I try to be open minded about the genres of books I read -although I will not touch rom coms (one word: brainless) - and was just thinking that I wanna try something different.
Steven King is an obvious giant in the book world so I wondered what makes his books so good? Having never read one of his books, which one would be best to start with and what's it about?
I'm a 14 (almost 15) year old girl btw. ty.

OH.MY.GOD>
Someone reply pleeeeaaaassseee!!!!!!

Ok, You should read Stephen King, quite simply because he is a genius.

That said, I'm not sure how much you would enjoy them being only 14 (almost 15), and I'm not trying to be condescending by saying that.

What makes his books so good? What makes any book good? His books are mainly horror, yet they are not horror for horror's sake. They have a cracking story behind them, and in many cases have you laughing out loud with the humour in them eg, the blueberry pie eating contest in Different Seasons.

Ones which I particularly enjoyed were of course the classic, Carrie.

Misery and the Shining I would recommend too, and I think you might enjoy Delores Claiborne (don't know if I've spelt that right!

For something a little bit different even for Stephen King, try The Eyes of the Dragon. Just super.

Hope this gets you reading.

Love D :)

If you have never read a Stephen King novel before then why not start off with a short story collection to get you going. I would recommend either Night Shift or Everythings Eventual, both have some amazing stories. Then, if you like his style and humour then try something a bit more meaty like "The Stand" or "IT" both of which are quite epic. This is of course if you are looking for true horror. If you like a bit of fantasy then the "Dark Tower" series is really good, and so is "Eyes of the Dragon".

I practically feasted on Stephen King's novels when I was 14/15 (I'm 24 now). My own recommendations would be The Dark Half, Misery, Carrie and Christine - do a bit of research and see which one appeals most to you as an individual.

I think you're brave wanting to read Stephen King at your age. I read him in my late twenties and found his stuff compelling but scary. After reading Carrie my hairdryer flew through the room, that sort of thing. Misery is excellent (as is the film), Cujo I loved, Needful Things very creepy and The Running Man is just plain terrifying. If horror is your thing then you cannot go wrong with Stephen King as an author. Hope that gives you an insight. If you have an interest at all you may as well just try something and see what you think. If you read any of these forums, opinion is very didvided at times and one what one likes doesn't mean it's gospel! Having said that don't go for the Stand unless you want a really long and quite honestly boring account of I don't actually know what! Gave up after about 1200 pages!!!

I will be slaughtered for that comment I know!! xxx

I agree that 'Carrie' is a good one to start with to see if you'll like his work- I read that in my teens and enjoyed it, whereas some of King's books I find hard going even now (C Madden: completely agree with you on 'The Stand!'). Wouldn't suggest 'The Tommyknockers' though- it scared the life out of me back then and still does! :)

I read alot of Stephen King when i was 14/15, and I'm a girl, so here's my personal opinion!

I personally love the Dark Tower Series, but it isn't everyones cup of tea! Also maybe not a good series to start with - it's not horror and it is a very long series. When i was your age, (I'm 19 now) I read IT (bad idea, terrified me! Have a ridiculous fear of clowns now) which maybe isn't ideal for a first read of SK, but if you try him out and get a taste for his books, i suggest you do give it a try.
Rose Madder, which is actually an interesting read. It's about a painting mostly - I know that sounds rubbish but it is good.
I also read Pet Semetary, which might be a good one to start with, depending on your "fear level".
The Dark Half is another decent read, about an author and his all too alive pseudonym.
Misery, a psychotic fan takes writer Paul Sheldon captive. - very good read.
Carrie, another good one to start with.
Salem's Lot, scared me silly! Vampires at their best - forget Twilight!!!
Cujo - i love dogs so i wasn't such a fan of this. Not a bad read though.
Christine - Insane, possessed car - brilliant book.
Insomnia - really got me thinking about death and the like.
Firestarter - not a bad read, but if you do read this, don't take it that this is King at his best - he can write so much better than this!
All of which were fantastic books, and come with high recommendations from me. I also recommend his short stories - they can be an interesting read. I remember reading The Langoliers and loving it! If you're anything like i was at your age, you won't be able to put them down!! I know alot of people dislike King, but i think he has a lot of talent as an author.

I also couldn't read the Stand. Maybe now I'm a bit more patient with books, I could try again...

Stephen King's genius lies in taking the most ordinary situations and turning them around. The ordinary becomes terrifying and you can end up regarding everyday household objects in a completely different way. Having said that I agree that his older books are the best as he seems to have gone off the boil a bit in recent years. For a vampire novel you could try Salems Lot but be warned I read it in my early 20's and had trouble getting to sleep afterwards. However, I know that 14/15 year olds today can already be desensitised to horror, films that would have had an X certificate when I was your age are 15's now.

I'm in no position to knock Stephen King, but I'd just like to add one note of caution: try not to fall into the trap of reading anything based purely on the fame level of the writer, as you could be missing out on a lot of wonderful books by other, less "celebrated" writers who are just as accomplished. Good fiction isn't about genre or brand names, and the best stories defy easy pigeon-holeing. At your age, you can only benefit from reading as broad a diversity of material as possible, and this might include narrative non-fiction and the translated works of good foreign language writers. Though your decision to shy away from rom-coms is a sound one! Good luck, keep an open mind, and I'm sure a rich and rewarding journey awaits you!

To Billy Casper, thanks, I completely agree that how famous the author is doesn't necessarily mean the books are any good - I mean you only have to look at Stephenie Meyer with Twilight! Saying that though, I admit part of the reason I've started looking into King's work is beacause he's pretty much a massive name in the book world, and, as an aspiring author, I thought I'd see what he does that's so good and maybe pick up tips from his writing. Also I've never really read horror and SK seemed like a good place to start.

Right now I'm leaning towards reading Carrie (coz he scrunched it up in the bin)/Salem's lot - I like vampire stuff (not the pansy type like Twilight though)/the green mile (which no ones mentioned - I saw the electricution scene in the film a few years back, one of the most ruely hoffic things I've ever watched!)
I'm gonna avoid the shining, and most definately stay away from IT for now though!
Thank you for all of the comments!

Oh god. No wonder it took ages for anyone to reply! I must have come across as a right bubble head! I'm sorry for spelling his name wrong in the discussion title!

salem's lot and the shining are still his best but he wrote the talisman with peter straub, which is as good a horror fantasy as anyone as written. also, try peter straub's ghost story which is my favourite horror novel.

Stephen King's early work is the best. 'Salem's Lot', 'Carrie', 'Christine', 'Pet Sematary', 'The Shining' etc, and he also wrote a brilliant collaboration with Peter Straub 'The Talisman'. His later work, from about the time of 'It', is good, but for me is not as exciting as the old stuff, and comes in doorstep sized volumes.
I'd start with Salem's Lot, which is a pretty scary tale of vampires invading a small American town.

Never really been able to get into a Stephen King novel, despite starting a few (couldn't even finish the short novel 'The Mist' in Nightshift (I think it was). Maybe writing novels is therapeutic for King himself but I'm not so sure about his readers. Don't see the point in reading something if it makes you psychologically more unstable or paranoid or unable to go to sleep or gives you nightmares. Literature for me should be something that enhances and improves your quality of life not takes away from it.

There are so many wonderful, life-enhancing great writers and books available that we could never get round to reading even in several lifetimes, that there's no point in persisting and wasting time with a writer we just can't get on with (and Stephen King is one of those for me).

I have got to argue for The Stand, my favorite ever book by any author let alone Stephen King even though it is huge I was still upset when I finished it as I felt I had lost my friends. I like all his early stuff, Carrie (I found a little confusing) but Salams Lot and the Shining were fantastic. I also loved The Talisman and Eye of the Dragon.....oh as for The Green Mile, I really did enjoy that but its hard to read when you are sobbing into the pages. :o)

An even stronger word of caution: if you aspire to be an author, imitation really IS the lowest form of flattery, and it will do you no favours. You may be able to pick up practical tips from reading the work of others - how to structure a novel, how to draw character, etc - but you must find your own voice, and that comes through how you process your own experiences. I approach my own work based initially on one factor only: am I compelled to tell this story? How another writer might tell the same story is irrelevant, at least if you want to produce distinctive, enduring work. Good luck again, and never stop believing in yourself.

If you are an aspiring author too, you should read Stephen's book 'On Writing'. It is part biography and part about what works for him as a writer. I've read it and would say forget other books about writing, he covers the basics without waffle and then the rest is up to you.

Enjoy!

To Billy Casper, yes I am aware that imitation is wrong and I have absolutely no intention of imitating anyone at all. I want my writing to be completely my own so that when somebody picks up some of my work they can tell it's mine immediately. I read a lot for two reasons: 1) I love to read! 2) I want to gain experiance in the different aspects of a book, what makes a book work and what doesn't - part of the reason I'm trying out SK. Thank you for the advice though.
To Mrs. D. Lee, yes I saw that book yesterday! I think I'm going to ask for it for christmas as all of my money right now is going on saving up for xmas gifts :)

Slightly off-topic but not really as you mentioned your desire to develop as a writer - may I, having seconded On Writing, recommend to you Ray Bradbury's Zen in the Art of Writing and Ursula K. Le Guin's The Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination?

While I'm of the opinion that no one can teach you how to write, some writers' books on writing can provide truly valuable inspiration, motivation, comradeship - these are the best I've read so far, and I've read a fair few.

Best of luck, and enjoy your introduction to the world of the King of Horror.

There is no reason to read him - unlike one quote that always seems to appear on his books, he is not like Dickens although if Dickens were still alive he would probably read them as I believe he liked a good horror/supernatural tale. If you do decide to read Stephen King then I would suggest that you look at the reviews for his books, because he does seem to repeat tales a few times. For instance there are definite simiarities between more than one story such as his two car books for example.

His got a new short story collection in pb not long out 'Just After Sunset' be a good place to get a taster
:o)

Green Mile is a great story, as is King's other prison tale 'Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption' You'll find that in Different Seasons, a collection of four novellas which also includes The Body, which became the film 'Stand By Me'. The Body contains the blueberry pie eating contest mentioned by Mrs Lee, and yes, when I read it, I laughed until I cried. In my opinion King's early stuff is better, so Carrie, Salem's Lot, Christine or The Dead Zone would be good places to start, his more recent stuff is a bit hit and miss sometimes. I didn't like Lisey's Story but I did enjoy Duma Key. I still think IT is his masterpiece. I bought it when I was 14 (I'm now 33), read the first few pages, was absolutely terrified by it and hid it in a drawer for a year before reading it in full. I read it in a couple of weeks over a summer holiday; just brilliant. Happy reading.

I don't think King's recycling of his own ideas is necessarily a bad thing, he does it so well. My two favourite Kings for instance, The Dark Half and Misery, both concern a writer who makes an important decision (respectively, killing off his pseudonym and killing off his main character) and is obstacled by someone who doesn't agree with said decision (the murderous pseudonym and the murderous #1 fan). Yet the books are different, read differently, and regale different experiences... I did not feel short-changed in the slightest by reading both, as the fact that they are my favourites attests.

okay
i'm 16 (but a boy ) and King's namesake. I was the same age as you when i read my first steven king book: Misery

I wass watching the tv adaption on channel 5 and it was a school night so i didn't get to see to the ending but i was mesmerised; i had to find out what happened next, and the only way i could find out what happened next was to read the book.
It was incredible
i had never read something that was so compelling but so well written, there is such craft that goes into stephen kings writing, i needed more!

The next one i read was a the not very typical king book, "the girl who loved Tom Gordon (i can see you wincing, dont worry its not a rom-com) It was not very scary but at the the same time it was, immensely so -it was like nothing i've ever read, again SOOOO well written.

His books aren't novels; but ART.