Books Stephen King Recommends discussion

Hey, everyone! Welcome aboard. Tell us a bit about yourself and why you are here.

Hi I'm Dani and I'm a member of another SK group and I'm always looking for more book suggestions since I average about a book a week. Looking forward to getting started!

Hi I'm Linda, I live in Atlanta, GA., well actually a suburb of Atlanta, and I love reading, some of my favorite genres are horror, mystery/thrillers and more. Stephen King is one of my favorite authors, and I enjoy reading books that have a blurb on their covers by authors that I love. I think it is a good way to read an author you might not think about picking up. Looking forward to getting to know everyone!

Hi! I'm Jess and I live in central PA. I'm in another SK group here on Goodreads, so I thought this would be a pretty neat one to join as well. Stephen King is, by far, my favorite author, so I think it's a great idea to read books that the man himself recommends!

Hi, I'm Carmen. I am originally from the Ozarks but live in the Yucatan about half of the time, in the state of Campeche. So every time I come back to Mexico I bring a suitcase full of books as I am an avid reader and books are soooo expensive down here. I have been reading Stephen King since I was a teenager and I still love him. I stumbled across Debra's Stephen King list and it is an amazing list of books, can't wait to read them all, so glad to see the group grow, welcome all. :)

Welcome Dani, Linda, Jess, Carmen, and Amber. Thanks for joining us!

Amber wrote: "Hello! I am Amber from Wisconsin. Stephen King always has been and always will be one of my top five favorite authors. And seeing his blurb on the cover of a book I'm considering has often pushe..."

Amber, which book did you buy with the Stephen King blurb? I'm curious to see if it is on my list.

Thanks,

Debra

Jess wrote: "Hi! I'm Jess and I live in central PA. I'm in another SK group here on Goodreads, so I thought this would be a pretty neat one to join as well. Stephen King is, by far, my favorite author, so I thi..."

Hey Jess, I live in NE PA! My brother in law lives in Harrisburg :)

Here is a new book that Stephen King put a blurb on it is by Harry Dolen. It is a very good book, I read it about a month 1/2 to 2 months ago. Harry Dolan has his 2nd book out now called . I recently picked that one up as well, but I haven't read it yet.

Hi,
I'm Jo Ann and live in Illinois. I always look at SK's blurbs on books or articles he has written for Entertainment Weekly magazine naming his favorite books of the year. I discovered Michael Robotham that way and also Michael Connelly. I have read all of their books and wish they were more prolific. Can hardly wait until King's newest novel comes out in November. I think it is called 11/22/63.

Linda wrote: "Here is a new book that Stephen King put a blurb on it is by Harry Dolen. It is a very good book, I read it about a month 1/2 to 2 months ago. Harry Dolan has ..."

Yep, have that one on the list. Haven't read it though. Maybe we will tackle it later in a group read. Thanks for the tip!

Jo wrote: "Hi,
I'm Jo Ann and live in Illinois. I always look at SK's blurbs on books or articles he has written for Entertainment Weekly magazine naming his favorite books of the year. I discovered Michael R..."

I've discovered new books/authors that way too, Jo. And yeah, can't wait for his new book; already have it on order from Amazon.

Welcome to the group.

Hi! I'm Lonnie. I have been a Stephen King fan for decades. Unfortunately, he doesn't produce more than 1 book a year so that leaves me with a lot of other books that I need to be reading. I figure it's as good as bet to read the books King recommends to find good books as any other method I have. ;)

Lonnie wrote: "Hi! I'm Lonnie. I have been a Stephen King fan for decades. Unfortunately, he doesn't produce more than 1 book a year so that leaves me with a lot of other books that I need to be reading. I fi..."

Way cool, Lonnie. I'm the same way. I wish King was writing like he used to; several books a year, but he has definitely slowed down. So that leaves us looking for more good authors and books. I've read most everything by King's contemporaries, too. That's what lead me to start my list; wanting to find more books and, of course, because I'm a Stephen King fanatic. From there isn't wasn't much of a leap to think of this group.

Hullo, I'm Kit. I'm from Ohio. Been a SK fan since elementary school many years ago. I joined this group to find new authors to read, and new books to discuss :)

Hey Kit, nice to see you here.

I guess I should say a bit about myself. I know you all have figured out I'm a huge SK fan! lol I own every single one of his books and many books about him, plus a piece of memorbilia or two. All those books are first editions/first printings and some are limited editions. I'm quite proud of my collection.

I've been a fan since he first started writing and have been hooked ever since. No one else can quite do it like he can. I love his down-home approach to character development and ability to set a scene, and his sense of humor makes me laugh out loud and grin from ear to ear, and yet he can make me squirm with horror or just plain compelling discomfort. When I read him I feel like a best friend is telling me a story from his heart.

I'm from Westland, MI and live with my best guy, Jeff, and my sweet kittie Lucy. Her favorite toy is Jeff; she thinks she's a dog.

Almeta Marrs, my (so far) quiet co-moderator is my sister and she writes fantastic reviews. She amazes me. We rarely talk about anything else but books and sometimes the occasional movie.

I read all the time, except when I'm working or on this time-consuming and addictive web-site!

As I've said before, I'm very excited about this group and am overjoyed every time I check our growing member list! You guys rock!

Take it away, folks...

Dani wrote: "Jess wrote: "Hi! I'm Jess and I live in central PA. I'm in another SK group here on Goodreads, so I thought this would be a pretty neat one to join as well. Stephen King is, by far, my favorite aut..."

Cool! I always like seeing fellow PA-ers floating around this site. I'm from Altoona, myself :)

Hello everyone, I am Ann and I live in Nashville TN. I am married, work full time and listen to audio books on my daily commute. I especially loved the Dark Tower books on audio and look forward to the new book SK has written extending the seven book series to eight books, The Wind Through The Keyhole. (SK is calling it book 4.5)I have a Kindle and am a frequent patron of the library.
I have been a Stephen King fan for years and while I don't own a copy of every book or have a lot of first additions, my Stephen King books are my prize collection and most are listed in the upper ranks of my favorite books. I have found great suggestions of other books and authors from comments he has made so think this is a great idea for a group.

Hey Ann, thanks for being here. I have plans to listen to the audio books of the Dark Tower books someday and am also looking forward to book 4.5 of the series. Leave it to King to want to revisit his magnum opus!

Hi! My name is Isabella and I live in Vienna (Austria). When I was 12 my mother and I were in a bookstore (of the "bestsellers only" variety) and she told me that I could pick any book I wanted and I recognized the name Stephen King and thought I'd give it a try. My choices were It or Misery, the reason I chose It was because it was SO MUCH BIGGER. Thus began my love for SK books. Stumbled upon the group and also looked at the shelf (well stocked!). The most recent one of his recommendations that I read was "When Will There Be Good News?". Saw him reading it on TV during a baseball game when the Red Sox were down 0-7.... I know I will not want to read everything he recommends because there are a few I tried that are not for me (i.e. Tess Gerritsen) but I am always looking for new authors to try out and this is one starting point.

Isabella wrote: "Hi! My name is Isabella and I live in Vienna (Austria). When I was 12 my mother and I were in a bookstore (of the "bestsellers only" variety) and she told me that I could pick any book I wanted and..."

Welcome to our Austrian friend, Isabella. You certainly started young with Stephen King, and to tackle such a tome as IT! Very admirable. IT is one of my favorites of King's. He really got into the heads of those kids and made me really cared about them and their adult counterparts. Thanks for checking out the list of books. I'm sure we will find something to read that you will enjoy.

Hi, my name is Bethany and I live near Cleveland. I have been a Stephen King fan since High School when I read It. I'm new to GoodReads and looking forward to the interaction with fellow readers. I average about a book a week and love every genre. I respect SK's opinion regarding books and movies and will always read it if he recommends.

Hello, I'm from Langley, BC (very close to the Seattle border and 1HR away from downtown Vancouver BC). I started SK in high school and could not get enough of his books. I'm fairly new to GoodReads but loving it here and am really interested to see what books SK recommends. This is something I've been meaning to do for awhile on my own, but life gets in the way as it always does. So am super excited to find both a huge following of his as well as a group of people who are also interested in following what SK reads/recommends. Glad to meet you all!

Hi, I'm Darren. I live in the south west of England where I teach media and film to high school students. I've been reading Stephen King since my teenage years and I often take note of books recommended by him. As well as being a prolific reader (how does he fit in time to write himself?) he also appears to have impeccable taste in fiction. I'm new to the site and thought that this group looks like a great way of exploring some new books.

Amber wrote: "Debra wrote: "Amber wrote: "Hello! I am Amber from Wisconsin. Stephen King always has been and always will be one of my top five favorite authors. And seeing his blurb on the cover of a book I'm..."

I want to read that one, too. Was thinking of suggesting it for a group read. We'll see what happens when that time comes.

Welcome to Bethany, Karina, and Darren. Thanks so much for joining. We certainly are growing fast!

I'm Carly from Toronto, Canada. I was attracted by the title of the group - SK recommends, etc.

Any friend of SK's a friend o' mine, y'know?

I have read Twisted River - it's a long one, as all of YouKnowWho's books are. But it's a goodie.

I still have an audio version of the book so I've made a note and set the alarm for around mid August. I'll pop back in here for the discussion then.

Enjoy the read, everybody!

Carly wrote: "I'm Carly from Toronto, Canada. I was attracted by the title of the group - SK recommends, etc.

Any friend of SK's a friend o' mine, y'know?

I have read Twisted River - it's a long one, as a..."

Great to have you here, Carly. I know what you mean about "any friend of Sk's... I feel the same way. As soon as I find aother SK fan I can't help but wax poetical about his best books.

Glad to hear you will be joining us in the group read, even though you read the book before. Hope you find the audio book enjoyable. At least one other member here will be doing the same.

Isabella wrote: "Saw him reading it on TV during a baseball game when the Red Sox were down 0-7.... ..."


Hi Isabella! Glad to see that you are not only a SK fan but a baseball fan as well. His book Faithful was one of the reasons why I started liking baseball more than I used to.

Lonnie wrote: "Isabella wrote: "Saw him reading it on TV during a baseball game when the Red Sox were down 0-7.... ..."


Hi Isabella! Glad to see that you are not only a SK fan but a baseball fan as well. His ..."

Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season is the only SK book I haven't read. I remember starting it and was unable to understand the baseball references, as I know very little about it. Should I give it another try? Does it get any easier for those that don't know the lingo?

Hi I'm Ashley. I love Stephan King and the first time I was introduced to him was from my dad, who is also a diehard fan, by playing the book on tape The Mist when I was very young, sometime when I was in elementary school. That book is creepy on tape and I was attracted to him and his work ever since.

Ashley wrote: "Hi I'm Ashley. I love Stephan King and the first time I was introduced to him was from my dad, who is also a diehard fan, by playing the book on tape The Mist when I was very young, sometime when ..."

Oooh! I have to check out The Mist audio books. Sounds great. Welcome to the group, Ashley.

Kyle wrote: "Hi, I'm Kyle. I've been reading Stephen King since I was a teenager, and have successfully completed most of his novels. His great masterpiece IT was my first experience with King. I was hooked. M..."

Hey Kyle! I agree with you about IT being a masterpiece. I've always thought IT didn't get the press it deserved as I think it is at least as good as The Stand. But the Dark Tower series has become my all-time favorite of King's. He outdid himself there.

Noah wrote: "Hi! I am a freaking HUUUUUUGEEEEE Stephen King Fan!"

LOL! I hear ya!

Hi, I'm Scout. I think this is a great idea for a book club, Debra. It will be interesting to see what Stephen King is recommending. Also, everyone here seems to be a real book lover like I am, so I'm looking forward to getting some reading ideas from you all.

Several years ago, I checked out King's book on writing (of course entitled On Writing) from the library, and I think he included a list of some of his favorite books in the appendix. Anyone else familiar with this?

I think this is going to be fun!

Debra wrote: "Does it get any easier for those that don't know the lingo?
..."

Actually no, it doesn't. Faithful is SO not a typical SK book. Probably 80% or more of the book is the correspondance between the 2 authors regarding the Sox.

Hey, everyone! I'm Elizabeth from Detroit, MI and I think Sai's books were the first adult books I ever read and really enjoyed. My all-time favorites include Salem's Lot, It, Pet Cemetary and just recently I finished Under the Dome. Looking forward to what this group has to offer because I know he is an avid reader and I adore his taste and his hilarious sense of humor.

Scout wrote: "Hi, I'm Scout. I think this is a great idea for a book club, Debra. It will be interesting to see what Stephen King is recommending. Also, everyone here seems to be a real book lover like I am, s..."

Another SK fan and book lover is always welcome! My "sai-king-recommends" list includes books King referenced in On Writing, as well as those mentioned in his other non-fiction works Danse Macabre and Secret Windows : Essays and Fiction On The Craft Of Writing. Over time, I will try to review those 3 books again and see if I and add to my reviews any specific text regarding his recommendations of those books. That will be a big project!

Lonnie wrote: "Debra wrote: "Does it get any easier for those that don't know the lingo?
..."

Actually no, it doesn't. Faithful is SO not a typical SK book. Probably 80% or more of the book is the correspond..."

That's what I thought. I just couldn't get into it because I had no idea what they were talking about. So, when I said I've read everything he has written, I have to omit Faithful.

Elizabeth wrote: "Hey, everyone! I'm Elizabeth from Detroit, MI and I think Sai's books were the first adult books I ever read and really enjoyed. My all-time favorites include Salem's Lot, It, Pet Cemetary and just..."

Hey! Another Michigander! Nice to have you here! Great list of favs!

Kyle wrote: "Debra wrote: "Ashley wrote: "Hi I'm Ashley. I love Stephan King and the first time I was introduced to him was from my dad, who is also a diehard fan, by playing the book on tape The Mist when I w..."

Blaze is more of a psychological and suspense piece where King takes you into the mind of a basically good character who had a low IQ due to frequent beatings as a child, and who is conned into kidnapping a baby. It has an average rating of 3.37 stars here on Goodreads. I gave it a 3, and probably would have given it 3.5 stars if available. Most reviews are favorable and some exceptionally so. It is a quick read and IMHO worth reading, for something a bit different by King writing as Richard Bachman.

I really enjoyed Duma Key, a big psychological and supernatural tome with, once again, great character-development. Most of my friends rated it with 5 stars, a few 4 stars. It averages 3.84 stars on Goodreads. I gave it 5 stars. Again, IMHO, it is definitely a must-read of King's.

Hope that helps you decide!

Re Kyle Message 42
I loved loved loved Duma Key.

Hi, I'm Amanda and I love reading Stephen King. I have also read his book On Writing and other things that have made me truly respect his opinion. Therefore anything he recommends I am willing to check out. And I think it will be interesting to see all the different kinds of books he reads because I know he reads A LOT.

Amanda wrote: "Hi, I'm Amanda and I love reading Stephen King. I have also read his book On Writing and other things that have made me truly respect his opinion. Therefore anything he recommends I am willing to..."

Glad to have you here, Amanda. King has read and reviewed many differenct genres of books, so we have a variety to pick from.

Jess wrote: "Dani wrote: "Jess wrote: "Hi! I'm Jess and I live in central PA. I'm in another SK group here on Goodreads, so I thought this would be a pretty neat one to join as well. Stephen King is, by far, my..."

I'll wave the next time we drive to Pittsburgh!

Hi, I'm Mary Ann from Virginia. I love Stephen King - "The Shining" is still one of the scariest books I've ever read (and remains a favorite.) I also really liked "On Writing" & like Amanda above, I respect his opinion. And - I'm always looking for a good book recommendation!

Hi Mary Ann:

Welcome to our fastly-growing group. Another SK fan is always welcome!

I'm new to Goodreads, and this is my first group. But I typically like the books that Stephen recommends in his column in EW. Looking forward to meeting some good books through this group.

Hey everyone,
I'm Stephen King's #1 fan ;) I would always keep up with what he was reading & recommending through his website but I don't think he has updated that in awhile. So this group is a wonderful way for me to find out what he has read. I'm currently visiting my sis in Sarasota (I'll also be moving here within a year) I daydream of meeting him at Siesta, Lido or Casey Key :)lol...
I read everyday & am always looking for a great book!
Glad to be part of the group, thank you!
Julie

Hello I'm Christiane from Quebec. I'm 63, and I am a huge SK fan. I have read almost all of his work. I'm also a fan of other authors and they are many. Love to read. I'm married, mom of a son and my first language is french, so sorry if my english doesn't sound good in some of my comments. I'm currencly a member of SK's official discussion board and posting there from time to time. :)