1. It means first editions really do matter to the way the universe runs. REALLY.
2. It means family members should understand that first editions are not for reading.
3. It means, most years at least, you should not plan to see me in November.
4. It means I'm scared of clowns.
5. It means I get excited when I pass a 1958 red and white Plymouth Fury.
6. It means books with Stephen Kings signature inside are really important to the rotation of the planet.
7. It means I have a love/hate relationship with specialty publishers.
8. It means I have seen a lot of really good movies. But most of them are about prison.
9. It means I have seen quite a few really bad movies. In fact, it means I've seen more bad movies than good.
10. It means I own multiple copies of the same book.
11. It means I imagine terrible things that could come from ordinary objects.
12. It means people assume some things about me that are not totally true because I read Stephen King, and they assume some things about him that are not totally true.
13. It means I can totally disagree with someone politically and still read their books and admire their art.
14. It means I wonder why bookstores bother to sell other authors.
15. It means I cringe a little when you hear the name Mick Garris.
16. It means I own some strange collectables -- like a blue matchbox Christine -- that you wouldn't otherwise.
17. It means I often quickly shut the CD off when my kids get in the car because -- well, there's THOSE words I don't want them picking up.
18. It means feeling both overjoyed and a little burdened when you hear a new novel is over a thousand pages. "YES! I get to read all that!" and, "Oh man, I've got to read all of that."
19. It means I've read both versions of the Stand multiple times. And if you're a Stephen King fan, you do know what "both versions" means.
20. It means I'm happy when I find books by Bev Vincent, Stephen Spignesi, George Beahm.
21. It means I own a cellphone, but I'm suspicious it already turned me into a zombie.
22. It means I have pretty strong opinions about which novels are the best -- and I'm right, you're wrong. That's how it is.
23. It means I wish I owned The Stand leather bound edition, but I'm not sure why, because no one would be allowed to touch it.
24. It means I can spot a Stephen King reference in movies and television pretty quickly.
25. It means that I have at least tried to read Insomnia.
26. It means I'd like to read Dean Koontz, but am afraid I'll get really interested and then not have time to read Stephen King. This is a problem. And then there's Mccammon, and Grisham and Follett.
what does it really mean? It means I've read a lot of good books.
You're turn.
What does being a King fan mean to me? We;;, something a lot less tangible, mainly concerned with reading habits.
ReplyDeleteIt means I'm able to connect the dots between King a various authors, say from King to Hawthorne, from Hawthorne to Dickens, from Dickens to Tolkien, and from Tolkien to Steinbeck. That sort of thing (whatever that is).
It means whenever I crack a spine on his books, it's always King's voice I hear narrating the action (though not always the characters, who have their own voices, some of them famous actors and actresses).
I'm not sure, but he might have helped spur my interest in vintage classic rock from 50s - 70s.
It means I can tell when stories in book (not just King's) are "hitting their stride" and when they are "falling flat".
It means reading his books have broadened my horizons and opened my up to a lot of classical literature.
It means I know his two greatest books are It, followed by The Shining, while all the rest are on a more or less equal footing (and Doctor Sleep doesn't count).
ChrisC
I spend several hours a week working on a blog which is my attempt to answer the question of what it means to be a Stephen King fan. Or, at least, what it means to be THIS Stephen King fan. ;)
ReplyDeleteBut I feel certain my own list would contain at least half of these.
Love your list, David. It's kinda eerie how closely it also applies to me, point for point, with some minor exceptions. First, I'd like to say that I began reading Stephen King around age fifteen, and it was Salem's Lot I picked up first, on account of the TV movie. This would've been 1980. At the time, Firestarter had yet to come out; The Dead Zone was the latest King novel, not even on my radar.
ReplyDeleteThe TV movie of SALEM'S LOT starring James Mason, David Soul, and Geoffrey Lewis has been etched into my brain as the scariest TV movie ever made. (For theatrical releases, that honor goes out to either The Exorcist or Alien: take your pick.)
Of course the early King books will always remain the scariest, for me. I've always tried to wrap my head around why that is, exactly. Was it because I was in my mid- to late teens, and being that much more innocent of the ways of the world--eminently susceptible to the suggestive horrors lurking within King's pages? Or did Stephen King just have the knack to scare anyone's pants off, regardless of how old or wise they were?
If we give this idea enough thought, we should be able to see that the answer might be different for everyone. I'm sure there are plenty of twenty-somethings and even thirty or forty-somethings who've lived as sheltered lives as any teenager's developing mindset.
I think I picked up Carrie to read next. I liked it okay, but not anywhere as much as I loved Salem's Lot. So then I decided to read The Shining. In my mind, this is his definitive novel, for several reasons I can think of. First, it's clearly a postmodern homage to Edgar Allan Poe. However, rather than being derivative, it achieves its own dark glory, homing in on the American family, and further into alcoholism and the cycle of abuse. All of this set in the "spiritual battery" of the Overlook hotel; to this day, I consider The Shining as Big Steve's (that's what we used to call him up in Maine) Great American Novel.
The telling fact that the legendary Stanley Kubrick lensed the novel (much to Steve's disappointment, as we all know) into one of the most classic horror movies ever made, featuring one of the greatest acting performances in the field by Jack Nicholson, as far as I can tell was a truly lucky strike for King, since Kubrick remains to this day the most exalted director of cinema besides Hitchcock. I'm relatively certain most of us love the Kubrick version of The Shining, even if King is upset by all the liberties taken in the movie adaptation. Kubrick made that novel his own, and the visionary methods by which he filmed The Overlook are what I consider utterly classic cinema staple even after all these years. As King is so fond of saying, "the books are still on the shelves, undamaged." Which is why I could never figure out why he's so miffed about Kubrick having taken liberties to produce what is obviously a damned masterpiece.
I tried to read Insomnia back when it came out, too. Never finished it. I've still got my Ziesing 1st (unsigned: I have yet to own a single signed SK book) slipcased gift edition of it. So check this out. Now that I'm finally "hitting my stride" as it were--180 pages deep into Doctor Sleep--my determination to get through this sequel is at last being rewarded. (cont.)
See, I had trouble getting into Doctor Sleep, at first. I'd get maybe 30, 35 pages in and find myself sort of bogged down trying to keep up with the different characters, although I did appreciate the descriptiveness of certain passages. It's just that I don't find much free time to read, these days.
ReplyDeleteNow that I'm a Dad (which means I finally have a valid excuse for procrastinating) I haven't had as much time to devote myself to extended bouts of reading. Which means that a week would go by before I picked Doctor Sleep back up, resumed reading around page 35 or so, and found myself necessarily having to start over from the beginning, again. I was having a little trouble keeping the characters straight, mainly for the aforementioned reasons and not through any fault of King's, as it turns out.
Because when my Scribner 1st edition in the Cemetery Dance slipcase finally arrived (see, I had been reading the deluxe, illustrated limited edition I preordered from Cemetery Dance, as it arrived in my mailbox first), I gladly tossed aside the far-too-weighty deluxe tome (besides, every page has STEPHEN KING stamped in red across the top, as well as giant page numbers stamped akimbo in the side margins; despite being an undoubtedly beautiful book, I found these sorts of typesetting choices eminently distracting from becoming lost in the narrative) and I once again started from the beginning, only this time, reading the mass distributed Scribner hardcover that most people bought. First, let me say something about the cover art, here. The depiction of Rose the Hat languidly inhaling Steam which forms the Author and Title of the book, is nothing short of perfection. Turn the book over and glance at the back cover--and see the red-filmed scene of the bathtub with REDRUM in the mirror...perfect.
Inside, there are zero illustrations (a relief, really) and the font chosen for the book's chapters is elegant and sinister; the text itself a bit smaller, and lo! and behold, I at last found myself *easing into the story as into a warm bath* and before too long, I slipped deeply beneath the covers and nestled into the narrative until past page one hundred I became lost in the story. Hallelujah.
It's because I kept repeating to myself: "Remember, Big Steve is the author who used to take *half the book prepping the mundane setting and characters*; it wasn't usually until *past the midway point* that things started to really get scary."
Point in fact, I recall when CELL hit bookshelves. As soon as I saw the dedication to George A. Romero, I snapped that puppy up like a kid in a candy store; rushed home, started reading it, and WOW, the action starts right off the bat!--practically on the first page--a completely different tactic from the man whose reputation was founded on writing "slow burners".
A couple of things about CELL. We all know this came post- From A Buick 8, that is to say; After the Accident. I loved reading CELL. My only complaint: the ending. I've been online for a helluva long time now, and during my sojourn here on the interwebs, I've come to know a small legion of folks, primarily associated through our love of fantasy and horror. I've noticed a few out there have pointed out that King "isn't that great with endings." Well I disagree.
Because out of all the SK books I've read (and I have yet to catch up and read them all), only two come to mind that have shortchanging me with the ending: IT and CELL. (cont.)
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI barely even tried reading UNDER THE DOME. Speaking of magnificent Scribner covers--that one's
ReplyDeletea doozy. Yeah, I sprang for the deluxe Scribner edition, which comes with the playing cards. But check this--I didn't even make it to page ten. Think about that, though: the book is 1123 pages long, or so. I made it *less than half of one percent of the way through*, and considering that it usually takes almost half the book before becoming fully invested...do the math: yeah, I should probably give UNDER THE DOME another chance, don't you think? ~;^)
I did manage to read every last page of 11/22/63. That story really gripped me; I think it's one of
King's best novels, even better than LISEY'S STORY, which I also read and loved. I have the slipcased first edition of FULL DARK, NO STARS published by Cemetery Dance; it is a gorgeous book, and I read the first novella, 1922. Here's what I have to say about that one. 1922 is where I began realizing, we are dealing with a classic and serious American author, here. 1922 is gripping from beginning to end, and furthermore, so steeply rooted in the history of our hard American ground, as to elevate itself beyond the mere pulp of its authors origins, and transcend his ouevre to produce what I consider a small bonafide American classic. It is tragic and creepy as all get out. In fact, I was so blown away by 1922 that I had to brake to a full stop, and put the collection down. I have yet to read Big Driver, Fair Extension, or A Good Marriage. Looking forward to reading those chestnuts sometime in the future.
So back to Doctor Sleep. I'm still only about a third of the way into it right now, but as far as I can tell,
The True Knot is one of King's greatest and most sinister creations of all time. Rose the Hat is a solid
character. The time The Master takes developing the characters, from Abra Stone to the Knot heading toward the Twin Towers for a certain date with history, to our man Dan Torrance's gradual dealing with his alcoholism and the shining, is commendable. That is the formula for getting us to care; and it works. I'm perfectly aware that Doctor Sleep may eventually "lose its steam" so to speak, or fall off track from keeping me glued to the pages; or (may the Dark Gods forbid) segue into a lousy ending.
Sure...all these things are possible. But I gotta say it. Stephen King's back on track and picking up Steam...loads of it. Right now, in 2014, I'm lost in the truly dark and disturbed world of the sequel to
The Shining. And although I question whether or not Mr. Mercedes will deliver the goods yet again, I
have zero doubt that REVIVAL will hit the Jackpot.
In conclusion, thanks for your blog, David. I signed up to Follow it quite recently; I have a lot of
catching up to do. What It Means To Be A Stephen King Fan for me, is I'll knock off a seventeen-hundred word comment on a blog like this without even blinking. Thanks for giving me
the opportunity to rant, David. Feel free to peruse my extensive Blogdom.
~Shaun Lawton aka "Thornswrath"
Hey, THANKS for the great comments. Enjoyed it all. Give Dome another chance, it's good stuff. I haven't finished Doc Sleep yet, either.
DeleteYou got it - I certainly will give DOME the chance it undoubtedly deserves. Godspeed!
DeleteUh, what happens in November? What does this Stephen King fan not know???
ReplyDeleteMichele, it seems every November King releases a new book. Usually around the 10th. Anyway, current habits have been that his big book comes out in November.
ReplyDelete"It means people assume some things about me that are not totally true because I read Stephen King, and they assume some things about him that are not totally true."
ReplyDeleteDo I ever know what you mean. Some people I know assume that Stephen King writes nothing but horror, and not just horror but particularly gross, explicit horror, full of gore and guts, graphic rape depictions and a bunch of other stuff King just doesn't do.
They just assume it must be true because stephen-king-equals-horror and because he's so popular, it must be gross stuff.