasn’t a fan . I have t read his non fiction one so I think that is what I’ll pick. Happy March