Favorite Stephen King book?

[Lethe]

I am reading 'salem's Lot at the moment. This is the first King book I have ever read. I am 3/4 of the way through it and kind of never want to visit Maine now. Although almost all the small town color he writes about is spot on similar to the small town in Texas I grew up in.

What's your favorite?

[AlCzervik]

1. The Talisman by King and Peter Straub.

and then probably The Stand but the one that scared me the most probably because i read it when everyone was away for the weekend was Pet Cemetery.

[lost-in-nj]

2. anything but the dark tower series

everything else has kept me awake at night.....


:scared:


lost


but I LOVE HIM!!!!!

[SoxFan]

3. Salem's Lot

Creepy as hell, and short enough not to tax your attention span (unlike It, The Shining, Tommyknockers, etc)

[Lethe]

7. yeah i hear ya, 1000 pages, no thanks

400 pages is good. 1000 is a bit verbose IMO. I don't live on a desert island, I have things to do you know.....

[Tikki]

45. Salem's Lot here too....

Actually, I love to reread most of Stephen King's works.


Tikki

[TZ]

4. Love the Dark Tower series

In fact that's the ONLY Stephen King I like (not a horror fan)

[Mrs. Venation]

13. I Loved The Dark Tower Series, Too

But I friggin' hated how it ended. I think Mr. King owed his readers a more creative ending. It seems to me that he either was tired of the story or just plain lazy at its end.

[geomon666]

19. Personally I loved the ending. n/t

[Downtown Hound]

31. I agree. Weak ending to an otherwise excellent series.

After promising he would never settle for the tie as opposed to the win, ole Steve settled for the tie with that ending. Lackluster effort on his part. A series that spanned three decades and seven books deserved better. I'm not saying it had to have a happy ending, that's not why I hated it. It just should have had an ending, that's all. Not a continuous, pointless, and cruel loop.

I haven't picked up a Stephen King book since. I still love the guy, but he's going to have to write something pretty special to get back in my good graces after the way he ended The Dark Tower. Ever since he had his accident, his work just hasn't been up to par in my opinion.

[Patiod]

36. I love King, but hates when he blows everything up at the end

Not that I've read the Dark Tower, so not giving that ending away, but I get the idea that when he tires of a book or doesn't know how to end it, but blows everything up.

[Mad_Dem_X]

40. I hated the ending at first

But then I thought, No matter how he ended it, people wouldn't be satisfied. Then I realized that the ending was pretty cool (just a never-ending loop, you end up right back where you started).

[TZ]

41. Yeah. Thats what I thought as well.

[nadine_mn]

5. Gerald's Game

:scared:

[Downtown Hound]

35. That book is an underrated little King gem

Gave me goosebumps for days, and I have a pretty strong stomach.

[Spacemom]

6. The Dark Tower Series

I got a serious case of goose bumps at the end of that one!

(edited because I can't spell)

[XemaSab]

8. Not my most favoritest

but "Lisey's Story" kicked some ass.

[AAARRRGGGHHH]

9. Not listed, but

"The Long Walk" is exceptional.

[Dr. Strange]

12. I was going to ask if "The Long Walk" counts as a book.

My favorite piece of King fiction.

[Mad_Dem_X]

42. I love that story. nt

[frogmarch]

10. 'salem's Lot, but would

someone please explain to me what the turtle in IT was all about?

[skygazer]

11. Bag of Bones

I thought he really captured the characters well in that one. I found myself really involved with them.

[latebloomer]

14. Seconded!

It's his best in the last many years. More personal, moving and deep.

I also loved "The Shining" and "The Stand", but not much else.

[Enthusiast]

26. Bag of Bones was scary, to me. nt

[Danger Mouse]

15. It. Overall, my favorite.

[flvegan]

16. The Bachman Books

His short stories are excellent.

[MrSlayer]

17. IT. Absolutely hilarious.

One of my favorite books ever.

[Enthusiast]

27. Loved 'It'. nt

[Broken_Hero]

18. The Dark Tower series, hands down...for single book

Needful Things...I just love the part where the two religous factions face off Warriors style....:D

[Connonym]

20. Insomnia

I'm probably the only person on earth who thinks that's his best work. I haven't read all or even most of his stuff but I loved the main character in Insomnia.

[jeff30997]

23. That one is great!

And when I read it I had't slept in almost two days so let's say that I could relate to the main character.

[Skittles]

21. Different Seasons

[jeff30997]

22. IT and Bag of Bones.

[jobycom]

24. I haven't read that many, but "Duma Key" is my favorite of those I have.

The ending was a little soft, but the rest of the book was good.

Just for comparison, I've read The Shining, Talisman, Black House, Dreamcatcher, and some older ones that have blended into the memory fabric. And some short stories, a while back.

[Mad_Dem_X]

43. Yes, Duma Key was excellent! nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

49. Some people say King's lost his talent.

But Duma Key, IMO, was as good as any of his early work.

[tkmorris]

25. Actuall my favorite is a novella. "The Long Walk" nt

[Enthusiast]

28. The Tommyknockers

was an interesting concept. One of my favorites.

[Roon]

38. I got that book when I was driving truck OTR

I didn't make much money that week because I kept pulling over to read it.

[Enthusiast]

39. I can believe it! nt

[From The Ashes]

29. The Stand...

Most of Mr King's works scare the crap out of me, but I love it. I think The Stand is the best.

[RebelOne]

30. All of King's books are my favorites.

But tops is "The Stand," both versions.

[pitohui]

32. carrie is the best of that list, also cujo

i have visited rural maine on occasion and i didn't notice any more ghosties or goblins than i could encounter just as well staying at home in new orleans

[Marrah_G]

33. The Tommyknockers

[racaulk]

34. I tend to go for his short stories more than his novels.

"Everything's Eventual" was pretty fantastic, as were "Four Past Midnight" and "Nightmares and Dreamscapes."

Of his novels, I think "Misery" has to be my favorite.

[nomorenomore08]

37. Already mentioned, but as a young lad (15 or so) I absolutely loved 'Bag of Bones.'

Creepy, cerebral (by King standards at least), and some awesome (and quite scary) dream/hallucination sequences. And the second time I read it, a few years later, it still held up. For that matter, 'Salem's Lot' still held up when I read it as a 20-year-old college sophomore. I may be more into "serious" literature now, but I think King is quite good at what he does, and I'd pick him over almost any other so-called "pulp" writer, at least from contemporary times.

As a footnote, I think my first exposure to King, around 8th grade, was his novella collection 'Four Past Midnight.' Some great, concise, and very frightening reading there, so much so that I've been thinking of revisiting that one.

[BlueIris]

44. It's hard to choose between "The Dead Zone" and "Pet Semetary." But I went with

TDZ. I dare anyone to read that book this week and not get freaked out by how topical it is, considering our current national climate.

[nomorenomore08]

50. There really is a direct line from "The Manchurian Candidate" to "The Dead Zone" to real life.

It's really fucking scary, is what it is...

[Pendrench]

46. On Writing: A Memoir of The Craft

This is the only Stephen King book I've read...but I really liked it.

I'm not much on fiction, but I found the story of his life very interesting (especially since he was almost killed when that truck hit him while he was in the process of writing this book).

Tim

[Bippity Boo]

47. Agreed...

I found his non-fiction account of his writing process more interesting than his actual fiction.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

48. That's my favorite too.

And I like much of his fiction.

People give the guy crap because he writes popular, pulpy fiction.

But the guy really knows his stuff. Just look at that reading list of his.

[greenbriar]

51. Salem's Lot

but it is hard to choose