Favorite Stephen King Novel?

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 9/6/18 at 2:13pm

As the title suggests, what is your favorite Stephen King novel? 

I haven't read everything by him (I am currently on that journey) but so far my favorite is 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 9/6/18 at 3:00pm

I really like under the dome. 11.22.63 is a close second.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/6/18 at 3:35pm

Funny, as I've been lately getting caught up on my Stephen King and was thinking about throwing this topic on the OT board as well!  I just finished his Bill Hodges trilogy and Doctor Sleep.  I'm currently reading Revival and then will start The Outsider.

My favorite is probably The Talisman (even though I'm not a huge fan of the Dark Tower series), but it's really more of a a close tie with Carrie, the King novel I've read the most.  It's hard to choose, though.  I also love The Shining, The Stand, It, Misery, Needful Things, Desperation, Duma Key and 11.22.63.  Those are the ones I truly consider his top-tier works that had the greatest impact on me.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 9/6/18 at 4:06pm

I have been on a HUGE Stephen King kick this year. I finished THE OUTSIDER (which I thought was okay) and now reading EYES OF THE DRAGON.

I still haven't read a lot of his "Classics" which I need to get to.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 9/7/18 at 10:28am

Mister Matt gives a great list.

I would add Salem's Lot and Pet Sematary to the list. 

[BroadwayGuy12]

Posted: 9/7/18 at 10:31am

CARRIE is the one I've read the most, although I'm also a big fan of JOYLAND.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 9/7/18 at 1:58pm

I can definitely say that I've re-read It the most often, followed by Carrie and Misery. However, Pet Sematary is the only one that has actually made me cry, so that's up there for me in his top works.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 9/7/18 at 6:06pm

Misery and Dolores Claiborne. Excellent character studies with just the right amount of scary stuff. 

In his non fiction On Writing should be required reading for any one who wants to write ( as well as all the memoir stuff) nad Danse Macabre as a discussion of the horror genre ( including his own work)  

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/10/18 at 3:28pm

Needful Things is especially important if you followed the Castle Rock stories that preceded it AND consider it was King's first novel after recovering from alcohol and drug addiction.  It's his (first) phoenix novel, so to speak.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 9/10/18 at 4:39pm

Needful Things is on my "to read next" list.  After I finish Eyes of the Dragon and The Wastelands, I am going to take a break from the Dark Tower and read Misery and Needful Things. 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/10/18 at 5:47pm

Have you read the Castle Rock stuff that precedes Needful Things?  It makes it a little more fun to read.

The Dead Zone
Cujo
The Body (Different Seasons)
The Mist, Uncle Otto's Truck, Mrs. Todd's Shortcut (Skeleton Crew)
The Dark Half
The Sun Dog (Four Past Midnight)

[Roscoe]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 11:56am

I used to read King in hardcover, enduring a lot of mockery from my fellow bookstore co-workers.  I read all of his stuff up to THE DARK HALF, which solidified my feeling that King was doing a lot of over-writing -- nothing took ten pages if it could possibly be stretched to fifty.  I like his shorter more focused books a good deal.  The bigger stuff like THE STAND and IT and the Dark Tower stuff left me very cold.  I've picked up a couple since then, but I haven't really looked back.

I think THE SHINING is probably his best book overall, with PET SEMATARY not far behind.  But I'll mention CARRIE and CHRISTINE for being particularly good in their depiction of teenagers and young people.  On that score, there are some fine moments in IT, as well, but I can't say much else to recommend about that one.  I picked up DOLORES CLAIBORNE after seeing the film, and enjoyed it a good deal, too.  Comparatively short.

Updated On: 9/11/18 at 11:56 AM

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 12:08pm

Mister Matt said: "Have you read the Castle Rock stuff that precedes Needful Things? It makes it a little more fun to read.
 

I've read THE DEAD ZONE (My 2nd favorite book of his) and THE BODY.  I've only seen the movies of THE DARK HALF and THE MIST. 

Would you suggest that I hold off on NEEDFUL THINGS until I complete the others? 

 

[darquegk]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 1:54pm

I'm shocked that no great actress of middle age has ever done "Dolores Claiborne" as a one-woman show. Given the way the entire thing is a transcription of the titular character's statement to the police, it would work incredibly well (abridged obviously) as a stage piece... maybe Ann Dowd wants a Tony?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 3:28pm

spider - I wouldn't say the others are essential to the plot of Needful Things, but it's just a bit more fun to follow the trajectory.  The original hardcover release literally had "The Last Castle Rock Story" printed on its cover.  The publishers really knew his audience well.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 9/11/18 at 4:02pm

Oh how little did they know that tagline would not be the truth for long. 

Posted: 10/11/18 at 4:30am

Either Desperation or It. If you go to the top ten lists, every single list and it's mother lists The Stand at number one, but my theory on these lists is that the people that write them have never actually read any of the books in them, and they mostly just plagiarize the entries from one list to the other in order to go ahead and make them up.

Thus, blogger a sees that blogger b and blogger c have the stand at number one. Blogger A goes ahead and places the stand at number one on his or her own list, unaware that blogger b got his entry from blogger c, and blogger c got his entry from stephen king's publicist. 

I was pretty lukewarm on the stand. There was supposed to be this epic war between good vs evil but the man antagonist (the man in black) met his demise in a fairly underwhelming way and put up about 25% of a fight. 

 

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My name's Joe, and I try to provide NYC's Best Event Photography. Or something. I take photographs I guess. 

[egnarotsew]

Posted: 10/11/18 at 9:58pm

Salem's Lot, Pet Sematary, and Misery.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/13/18 at 12:48pm

"If you go to the top ten lists, every single list and it's mother lists The Stand at number one, but my theory on these lists is that the people that write them have never actually read any of the books in them, and they mostly just plagiarize the entries from one list to the other in order to go ahead and make them up."

Or it could be just a difference of opinion. I've personally know many people who have chosen The Stand as their favorite King novel. It was my Dad's favorite ever since the original published abridged version.