My Long Walk Through Stephen King's Lot

Soon I’ll be posting my thoughts about the King novel I’m currently reading.   I’m just about finished; I have less than a hundred pages to go.   It’s definitely a good one, so I’ll be eager to share my thoughts on it. In the meantime, given that it’s been so long since I posted anything, I figured I’d share my current top ten list of King novels.   I wanted to do this somewhat early on in my blogging journey, thinking it might be neat to see how the list evolves over time as I continue reading King’s books.   This isn’t necessarily a list of my “favorite” King novels, but rather my attempt to identify those I think are his “best.”   This kind of task is notoriously difficult, particularly when you are a fan of the work you’re assessing.  I also realize it's a silly exercise.  But what can I say?  I love lists, and it's fun to make them!  At any rate, after much debate, this is my attempt to highlight the novels I consider to b...

I came across a couple of YouTube videos where fans were making recommendations as to what would be a great first read for the King uninitiated.   That got me thinking: what would I recommend? Without confirming the precise number, Stephen King has written approximately 60 novels and something like 200 short stories.   That’s an incredible body of work, and a huge task in determining where to begin.   There are at least a few novels that I think would be a less than ideal place to start.   For me, those would be Dreamcatcher , Gerald’s Game , and Mr. Mercedes .   The first two titles are, for my money, not particularly well written books.   The third is perfectly adequate, and features some good characters, but is, on the whole, fairly “by-the-numbers” plot-wise, and therefore not a good representation of King’s writing and creativity overall.    I also think the Dark Tower books are probably not the right entry point either. ...

( Warning: Some spoilers for the book follow.) Currently, I’m reading The Dead Zone .   This is a first read for me; somehow I never read it, despite owning a paperback when I was younger.   That copy is long gone, so I had to reacquire it.   (As the image above suggests, I opted for a decently-priced paperback, but I am sure I'll eventually track down a hardback.)   I have about a third of the book to go, but already I suspect this will end up being among my all-time favorite King books.   Johnny Smith feels more real—and more affected by his circumstances—than a lot of King’s characters.   And somehow, King managed to solicit my emotional investment in him in very short order.   By the time he suffers his car accident, a mere two chapters in, I was already establishing some hopes and worries for Johnny.   Added to that is how quickly and tenderly King begins to build a connection between Johnny and Sarah.   King was dra...