I've never read a Stephen King book... which do you recommend?

[silverpig]

Different Seasons, three out of the four stories got turned into movies.

THIS.

OP, read this book. It has 4 novellas in it.

Apt Pupil (okay... made into a movie)
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption (fantastic, and made into the famous movie)
The Body (fantastic and hilarious... made into a movie called Stand By Me)
+ some other one. Some chick gives birth in a car or something. Skippable.

Definitely start with this. If you don't like any of the stories, then you won't like any of his other books.

If you want to dive in to a longer book after, I would recommend IT. It's long, but a great rainy day book.

 

[BoomerD]

If you only ever read one Stephen King book, read IT.

The Stand is good, but as a first book, not so sure.

"IT" is one of his very best.

Also, if you like "mindless fantasy," try "The Eyes of the Dragon."

That's actually the first SK novel I ever read...and got me hooked. (even though it's so much different than any of the other SK novels)

 

[Pens1566]

First suggestion would be "It" if you aren't turned away by the length, to me his best book. If something shorter is more to your liking, I'd say "'Salem's Lot". "Stand" is great as well, but much slower than "It" though. Also, I've always been a fan of "Needful Things".

 

[HumblePie]

First book I ever read of his was The Dark Tower. Loved the original book. The library I was originally using didn't have anything else in that series at the time. So I branched out and went to read a couple of other books of his. IT was good, The Stand was decent, Pet Cemetery was decent too. I watched the movies and enjoyed them as well. It wasn't for many years that I got to read the sequel to The Dark Tower which was Drawing of the Three. If I had read that sequel before any of the other books from the Steven King I may never have read another book from him.

 

[boomer6447]

The Stand...there's a reason why an overwhelming majority of King fans list it as their favorite novel

 

[bobdole369]

The Gunslinger. Just don't read past book 4 in the series the Dark Tower

 

[bobdole369]

First book I ever read of his was The Dark Tower. Loved the original book. The library I was originally using didn't have anything else in that series at the time. So I branched out and went to read a couple of other books of his. IT was good, The Stand was decent, Pet Cemetery was decent too. I watched the movies and enjoyed them as well. It wasn't for many years that I got to read the sequel to The Dark Tower which was Drawing of the Three. If I had read that sequel before any of the other books from the Steven King I may never have read another book from him.

What you refer to as the Dark Tower is actually "The Gunslinger" - book 1 of the Dark Tower.

 

[shortylickens]

The Stand. Better than the movie.


Shawshank Redemption is one of the very rare times a movie turned out better than the book or story.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

the stand is prob my favorite. dark tower series is pretty awesome too. there is another part of it coming out soon i think.

 

[Printer Bandit]

Insomnia

 

[zinfamous]

They all suck.

Just watch Kubrick's version of The Shining, and consider yourself exposed to all of the Stephen King you will need in your life.

 

[BoomerD]

If, unlike zin, you like Stephen King's novels, you'll probably also like Dean Koontz...

http://www.deankoontz.com/fiction/

 

[chubbyfatazn]

I first read It in 8th grade, then followed with The Stand. Can't go wrong with those two. I also loved Desperation, Needful Things, and The Running Man. Currently going through Firestarter, it's not a bad read at all. But maybe I just like King's works.

 

[Spineshank]

The Long Walk is my all time favorite book.

I would say Cujo, Pet Sematary, IT, and The Stand as well.

I could never get into the Dark Towers, or Cell. There are many I have not read as well.

 

[DrPizza]

I disagree. It was the first book I read from him when I was young and I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. Was the whole reason I even started reading the genre.

Desperation and Dream Catcher are 2 of his "newer" books that are pretty good. Any of his older stuff would be fine, it just depends on how much you like to read. If you have a short attention span, then I wouldn't suggest a Stephen King book or as someone else stated, one of his short story compilations. These days I don't think I'd have the patience to read any of his longer novels.

See Waggy's response. It starts out slow. Slow? Heck, the first 300 pages are spent just introducing the characters & with character development. It's an outstanding story though.

 

[radhak]

Shawshank Redemption is his best book, and one of the best movies ever made. But I'd not recommend it as your first book : first, all his other work might feel a letdown after it; secondly, it is not a horror story, and SK is mostly famous for horror (or more precisely, horrifying situations in fantasy settings).

But IT is a bit of a bore, particularly at the end, just like Insomnia (and I am a hard-core fan).

You should start with Cujo, Christine, Carrie or Pet Sematry. Best is if you know the premise, and think - how bad can that be? Eg - you are in a car and a big dog is outside, looking menacing. How bad can it get - it's just a dog, right? Now read Cujo to see SK's take. Or, you get a feeling your car is alive. Do you feel foolish, or do you run for your life (Christine)?

And yes, don't discount the books he wrote as Richard Bachman (to get away from his fame as SK) - The Long Walk, Thinner or the Running Man, could give you nightmares, and neither is about some crazed man running around with a chainsaw (which is what many think is horror). Each of his 5 books as RB are great read.

After you are thru with all that, you could get into his better books like Misery, Dolores Claiborne or Shawshank. I envy you - getting to read all that first time!

 

[SlitheryDee]

If, unlike zin, you like Stephen King's novels, you'll probably also like Dean Koontz...

http://www.deankoontz.com/fiction/

Koontz has some interesting novels. I particularly like Shadow Fires. To me, Koontz has always come across as somewhat less polished, yet at the same time less gritty and believable. King's writing style has a flow to it that I have hardly ever seen in any other author. Every word just seems to fit perfectly. Perfectly in keeping with his overall tone, and also perfectly descriptive of whatever thing he's communicating. It's a big part of his success IMO.

Koontz' subject matter is very similar though.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Give one of his short story collections a try:

Skeleton Crew or The Bachman Books. I'd lean toward the Bachman books as all 4 are quality!

 

[lxskllr]

They all suck.

Just watch Kubrick's version of The Shining, and consider yourself exposed to all of the Stephen King you will need in your life.

That movie sucked compared to the book(don't they all?). It was the most cursory glossing over you could do, and still keep the name. King goes into a lot of detail and subtleties which get lost in film, and they make the difference.

 

[surfsatwerk]

Dean Koontz can't read.

http://video.adultswim.com/squidbillies/aint-or-cant.html

 

[ImpulsE69]

Koontz has some interesting novels. I particularly like Shadow Fires. To me, Koontz has always come across as somewhat less polished, yet at the same time less gritty and believable. King's writing style has a flow to it that I have hardly ever seen in any other author. Every word just seems to fit perfectly. Perfectly in keeping with his overall tone, and also perfectly descriptive of whatever thing he's communicating. It's a big part of his success IMO.

Koontz' subject matter is very similar though.

I like Koontz as well. Midnight, Watchers, Lightning, The Bad Place. The problem is the more of his works you read the more you realize they are all almost the same story.

 

[QueBert]

The Talisman, he did write it with Peter Straub so it's not 100% King, but it's still an amazing book. I've read it 3 times or so.

 

[Spydermag68]

I have not read a SK book in a long time. The last one was "The Stand"

Some of my favorite books are the ones he wrote as Richard Bachman. "Running man" is nothing like the crappy movie. "The Long Walk" was creepy after you realize what is going on. I remember reading "Rage" while I was in high school. It is the only book the SK has ever asked never to be reprinted again after Columbine shootings.

My vote would be for Salem's Lot.

 

[skimple]

Go Early King - like 70's. Stay away from the epics like The Stand or IT or the Gunslinger heptalogy.

Try Salem's Lot. Brilliant King from before he got paid by the pound.

 

[thraashman]

I've read the following Stephen King books.

Cell
The Stand
The Gunslinger (Dark Tower book 1)
The Drawing of Three (Dark Tower book 2)
The Wasteland (Dark Tower book 3)
Wizard and Glass (Dark Tower book 4)
Wolves of the Calla (Dark Tower book 5)
Song of Susannah (Dark Tower book 6)
The Dark Tower (Dark Tower book 7)
Carrie
Salem's Lot
Cycle of the Werewolf
It
The Dark Half
Insomnia
The Shining (started it, about 100 pages in)

Of those the best ones were Wizard and Glass (but you should probably read the first 3 Dark Tower before diving into this), Salem's Lot (from a time when vampires weren't sparkly and emo), and The Stand. The Stand is long but is possibly my favorite book of all time.

Of all them I've read I think I disliked "It" the most ... or maybe Wolves of the Calla.