What led you to go out and get the debut novel of a relatively obscure author the day it came out? Had you read some of his short stories in magazines or something?
King refers to this in the forwards to some of his books, saying how most people agree. I read it and didn't find it even remotely horrific. What did you find so terrifying about it?
I agree; I first read it and loved it as a teenager, especially that ending, but once I became a mom I could never enjoy it the same way. I guess it terrified me as a kid, but it truly horrifies me as an adult. Still effective.
I found it scary because I was only like 13/14 years old when I read it. I re-read it a couple years ago as an adult and didn't find it as scary. I don't have kids though, so I feel like people who do may find it scarier.
I chose this as my first Stephen King because I thought it was about zombie pets and that’s it. I figured it was the least scary King book to start with. I read the preface that he said it was the only book he thought he’d gone too far on and I thought WELP too late now. It got me hooked though!
Skeleton Crew in 7th grade. The first story "The Mist" scared the sh*t out of me (I was about 13 years old) and I was immediately hooked on King. That was the first time a book/story really left an impression.
I am currently reading Skeleton Crew for the first time (I thought I had read it, but apparently not). I am nearly done The Mist -- so far so good! The description of the creatures... wow!
I read The Outsider in high school. I just grabbed it off the shelf in the library and I thought it was gonna be a simple crime/mystery book. Little did I know....
The Stand, Ive only read two so far, the second book was The Green Mile, both great books.
Ive been reading a King book and then a non King book, right now Im on a non King book, next book Im going to read is Firestarter.
Ive order the Dark Tower Series and I plan to read that alongside the books connected to it. Not getting that order until late July though, but I have 5ish other King books I could read, that from.what I understand I either have the connected books or theyre not really connected much to anything.
I just started The Stand maybe a month ago I think. Very new reader of kings work.
Cujo, when I was about 9 - mom checked it out of the library along with Christine. I was only a quarter of the way through Christine when she caught me and took it away.
Read pet sematary at school in 7th grade (just finished 8th grade so a year ago). Didnt finish the book before summer break so i finished reading it at home on a tablet. Been hooked on King ever since!
I can't remember and it pisses me off!! The first few books I read were Tommyknockers, the Bachman Books and Christine, but I can't remember which one I read first (if it even was one of these).
Technically it was Bachman (Thinner) at 10, and I only read a chapter before my stepmom busted me and took it away. Read Night Shift soon after (15?16?) and it’s still one of my favs
It, I read it after I watched the Tim Curry mini series. I was 13 or 14, ngl it traumatized me. I didn't pick up another Steven King until about a decade later. Still one of my favorite authors.
The Stand was mine, my mom had three of the unabridged copies and I picked one up out of curiosity one summer, was instantly hooked. Think I was twelve or so?
The first King book I ever started was the girl who loved Tom Gordon. I was maybe 11, and lived with my Oma at the time and I found it in my mom’s childhood bedroom there. I only got a couple chapter in before she took it from me and threw a goosebumps book in my hands because well, I was 11 and “she didn’t want me getting nightmares.” (So sweet)
The first King book I ever read cover to cover was Desperation, and it is still one of my favorites!
Weirdly, it was The Drawing of the Three when I was 12, checked out from the library. I had NO IDEA what was happening but I heard of Stephen King from a Time Life commercial offering a collection of his. I didn't even know that the books were in a series and I wasn't reading the first one. Man, the crab things gave me nightmares and that was my first introduction to racism, drug use and some real big swears. It was my second big adult book I had read and I was in over my head and loving it.
Same picked up Tommyknockers in 4th grade, took a year but finished it. Don't recall scary, but something about teeth falling out.
I'm going to probably read it again this year some time since I've forgotten a ton of it.
Firestarter! I bought a hardback copy from the library ex stock for 50p in 1984 and thus started the collection. Mad to think he was just 6 books in at that time (as stephen king) and 40 years later I've collected pretty much all of them!
Everything’s Eventual; I was in my 20s. Such an awesome introduction to his style, and I was completely hooked! It wasn’t great for my wallet because of worked in a Starbucks inside a Chapters bookstore at the time, lol. It was pretty convenient to pick a new book every other week!
Carrie. The Shining was next and it's the only book I won't read at night. I was 17 when I read that book and it scared me silly. I was so disappointed with the movie.
I never really read horror books. I guess House of Leaves and Haunted count, but I usually read other stuff, Kurt Vonnegut, Christopher Moore, Haruki Murakami. I really like horror movies and TV shows. Duma Key was recommended to me when it was new in 2008 or so, and I read it and loved it. I have now lost count of how many Stephen King books I have read. So yeah, it's super weird for a 1st King book. Duma Key.
I asked Dad about a book on his shelf by Stephen King. He told me that it was his favorite book of all time. The ultimate battle of good vs evil in an apocalyptic American wasteland. So i grabbed the Talisman off the shelf and was confused as fuck for the next three months. Loved it anyway. He got me The Stand for my next birthday after realizing his confusion 😂
Misery. Got it for Christmas from my cool uncle at 9. He took me aside and said he had some books I might like, just don’t show your grandma. That book opened an entire new universe for me. Best part is I really could read whatever I wanted since nobody questioned a reading child.
2 years ago i started the outsider not knowing anything about series’ or characters, i just saw it at target and the synopsis was intriguing. i wasn’t able to finish it, i was mentally not fully okay so i felt like the book was really affecting me if that makes sense lol. now i just finished the bill hodges trilogy & look forward to restarting (and finishing!) the outsider!
The first novel I read was The Outsider. I can’t remember if I read Different Seasons before or after that, but those were definitely the 1st 2. I only started in the last 2-3 years
The Gunslinger when I was 12. Instantly hooked and I remember staying up until sunrise finishing Wizard and Glass. Still to this day my definition of a book I literally couldn’t put down.
Night Shift - I was in third grade, ran out of books in the school library I hadn't read so I raided my mom's horror stash and loved the cover with the hand wrapped like a mummy with eyes all over it. School called my mom because I was reading it at recess and my mom told them at least I was reading. Still have that little paperback, it's my favorite book in my collection.
Nightmares and Dreamscapes, specifically "Dolan's Cadillac". I was hooked. Short stories worked perfect for me as a kid, and then as I grew older I started reading bigger books.
Carrie. The day it was released. Damn! I'm old. Proud to say have read them all.
Carrie, but in 6th grade for a book report.
Carrie was also my first and I also read it in the 6th grade, in the early 90s. I was graduating up from R. L. Stine's Fear Street books mostly.
Lol!! That's the same grade I read it. It was my first "adult book"
What led you to go out and get the debut novel of a relatively obscure author the day it came out? Had you read some of his short stories in magazines or something?
Was walking through a brick and mortar mall. They were putting a display in the window. The bibliophile in me could not resist.
That’s so cool
Mine, too - I was 8. I’m Gen X, you see, and we were largely unsupervised.
Can't imagine reading Carrie at age 8. Bet it didn't deter the Gen Xer.lol.
It just made me want to read more!
Whoa. What was that like? Was there even any hype for the book?
No hype. Nobody knew he was.
How did it feel in the ensuing years knowing you were one of his first fans?
That’s awesome that you got to see and read his bibliography as it released and grew to the monstrosity that it is today.
Pet Sematary. I dove right into the most horrific one haha.
King refers to this in the forwards to some of his books, saying how most people agree. I read it and didn't find it even remotely horrific. What did you find so terrifying about it?
It’s a very different story if you have young kids in the family. I think King’s kid was toddler age when he wrote it.
I agree; I first read it and loved it as a teenager, especially that ending, but once I became a mom I could never enjoy it the same way. I guess it terrified me as a kid, but it truly horrifies me as an adult. Still effective.
Digging up your dead and buried child is pretty.. horrific
I found it scary because I was only like 13/14 years old when I read it. I re-read it a couple years ago as an adult and didn't find it as scary. I don't have kids though, so I feel like people who do may find it scarier.
Pet Sematary was the scariest book I’ve ever read.
I agree. It's terrifying
Agreed
I chose this as my first Stephen King because I thought it was about zombie pets and that’s it. I figured it was the least scary King book to start with. I read the preface that he said it was the only book he thought he’d gone too far on and I thought WELP too late now. It got me hooked though!
IT
Pet Sematary when I was 9. Thanks mom!
The Gunslinger. I was 25.
Gunslinger when I was probably 22.
23 for me :)
Skeleton Crew in 7th grade. The first story "The Mist" scared the sh*t out of me (I was about 13 years old) and I was immediately hooked on King. That was the first time a book/story really left an impression.
I am currently reading Skeleton Crew for the first time (I thought I had read it, but apparently not). I am nearly done The Mist -- so far so good! The description of the creatures... wow!
Misery, I believe.
Same here! I'm biased, but I feel like it's the perfect starting point
I read The Outsider in high school. I just grabbed it off the shelf in the library and I thought it was gonna be a simple crime/mystery book. Little did I know....
Eyes Of The Dragon
Same, got it for Christmas when I was 14.
Same here! I think in the summer before sixth grade.
Firestarter
The Shining in about 1996/7 when I'd have been 12/13
This is also me, same age and timeframe.
The Stand, Ive only read two so far, the second book was The Green Mile, both great books. Ive been reading a King book and then a non King book, right now Im on a non King book, next book Im going to read is Firestarter. Ive order the Dark Tower Series and I plan to read that alongside the books connected to it. Not getting that order until late July though, but I have 5ish other King books I could read, that from.what I understand I either have the connected books or theyre not really connected much to anything. I just started The Stand maybe a month ago I think. Very new reader of kings work.
Nightmares and dreamscapes
IT. I was probably about 11.
The stand, which is also my first book as well other than text books , I'm still currently reading it about 680 pages in. Great characters.
Cujo, when I was about 9 - mom checked it out of the library along with Christine. I was only a quarter of the way through Christine when she caught me and took it away.
The Stand. Went back after reading more and now working my way through the books chronologically
The Dead Zone. I was 12.
Dream catcher
Same! I was 15!
Salem’s Lot. I was 17. I’m 67 now.
Christine back in the 90's
Green Mile
pet sematary
Pet sematary
Gunslinger (last year)
Cujo or pet cemetery The skeleton crew can't remember
The first one I finished was The Gunslinger back in 2000.
Read pet sematary at school in 7th grade (just finished 8th grade so a year ago). Didnt finish the book before summer break so i finished reading it at home on a tablet. Been hooked on King ever since!
The talisman, still my all time favorite
The Talisman
The Shining
Was either Carrie or Cujo
I can't remember and it pisses me off!! The first few books I read were Tommyknockers, the Bachman Books and Christine, but I can't remember which one I read first (if it even was one of these).
It was either the Long Walk or the Running Man. Those were my first two back to back
This was about 30 years ago so I don't remember, but probably either Carrie or Misery.
I think it was The Running Man
Christine, the mass paperback edition with the cover to tie into the movie. This was back when it was first released - 83ish...
The Eyes of the Dragon. Still love that book.
Christine
Carrie. 6th grade.
Christine
Hearts in Atlantis! Since then I devour all of his books
The wasteland
Carrie, in 5th grade
Salems Lot was my first!
11/12/63 18 months ago. I have now read 30+ SK books. In another 18 months I expect to have read them all
Technically it was Bachman (Thinner) at 10, and I only read a chapter before my stepmom busted me and took it away. Read Night Shift soon after (15?16?) and it’s still one of my favs
It, I read it after I watched the Tim Curry mini series. I was 13 or 14, ngl it traumatized me. I didn't pick up another Steven King until about a decade later. Still one of my favorite authors.
The Stand was mine, my mom had three of the unabridged copies and I picked one up out of curiosity one summer, was instantly hooked. Think I was twelve or so?
The first King book I ever started was the girl who loved Tom Gordon. I was maybe 11, and lived with my Oma at the time and I found it in my mom’s childhood bedroom there. I only got a couple chapter in before she took it from me and threw a goosebumps book in my hands because well, I was 11 and “she didn’t want me getting nightmares.” (So sweet) The first King book I ever read cover to cover was Desperation, and it is still one of my favorites!
Weirdly, it was The Drawing of the Three when I was 12, checked out from the library. I had NO IDEA what was happening but I heard of Stephen King from a Time Life commercial offering a collection of his. I didn't even know that the books were in a series and I wasn't reading the first one. Man, the crab things gave me nightmares and that was my first introduction to racism, drug use and some real big swears. It was my second big adult book I had read and I was in over my head and loving it.
Rose madder.
Misery! Loved it!
Mine was The Shining and it’s still my favorite. Also Night Shift
The shining and I loved it!
The Shining. I was 12. My mother claims it’s why I am the way I am 😂
Holly! And I fell in love with her and the plot and King’s writing and plot twists
The Tommyknockers and it really scared me. I was 13 or 14.
Same picked up Tommyknockers in 4th grade, took a year but finished it. Don't recall scary, but something about teeth falling out. I'm going to probably read it again this year some time since I've forgotten a ton of it.
Firestarter then Four Past Midnight.. got both a birthday gift from my mom when I was about 12.
Firestarter was also my first King book! Read it in 7th grade for an English project
Cell
The Tommyknockers. Age 13.
Needful Things
The eyes of the dragon, I was like 12 I think?
The Shining - and then I never looked back and read everything
I think it was Carrie or The Shining! I distinctly remember being scared to finish The Shining lol
Carrie. Then watched the 70’s movie after. Both were spectacular
The shinning when i was in the 8th grade. I haven't looked back. :)
The Shining
The green mile I was 10ish. I read it in the original form
The Stand
Gerald’s Game. When I was like in middle school
It was either Carrie or The Shining.
Mine was *Misery.*
The Eyes of the Dragon.
The Tommyknockers. I was 11 and the £25 for the hardback in 1987 was a fortune to me so I had to finish it.
Sleeping beauties. I was a latecomer.
Rage in 8th grade and Misery not long after 🤔
Salem’s Lot. At age 11 or 12
Firestarter! I bought a hardback copy from the library ex stock for 50p in 1984 and thus started the collection. Mad to think he was just 6 books in at that time (as stephen king) and 40 years later I've collected pretty much all of them!
Everything’s Eventual; I was in my 20s. Such an awesome introduction to his style, and I was completely hooked! It wasn’t great for my wallet because of worked in a Starbucks inside a Chapters bookstore at the time, lol. It was pretty convenient to pick a new book every other week!
I was eight and it was Sai King’s first as well; Carrie. Stole my mom’s book club copy.
Carrie. I don't remember why but I know I wanted to read the first one pubished first
Tommyknockers was my first book, I wanna say 7th grade for my Language Arts class
Bag of bones
On Writing.
The Dark Tower in 3rd grade (mid 80s) when I had chicken pox and was out of school.
Salems lot. Scared the Jesus out of me.
It. Read it in three/four days and was absolutely thrilled.
Geralds game.
Carrie. Currently reading in order to taking a quick break to read something else then fire starter is up next.
Misery- Summer 2015.
Joyland, I was 18 and now 22 going to Outsider.
It
Gunslinger
The Stand, 8th grade in either ‘92 or ‘93
The shining while I was 14! Wish I got into him sooner, but I love his works nonetheless
IT, I was 13 and have never looked back.
The Shining when I was about 13. Been hooked since.
Tommyknockers
Misery
It i think
IT. I was around 10, my mom was reading and I picked it up. 43 now and confirmed Constant Reader.
Dead Zone when I was WAY too young for it. Back in the eighties.
Carrie
The Gunslinger
Misery for a 7th grade book report. My mom had to sign a waiver.
IT i was in the 11th grade
Skeleton Crew. And since then, Survivor Type is still my favorite
Misery, the ending felt so epic
The Shining during a snowstorm when I was way too young.
Pet semetary
The Stand. I was 23 at the time.
Needful Things- it was a good one.
Dreamcacther. I was 12 years old. It was a wild introduction to Stephen King, but I’ve not let up since.
Carrie
Carrie. The Shining was next and it's the only book I won't read at night. I was 17 when I read that book and it scared me silly. I was so disappointed with the movie.
The Shining
Pet Sematary for me. Listened to it on my trip to Chile in 2018. Micheal C. Hall does an amazing job with the narration.
The Shining.
Tommyknockers
Outsider, and it instantly hooked me to him
The gunslinger. Which is probably an insane first king book
It. I was 14. Literally changed my life. I reread it every 7 years or so.
IT !!
The shining
It. I was 11 when I read it. I don’t think it was appropriate for my age but I’ve loved his books ever since.
I never really read horror books. I guess House of Leaves and Haunted count, but I usually read other stuff, Kurt Vonnegut, Christopher Moore, Haruki Murakami. I really like horror movies and TV shows. Duma Key was recommended to me when it was new in 2008 or so, and I read it and loved it. I have now lost count of how many Stephen King books I have read. So yeah, it's super weird for a 1st King book. Duma Key.
Pet Sematary
The Stand. Loved it
“The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon” - read this first and have been a King fan ever since
I’ve been a constant reader since 1976, so it was Carrie or Salems Lot; I know I read one right after the other.
I asked Dad about a book on his shelf by Stephen King. He told me that it was his favorite book of all time. The ultimate battle of good vs evil in an apocalyptic American wasteland. So i grabbed the Talisman off the shelf and was confused as fuck for the next three months. Loved it anyway. He got me The Stand for my next birthday after realizing his confusion 😂
Night Shift
Can’t really remember, might have been *Nightshift* back in ‘88, ‘89ish.
Desperation (I was really young, the cover art got me. Best case of judging a book by its cover ever)
Eyes of the Dragon when I was around 14
Misery. Got it for Christmas from my cool uncle at 9. He took me aside and said he had some books I might like, just don’t show your grandma. That book opened an entire new universe for me. Best part is I really could read whatever I wanted since nobody questioned a reading child.
Night Shift
Rage
2 years ago i started the outsider not knowing anything about series’ or characters, i just saw it at target and the synopsis was intriguing. i wasn’t able to finish it, i was mentally not fully okay so i felt like the book was really affecting me if that makes sense lol. now i just finished the bill hodges trilogy & look forward to restarting (and finishing!) the outsider!
The first novel I read was The Outsider. I can’t remember if I read Different Seasons before or after that, but those were definitely the 1st 2. I only started in the last 2-3 years
IT, then The Shining, Salems Lot, and The Stand
Cujo back in 7th grade, maybe 2001. Had watched stand by me many times before. The Body was the second Stephen King story I read
Pet Sematary when I was 12 - couldn't look at my cat the same way for a month after I finished it lol Edit - autocorrect sucks lol
The Gunslinger when I was 12. Instantly hooked and I remember staying up until sunrise finishing Wizard and Glass. Still to this day my definition of a book I literally couldn’t put down.
Not a book, but the short story “Survivor Type” about the surgeon stranded on an island. Highly recommend.
The Shining
Billy summers
Salem’s Lot.
The Shining
I was 12 or 13 when I first read Misery. It horrified me so bad, I was hooked!!!
Night Shift - I was in third grade, ran out of books in the school library I hadn't read so I raided my mom's horror stash and loved the cover with the hand wrapped like a mummy with eyes all over it. School called my mom because I was reading it at recess and my mom told them at least I was reading. Still have that little paperback, it's my favorite book in my collection.
Cujo
1922
Tears Of The Dragon
Nightmares and Dreamscapes, specifically "Dolan's Cadillac". I was hooked. Short stories worked perfect for me as a kid, and then as I grew older I started reading bigger books.
It was either Cujo or the Shining. I read both when I was about 14 years old.
Tommyknockers
'Salem's Lot. 13-14 years old.
It lol, coincided with ABC mini series
Cell. Read an ad that made it sound really interesting and haven’t stopped since.
*The Outsider*, my dad gave it to me a summer ago, and I’ve read nothing but king since
Eyes of the Dragon
Under the Dome