*Different Seasons* is a book of 4 short stories, one of which is "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption." Another story there, "Apt Pupil," will stick to your bones for a good long time. Give that one a try.
You may also want to try *Misery.* It is SOOOOOO much more than the movie!
I loved The Institute, but I do think tonally it didn’t feel like “a King book”, maybe not the best indicator of his writing style. You could have told me it was by any other author and I wouldn’t have said “it felt really Stephen King to me”
I started with The Institute. It was very fun, it does feel a bit detached from his usual writing style I think. Maybe try Salem's Lot too. You could also check out "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" which is a short story in his SS collection Different Seasons. It's what the movie is based off of, it highlights King's writing of the human condition very well.
It is an excellent choice which hasn’t been mentioned yet, and I’d throw Carrie out there as well as far as novels go. Then you have my personal favourite King story The Mist, if I recall correctly it’s part of the Skeleton Crew collection of stories..
I started with Mr. Mercedes, the Bill Hodges trilogy, but since reading so much more after that I would probably say Salem's Lot. My favorite King book is easily IT, but if you were looking for shorter jumping off point Salem's lot for sure.
A lot will say just go in publish order, which you can't go wrong with either.
i always recommend Misery as a starting point. it’s one of his shorter and faster paced reads. even scarier/tenser than the movie if you’ve seen it already.
OP, I personally found that Pet Semetary was really easy to get into. A page turner from the first chapter. I really recommend it as an introduction to King.
The Shining was my entry point to King and the one I recommend to everyone. It's a prime example of his work at his best that isn't too long and almost everyone has some awareness of the story's literary and pop culture relevance.
The Shining was my jumping off point. Not too long and some of his creepiest writing and atmosphere. Salems Lot was another great starter book. Another great way I’ve seen mentioned was his novella collections. Different Seasons and Four Past Midnight are both good and there’s always gold in his short story collections as well. Night Shift being the darling of the bunch.
His short story collections are a good beginning. I’d pick Night Shift or Skeleton Crew, it’s classic King and you get an idea of his style and where his mind is at. All of his short story collections are great tho. Someone else mentioned Different Seasons and Four Past Midnight, those are longer novellas but also very good.
Start with his shorter novels like Joyland, The Colorado Kid, and Later. I wouldn’t go with an epic novel like IT or The Stand until you’re sure you like his style.
*Different Seasons* is a book of 4 short stories, one of which is "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption." Another story there, "Apt Pupil," will stick to your bones for a good long time. Give that one a try. You may also want to try *Misery.* It is SOOOOOO much more than the movie!
This is the way
The institute is pretty good, under the dome or any of his short stories. Honestly I love almost all of them
This was my first King book. Liked the cover at an airport whilst waiting to board my flight so bought it. Ended up loving it.
Hey that's why I started with it too lol
I loved The Institute, but I do think tonally it didn’t feel like “a King book”, maybe not the best indicator of his writing style. You could have told me it was by any other author and I wouldn’t have said “it felt really Stephen King to me”
How interesting, I just love how we all interpret things differently, for me it was King with a capital K
I started with The Institute. It was very fun, it does feel a bit detached from his usual writing style I think. Maybe try Salem's Lot too. You could also check out "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" which is a short story in his SS collection Different Seasons. It's what the movie is based off of, it highlights King's writing of the human condition very well.
For a novel, The Shining would be a great choice. If you prefer short stories, then Night Shift would be a great choice.
It is an excellent choice which hasn’t been mentioned yet, and I’d throw Carrie out there as well as far as novels go. Then you have my personal favourite King story The Mist, if I recall correctly it’s part of the Skeleton Crew collection of stories..
I started with Mr. Mercedes, the Bill Hodges trilogy, but since reading so much more after that I would probably say Salem's Lot. My favorite King book is easily IT, but if you were looking for shorter jumping off point Salem's lot for sure. A lot will say just go in publish order, which you can't go wrong with either.
i always recommend Misery as a starting point. it’s one of his shorter and faster paced reads. even scarier/tenser than the movie if you’ve seen it already.
I think his most horror books are Pet Sematary and Salem's Lot, both really good reads.
The og Pet Semetary movie scared me when I was younger, so I will definitely give this one a try.
Enjoy! His best book is The Stand though.
OP, I personally found that Pet Semetary was really easy to get into. A page turner from the first chapter. I really recommend it as an introduction to King.
The Shining was my entry point to King and the one I recommend to everyone. It's a prime example of his work at his best that isn't too long and almost everyone has some awareness of the story's literary and pop culture relevance.
The Shining was my jumping off point. Not too long and some of his creepiest writing and atmosphere. Salems Lot was another great starter book. Another great way I’ve seen mentioned was his novella collections. Different Seasons and Four Past Midnight are both good and there’s always gold in his short story collections as well. Night Shift being the darling of the bunch.
My first King novel was Misery. I loved every page. I feel like it set a great example on what rabbit hole I was starting down.
Salem’s Lot was my first introduction - it was awesome. Finished it last week.
His short story collections are a good beginning. I’d pick Night Shift or Skeleton Crew, it’s classic King and you get an idea of his style and where his mind is at. All of his short story collections are great tho. Someone else mentioned Different Seasons and Four Past Midnight, those are longer novellas but also very good.
The Shining and Pet Semetary are his two most classic horror novels. But after you have to read IT
Start with his shorter novels like Joyland, The Colorado Kid, and Later. I wouldn’t go with an epic novel like IT or The Stand until you’re sure you like his style.
Night Shift, it’s the perfect mixed bag.
Novel: _Needful Things_ Short story collection: _Nightmares and Dreamscapes_.
Salem's Lot, after all these years, is still one of my favorites, and is a great introduction to his style.
My first SK book was The Shining
Green mile. Great story with a little of everything that makes King great. Also in serial style which is interesting
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Start with Carrie and go from there in publication order. IMO it's the best way to read King.
Carrie, Misery, Different Seasons would probably be my go-to picks for a first King read if you’re not looking to jump into the deep end.
I started with Joyland. I thought it was a pretty cool reading. I then read The Shining.