10 Best Stephen King Books

Rolling Stone did a poll, asking what the 10 best Stephen King books are.  The answers -- a little ridiculous.  (www.rollingstone.com) I am glad they allowed novella's to count.

Here is the Rolling Stone line up:
10. Wizard and Glass. (REALLY?!)
9. Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.
8. The Dead Zone
7. The Green Mile
6. 11.22.63
5. Misery
4. Salem's Lot
3. The Shining
2. IT
1. The Stand

I wonder if Shawshank might be getting a huge boost from movie memory.  I read the novella recently, and was struck by how much butter the movie is.  In fact, the same is true of The Body, which was turned into Stand By Me.  I liked the movie better.  In turn, I wonder if books like Bag of Bones might be overlooked because of the poor performance of the mini-series. Notice all the books selected were adapted nicely to screen, with the exception of Wizard and Glass.  In fact, The Deadzone and The Shining have both been given multiple treat

And I'm glad a Dark Tower novel made the list. . . but Wizard and Glass?  My favorites of that series were Drawing of the Three and Wolves of the Calla.

What would a correct list look like?  Glad you asked. . .
10. Christine
9. The Green Mile
8. Joyland
7. Salem's Lot
6. Dolores Claiborne
5. 11.22.63
4. The Shining
3. Pet Sematary
2. IT
1. The Stand

So I chose a lot of books people tell me they don't like.  (Pet Sematary, Christine, Joyland, Dolores Claiborne.)  But in many ways, these novels are much stronger than they are given credit for.  Dolores Claiborne in particular is an incredibly intense novel that is driven by both character and plot.  In fact, there are two plots moving through the book, and a connection point to Gerald's Game.  Frankly, it's brilliant.  Why is it so easily overlooked?  Because it was written in a period that was experimental for King.  So books like Needful Things, Gerald's Game, Rose Madder were not as strong and to some degree, I think, caused Dolores Claiborne to be lumped in with them.

Also, Pet Sematary is a dark, terrible novel.  (Expect a similar darkness to loom over Revival.) But it is also a strong novel.  In fact, I think it is better -- even scarier in theme --than The Shining.  Think about it, the guy digs up his dead sons body!  King takes you there!  The Shining is an exceedingly closed in novel; at points it's a tough read.  The Shining has been romanticized, so people give it a little more grace than they might otherwise. The thing is, The Shining is very closed in; almost claustrophobic.  In fact, note what reviews at the time said compared to modern readers.  The story is almost solely carried by three characters trapped in a hotel.  It is slow going for a few pages.  Yeah, when it starts rolling, it's good stuff!

I also think Joyland is too easily skipped over. What's great about that book is not the plot;  the mystery is secondary.  What makes the novel really strong is King's ability to take us back to 1973 and to the feelings of first love.  It's one thing to read a book King wrote in the 70's and think, "wow, this feels like the seventies alright."  Try reading the original edition of The Stand.  In fact, the revised version of The Stand still has flavors of the seventies.  But with Joyland, King wasn't writing during the period; but he perfectly recreated it. He did something similar with both IT and 11.22.63.

Does Christine deserve to be on a Stephen King top ten list?  I think so.  Not only is the novel a good one, but it represents the young Stephen King anxious to just drive the horror home.  It's a bloodbath; and unapologetically so.  The reader can feel King's joy.  Cars, rock and roll, and girls -- oh, and a ghost. It's not "deep" -- but it is a delight for the horror fan. King got himself into a hole when he wrote his narrator into a hospital bed.  So mid novel, he switched to third person!  I'm surprised he didn't rewrite the novel to stay with one perspective; but ultimately it is fine with me.  Who really cares if a writers switches between narrative styles?  Only my English teacher; and she's dead.

Don't you hate top ten lists?  Me too.  Good,  now give  me yours. . . 

Far more fun than a 10 Best list is a 10 worst list. And the funny thing is -- I still read and enjoy several of the books off this list.  They're just not King at the top of his game.  But, unable to come up with TEN -- here's five.
5. Gerald's Game
4. Insomnia.
3. The Tommyknockers
2. Dreamcatcher
1. Cell

12 Ways Reading Stephen King Will Traumatize You

Happy Friday the 12th.  Reading Stephen King can be a lot of fun.  It can also be traumatic.  Psychologically dangerous.  Here are 12 ways reading Stephen King will traumatize you.

1. Clowns aren't fun anymore.

2. You want to give a wide birth to the weird girl at the prom.  Who knows what strange powers she might have.

3. Crows seem ominous.  And rats aren't just nasty -- they're evil!  Dare I mention spiders?  SPIDERS!

4. You avoid mom & pop stores because they might have just what you need; and be run by the devil.

5. It's not so much fun to be alone in a hotel hallway, because you are terrified two dead girls will appear and invite you to come play with them.  The hotel bathtub is another place Mr. King ruined.  Who knows when a dead body will float to the surface.

6. On foggy days, you wonder if maybe it's actually a dark mist headed your way and think that any moment monsters with tentacles will be attacking.

7. You want to ask the waitress at your local cafe if you can check the pantry, secretly wondering if there is a time portal.

8. The law, and your mom, say you have to respect authority.  But when you're traveling long stretches of desert road, you aren't sure you would actually stop for a sheriff.

9. People in your life remind you of people from a Stephen King novel.  I swear I know Mother Abagail and am pretty sure I've met Annie Wilkes.  Also had some contact with Big Jim, Jack Torrance and unfortunately Mother Carmody.

10. There's no way you would own a Saint Bernard.  Or dog sit one.  You also would not name your cat Church.

11. You can't enjoy a movie based on a Stephen King book, but keep irritating your friends and family by saying, "really, the book was better," and, "the book was a lot scarier," and "I can't believe they messed that up."

12. A 1958 Plymouth Fury is a cool car -- from a distance.  A long distance.

And. . . extra credit: In awkward or unnerving situations, you think, "Oh man, this is the way a Stephen King book starts."

Okay, give me your list

Shawshank is epic

I was just looking at IMBD's list of 250 greatest movies.  #2 is Godfather.  #10 is Schindler's List.  #12 is the Empire Strikes back.

So what's #1 ?  The Shawshank Redemption.

Now I like Shawshank a lot.  But, I like the Green Mile better.

www.imdb.com/chart

For context, The Lord of the Rings is #17.  And the original Star Wars is clear down at #20.  Yikes.

The formula for calculating the Top Rated 250 Titles gives a true Bayesian estimate:

weighted rating (WR) = (v ÷ (v+m)) × R + (m ÷ (v+m)) × C

Where:

• R = average for the movie (mean) = (Rating)
• v = number of votes for the movie = (votes)
• m = minimum votes required to be listed in the Top 250 (currently 25000)
• C = the mean vote across the whole report (currently 7.0)

REVIVAL is swinging home runs

Revival is out and doing great!  In fact, seattletimes.com has listed the top 10 bestseller -- and Revival is leading the pack.

Hardcover fiction

1. Revival, Stephen King

2. Gray Mountain, John Grisham

3. Flesh and Blood, Patricia Cornwell

4. The Burning Room, Michael Connelly

5. Havana Storm, Clive Cussler

6. Prince Lestat, Anne Rice

7. Leaving Time, Jodi Picoult

8. Blue Labyrinth, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

9. Pegasus, Danielle Steel

10. The World of Ice & Fire, George R.R. Martin

THE STEPHEN KING A to Z CHALLENGE

Wow, this is quite an endeavor!  To celebrate the release of Revival, Rolling Stone has posted a "Stephen King A-Z" article.  (rollingstone.com)

Now, in my opinion -- the list could be a little more KINGLY.  (X-Files ?)  The article states it is, "26 places, faces, and nightmares that rule King's kingdom."

(By the way, the Rolling Stones is an ARTICLE, not just a list.  So check it out.)

Let's make it a challenge.

ROLLING STONE:                
A: Annie Wilkes

B: Bachman, Richard     

C: Captain Trips           

D: Derry                              

E: Eddie Dean                       

F: Flagg, Randall                   

G: Gerald's Game                     

H: Hearts in Atlantis                  

I: It                                             

J: JFK                                        

K: Kids                                      

L: Lisey's Story                          

M: Mr. Mercedes                     

N: Night Shift                           

O: Overlook Hotel                      

P: Pet Sematary                           

Q: Queen Laura DeLoessian      

R: Riding the Bullet                    

S: Storm of the Century             

T: The Tommyknockers            

U: Under the Dome                    

V: Vampires                               

W: White, Carrie                       

X: X-Files, The                          

Y: Yankees, New York              

Z: Zihuatanejo                            

TALK STEPHEN KING:

A: A Face Among The Masters 

B: Bag of Bones

C: Castle Rock

D: Derry

E: Everything's Eventual

F: Four Past Midnight

G: Golden Years

H:Haven

I: In the Tall Grass

J; Joe Hill

K: Kingdom Hospital

L: Low Men In Yellow Coats 

M: Maine

N: Nineteen

O: Old Dude's Ticker

P: Poems

Q: Quizzes

R: Rock Bottom Remainders

S: The Stand

T: Telekinesis

U: Under the Dome

V: Very best of new horror

W: Willa 

X: X-Files (leave me alone.  You do it.)

Y: You Can't Kill Stephen King

Z: Zenith Rising

Alright fellow gunslingers, your turn --

CHRISTINE among MSN's 20 best movie cars

MSN has an article titled, "Movie cars: 20 best of all time." (msn.com)

OF COURSE -- Christine has to make that list!

Along with the leading man or woman, sometimes a car becomes a co-star in a certain movie — or even eclipses a film's animate characters. After all, can anyone name an actor from the cult horror classic "Christine"?

Christine comes in at #12 with this note:

Based on Stephen King's novel about an evil hunk of automotive metal, the 1983 horror classic "Christine" featured a red and white 1958 Plymouth Fury as its title character. A sentient but possessed car that could mysteriously repair herself, Christine could also communicate her murderous intentions. Although there were some human actors in the movie, they've long been forgotten. Who could upstage an evil 1950s land yacht with huge tail fins?

The list includes:
 1962 Volkswagen Beetle, ‘The Love Bug’
1981 DeLorean DMC-12, ‘Back to the Future’
1961 Ferrari 250 GT California, ‘Ferris Bueller's Day Off’
1981 Porsche 928, ‘Risky Business’
1983 Wagon Queen Family Truckster, ‘National Lampoon's Vacation’ (haha!)
1977 Pontiac Trans Am Special Edition, ‘Smokey and the Bandit’
1974 Dodge Monaco, ‘The Blues Brothers’
1941 Lincoln Continental, ‘The Godfather’
2008 Audi R8, ‘Iron Man’
1970 Porsche 917K, ‘Le Mans’  (never saw it)
1958 Plymouth Fury, ‘Christine’
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’
1949 Mercury Eight, ‘Rebel Without a Cause’
1959 Cadillac Ecto-1, ‘Ghostbusters’ (that car was great!)
1963 Aston Martin DB5, ‘Goldfinger’
1968 Ford Mustang GT, ‘Bullitt’
1932 Ford Coupe, ‘American Graffiti’
1973 Ford XB Falcon GT351, ‘Mad Max’
1980 Lamborghini Countach LP 400S, ‘The Cannonball Run’
1970 Dodge Charger, ‘The Fast and the Furious’

what about 
1948 Fruehauf Tank Trailer, DUEL.  (Steven Spielberg)

Capacity:  7000 Gallons
Length:  33 Feet Overall Length
Number of Product Compartments:  5
Construction:  Steel
Suspension:  Page & Page 60/40 spring suspension

(You can buy it at www.stlouisdumptrucks.com0

Stephen King's Seven Scariest Cars, Trucks & Trains

Steve Levenstein posted an article at inventorspot.com titled, "Stephen King's Seven scariest cars, Trucks and Trains."

Here's the list, but check out the article:
Green Goblin Truck from Maximum Overdrive
George Stark's 1966 Olds Toronado
From A Buick 8's Buick 8
Pet Sematary's ORINCO Peterbilt Truck (OH YEAH!)
Cujo vs 1978 Ford Pinto
Blaine the Mono (Sorry, Blaine didn't scare me)
Christine: 1958 Plymouth Fury (yep!)

List of Good Movies Ruined By Bad Endings

Andrew Dyce posted an article at screenrant.com titled, "10 Good Movies Ruined By Bad Endings."

The List:
10. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
9. The Ninth Gate (1999)
8. Signs (2002) (HEY!  I liked that ending!)
7. The Devil’s Advocate (1997)
6. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
5. The Wolverine (2013)
4. High Tension (2003)
3. I Am Legend (2007)
2. Sunshine (2007)
1. Superman (1978)

Why did this list catch my attention?  Because the yahoo link had an image of The Mist.  So where's the Mist on this list?

Buzzfeed: 13 Ordinary Things Stephen King Made Scary

buzzfeed.com has a fun article titled, "13 ordinary things Stephen King made scary."  Check out the website for the text.

 1. Cell Phones

2. Home Gyms

3. Your Car

4. Reality TV

5. Beer

6. Hotel Rooms

7. Trains

8. The Garage

9. Sewer Drains

10. Toy Monkeys

11. Sneakers

12. Electric Knives

13. Sinks

Vacation Under The Dome

CBS has a cool list titled, "12 Best Vacation Ever!" Destinations" (www.cbs.com)  

1. Hawaii, U.S.A.

2. Vence, France

3. London, England

4. Las Vegas, NV

5. The Dome

. . . WAIT A MINUTE! The Dome?  CBS' blog post reads, "So it might be a little hard to get inside the dome, but once you're there it's sure to be exciting! Britt Robertson, Colin Ford and Mackenzie Lintz star in Under The Dome, don't miss the season 2 premiere Monday, June 30 at 10/9c on CBS!"

Best and Worst Stephen King Movies

My choices:
I'm writing my list BEFORE watching the television segment.  This is not really a ranking, just a list.

BEST:
1. The Green Mile
2. Stand By Me
3. Carrie (DePalma)
4. Salem's Lot (mini-series)
5. Cujo
6. The Dead Zone
7. The Shawshank Redemption
8. Pet Sematary
9. Christine
10. Misery
11. The Shining (Kubrick)
12. The Dark Half
13. Creepshow
14. IT, episode 1 (mini-series)
15. The Stand (min-series)
16. Silver Bullet (mini-series)
17. The Night Flier
18. The Shining (mini-series)

WORST:
1. Sleepwalkers
2. Children of the Corn.  (all of them.  ALL)
3. The Lawnmower Man
4. Maximum Overdrive
5. Graveyard Shift
6. IT, episode 2 (mini-series)
7. Cat's Eye
8. The Running Man
9. Needful things.
10. The Mangler
11. Desperation (I so wanted it to work)

Your turn. . . 

Stephen King Books That Make Great Bedtime Reading

I know some of you will say "all of them."  But which Stephen King books are actually best to curl up with late at night?  Are there certain books you prefer to read before bed?

My list:
1. Books ABOUT Stephen King.  It's true.  I'm more likely to read books that discuss King's books than I am to actually read a Stephen King book.

2. Short books.  I'm not very daring right before I fall asleep.  So novella's and short stories fall nicely into this category.  Only -- I have a confession.  Don't hate me, okay?  I'm not really a short story guy.  It's an odd relationship.  Some of them are great, but it's difficult to invest time, knowing the relationship won't last.  Novella's are just perfect, though.  Satisfying, without requiring a lot of commitment.

The Mist, The Langoliers, 1922, A Good Marriage, Blockade Billy are a few of my favorites.

3. Books I just can't part with.  I read The Stand day and night because I just couldn't stop.

4. Booklets and paperbacks.  Those little parts of the Green Mile were great bedtime reading.

So what Stephen King books do you prefer before falling asleep?

P.S., I know some of you want that bed.

The Worst Hotels In Movie History

What hotel do you not want to check into?  You probably have a few on your list based on personal experience.   Tom Szaroleta at The Florida Times Union (jacksonville.com) has an interesting short list of "The worst hotels in movies, television and literature."

Of course, pictured in the article is none less than the famous Stanley Hotel, featured in Stephen King's novel The Shining.  In the novel, the Stanley Hotel became the Overlook hotel.

Szaroleta's list includes:

• Bates Motel (from the 1960 film “Psycho”)
• Hotel California (from the 1977 Eagles song, “Hotel California”)
•  The Overlook (from the 1977 Stephen King novel “The Shining” and the 1980 movie of the same name)
• Heartbreak Hotel (from the 1956 Elvis Presley song, “Heartbreak Hotel”)
•  The Pennsylvanian (from the 1993 film “Groundhog Day”)
• Motel Hello (from the 1980 film “Motel Hell”)

See (jacksonville.com) for the commentary that goes with the list.

and I nominated:

• The Dolphin Hotel (from the 2007 movie, 1408)  I promise, it's about the worst room you could ever enter.  Ever.  How did it not make the list?  Because it was waiting for Talk Stephen King -- that's how.

Okay, your turn.  Worst hotels from literature, movies or songs.

How Carrie Changed Horror

 www.horror-movies.ca has an interesting article titled, "10 Ways Stephen King’s Carrie Changed Horror."
1. Made horror literature viable again

Gwendolyn Kiste notes,"along came an English teacher from Maine to shake everything up. Carrie became his first foray into a genre with which he’s now practically synonymous. Today, he’s still one of the most recognizable names in popular fiction, and that’s not even specifying horror. Love him or hate him, he’s changed our world forever."

2. Proved book-to-film adaptations can be great

3. Transformed adolescent milestones into horror tropes

4. Made a female character a strong protagonist  (Never mind that Star Wars and Princess Lea came out about the same time)

5. Made a female character a strong antagonist

6. Dealt with bullying before it was a hot button issue (Well, there was Rebel without a Cause)

7. Gave us every single Stephen King book & film that’s come since

Kristie writes, " without Carrie, we might never have visited the Overlook Hotel in The Shining, learned to be careful where you bury your pets (and children) in Pet Sematary, or worried that undead kids might be floating outside our window a la Salem’s Lot."

Now here's a point I disagree with.  The heart of Kriste's argument is that because Carrie did so well, it freed King to go on writing bestsellers.  And I hear this sentiment quite a lot.  But I take issue with it.  If Carrie hadn't been King's break out novel, then Salem's Lot would have; and if not the Lot, then the Stand, or Cuo.  It's not that the single story of Carrie was good; it's that he consistently turns out good stories.  So he was bound to rush onto the American landscape.  In this case, it's not the story --but he who tells it.

8. Got horror nominated for major Oscars.

9. Showed us (more than once) that remakes are no good

10. Reminds us why we’re so happy high school’s over (I couldn't agree more!)

10 Things Not To Say To A Stephen King Fan

1. I love Stephen King, too.  I don’t read the books, but I’ve seen the movies.  (Great.)

2. Doesn't he just write about monsters? (Sure, that’s what he does.)

3. Have you read the one about the clown?  (Yeah, we have.)

4. I don’t read his stuff.  I read Insomnia once but didn't finish.  (Neither did most of us)

5. I prefer movies like The Green Mile to all that Stephen King stuff.

6. Why can’t I read your copy of The Shining?  (Because it’s a first edition)

7. Do you only read Stephen King?  (Uh-huh.  Made it clear through college and seminary reading nothing but Stephen King.)

8. He’s too scary for me.  I read that book – what’s it called? – about the girl with the powers. (Carrie.  He doesn't just write scary stuff.)

9. I don’t need to read Under The Dome, I saw it on TV.

10. Stephen King didn't write Stand By Me.  (Yes he did)
Nope, I checked his book list, it’s not there.  (That's because it's not called Stand By Me.)
See, I told you he didn't write it.  (It's called the Body.)
Hey, that's not on his book list, either.  (It's in another book called Different Seasons)
Yeah, I don't think you're thinking of the same movie.  I'm talking about Stand By Me, about a bunch of kids.  (Okay, whatever.)

Finally . . . I'm not a Stephen King fan, I'm a constant reader.  What's the difference?  I'm interested in what he writes, not chasing around after him.

Young People Are Still Tuned In To Carrie

Altadna Library gave teens 11-17 the opportunity to give a Teen Choice award to their favorite novel.  The award went the 2011 novel Divergent, by Veronica Roth.  The teens gave honorable mention to Black Cat, 2012; Inheritance, 2011; and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, 2007.  And then – right in the middle of those books was Carrie, 1974.

So the earliest book before Carrie was 2007 -- and then they choose a book 33 years its junior.  Why?  Because Carrie continues to connect with readers.

Why do you think Carrie has such lasting power?

(altadena.patch.com)

Top 10 Stephen King Adaptations

3 Overlooked King Classics

Yep, Carrie's good.  And it connects.  In fact, the book is so good it's produced a play, 2 movies, a television pilot, a musical and then a musical again.

Could it be  that with so much focus on Carrie, there are some great Stephen King books that are being overlooked?  Of  course!  Here are a few great STephen King books that just havent' gotten their fair share of press:

Pet Sematary.  It may not work in as many mediums as Carrie, but it deserves at least an audio version!  It is a little hard to picture Pet Sematary the Musical.  However, there was a Pet Sematary 2.  Yes, there's a reason you probably haven't thought about it in a long time.  However, the book is dark, wonderfully written, intense and completely engrossing.

Dreamcatcher.  Frustrating at points, slow, long -- but still AWESOME! this book is quite underrated by fans.  That might be because we are more familiar with the movie version than the book.  The early portions of the novel remind me of IT in so many great way.  The novel had twists, turns that I really didn't see  coming.  Great stuff, and it was written by hand by the King of horror himself.  King originally titled this book, "Cancer" but his wife convinced him that was not a good idea.  I also love the early scenes at the cabin.  Read it -- you'll like it.

Needful Things.  I'm passionate about this book.  I think it's a strong novel; a really strong novel.  King weaves the stories of townspeople together masterfully.  What didn't work in Tommyknockers - a big cast -- worked very nicely in this novel. The character development is particularly strong in Needful Things.  From Polly's arthritis to the Alan's shadow puppets, these are people we connect with.  Not to mention, the novel has one of the freakiest scenes I've encountered.  Two women go at it with knives -- to their deaths -- in the middle of the street in broad daylight.  It's the end of Castle Rock, and a novel that totally sold me on Stephen King.

5 King Books That Would Be Great TV

Here's a fun post from Brendon McCullin at Rock102online discussing 5 Stephen King books that would work as great television shows.  McCullin writes, "Television could use some more Stephen King."  Indeed!  

McCullin's list:

The Dark Tower
The Regulators
The Running Man
The Ten O'Clock People
Apt Pupil

Check out his reasoning.  What I like about his list is that it is so different.

My list:

• The Mist.  Who needs an end?  Give us a season of battles between humans and the monsters coming from the mist!
• The Regulators.  McCullin convinced me.  Seriously!
• The Stand.
• Fire Starter.  What happened to her?  
• IT

Extra credit: Carrie.  See, just let every director  on earth have their shot at this thing.  A new one every week.

Give me your list.

Classic Movies That Still Make You Jump

Picture credit: pigswithcrayons.com

Cheat Sheet posted 6 Classic Movies That Still Make Jump.  What's interesting about the list?  It's headed up by King's 1984 film, Children of the Corn.  And, what's more, Pet Sematary also made the list.  Now this is pretty cool, since there are only 6 films listed.  For King films to find their way to a list like that twice is pretty awesome.

Athea Mitchell writes about one of my favorites, Pet Sematary,

What do you get when you combine Cujo and The Omen? You guessed it — Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, which is misspelled, for those who are wondering, to imitate the mistakes of a child. It’s very much the type of horror movie that has you shouting at the characters, “Don’t do that!” as they proceed to make every possible wrong move. Don’t play with the powers of life and death, don’t bring your cat back from the dead, don’t bring your son back, and don’t get stabbed with that scalpel. The list goes on. 

Ultimately, feeling that helpless — combined with the corruption of everyone’s childhood memories of dead cats, dogs, birds, and turtles — leads viewers to a pretty fantastic horror experience. The Creeds move into a new house with a dangerous expressway going right by it. You’re already frustrated, right? Don’t let your pet so close to the road! Cue strange neighbor who shows Mr. Creed where to bury the family cat so that extra Fancy Feast doesn’t go to waste. Eventually, the power of this odd little cemetery gets out of hand, and the resurrected cat — who is of course evil — is just the start.

So what movies still pack a punch?  Mitchell suggests these:
1. Children of the Corn, 1984
2. Rosemary's Baby, 1968
3. The Omen, 1976
4. The Exorcist, 1973
5. Pet Sematary, 1989
6. What Ever Happened To Baby Jane, 1962

The full article is HERE.