Current Events > Where should I start with Stephen King?

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I've seen several adaptions (It, Shining, Shawshank) so do those work? Anything better to begin with?

I started at the weirdest spot to start with, it seems: The Gunslinger (The first part of the 7 [well 8 now] Dark Tower books. You'd get why as you get further into it lol. I can't say why exactly without major spoilers)

But if by 'somewhere to start' you mean 'something shorter and easy', I'd say Pet Semetary or Carrie, possibly Cujo. The Shining if you want something more meaty and familar.

I'd say The Stand if you really want a long read and something not familar.

I started with familiar stories I enjoyed, The Shining and IT. They're pretty self contained stories for the most part. There's no real wrong place to jump in.

Start with this short stories.

Killmonger posted...

Start with this short stories.

That's also a good suggestion.

Okay, so I'm buying these:

Under the Dome
The Shining
The Stand
It
11/22/63
Different Seasons

Look good?

Add in the first dark tower book.

CinderLock posted...

Add in the first dark tower book.

Yeah, it's short and easy to get through

For me I read IT first as a kid on Cape Cod one summer

Smiffwilm posted...

I started at the weirdest spot to start with, it seems: The Gunslinger (The first part of the 7 [well 8 now] Dark Tower books. You'd get why as you get further into it lol. I can't say why exactly without major spoilers)

Yeah, for that reason I still find it bizarre / amusing that the only Stephen King books I've read were the seven Dark Tower books. Then again I'm the weirdo who was obsessed with Spaceballs as a tyke long before I'd ever seen Star Wars, so I guess that's par for the course.

Dr Sleep is a other fantastic one as the sequel to The Shining.

Don't. King is a terrible writer that never edits himself and just meanders on without getting to the point. Just watch the adaptations of his works since they cut out his bullshit.

It, The Stand, and Under the Dome are all pretty damn long, so be aware of that.

The Shining is a pretty good one to read first I suppose. But I could say the same about 11/22/63 as well. That was the first I read. The Shining is my favorite though.

masterpug53 posted...

Yeah, for that reason I still find it bizarre / amusing that the only Stephen King books I've read were the seven Dark Tower books. Then again I'm the weirdo who was obsessed with Spaceballs as a tyke long before I'd ever seen Star Wars, so I guess that's par for the course.

I'd say that's bc those are his only good books...until the end.

Idk...every Steven King story I've read I enjoy it well enough until the endings. Always something stupid that has me roll my eyes.

With Dark Tower I saw the timeloop coming. If only due to rereading WoT.

Then when I read Desperation havingthe whole thing be solved by a child's faith in God was...bleh.

So yeah...no problem with Kings writing...he just doesn't stick landings for me.

Watch cats eye and christine, sometimes they come back

Dark-Summoner posted...

I'd say that's bc those are his only good books...until the end.

Idk...every Steven King story I've read I enjoy it well enough until the endings. Always something stupid that has me roll my eyes.

With Dark Tower I saw the timeloop coming. If only due to rereading WoT.

I had a couple friends in high school that couldn't stop recommending Dark Tower. Then Kill Bill came out in college and I became obsessed with it, which led me to all the subgenres that influenced that movie, which fueled my interest in spaghetti westerns, which finally put me in the right mood to enjoy The Gunslinger and onward.

To be honest, pretty much all of Book 7 was a letdown, to the point where much of it felt like satire. The timeloop was one of the few things I actually liked; it was clear from the start that Roland was an antihero unworthy of a happy ending, and it was fitting that his blind obsession would lead him to such a fate.

The first few Gunslinger books are okay.

Not a fan in general. Nothing against him, just...idk.

The Darkhalf. Then forget he ever existed. Thats his only real good book.

SHRlKE posted...

The Darkhalf. Then forget he ever existed. Thats his only real good book.

I'd say Darkhalf is middling for me, not terrible but not great.

I think Misery is probably a good introduction. Not too strange, really good through and through, and not long.

Carrie was his first book I think and it was a really good read imo

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