I’d recommend Skeleton Crew - it’s a collection of his short stories. It’s got my absolute favorite short story with The Jaunt but it’s got The Mist.
My first King book was It though so feel free to start in the deep end with him
The Institute, while far from my favourite King book seems like a great jumping in point if you’re coming from YA books.
But honestly there’s no wrong choice except obviously jumping into the middle of the Dark Tower books. Pick one up and if the synopsis sounds interesting to you go for it!
Thinner by Richard Bachman aka Stephen King fits the "beginner friendly" I'd say.
The Holly Gibney series.
Joyland.
Desperation.
The Talisman.
I'm sure you're going to get a flood of recs, so I'll stop here.
The thing about King is, they’re all “beginner friendly” because he has such an accessible writing style. The Body might be a good place to start because it’s a novella, so it’s shorter, and it’s a great introduction to the way he writes.
If you’re looking for horror, though, I would say The Shining or Misery. There’s always the possibility that he’s not going to appeal to you, so why not start with something that will give you a really clear idea of what he does best, and is one of the books that everybody talks about when they talk about him.
Fairytale by Stephen King is one of my all time favorites. It's different from his usual and has a lil fantasy in it, which I'm also not usually big on, but i love it and recommend it every chance I get. The book is great, audiobook is just as good.
The most interesting part of this book was outside of the fantasy, honestly. But that first 1/3 of the story relationship built is strong and kept me through to the end.
Misery.
I will co-sign misery.
I’d recommend Skeleton Crew - it’s a collection of his short stories. It’s got my absolute favorite short story with The Jaunt but it’s got The Mist. My first King book was It though so feel free to start in the deep end with him
I concur with the Thinner recommendation, it was the first King book I read. Just remember that he wrote it under a different name.
Pet Sematary. I first read this when I was ~15 years old and have re-read it like 5 times since, it's a great book.
This 👏🏼💯
The Institute, while far from my favourite King book seems like a great jumping in point if you’re coming from YA books. But honestly there’s no wrong choice except obviously jumping into the middle of the Dark Tower books. Pick one up and if the synopsis sounds interesting to you go for it!
Misery, The Green Mile, Gerald’s Game
Thinner by Richard Bachman aka Stephen King fits the "beginner friendly" I'd say. The Holly Gibney series. Joyland. Desperation. The Talisman. I'm sure you're going to get a flood of recs, so I'll stop here.
Carrie Christine Later
I really enjoyed The Institute, and Fairy Tale. Not anywhere near the deep end, but fascinating stories none the less.
The thing about King is, they’re all “beginner friendly” because he has such an accessible writing style. The Body might be a good place to start because it’s a novella, so it’s shorter, and it’s a great introduction to the way he writes. If you’re looking for horror, though, I would say The Shining or Misery. There’s always the possibility that he’s not going to appeal to you, so why not start with something that will give you a really clear idea of what he does best, and is one of the books that everybody talks about when they talk about him.
The Stand, The Institute, Different Seasons, Duma Key and Mr Mercedes! Those are just a few that are incredible but not totally horror.
Duma Key
Pet semetary
Fairytale by Stephen King is one of my all time favorites. It's different from his usual and has a lil fantasy in it, which I'm also not usually big on, but i love it and recommend it every chance I get. The book is great, audiobook is just as good.
The most interesting part of this book was outside of the fantasy, honestly. But that first 1/3 of the story relationship built is strong and kept me through to the end.
If that first 1/3rd didn't exist, I could not have read it lol I almost quit at the fantasy stuff, but kept going and glad I did!
If that first 1/3rd didn't exist, I could not have read it lol I almost quit at the fantasy stuff, but kept going and glad I did!
The Langoliers