Stephen King Books - Print Topic

'It' is about a clown stalking and feasting on the children in the town of Derry. It haunts the children when they turn into adults and they to kill Pennywise once and for all. It's a long, long, long novel. I don't think I can't even finish it before a few years from now. But that's what makes a good book I geuss. Chapters that build up suspense and spine tingling moments - now that's a good book to read. I read only Part One, but I already highly recommend it.

Just watch the movie. Same out come in the end. Lots of time saved, too. Move on to something better like --

"How to make bargin basement whiskey with even cheeper women: vol-1"

That my friend is a good book.

Yay!..."IT" - My favourite book of all time... and I love the movie too - except for the spider part which was lame ::)

Hi, by the way :P

Andy x

As for his books, I think "Salem's Lot" is the best, but with the "The Shining" right on its heels.

The worst, by far, is "Cujo".

I love Stephen King. He's been my inspiration to write.

Desperation stands out to me as his best work...fantastic.

Ive read most of The SHining, and all of Carrie and Misery. My dad has this special "Three King Books In One" novel, so..yeah.

I read Carrie a few years ago. I liked it, it was a quick read. I still haven't seen the movie, though.

The movie's good. Watch it..unless you have something against nudity...watch the film and find out why.

Quoted from -Ben-

The movie's good. Watch it..unless you have something against nudity...watch the film and find out why.

Well, I know what to expect after reading the book. That's all I'm saying.

I loved his Richard Bachman books.

The Shining rocks..

Excellent novel..

Kubrick had Native American Indian motifs everywhere in the design of the movie suggesting the Hotel was built on an Indian burial ground..

Have a look at the carpet pattern design on the floors in the halls.. Looks like dead Indians buried.. Indian Tapstery all over the place and the Lumberjack shirts worn by the family..

So the hauntings comes from building the hotel on Ancient American Burial Ground..

Wacky idea..

Quoted from Kevan

Why not a seqaul where all the indians come back to life

"Shining 2: What's Eating Jack Nicholson?"

Quoted from MacDuff

Desperation stands out to me as his best work...fantastic.

Love Despreration, it's fantastic. Second to IT personally, but brilliant nonetheless.

And for anyone who thinks IT was a crap movie, don't let that put you of reading the book. They are totally different and the book is far superior. I read it at least 5 times now and still can't stop re-reading it. I just happened to like the movie too, my future husband's in it.... Tim Curry ;D

Desperation and IT are really worth the read.

I remember the Talisman. It had a nice little double story going on and I thought it was terribly clever. I think it would be definitely cinematic enough tomake a movie out of as long as the sreenwriter captures the essence of the original novel. Then again, that kind of goes without saying of any adaptation.

Maybe they could talk Emma Thompson into doing it...she seems to be rather good at big books with complex plots and characters.

I've also heard a rumour that Romero has decided to put off filming "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" and changed to the production of "From A Buick 8". Interesting.

I'm going to pick up "The Cell" when it's released soon. Looks like a good read.

Hasn't "Cell" been released??? I saw a friend of mine who had the book.

Cell has been out for a while...I was reading reviews on it just the other day and saw it in the book store.

It is #1 right now for fiction book sales.

I'm going to get it next time I go to the store.

I read a few reviews about it saying that it WAS good, but seemed very rushed. Like King was ready to just get it out there.

Whoa....How'd I miss that one!

I'll be picking up a copy of it asap.

Is the movie "The Cell" based on one of King's novels?

I love The Langoliers, both the movie and the book (which is the first book in his FOUR PAST MIDNIGHT collase).

IT was the scariest movie I've ever seen. It made my friends afraid of clowns when they were little and I would always close my eyes during the clown scenes. Good acting.

Pet Cemetary was a little bit creepy, but only if you turn off all the lights and read the Braille version.

So far, at least lately, Steven king has been relagated to nothing more than a pitch man.I like his stories but most of them seem to be written so they can be translatd to film..That's how he makes his real money right? 7.5 million for shawshank.

Sorry, I got pissed off at something else and kind of took it out on this thread.I agree with what I wrote but I didn't have to be that BITCHY, sorry.

Oh yeah! Carrie was also one of the novels I read. It had one of the most evil, villiany, cruelest characters in time and I guess that's how it explains how school is a living hell.

I loved several of King's earlier works - Salem's Lot, The Shining & The Stand.  Some of the stuff he's done over the last few years has kinda sucked to me.  From A Buick 8 comes to mind.

I also love several of his short stories - The Mist, Survivor Type, The Reapers Image, etc.

The Cell was okay but it reminded me of a novel I read years ago called "Blood frenzy" It was a book about parents who suddenly go nuts and start killing their own (or anyones) kids.  Kind of a reverse Children of the Corn I guess.

Anyway I'm rambling like a dork.

brion

Yeah I like the Clown one (IT), what's that one called about the guy who marries a gypsy woman? I forget what that one is called. But IT has to be my fave Stephen King adaptation.

The only ones I've read from him are Despiration and another one related to that. I'm kinda reluctant to read books from him that have been made into films. I don't know why.

I've already seen The Shining, Pet Cemetery, Carrie and It and Despiration. So I don't know if I'll read those books.

I prefer his older stuff... Long Walk, It, Shining, Night Shift, Different Seasons...

Quoted from darthbrion

The Mist is being made into a movie, I believe. It's one of King's best tales (for those who haven't read it, you can find it in the collection 'Skeleton Crew'); I just hope whoever makes it doesn't royally screw it up as so many have done in the past with his stuff.

Just a question for the Stephen King fans. A few years ago Stephen had a short story competition and the prize for the winner was having their story published in Stephen's next book. The story that won was about a guy who worked in a shopping mall and became depressed when he saw someone commit suicide.

Does anyone recall the name of the story and the title of the book that it was in?

I believe there was a contest to submit a short story to King around the same time his "On Writing" book was released. As I recall, the winning entry would be added to his paperback version which came out in 2001.

I have the paperback copy but I don't recall any short story attached. I'll need to take a second look.

Yeah. That's the one I thought it may have been in. Lets us know when you find out, MacDuff.

Thanks.

Hey Chris,

My paperback copy is from 2000 and it does not contain the short story.

I found this online though. Look to the bottom of the article:

http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,,380115,00.html

Hope this helps,
Stew

Interesting article, Stew, but I couldn't find any mention of the stories� title. I'll continue my search.

Best: The Shining followed by Salem's Lot
Worst: Insomnia.

Quoted from MacDuff

I finally tracked it down. It's called Jumper by Garret Adams. Now to get my hands on a copy. Thanks for your help, Stew.

Not a problem. I'm actually interested in reading the short too...

I like "On Writing" best :-)

I don't really like how King most of the time uses ghosts or possessions to explain everything that happened. I liked Kubricks 'The Shining' far better because he leaves it to the viewer if there's something with the hotel or if Jack's just going mental without any help. ;-)

Somehow I like 'Thinner'. I should read Shawshank and Green Mile though, they didn't feel like King-stories.

When I lived in Chicago, I was in a musical version of Carrie. It was called sCarrie! I played Tommy Ross.

'Salem's Lot, The Shining, The Dead Zone - you can't go wrong with these. Even Christine, which seems to get lots of hate, for me is King doing what he does best. His most indulgent, the over-inflated IT and The Stand, still are good thrill rides.

It's a shame that Salem's Lot & The Shining, maybe his best novels, never got good film adaptations, despite both being filmed twice. The David Soul version of Salem's Lot is probably more effective than the misbegotten attempt from TNT a few years back. The Shining went from Kubrick's comedy version to King & Garris' ham fisted take for TV, which AGAIN failed to include the darn topiary animals, and had maybe the WORST final scene ever ( the hilarious graduation scene).

I have all the Dark Tower series, but to honest after book 3 I just could not plow through anymore. In later years King did have a few more gems ( Gerald's Game, Bag Of Bones). but I tried 3 of his more recent novels - Cell / From A Buick 8/Lisey's Story - and couldn't finish any of them. I don't know if it's more a change of my tastes or King's style, but they left me cold.

But there's no doubt, he's written some genre classics.

I've read the dark tower series and plan to read it again, eventhough I have mixed views on it. I'm interested in his characters. That's what surprise me overall.

Gabe

I really haven't read King in a while, mainly because of the fact that it seems like his last couple of books are the same thing over and over. However, I recently became a big fan of his son, Joe Hill. His book Heart Shaped Box was amazing and his short story collection, 20th Century Ghosts was amazing. I really recomand him because of the fact that he writes like his father's earlier stuff.

Has anyone read 'On Writing' ?

I found the biography section fascinating. I think it would translate into a film better than anything else he's ever written.
I also found the second half ( the section on writing) to be an excellent resource and influence on my writing. Even though its not really aimed at screenwriting, I think theres many elements that cross over.

I have read "On Writing" and found it a fascinating and interesting read.  It was a mix of memoir and resource and I liked it very much.

I have read quite a few of the Dark Tower series, but had to take a break.  I will return to them someday.  In the meantime...

Lisey's Story was the first "different" King book I read.  On his promo appearances, he touted it as being more on the 'romantic' side of things and less on the 'horror'.  I remember liking it, but not being thrilled by it.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, another one I liked a great deal.

I've read many many more of his works, the most recent being Cell and Duma Key, and I've been disappointed on more than one point.  As others have said, they seem rushed.  The endings just seem like he sat down, started a timer and tried to see how fast he could wrap it up.  Awful.  He is brilliant at storytelling, character development, and surprising us with incredible notions of possibilities, but he seems to have a hard time with writing the ending.  Duma Key ends on page 609...in that many pages, surely he could come up with a more satisfying conclusion.

Dreamcatcher was kind of weak for Stephen, but I think he redeemed himself with books such as Cell and Duma Key. (I really recommend Duma Key). And I agree with you, he is the KING. hehe

I read 'On Writing' once a year. It's a great way for writers of all skill levels to understand the process of writing.

I thought Cell started off a little slowly, but really started to gain moment at about 100 pages in and was excellent for the remainder. It reminded me of classic King work.

Actually, King's work has changed since his horrible accident and his on and off again retirement. I think he writes differently and it's taken a while to get used to it, but I still appreciate his work.

I've started 'From a Buick 8' a couple of times and have not stuck with it, which is surprising for me. Lisey's Story was good, but not excellent and Duma Key was very good, but not really excellent either.

Right now, I'm reading The Bachman Books - a collection of 4 stories that King published under Bachman's name. The first 2 are classic King: Rage and The Long Walk. There's some fantastic writing in there.

Bag of Bones was excellent as well.

The Stand was pretty good. I think that the movie was better for some reason, but the book is still a classic to me.

-James

I really enjoyed Duma Key, but I think some of the supernatural elements actually let it down. I preffered the story about Edgar becoming an artist.

One of the things I love about Stephen King is that he kills off central characters in the most sudden and brutal ways. The characters in his books all seem completely vulnerable. He doesn't save the gory details for the bad guys either. I remember how shocked I was by the gory descriptions in Bag of Bones when the main lady got shot, and in Regulators when the boy died.

"Cell" is my favorite book.
The Shawshank Redemption is definately my favorite Stephen King movie and my favorite movie in general.

I've only really read "Carrie" which I loved. After watching The Shining the other day I thought I might give the book a read but then when I went down to the bookstore they had loads of Stephen King books but no Shining.

From A Buick 8 starts great with the sort of small town stuff, but the supernatural stuff is just so unbelievably stupid that ultimately it's not worth reading. I reread The Stand last fall, and it wasn't as good as I remember it.

I don't think I'll be reading anymore new Stephen King, unless he ditches the supernatural/horror. If he does, I'll be one of the first in line to buy it.

I'm reading a book at the moment called "Stephen King on the Big Screen" by Mark Browning. Browning is a Film Studies lecturer in the UK and in this book he discusses   31 of the Stephen books that have been adapted for the big screen. His analysis of The Shawshank Redemption is particularly interesting and impressive. He rates Shawshank and the Green Mile as the best movies adapted from King's novels.

This is how the chapters break down:
Chapter 1
Mind Over Matter: Telekinesis
Carrie
The Rage: Carrie 2
The Dead Zone
Firestarter

Chapter 2
Tales From The Darkside: The Portmanteau Film
Creepshow
Creepshow 2
Cat's Eye
Tales from The Darkside: The Movie

Chapter 3
Sometimes Dead is Better
Silver Bullet
Pet Sematary
Pet Sematary 2
Sleepwalkers

Chapter 4
Boys to Men Rites of Passage
Stand by Me
Apt Pupil
Hearts in Atlantis

Chapter 5
The Rise of the Machines 1950's Science-Fiction B-Movie
Christine
Maximum Overdrive
Graveyard Shift
The Lawnmower Man
Dreamcatcher

Chapter 6
The Great Escape: Prison Drama
The Shawshank Redemption
The Green Mile
The Running Man

Chapter 7
Books of Blood; The Writer
Misery
The Dark Half
Secret Window

Chapter 8
The Terror of Everyday Life and Final Girls
Cujo
Dolores Claiborne
The Shinning (Stanley Kubrick 1980)
The Shinning (Mick Garris, 1997)
1408

I'm not sure why the author analyzed the 1997 mini-series of the Shinning and over looked others like IT and Salem�s Lot. Perhaps it was because he wanted to draw comparisons between it and the Kubrick's 1980 version.

I tend to find adapts of King stories for the screen entertaining, even though I recognise (having read a number of his books) that he is far too deep a writer to be wholly successfully translated to the big screen. There seems to be a tendency to view him as a standard horror writer, and his work treated as no better than stalk and slash thrillers, but he is probably one of the major literary figures of the past 30 years, up there with all those award winners and high art novelists the critics fawn over (but nobody actually reads!).

"The Mist", for me, is possibly the best adapt of one of his horror stories, and apparently King rates it highly.

I probably shouldn't say anything about something I am still working on but my current project is an adaptation of The Running Man, originally a Richard Bachman book.

In fact the whole reason why I started learning how to write scripts was exactly because of this book. It has been my favorite King book since I was a kid and I always thought the film version directed by Starsky was an abomination and have always felt the the original story would make for an excellent and highly marketable movie.

Not that of course I think there is a cats chance of my script being made, that is not my reason for writing it. I have been struggling so much to finish a feature that I think I need to get this out of my system before I can do anything else. It is a great book though, if more than a little tricky to adapt, much has happened in the 25 years since it was written and King's ideas of the future is a handicap.

It is going to end up quite different from the book in many ways but it certainly does stay true to King's original vision, much more so than that Arnie piece of crap.

Chris, I would love to hear more on the Running Man chapter in that book you have, what was the general feeling on that adaptation?

That sounds interesting Murph. I was wondering about your script after you mentioned it on the 6 week thread.
I haven't seen the film for ages but read the book again awhile back. it defintely could be re-made better especially now.
I've always thought 'The Island' was influenced by this book, has a simliar feel to it.

Been a King fan for years but not really iot his recent work. It's like he's already written the best books he'll ever write.
The Stand and It are in my top three books; LOTR is the other.
Some of his best stuff has been not strictly horror, particularly his novellas and shorts.
Shawshank stands out, and the Green Mile.

If anyone is interested, a preview of the book by Mark Browning that Chris is reading is available to read at Google Books.

http://books.google.com/books?id=jWHrBu34wQkC&lpg=PP1&dq=Mark%20Browning&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Quoted from Murphy

Chris, I would love to hear more on the Running Man chapter in that book you have, what was the general feeling on that adaptation?

Browning wasn't very impressed with it. He thought the action and special effects weren't much chop and that it lacked tension. He also thought it didn't really capitalize on the social commentary aspect of the story very well and as a show that was set in the future it wasn't very ambitious as it was fairly similar in format to the American Gladiators show which was running back in 1989. However, it was interesting to read that Christopher Reeve was originally cast as Ben Richards. The following passage was also interesting:

"Star theory, as developed by academics such as Richard Dyer, posits that the attraction of a star's persona is created by the tension between the delivery of expected items and the possibility of something original. The pleasure lies in the integration of old and new , familiar and unfamiliar. The casting of Schwarzenegger is crucial. Apart from in the apocalyptic End of Days (Peter Hyams, 1999) he has not died in any of his film roles (he has been rebuilt as a Terminator), meaning effectively, that there is little on-screen jeopardy. We know he will be back. How, not whether, he will dispatch his opponents is the viewing pleasure on offer. What we have here is not a serious attempt at social satire or even an action film. The Running Man represents a pivotal point in the crafting of Schwarzenegger's screen image. He certainly is involved in action sequences with car chases and explosions, he strides purposefully as the Terminator in two other sequels but after this film the only running we see him do is for political office."

Quoted from Murphy

I probably shouldn't say anything about something I am still working on but my current project is an adaptation of The Running Man, originally a Richard Bachman book.

Very interesting, Murphy. I'm looking forward to reading that. I remember the book being much much better than the Arnie flick, much along the lines of one of Stephen King's other books "The Long Walk".

Keep us updated.

Quoted from stevie

I've always thought 'The Island' was influenced by this book, has a simliar feel to it.

I get what you mean, I sometimes wonder whether this is the real reason why nobody has ever got round to trying another adaptation of this great book. It is already been adapted "unofficially" so many times it is impossible to do now. I can think of many films in which I can see influences from The Running Man, from The Fugitive (which I know will raise eyebrows because itself was a remake) to Children of Men and even Enemy of the State.

It is probably easy to see these influences when you are a fan of the book I guess, it is likely that the writers of these movies have never read The Running Man at all.

Anyway, when all is said and done, I fully agree with many of the people on this thread. King is a wonderful writer and it is a damn shame he has wasted so many years on shite horror novels. His non horror books are some of the best ever written and it is testament to that fact that they have produced so many great films.

Chris, cheers, that was an amazing quote about Arnie. I need to read it again tomorrow with a clearer head. From what little I have read on that book then Mark Browning is not skirting around the edges here, seems to be a fairly serious look at the films of Stephen King. I ordered it today so will have a read when it arrives.

Cheers.

Quoted from sniper

Bollocks. Wish I had not opened my mouth, pressure!! haha

Cheers Rob ( is Sniper dead now then?)

I am trying anyway and hope to see it here someday soon.

Quoted from Murphy

Cheers Rob ( is Sniper dead now then?)

For the time being - I may still snipe a bit though :)

Generally I think most of the movies adapted from his books have been rather poor (The Running Man to name just one). However, there have been some really good ones there as well, Misery, Shawshank, Green Mile, Hearts of Atlantis, Apt Pupil and...

Quoted from Niles_Crane

"The Mist", for me, is possibly the best adapt of one of his horror stories, and apparently King rates it highly.

Totally agree. Both the movie and the novella got under my skin - in an umcomfortable way - and stuck there.

Frank Darabont should imo. get a first refusal right to any future Stephen King adaption. I can't wait to see what he does with "The Long Walk" once he decides to make it.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that "It" was being remade - again for TV, but can't remember details now.

"Desperation" is also supposed to be in the works.

I still remember "Salem's Lot" on TV when I was a kid - not great, but it had it's moments. I am surprised that it has not been attempted again.

So it's actually been made?

That one passed me by completely!

King, for all his writing talents, is probably best advised to leave films well alone. Anyone remember "Maximum Overdrive"!

Quoted from Niles_Crane

Anyone remember "Maximum Overdrive"!

Mixed feelings about that one, utterly crap film but excellent soundtrack...

Maximum Overdrive was King's first and last attempt at directing. Of the soundtrack Browning said "a self indulgent soundtrack plays wall-to-wall AC/DC, whether the images and context merit it or not"

Quoted from Niles_Crane

Yeah, 'It' is being remade, which initially i was ok with - the 1990 one deferred to much to people who hadn't read the book and gave the Pennywise appearance all the substance.
But reading about it on IMDB, fans are spewing cos they plan to have the early kids scenes set in the 80'S(!?) and then when they are adults in the modern era!

This will totally destroy any of the magic of the book's 50's setting - i learned a hell of a lot about 1950's America from 'It'.
I also learned a lot about American geography from reading 'The Stand'.

Quoted from Niles_Crane

So it's actually been made?

That one passed me by completely!

King, for all his writing talents, is probably best advised to leave films well alone. Anyone remember "Maximum Overdrive"!

Yeah, Ron Perlman plays the evil cop.

I've read It, Christine, and Dreamcatcher.

Tried reading Insomnia but can never get interested enough to keep on keepin' on.

I was reading Desperation at one point, but for some reason I stopped half way through and never got back to it.

I wanna get Gerald's Game. Anyone fill me in on what that's about?

And any recommendations for when I go up to the book store this weekend?

Well, I rather liked "Cell", but this doesn't appear to be a general feeling!

I really like the film of "The Dead Zone", and the tv series spin off (well, the first two seasons, anyway!), but have never been able to read the book - I've tried three times and never got past the start.

Quoted from slabstaa

And any recommendations for when I go up to the book store this weekend?

I liked Hearts in Atlantis and Bag of Bones. You might also want to try some of the shorts collections.

Thanks. I hear Bag of Bones is very sad?

I am 300 pages in to SK's newie, 'Under The Dome'. It's a 1000 page book, and so far, it is his best work for years!
I've been reading his stuff for 25 years now, and most of his books from the last decade have been average to me. it seemed that his best was way past him.

But this book is vintage King. His best work is when he puts normal people suddenly into a freaky situation, whether with horror or some sci-fi aspect.

I won't give away to much of what I've read, just the basic premise:
Chester's Mill is your average American small town in Maine (SK's fave setting). One October morning, the town is plunged into, first, puzzled alarm that quickly moves inot chaos, when a mysterious invisible barrier - the Dome - descends around the town, completely cutting if off from the outside world. The power goes off but some cell phones still work.
The first 15 pages are pure gold - cars smash into the dome, killing a few people( a log truck explosion would be awesome in a film) birds are cut half by the barrier, etc.
The army turn up on the outside trying to figure out who's responsible. The townsfolk have to face the logistics of gas running out for their generators not to mention food.
The personal grievances surface between people, which adds to the rising tension.

Anyway, i don't wanna give away too much - but then I haven't read that much yet either.
suffice to say, if you were a king fan long ago, but have been disillusioned by his recent stuff, PLEASE READ THIS BOOK! You will forgive him! cheers

Hey Stevie,

I'm reading the same one right now. I'm only about 1/3 in so far. I like Barbie... :)

Quoted from stevie

'Under The Dome'. It's a 1000 page book...

Man, I love King, and I just love the premise -- but 1000 pages is asking alot.

When one of you guys finishes, would you please do me a favor?

Please pop on here and say "Yes" or "No" for a good explanation from King about this freaky dome and its origins.

I do not want spoilers!

I just need a simple yes or no -- so I will not come away from a 1000-page book and feel ripped off at some ambiguous B.S. that I hate.

Cool, Pia! Yeah, Barbie is a dude though i don't like his (nick) name much! Man, there's some parasites living in that town!

No worries, bert, will do. My copy is from the library so doesn't bother me if it ends up shit!
The Stand and It are my 2 favorite books of all time (along with TLOTR). If 'Under The Dome' stays great, it will rank as one of his best...to me anyway.

Just got this book for Christmas... looking forward to it. I'm glad to hear that it's getting good reviews!

You know, this plot sounds really, really, familiar.

I know for a fact that it has featured in both a "Doctor Who" story ("The Daemons" 1971) and a 1960s film ("Invasion"), but I have a feeling that it has also been used somewhere else - "Twilight Zone" maybe?

Nice idea though - but 1,000 pages!

----

oooh! I know why it seems to familiar.

It's the plot of "The Simpsons" movie! :o

Quoted from Niles_Crane

oooh! I know why it seems to familiar.

It's the plot of "The Simpsons" movie! :o

Ha - yeah I remember reading an article about this book and SK was afraid that people would think he stole it from "The Simpsons" movie. If I recall I believe he said that he has been toying with it for the last few years.

I'm looking forward to it as I enjoy pretty much all of his stuff. I recently read "Bag of Bones" which was great and "Duma Key" which is one of his more recent efforts. I really enjoyed that as well.

Craig

Yeah, SK mentions in the endnotes of Dome that he started it in 1978! But he left it to do other stuff.

I have done a bit of reading up on it - I don't mind knowing the end of a novel before I read it! - and I must say, in synopsis form it doesn't half sound like a Twilight Zone type thing! One critic actually says it is like a old sf show concept but with added blood and guts!

There's talk of it being done as a mini-series apparently.

I do read King occasionally. Loved The Stand. Saw the mini series of that and by Christ it sucked. Like a granny trying to finish a plate of trifle after she's lost her false teeth.

Same with The Shining mini series. I know King has a lot to do with these. His stuff works really in books. Alas on film it usually falls flat on its arse. The notable exception being Shawshank. I won't count The Shining as I love the film but, it has very little resemblance to the orginal book.

He needs someone to translate this stuff properly to screen for him. As I'd say most agree he does need help with this.

However, I do believe the rumour that you can adapt any King story to the screen for just one dollar is true. Which is just frankly rude, to the likes of us. I want at least two.

R

Quoted from rendevous

However, I do believe the rumour that you can adapt any King story to the screen for just one dollar is true. Which is just frankly rude, to the likes of us. I want at least two.

R

Me too, but I love Garage Sales and am willing to go as low as $1.50.

Edit: Canadian

Sandra

Actually, the use his script for only a dollar only refers to certain stories and is only for shorts that will be shot and shown at festivals only. You can not use a novel, write a feature and sell it or produce it.

I'm a huge fan btw. His biggest strength is the VERY in depth characters and his knowledge of the human psyche. :)

Bag of Bones was great btw! My all time favorite was Hearts In Atlantis.

Quoted from rendevous

I've read a few times that most people thought The Stand miniseries sucked. I thought it was done pretty well at the time. I've only watched it once - the whole 9 hours at once, with a short meal break, and I reckoned it was ok. And I 've read the book maybe 20 times, so I'm well qualified to judge.
My only real whinge with it was that the actor who played Randy Flagg wasn't actually black.
IT was woeful, from what I remember. If you hadn't read the book, you'd think the clown was just some serial killer. I think there is a newer version in the works? Hopefully, a long mini series to really bring that brilliant book to life.

I'm surprised I haven't posted in this thread already.

I'm a big fan of Stephen King. I own well over twenty of his books in hardback, but I'll admit I've only read three of them cover to cover (Cujo, Desperation, & Carrie; I'm reading Misery now).

My favorite so far is definitely Cujo. It's just so eerie and tragic the way all of the book's minor circumstances create the story's main conflict. The ending is incredibly gutsy and sad, and I'm still frustrated the filmmakers changed it for the movie. I'd love to see a remake.

I also read about 300+ pages of It back when I was in high school, but I stopped for reasons I can't remember. I do remember it being extremely scary, though.

Damn, this 'Under The Dome' is good! I'm up to page 550, halfway.

The tension is building excrutiatingly, wondering how its gonna pan out.
The amazing thing is, all the deaths and accidents are caused by humans! Sure, the presence of the Dome has made things primitive. But there's no monsters here...yet.

If it ends satifactorily, this will rank as one of his best. For me anyway.

How you doing with it, Pia?

Stevie,

I haven't read anything but scripts in the last few days. Trying to read all the 7wc scripts and re-writing mine. I do like it though, but I am a confirmed King fan so... ;D

Have just finished 'Under The Dome', after reading the last hundred pages in one sesh.
Bert, it delivers. It harks back to his earlier work(I mentioned before that he originally started it in 1978).
The origins of the Dome are revealed about two-thirds in. I don't say too much for spoiling it, but it works. The final 60 pages have a touch of 'Carrie' about them.

I thoroughly recommend it. I read some where its already been touted as a mini-series? If they get the right actors, it will be very good. Nothing much would have to be changed either, if anything.

I finished Misery a few nights ago.

It had a great start, and the last 50-or-so pages left me breathless, but the middle really dragged on in a way the movie never did. It's a short book from King, which was a nice surprise, but I still think it was too long. I could see twenty pages being trimmed off of this easily. I also wasn't a fan of the Misery's Return excerpts at all...I groaned each time they came up. Overall, though, I enjoyed it.

Have successfully made my third attempt to read the 'Dark Tower' series! For years I have been seeing these books by one of my fave authors but never went near them.

Lat year i read the first book but couldn't get into the second. Finally, the other day I started the second book again - the first is easy to remember so didn't need a re-read - and I got into. Am halfway through and have the third book from the library already.

I have the whole series. I think the first one is the best.

I just got Full Dark, No Stars yesterday! Hopefully I have some time to start reading it this weekend.

Anyone had a chance to read it yet?

Quoted from stevie

Funny you should say this, because I've read most of his stuff, but never tackled the Dark Tower. What's more, there's this guy who sits across from me on the train who, in between a few cat naps here and there, I've noticed seems to be plowing through them. One of these days, I'm taking them down.

Quoted from Grandma Bear

I just got Full Dark, No Stars yesterday! Hopefully I have some time to start reading it this weekend.

Anyone had a chance to read it yet?

I have not, but there was an excerpt in EW that I started reading this morning, and then I saw it in the bookstore today. I may pick it up for a Christmas gift for my brother. Please share your thoughts. I've always loved his short stories, though I always find myself wanting more.

Craig

haven't heard of this new one, is it short horror stories like Skeleton Crew, etc?

It's four short stories.

1922
BIG DRIVER
FAIR EXTENSION
A GOOD MARRIAGE

I hope I will have time to get started tomorrow. :)

PS. Stevie, I still have your SENT on my desktop. I'm halfway through, but a couple of things came up I had to pay immediate attention to and it's been taking up my time lately.

Thanks for the info Pia. And great work on 'Issues'!

Take your time with SENT - i've had some good ideas for an overhaul of it - will get there one day.

I hope you do get there with Sent. There is a seed of a great underused idea there, and that is why is I can call you a weirdo beatles obsessive when I am actually a bigger one myself. Keep the faith, Stevie. You will get there. Believe.

R ox

Am up to book 4 of the Dark Tower series, 'Wizard and Glass".

Its been a full on ride so far. Its so unlike King's normal writing but is...him?!!

I was reading fan comments on IMDB about the DT series being a movie or min-series. They were discusiing who should play Roland and the others.
I was surprised they hoped for an older actor although Viggo mortenson would be ok. i kow Roland is meant to be age wearied but i still think he seems only like a guy in his late thirties, maybe forty. It would look silly having him appear too old! He has to look cool as well.

I am against the frain here as far as some of the comments in this thread from a year ago.
I think I am one of the few who love Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining ANd equally love the Mick Garris directed, King scripted miniseries just the same...and more so.

I think the film version of 'Cujo' gets a bad rap sometimes too.

But as for the books- my faves are Christine, The Dead Zone, Tom Gordon, and the Different Seasons collection (which include 'Shawshank Redemption' and 'The Body' aka Stand By Me) and the underrated 'Cycle Of The Werewolf'.

Has anyone read King's new short story collection "Full Dark, No Stars"? It's been ordered for me for Xmas, but the wife won't let me read it before hand.

I liked "Just After Sunset" and loved "Under The Dome", so I have high hopes for this.

I tried to read "The Dark Tower" many moons ago and could not get into it. It may be something I need to revisit as it's a big chunk of King's career I haven't read.

I have the book. I've only read the first short so far. What do you want to know? I don't want to spoil your present. :)

Quoted from Grandma Bear

I have the book. I've only read the first short so far. What do you want to know? I don't want to spoil your present. :)

Cool. Just wanted to know if it's a purely horror short collection or a mish-mash of his recent types of work (drama/horror/sci-fi,etc)

Thanks!
Stew

I hesitate to answer this since it is your present...

I love pretty much all of his work regardless of genre. No matter what he writes, his strength to me is always character so he didn't disappoint me. I would however call the first one in this book more of a drama. The other ones could be different though.

This won't really be a review because I suck at those, but if someone else have read Full Dark, No Stars I would love to hear your thoughts on it.

SPOILERS!!!!!! for those who haven't read it yet and are planning to.

This book consists of 4 novellas.

1922 When Wilfred and his wife disagree on the sale of land willed to her by her father, it sets in motion a gruesome sequence of events that leads to madness�and murder.
Big Driver Tess, a mystery writer, takes a shortcut home, only to run into a nightmare more terrifying than her stories.
Fair Extension In this darkly funny tale, cancer patient Dave Streeter decides to make a deal with the devil, but as always, there is a price to pay.
A Good Marriage Darcy learns more about her husband of 20 years than she would have liked to know when she stumbles across a mysterious box in their garage.

I love Stephen King so I liked this book. However, there were two of these I had a bit of a problem with. Big Driver and Fair Extension. Why? In Big Driver, Tess is raped and left for dead by a serial rapist/killer. She decides to get revenge and to kill the guy. So what's the problem? Well, she also ends up killing his brother and mother and she gets away with it. I had a problem with her killing 3 people and nothing happens to her for doing so.

In Fair Extension, Dave Streeter is a cancer patient with not much time left. He makes a deal with the devil to get 15 more years to live. The price for that is that someone else he knows will have to suffer instead. He choses his best friend whom he secretly hates. Everything starts go go down hill for his "friend". His wife dies of cancer, successful son becomes a cripple and so on and so on. What didn't work for me was our portage, Dave, enjoyed all the tragedy. And just as with the other story, he didn't have to suffer at all for this wrong doing.

Anyway, if you read these stories, I'l love to hear your thoughts on the morals of them.

Pia, my interpretation of "Fair Extension" was that Dave was always a twisted guy. He made the deal with the devil, not God. That tells us that he was already somewhat a bad seed. He seemingly was going to be in hell when he died anyways, thus the deal was able to be made. Dave, I believe, was secretly always a prick shank and hated his friends success. He resented him, as the age old tales tell us not to envy thy neighbor's possessions and well being, for all he had in his life.

I believe King wrote this story, however subtle it may or may not be, to be grounded in religion to an extent.

Hmmm... I didn't really get that at all from this, but maybe you looked at it on a deeper level! ;D

I just felt very disatisfied at the end of those two stories. Big Driver less so than A Good Marriage. At least that one Tess felt remorse.

Btw, it says at the end of the book that he got the idea for A Good Marriage that he got the idea from Dennis Rader the serial killer. :)

Quoted from Grandma Bear

Don't take it as golden. I don't know if that's what he was going for but that's what I kind of got from the story.

Side note: Denis Rader lived like 3 hours drive from my house. Nutty. And whatever you do, don't watch Kane Hodder's BTK flick. If you want a laugh, sure. Go ahead. But if you want facts and hard evidence, stay away. Stay far, far away. The movie is so funny at times -- Clueless, really. They have Kansas City, the city limit sign, amidst rolling canyons in the back ground. They have downtown Wichita looking like Time Square. They have palm trees all over the place too. It's crazy funny how clueless some of these set directors and directors of photography really are.

Wow!

Well, I've noticed over the years that whatever subject you know something about, it's always totally wrong in movies and more often than not even in the news.
Btw, do you remember Danny Rollings and the Gainesville student murders? That was in my town! Right when that was going on I got locked out of the house one night in my underwear! I was scared to death I might run into him!!
I often thought of writing a script about that, but I don't think this town is ready even though it's been 21 years.

Having not read the stories (but I didn't mind), I would guess that the horror will be that some crimes go unpunished like unsolved cases. It's a f uped world.

Finally finished book 4 of The Dark Tower series, Wizard and Glass.

My reading of it was interrupted for a couple of months as I had to take it back to the library - someone had it on hold.
Got it back the other week and picked up at page 445!!!

Three more to go!! An awesome read - the sheer imagery and epic detail. Even though Wizard is mostly Roland telling the story of his first love, Susan Delgado - and very well told - its still gripping.

If they do a mini-series of this(which I hear is in the works), they will have to give at least 2 hours for each of the seven books to faithfully do justice by it.

Ok, i got to the sixth book of the DT series - 'Song of Susannah'.

The fifth book, 'Woves of the Calla' was awesome, the best of the long tale yet. But this new one? sigh... BORING!! Its shorter than the others but i skipped to the end and it was still tedious.

Obviously the final book, 'The Dark Tower' will tie it all up but it isn't in any library here on the Coast, and I ain't buying the fucker, so i will just walk away, very disappointed!!

Am reading Kingy's latest: 11.22.63.

It's about a guy who goes back in time to try and stop JFK's murder.

Won't give too much away but he's created some cool time travel rules, and it reads well. As usual, he mixes in some people from his other stories, including a great mention of Derry town from It.

Was eerie reading the time travel logistics as I grappled with the same stuff in my script SENT...

I remember in King's old books he always used to refer to the Dallas police. I think back in the 70s he related them to the govt bad guys. I saw an interview with him the other day, and surprisingly he believes JFK was shot by the lone gunmen, Oswald. I bet he felt different back in the day, but modern evidence is pretty convincing. Been a while since I read one of his, but maybe I'll get this for Christmas!

I'm on page 200 of 11/22/63. I love it!! I'm a huge King fan. I would even say that he might be my all time favorite author.

So far this book is awesome. The way he paints the 50s feel so real. I can almost feel and smell it. There was a lot of smoking back then.

Is anyone going to watch Bag of Bones in December? One of my favorites of his.

Quoted from Grandma Bear

1922 When Wilfred and his wife disagree on the sale of land willed to her by her father, it sets in motion a gruesome sequence of events that leads to madness�and murder.
Big Driver Tess, a mystery writer, takes a shortcut home, only to run into a nightmare more terrifying than her stories.
Fair Extension In this darkly funny tale, cancer patient Dave Streeter decides to make a deal with the devil, but as always, there is a price to pay.
A Good Marriage Darcy learns more about her husband of 20 years than she would have liked to know when she stumbles across a mysterious box in their garage.

Anyway, if you read these stories, I'l love to hear your thoughts on the morals of them.

SPOILERS

Although I love all of King's work, I never felt the connection with these stories as I have had with others. My favourite was A Good Marriage - based on the slow reveal of her husband's "hobby" and what she would do with the information.

1992 was pretty good - I enjoyed the opening moments.

I totally agree with your assessment of Big Driver and Fair Extension. I felt remorse for Tess, but I never connected with the protagonist in Fair Extension.

Looking forward to 11/22/63 - that is on this year's Christmas list.

Sigh - I can't believe it's been a year since I last posted on this thread. What a quick year.

Stew

Quoted from Grandma Bear

Kinda stopped reading him after he burned my wallet with Pet Semetery.
But, I have seen the trailer for Bag of Bones and it does look like a fine show.

E.D.

Quoted from Electric Dreamer

Kinda stopped reading him after he burned my wallet with Pet Semetery.

Burned your wallet? What's that mean? Pet Semetery was a great King novel. The movie was far from great, but then again, most of King's works doesm't translate well to film...or people just have trouble translating his work to film.

As I've told Pia before, Bag of Bones was one of my least favorite pre 2000 King novels. Post 2000 novels? Uhhh, has there been a good one yet? I tried reading Lisey's Story and never got past page 50...terrible!

Most King's novel don't transfer well on film?? Jeff dear, have you looked at the list of films that are adapted from his work??

Yes, I know them all and seen them all. I'm referring to his novels, and I'm not including made for TV or cable films.

I am not a fan of Carrie or The Shining, either. I've said it over and over about The Shining, but obviously my feelings about that movie are not in line with public opinion. I did enjoy The Mist though, but that was based on a novella.

Which novels are you referring to, BTW?

Salem's Lot. Incredible novel and hugely influential on the vampire genre.

The 1979 mini-series adaptation, even though it changed huge portions of the novel, was excellent. I'd say the Kurt Barlow in that version was the scariest on-screen vampire ever.

Agreed, but that was a made for TV film, which as I said, I'm not counting. It was very well done for what it was for sure.

Misery, Shawshank Redemption, the Green Mile, Dolores Claiborne, Secret Window....

Yeah...

Misery - dull, but decent.

Green Mile - Didn't do anything for me, sorry to say. I know many love it.

Dolores Claiborne - Nope, nothing great, IMO.

Secret Window - C'mon now...terrible!

Quoted from Dreamscale

Burned your wallet? What's that mean? Pet Semetery was a great King novel.

When the novel came out, there was a manufactured "media frenzy".
It was touted as the "great lost Stephen King novel". Too shocking to print!
In reality, I learned later that he had shelved it for years due to quality concerns.

I thought it was a pedestrian effort that was utterly predictable.
Even at the age of 12, I felt ripped off by that garbage and how it was marketed.

To each his own.

E.D.

Not sure why you're not counting made for TV films, Jeff, as I think Salem's Lot is one of the best King adaptations ever.  Although, the less said about that Rob Lowe version, the better.

But as far as theatrical releases, The Dead Zone was solid.  Cronenberg + King is probably going to equal some intense stuff.  Throw in Christopher Walken and there you go.

Cujo was not a good movie, but it did have its moments.  And to think Stephen King doesn't even remember writing that novel.

Ryan, you are correct...The Dead Zone was definitely a pretty good flick.  Looking back on it, I'd even say it was a good flick, but compared to the novel?  No, not even close.

But, I guess that's what I'm saying.  There are a vast number of his works that have made it to film, and many are decent to pretty good, and some, like The Shining and Shawshank, in some people's minds, are classics.

BUT...

They pale in comparison to what King wrote on the page, and what images he bored into our brains with his prose.

Throw in the fact that most of his works are 400+ pages (many 600+) and it becomes clear, at least for me, that he's a tough act to turn into a solid film.

Don't get me wrong, cause IMO, he's the best writer of all time, and easily my personal favorite (although I do have an affinity for both Peter Benchley and Steve Alten - but I know damn well Alten is a shitty writer with a wonderful imagination).

And Ryan, I'll agree with you again, Salem's Lot with David Soul was a great made for TV King film.  Barlow definitely rocked, it was scary, creepy, and overall well done.  But, let's understand that in my mind, Stephen King novels should translate into R rated movies, based on this, I just can't include it as a "real" movie.

Yeah, good points Jeff.

Its always been a sticking point about King's novels/stories being made into movies. I think with the better technology, his most recent ones have been ok.

but, as Jeff noted, they seem to make his weaker novels into films - the ones Jeff mentioned are a good example. i didnt see any of those films but I didnt like the books they were based on. Dreamcatcher was his worst book ever in my opinion so I can only imagine how bad the film was.

The stand mini series was done pretty well, and covered the essence of the great tale. It looks a bit dated now and there's rumours of a re-make directed by Ben Affleck.

IT was average and very hurried - and dated. That tale needs a mini series to do it any justice and I think one is in the works.

Curiously enough, I have never The Shining for some reason (nor seen the movie). Its one of the few King books I haven't read.

My top 3 books of all time are:

The Lord Of The Rings

The Stand

It

I'm reading The Dark Half now. Had the book for many, MANY years, but don't think I ever actually finished it. I have seen the movie a few times...

I'm on page 300 of 11.22.63

If you're looking for horror, this one might not be for you, but damn! That man can write anything that will just suck me in to his world!!

Yep...I agree. King's the man, but I still can't say anything he's done in the last 10 years or so has caught my eye.

I was actually trying to read some Clive Barker but I gave up the other night. I've had 4 of his HUGE novels for many years but never was bale to get past page 50 on any of them. Too cryptic a style, too out there, but I do love his imagination.

I'd still love to see The Dark Tower picked up. The Gunslinger would certainly be manageable, I feel. It sucks that Ron Howard and co. dropped the project, but I really wasn't ecstatic about Javier Bardem as Roland, so I guess at least that's one good thing.

So, has anyone read 11.22.63 yet?

I loved it!! It's not a horror, but a really really great book. There's not a dull spot in it. That's saying something. It's 850 pages or so...a short story compared to Under The Dome.

Apparently it's already been picked up for production too.

i just recently finished reading "Under The Dome"

AWSOME BOOK. read the whole thing in like 5 days.

as far as books turned into films

i liked The Stand, It, Green Mile, Misery, and The Mist. (shawshank of course...)

The Mist is an underrated gem.... some of the acting is over dramatic, and sometimes cringe worthy - but if you can look past that theres some great stuff in here... especially the fantastic ending.

Quoted from Grandma Bear

Not yet! It's sitting on my pile.

I'm just working through A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire series) before starting this. I need my King hit... it's been a few months, haha.

Quoted from Penoyer79

The Mist is an underrated gem.... some of the acting is over dramatic, and sometimes cringe worthy - but if you can look past that theres some great stuff in here... especially the fantastic ending.

Although we didn't agree on Doghouse, Chris. I agree with you here, The Mist was an underrated gem with a great ending. :)

Quoted from Grandma Bear

Not yet. I have it on my Nook, though.
I'm reading King in chronological order (a buddy of mine who is a King fan said that's the best route to take with his novels)
Right now I am half way through The Stand, Uncut edition.

im finally reading The Dark Tower series. half way through book 2.

I "started" the uncut edition of The Stand and gave up very quickly. Not sure what my deal was, but I could not get into it at all.

I had started it... but at the time I also purchased It (read it a few years before in high school) and I was so eager to read It again I put The Stand on hold-- it wasn't really grabbing my attention to begin with, anyway. But then a buddy of mine told me that you have to read King in chronological order, especially if you want to really enjoy It since there's a crap load of references in it from his previous work (I found out about that a little too late.... I also read Needful Things before I read The Body). So after I finished It, I began with Carrie, Salem's Lot (2nd go around), then The Shining, and now I'm half way through The Stand.... love it by the way. Really into it more than I was before. But as far as I'm concerned It is the scariest book by King.... I literally got goose bumps multiple times during the course of that book. Salem's Lot made me shit bricks too.

I've just started 11.22.63 it's a return to form for me. I didn't enjoy Liseys Story or under the dome too much. I just had a feeling with dome that I was going to dislike the ending. I was right.

I'm lost in the world of 11.22.63 though. Love the little nods to 'IT' that are in it. When he nails it, you can almost smell the worlds he creates.

I just read on Wiki that a sequel to Shining is coming out next year. :)

Yeah...Lisey's Story SUCKED!!!!! Hated it and didn't finish it, sorry to say.

It was a struggle to get through. Guess it was one for him, not the masses. Must go with the territory of being the Big Mac of the literary world.

Stephen King talking about upcoming book "Dr Sleep" starting at 28:53. He goes on to read the first chapter of the book....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZxZQf8H7HM

Reading Dr. Sleep at the moment! Not sure what to think about it yet, it's pretty out there, but it's keeping my interest.

Anyone read his son's book, Horns? It's being turned into a film, that I think is in post-production now. I personally loved the book, not liking a certain casting choice though for the movie. They cast Lee all wrong.

The Stand is my favourite novel. Been a Stephen King fan since I was a child.

Just now I'm realizing that his dialogue isn't always the greatest though. I think that's why sometimes I have some struggle, since I grew up reading his books!

Quoted from Grandma Bear

Reading it right now. I've always liked King's writing, but hated his stories. The subjects always left me with a sick stomach. The subject of this book, and the fact that it is not horror, is why I am giving it a go. So far I love it.

Read it when it came out. It has some great ideas. And some less so. Nevertheless it was an enjoyable read on the whole.

Not sure how well it would work out as a film. Hopefully a lot better than most of his do. Apart from The Shining of course. But that was a long way from the book. Erm, I digress as per.

Now, I'm off to make a turkey sandwich. I really must go to the shops soon, as I don't even like turkey.

R

The Running Man didn't too bad either, although again, a far cry from the original story in the book.

At one point in the 80's, I guess, King's movies were saturating the theaters. They started using his short stories as he was considered so bankable at the time. But eventually, the quality faltered and they started making moving from some if his stories that weren't really even that good. Then it came to a point where, I think, the movie going public began to realize that they probably weren't going to get their money's worth when seeing the latest King flick.

Another, and I think the main problem with turning his books into movies, was no one could really capture the vibe of the King novel and translate it well to screen. Actually, I don't think King's voice translates all too well to screen anyhow. Kubrick seems to have done it the best, but look at what he did. The movie is nothing like the book. That may be the trick. To get an original voice and give the novel a unique spin that may improve upon it for the theater.

Steve

Kings written voice is very special and as Steven said, is hard to capture... but the better film makers have managed it, even if it sometimes meant changing things from the novel.

Look at the filmed King and there are some genuinely great films, The Shining, The Dead Zone, The Shawshank Redemption, Misery, the TV movie of Salem's Lot, The Green Mile, The Mist, Stand By Me, Carrie.

That's ten without having to think too hard, and you can make a case for It, Cujo, Pet Semetary, Apt Pupil etc...

As Steven notes, the problem is that he was so successful that people started making films from any property they could get hold of and the only thing they cared about was the name Stephen King and making sure it was bigger than the films title or the stars on the movie's poster. That's why movies like The Lawnmower Man, The Mangler etc exist.

Thank good for all the good ones!

His latest book of short stories, The Bazaar Of Bad Dreams has some really good stuff.

Was going to add that Stephen King allows students to film his short stories for the princely sum of $1

http://stephenking.com/dollarbabies.php

Keep thinking I might try and find a student loooking to shoot something and then suggest this... be pretty cool to adapt King.

Anthony

I have looked into that. There are a few short stories available for this program. However, I think you have to be a student director or something and you can't make it longer than 2 minutes or so. You also cannot take it to festivals or use it in any way that makes you money. I haven't read the rules in a year or so, so I might get some of these things wrong, but it was clear it wasn't for me. Way to restrictive with what you can do with the final film. :)

Quoted from stevie

His latest book of short stories, The Bazaar Of Bad Dreams has some really good stuff.

I'm reading that one now. I LOVE it!!! 8)

I think I was like 16 years old when I read Pet Sematary, it was so gripping, I couldn't put it away and read through to the end until the next morning where I had to go to school. From then on, I read them all, well not the latest ones anymore, but anything he wrote up to 2000 or so. I found the movies were often very bad compared to the books, this is especially true for Pet Sematary but for others as well. I liked the movie version of 'The Stand' and '1408' is on of my all time favourite movies - in my opinion the best one they ever turned into film.