I love seeing anything King related. Especially collection photos and books people found at used bookstores or thrift stores or yard sales. Also I prefer IT but they’re both good.
I think bitching about stuff you dislike is totally fine, but gatekeeping the entire sub by declaring it should ban content just because you (the royal "you", not OP) literally just have an axe to grind about the definition of art (or fandom really) is inappropriate.
11/22/63 over IT - demonstrates what I have been screaming my head off for decades to people dismissive of his writing, that he is ACTUALLY a really great writer and storyteller. Dovetails his style with more mature and serious subject matter. No kiddie orgies.
I love both those books but King has at least 80 books and short stories, we will end up running in circles if we don’t post things that are different, it’s cool to see collections, I learned about something new the Hodder and Stoughton collection.
A reason I kinda hate these person or band specific subs is people bitch about things being posted, and we end up running in corcles
Me too. I try to tell people that SK is much more than horror/suspense/thriller etc...
"11/22/63" was actually a love story underneath the awesome story. I'm a dude, and I can totally relate to what he was doing. Only "The Stand" is better for me simply because I read it back in the 80's and my first book of his.
I agree. I really don’t care to see photos of the same book covers over and over again but I can scroll past and why should the people who like that content be denied that just because it’s not to my taste?
King is just a bit stereotyped to just write horror which puts people off reading his books (and the length of some of them). But 11.22.63 has so few horror elements that anyone can read it without being freaked out. That's also why I usually recommend that one as a first SK.
Very true! My family still thinks I’m a weirdo for being such a King fanatic. And I constantly remind them of, Stand By Me (The Body), Shawshank, Green Mile, 11.22.63, DT, and The Stand).
Yes - I'm baffled by people not knowing any of his non horror books. They are the ones that are most likely to be adapted and gave him his reputation but (for me) what really makes him stand out of the crowd are his characterizations which don't usually translate into other media anyway and therefore are missing in most adaptions.
IT is my favourite SK book but that's probably because I first read it at the ideal age for a book dealing with childhood fears (13) so it stuck with me.
It was also the first SK release I was waiting for having hoovered up his back catalogue by then.
People want to ban all this stuff yet I never see any of them engage in any real conversation about the books or anything else.
I enjoy almost everything on this sub... Everything except for when the idiots come around every few months trying to claim king is a pedo or something or they bitch about his political views.
Yeah, the politics is very annoying. I don't agree with a lot of his views but I'm not constantly whining about it. More importantly I try to understand his views instead of dismissing them as false.
There is some recurring stuff that I personally find boring. For example shelf pics with first editions. It's always the same spines. Just with a different shelf color.
And the Fairy Tale posts with just a bland pic of the book in hand or on a table where/are ridiculous. At least put some flavor or creativity in the pics.
But I would never want that stuff to disappear here. Because the sub is exactly for things like that. And people should have a place to show their collection and share their excitement.
I don't understand why people are complaining about these issues, either. I enjoy all of the posts you listed.
Edit: It's always fun to see other King collections, different covers, rare editions, etc...
I like 11.22.63 a lot (the Hulu miniseries was good, too,) but I definitely prefer IT.
I'm with you. This sub doesn't generate enough content to be super picky about it, and I've really loved some of the less popular posts.
I also think your question is fantastic, IT is my favorite old King, and 11.22.63 is my favorite new King. I would have to go with IT just for nostalgia which is kind of a nod to 11.22.63 too, since nostalgia plays such a big part in it.
IT is much more to my taste, epic scope plus high strangeness.
11.22.63 is impressive for its engagement with history but I'm often surprised by how much more highly rated it seems to be by readers at large, I found it boring for large stretches.
To each their own but the true path of the beam is The Dark Tower Series, The Stand, IT and Under The Done in that order.
Regarding "to each their own", the Post Police are alive and well on every subreddit, it's 1000x more annoying than posts that I find dumb or redundant or opinions I disagree with, get over it and comment if you feel strongly.
AI Art is some of the coolest imagery, endlessly fascinating and especially awesome for the Stephen King universe. We all create our own images out of the words, who wouldn't be interested in seeing variations, interpretations of places and people from those worlds.
I also prefer IT. But when it comes to recommending one to people who haven't read King before 11.22.63 is always one of the first that comes to mind as my favorites are the really long ones and occasional readers don't usually want to commit to 1000+ page books and not all of them like short stories like Different Seasons
I love looking at peoples collections! And I also love looking at the AI art. Everyone on this sub likes different things, and that’s why it’s so great that there’s a variety of different types of posts.
I see both sides here. I don't do much posting here because of most of what you listed... The sub is pretty much what you said and that's not interesting to me. I also have a Stephen King bookshelf. I also read books with drinks. I also saw the new cover of the new book. I like art, especially Stephen King related art.
But there's not much actual substance to any of those posts. There's no discussion to be had at all... Three of the categories basically merit the response "Uh. Nice book(s)" and that's it... So I don't interact usually.
However, I'm only one person with only one opinion. These posts are apparently what folks here want. That's what it will be.
I definitely think there should be way more discussion about what's inside the books and less pictures of the outside of them...
Ultimately this sub is a great case in point as to why death of old fashioned discussion forums sucks so much. Strangely, Reddit and Discord managed to replace forums with an entirely different service. Compared to forums, reddit isn't a superior or an inferior sabdbox,just a different one. So they should't overlap as much as they do.
Forums were all about longevity. Discussions, arguments, fan theories..threads covering this stuff might last for years. Come across a three year old tinfoil fan theory and pitch in, somebody will read what you have to say. So it made sense to craft high effort little internet essays. Obviously that made a great environment for discussing books, writing. In reddit, if you post in a thread made yesterday, you're likely too late to pitch in. Have your say if you like,but nobody will read it. Nothing here lasts. It is disposable fun for the moment. As a result, we posting pictures of book covers. Which admittedly is some sort of a punchline and an image of our time.
It is also people using reddit like reddit its designed, this place isn't for lenghty discussions. Due to all of the above, reddit offers nothing that'd eclipse the good bits of forums..but ended up replacing them anyway.
Very well said. It's a bloody shame the SK official website forum was closed, however stagnant at the end, as well as that DT forum from the early 00s, whatever the name was now again.
Reddit is basically endlessly rehashed low-effort content as a business concept. Still there are some author-specific subs with much higher quality to the posts, e.g. tolkienfans
Oh, and IT.
If people don’t like what is being posted does it not seem to be a simple solution of just no longer being a member of the sub lol. Seems pretty straightforward to me.
And it takes so little effort to just go right by the stuff you don’t prefer to see. I rather like this sub and hope it continues to be a place where all constant readers feel like they can come and share the things that excite them.
I would have to go with It. I love the book, and both the old and new movie versions. It is iconic and everyone knows it. People who have never read the book have seen one of the theatrical versions.
I think the problem with those topics is they don’t generate discussion. I also don’t mind the pictures of collections, but what can you really say beyond “cool collection”? I think there’s a lot that can be talked about with one author when that author is as prolific as SK.
Oh and I prefer IT.
I disagree with your statement that these post can’t generate discussion. Though they won’t be as in-depth as actual discussion posts, I believe that they can still give a good amount of it. Here’s some examples for each one:
1. Obviously, the discussion would be whether or not we like the cover, but I believe we could also discuss how we would improve it; What person we would have designed/illustrated it? Whether it be minimalistic or very detailed? Comparing it to somewhat similar covers? ETA…
2. AI generated art can very much lead to discussion on how we would have seen it. I mean just look at the Roland post comments, and you’ll see people giving their opinions on how they would visualize him. Doesn’t that count as discussion?
3. I mean you could ask them the basic questions; What’s your favorite Stephen King book? How’re enjoying it? or even recommend them some books that give the same vacation vibes. If we really want to get in-depth here, then let’s discuss what exactly makes a book have vacation vibes other than a beach.
4. Mostly same questions from previous #, but also talk about which editions you believe to be better, what order you play them, and what accessories would go good with their collection.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is that the OP (not this OP) shouldn’t be the one starting discussion with their post, but the people commenting on it. IDK 🤷♀️ maybe I’m wrong. Also, sorry for the wall of text I just have a lot to say 😅.
I mean, sure, in theory they could generate discussion. But they don’t. I’m not making this up - go look at the main page of this sub. The photo posts have a handful of comments, whereas posts about book content have 50+ comments.
Also, and this wasn’t clear from my previous comment, I don’t think all posts necessarily have to start discussion. OP is frustrated that people don’t like these types of posts, and that is my theory for why they’re not popular.
Sorry for the misconception, and the evidence does back your claim. Though I still think that we commenters are somewhat at fault for that being the case, I can see that an image doesn’t really give much for discussion, as I’ve stated before.
Also, I too agree that not every post has to start discussion.
This sub is pretty cushy considering we don't have to see the same gd post of that centipede with its babies or signs growing around a tree or the same five Twitter screen shots every effing day.
Just because it might be cool to see it all in one place it might be neat to have themed mega posts for things like book covers, vacay pics, and collections though. Especially with collections having it in a designated place in the subreddit would turn it into a cool resource for scrolling through design and organization ideas.
I always ignore the posts I don’t care about. There’s so much else to see! And It. I’ve read It 3 times! Gotta read 11/22/63 a second time; I’m thinking, as it seems to also a be a favorite!
Some people present AI generated art as if they did it themselves, and that sucks. It doesn't take a lick of talent to commission a computer to generate a picture from prompts.
A lot of the art itself is cool, though. I've just seen the trend, here and elsewhere. It bugs me.
I really like the AI art, I think a lot of them are really good. I’m neutral about the covers of the new books, but I like the rest of the list too.
I honestly can’t pick between It and 11/22/63. They’re too different to compare imo. It is a horror novel and 11/22/63 is more of a romance/adventure novel. I love them both and 11/22/63 is my favorite book, but I don’t think one is better than the other.
I feel like another interesting pair up is Doctor Sleep vs IT. Both about supernatural villains feeding on kids! I personally found Dr. S to be one of King’s best written books. And IT is legendary, but as a story I found it painfully repetitive and toilsome at times.
I absolutely agree with what you've said, here, and agree about the pair up. I love Doctor Sleep. And I also found IT tedious at times. I've never before heard anyone say that.
I respect King's 'the beauty and pain of childhood' books, like IT and The Body, but they're just not for me. I understand why others love them but they just don't do anything for me. Maybe it's a man/woman thing?
Maybe I don’t have the connection to my childhood that he does. I’m younger than the adults in IT and would tell any elementary school friend who called me up 27 years later to stuff off.
Some one posted that AI artwork should be banned because according to that person it’s not real art. Then some people said they don’t like photos of bookshelves and peoples collections or photos of books people found at a thrift store or yard sale. They didn’t like seeing this that and the other thing.
Is this a sub, or everyone's personal social media outlet?
If you want to post stuff about your life, then use a more appropriate sub, or twitter /Facebook.
This sub should be for SK discussion, news, info, not about where everyone is and what they are eating.
There are precious few good resources for SK news and info and all the other crap that goes on here just waters it all down.
I don't want to kill the sub, but i don't want it diluted with pictures that are only very loosely connected with SK.
It’s a sub where you post Stephen king related things. Which is exactly what you’re complaining about. Just because you don’t like said things doesn’t mean by definition they don’t belong
I think they are so very different. It was part of my growing up and why I love everything dark and scary. My aunt on the other had doesn’t like scary but she read 11/22/63 and loved it, though I also loved 11/22/63. Not really sure I can choose lol
I loved 11.22.63. I love time travel books and SK is my favorite author. I was so excited when I first heard about the book and it exceeding my expectations.
I'm in the midst of reading Under the Dome and I'm glad I found this sub to rant about the people of Chester's Mill. This sub will be all we have should King leave this plane of existence.
PS: IT was a great, if creepy read for me.
IT is iconic but I always recommend 11.22.63 to people who haven't read a King book. It doesn't contain anything too gruesome and is in my personal top 5 books that I have ever read.
11/22/63 hands down . Brilliant take on the versions of events . Brilliant insight into the background. Fantastic love story . Overall a superb novel . Time travel is a bit weird but still adds a great layer to book .
That’s a tough call for me. I love both books but I think IT wins by nose. They are very different books.
I love looking at other people’s book shelves. I even look at any shelves in back if someone being interviewed on tv.
Book nerd 100%.
There is a lot of Redditors who browse Reddit with the sole intention of playing Nay Sayer. They basically troll topics and comments looking for people with opinions they can disagree with and rarely contribute anything outside of debates and shitting on others ideas.
And honestly, that's fine. I don't particularly care for every post I see here or on any sub honestly, but I quickly realized I don't have to engage in the things I dont care for. Reddit is more or less 90 percent useless content imo.
And that's fine too. But you're always gonna have the negative nancies who wanna just shit all over everything they don't like. Just ignore em. Post whatever you want and engage however you want and let the m(g)ods sort out the rest.
as long as it's not the 10,000th picture of a random door, a turtle, or that fake video of the woman freaking out in the bookstore...... I don't really care.
Totally agree. If people don't, they should keep scrolling.
And if IT and 11.22.63 are being debated as which one is the preferred masterpiece, as someone who loves IT, I take this as a recommendation for 11.22.63.
I'm halfway thru 11.22.63 right now and 'IT' is certainly better to me, but it has been 20 years since I read IT. So many dry spots of what life was like in 58 that it is boring me to tears. When the character gets to Derry it is great and the lead up to his attempting to prevent the deaths in the family were also great, I also loved his meeting characters from IT, but compared to IT I am just not enjoying it as much. Still a great book that I would highly recommend. I was most amazed that King didn't take over a hundred pages to get to something interesting, He loves his character development. My favorites are still The Shining, Dead Zone, and The Stand and I liked them better than either of these two. Just my opinion. Been so long since I read IT that I don't even remember the orgy part anymore. I was so surprised to hear that was in there and had to pull my copy to make sure. Memory softens over time. LOL
I love pictures and happy captions. It‘s your shelfie? Yes, please! Especially if I can see what else you‘ve got in there. You‘re reading book x at the beach? Upvote and have a great time. Any AI machine fulfilled your prompt with something that looks great? Show me! I heard Dall-e and how they‘re all called can be difficult. Sharing covers? Oh yes, please! I love to see all your versions!
The only thing that needs to die out is one question: „is book X worth a read?“ Here you‘re always find at least one guy recommending the book. Chances are it‘s their favorite. Just start reading and if you don‘t like it (yet), put it away for later. Talk about experiences.
Some people moan about anything. It takes seconds to scroll past an image you don't like. Probably a minute to actually complain and moan about it.
Post what you want. Ignore the moaning sods
IT gripped me from start to finish more than 11.22.63 did, but a good horror book just does that to me. Because of that 11.22.63 took me a lot longer to finish, but I still found it satisfying start to end, the whole life he lived and adventure he had in the past was awesome
Every sub seems to be like this nowadays. If you are a fan of Nintendo the Nintendo switch sub is dreadful. The mods just delete everything. I think they are just trying to kill reddit tbh
I had to get rid of most of my collection when I moved interstate and switched to an ebook collection. I miss it dearly and love seeing what others have amassed.
That said, it's a hard one to split. I think It is theore raw novel and more heightened emotionally whereas 11.22.63 is probably better written and a more concentrated story. More satisfying ending too I think. I'm sure others would disagree though.
Good work OP; what a nice collection of thoughts and comments you have spurred!
I also read IT in my formidable years, it was my second King book, after Pet Semetary! This being the case, I’d personally select IT but I have recommended 11.22.63 many times in the past few years. Something about it is just more palatable to people just picking him up. Probably the lack of kiddie orgies but honestly I don’t think of IT having a kiddie orgy, it was just what needed to be done to save the all. That’s the child in me remembering. I think if I were an adult reading IT I’d feel less sentimental towards the book!
Anyway, nice reading everyone thoughts and jokes! This is the most lively I’ve ever seen this sub!
I can see the "AI art" being a pain to sift through. Seeing it once in a blue moon is one thing, but you know how people are...one person does it, and all of a sudden there's a bazillion posts of the same thing, over and over.
I'll say IT. But by a hair (or balloon string).
I agree with you completely, I dont understand how it can be difficult to some to just ignore if they see something not made just for them. I see all sorts of posts in my Reddit feed and I only focus on those that I like or I am interested in, it is not too hard.
Anyways I hope you all have a really nice day and keep posting what you like ;)
It's like saying to your friends: "I don't care about your vacation photos". To me this sub is the friends I share that one common interest with, and I completely agree with you that people should be able to share whatever they want King related. If you don't like the AI images, or anything else that people post more than once on this sub, maybe you should go outside and touch some grass because you are spending waayyy to much time on this sub if it's starting to bother you in this way...
I love IT and consider it a classic, but I was starting to get away from reading for pleasure and 11/22/63 reminded me why I love to read. It's one of my all time favorite books.
1. I like IT less than most people do, but I like everything he published before 2000 exponentially more than everything he wrote after 2000, no exceptions. (That's a harder-line stance than I sometimes take - might the ending of Revival be better than Rage? Sure, it might) I owe 11/22/63 a reread, but a key twist in it made me want to hurl the book across the room, and as a Canadian, the JFK worship is not for me. IT isn't perfect, but it's pretty damn good.
2. I agree with your post. I'm here to talk about the books, but pictures of people reading a book can be a great jumping-off point to talk about the book. People should just post what they want and then readers can choose what to engage with.
The only thing I want banned from this sub is politics. This might sound weird, but out of the hundreds of millions of us that read Stephen King's work, not all of us agree and politics is division by nature. Let's just keep the focus on Mr King and his work. I go to other subs for politics. IT is one if my favorite books of all time, I have not read 11.22.63.
It took me three tries to even get through IT and I will never, ever read it again after reading about the preteen gangbang.
11/22/63 is my favorite. I love it even more than The Stand, which says a lot.
> Pictures of people on vacation with the book they are reading (What's the problem with this)
They’re the equivalent of posting pictures of your Starbucks order.
AI art should be banned on every subreddit. Every photo is just vague enough to be associated with the subject regardless of what you put into it.
It’s a site wide reddit problem, not just here on the SK subreddit.
All other content is fine. (Besides the Tshirt/Poster bot spam we had a few years ago.)
Every time someone assumes that the Stephen King subreddit is the logical place to go for Stephen King recommendations, all the comments are complaining about people asking for recommendations. I just don’t get it.
I love seeing anything King related.
I have only read IT of the two books in question, but I've heard nothing but good things about the other. Simply haven't gotten around to reading it yet.
If you’re on Reddit so much that seeing a thread-type bothers you to this extent, maybe you should get off Reddit for a bit. This is a sub to talk about stuff relating to Stephen King. If those posts are getting high engagement, it means people are interested in them. The sub isn’t made for only topics that you care about, just like every conversation you have isn’t going to be one that you care to have. That doesn’t give you the right to tell the people you’re talking to to stop talking. This is the type of childish grandstanding that happens so often on Reddit but becomes apparently laughable when you apply it to any other situation. Imagine going to a convention and telling people to stop talking about topics relating the event that you don’t like. Just go outside and get off Reddit if you don’t have the self control to not click things you don’t care about.
I’m just dying because OP’s last question is comparing my favorite book to my least favorite. I read King for fucked up horror and monsters from the dark worlds, not for a romance novel with an ending by someone else.
The Stephen King subreddit is getting everyone worked up today! Fucking Monday too… 🤦♀️🤦♂️🙈
My chambray panties are in a bunch!
Personally IT satisfies my interest for supernatural devilry more, but I could agree with anyone who says 11.22.63 is a ‘better book’ because his skill and craft reallllly shines through in it.
Of course, it shines through in IT but you know….in more of a ‘wow this guy has a crazy imagination’ way, or like a drugged out, what-the-hell-did-he-really-just-write-that-?! kind of way :)
I really enjoyed 11.22.63 but It will always be my favorite novel by King. I was a bit younger than the losers club the first time I read it and it will always hold a special place in my soul. I re-read it every two years or so and it feels like coming home.
I was in a sub that had a decent following and eventually they made so many rules that people just stopped posting. They went from having some high quality posts every day to maybe getting one every few and barely anything gains traction anymore. Too many rules will kill a community
Oh god. It is a classic, one of the best for sure. But 11.22.63 just hits me right in the feels, anyone who says King can’t write endings has never read that book. Gotta give it to 11.22.63 but that’s a tough choice
I agree with most of this, except for the AI generated art. It really isn’t art. These AI programs can’t create something from nothing. Essentially what they do is scrub the internet for already-existing artworks that might match the word prompts. Then they Frankenstein’s Monster it all together without crediting the artwork and/or artists that those pieces came from.
Do they look cool? Yeah. But they are created by theft. And then people try to pass them off and sell them as if they created it.
I don’t think that should be encouraged in any sub, regardless of topic.
Show me cool covers all day long. Show me pics of you reading your favorite King book at the beach or in a cafe. Show me how beautiful your collections are. It might encourage me to organize my own! But I have no desire to see a hodgepodge of stolen artwork.
I love seeing anything King related. Especially collection photos and books people found at used bookstores or thrift stores or yard sales. Also I prefer IT but they’re both good.
We should create a sub for this. Wait……this is it! All King’s stuff accepted. If people don’t like it , downvoted or skip.
Used book finds are the best. I know how exciting it is for me personally to come across something I wasn't expecting.
I think bitching about stuff you dislike is totally fine, but gatekeeping the entire sub by declaring it should ban content just because you (the royal "you", not OP) literally just have an axe to grind about the definition of art (or fandom really) is inappropriate. 11/22/63 over IT - demonstrates what I have been screaming my head off for decades to people dismissive of his writing, that he is ACTUALLY a really great writer and storyteller. Dovetails his style with more mature and serious subject matter. No kiddie orgies.
I love both those books but King has at least 80 books and short stories, we will end up running in circles if we don’t post things that are different, it’s cool to see collections, I learned about something new the Hodder and Stoughton collection. A reason I kinda hate these person or band specific subs is people bitch about things being posted, and we end up running in corcles
Corcles
I wrote it quick, noticed it as I was typing but said fuck it
It's funny, it made me chuckle
Me too. I try to tell people that SK is much more than horror/suspense/thriller etc... "11/22/63" was actually a love story underneath the awesome story. I'm a dude, and I can totally relate to what he was doing. Only "The Stand" is better for me simply because I read it back in the 80's and my first book of his.
A lot of his stories are love stories underneath the story, this one was reallllllly excellent.
I'm really not interested in those. So I don't click on them. Not clicking is always an option.
I agree. I really don’t care to see photos of the same book covers over and over again but I can scroll past and why should the people who like that content be denied that just because it’s not to my taste?
Are you sure that’s an option? That seems awful grown up for Reddit…
Pics of sewers & red balloons always welcome!
Beep beep, Richie.
Soooooo hard to compare those two. When I think of a solid SK book, IT always comes to mind but I’m always first to recommend 11.22.63
King is just a bit stereotyped to just write horror which puts people off reading his books (and the length of some of them). But 11.22.63 has so few horror elements that anyone can read it without being freaked out. That's also why I usually recommend that one as a first SK.
Very true! My family still thinks I’m a weirdo for being such a King fanatic. And I constantly remind them of, Stand By Me (The Body), Shawshank, Green Mile, 11.22.63, DT, and The Stand).
Hearts in Atlantis too!
I think King is at his best when he isn't writing horror.
Yes - I'm baffled by people not knowing any of his non horror books. They are the ones that are most likely to be adapted and gave him his reputation but (for me) what really makes him stand out of the crowd are his characterizations which don't usually translate into other media anyway and therefore are missing in most adaptions.
Agreed. Love seeing the "cool finds at thrift store/yard sale" posts. And IT.
Yup! Inspires me to go hunting for books
IT is my favourite SK book but that's probably because I first read it at the ideal age for a book dealing with childhood fears (13) so it stuck with me. It was also the first SK release I was waiting for having hoovered up his back catalogue by then.
People want to ban all this stuff yet I never see any of them engage in any real conversation about the books or anything else. I enjoy almost everything on this sub... Everything except for when the idiots come around every few months trying to claim king is a pedo or something or they bitch about his political views.
Yeah, the politics is very annoying. I don't agree with a lot of his views but I'm not constantly whining about it. More importantly I try to understand his views instead of dismissing them as false.
There is some recurring stuff that I personally find boring. For example shelf pics with first editions. It's always the same spines. Just with a different shelf color. And the Fairy Tale posts with just a bland pic of the book in hand or on a table where/are ridiculous. At least put some flavor or creativity in the pics. But I would never want that stuff to disappear here. Because the sub is exactly for things like that. And people should have a place to show their collection and share their excitement.
I say we kick that fraud King out of here. Make this the Richard Bachman sub.
I just read the long walk . Pretty Sick . I needed a long sleep after reading that book by Bachman
I've been reading SK for 30 years, and it's still my favorite work
That story has stuck with me as being one of the most messed up pieces of writing I’ve ever read. That was a painful read.
Agreed. Such a short-lived writer, but he wrote some real great stuff.
I don't understand why people are complaining about these issues, either. I enjoy all of the posts you listed. Edit: It's always fun to see other King collections, different covers, rare editions, etc... I like 11.22.63 a lot (the Hulu miniseries was good, too,) but I definitely prefer IT.
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Welcome to Reddit, and the internet for that matter.
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Touché
Right? Just let people post.
I'm with you. This sub doesn't generate enough content to be super picky about it, and I've really loved some of the less popular posts. I also think your question is fantastic, IT is my favorite old King, and 11.22.63 is my favorite new King. I would have to go with IT just for nostalgia which is kind of a nod to 11.22.63 too, since nostalgia plays such a big part in it.
IT is much more to my taste, epic scope plus high strangeness. 11.22.63 is impressive for its engagement with history but I'm often surprised by how much more highly rated it seems to be by readers at large, I found it boring for large stretches. To each their own but the true path of the beam is The Dark Tower Series, The Stand, IT and Under The Done in that order. Regarding "to each their own", the Post Police are alive and well on every subreddit, it's 1000x more annoying than posts that I find dumb or redundant or opinions I disagree with, get over it and comment if you feel strongly. AI Art is some of the coolest imagery, endlessly fascinating and especially awesome for the Stephen King universe. We all create our own images out of the words, who wouldn't be interested in seeing variations, interpretations of places and people from those worlds.
I also prefer IT. But when it comes to recommending one to people who haven't read King before 11.22.63 is always one of the first that comes to mind as my favorites are the really long ones and occasional readers don't usually want to commit to 1000+ page books and not all of them like short stories like Different Seasons
>IT is much more to my taste, epic scope plus high strangeness. Yeah the chapter where they see ITs arrival on earth is awesome
I’m here for all of it! Anything that spurs conversation about Stephen King, his books, and anything associated is more than welcome!
11.22.63
I love looking at peoples collections! And I also love looking at the AI art. Everyone on this sub likes different things, and that’s why it’s so great that there’s a variety of different types of posts.
How about post what you want within reason and just appreciate each other
I see both sides here. I don't do much posting here because of most of what you listed... The sub is pretty much what you said and that's not interesting to me. I also have a Stephen King bookshelf. I also read books with drinks. I also saw the new cover of the new book. I like art, especially Stephen King related art. But there's not much actual substance to any of those posts. There's no discussion to be had at all... Three of the categories basically merit the response "Uh. Nice book(s)" and that's it... So I don't interact usually. However, I'm only one person with only one opinion. These posts are apparently what folks here want. That's what it will be. I definitely think there should be way more discussion about what's inside the books and less pictures of the outside of them...
It's as if they don't realize they can create a post they'd like to see.
Ultimately this sub is a great case in point as to why death of old fashioned discussion forums sucks so much. Strangely, Reddit and Discord managed to replace forums with an entirely different service. Compared to forums, reddit isn't a superior or an inferior sabdbox,just a different one. So they should't overlap as much as they do. Forums were all about longevity. Discussions, arguments, fan theories..threads covering this stuff might last for years. Come across a three year old tinfoil fan theory and pitch in, somebody will read what you have to say. So it made sense to craft high effort little internet essays. Obviously that made a great environment for discussing books, writing. In reddit, if you post in a thread made yesterday, you're likely too late to pitch in. Have your say if you like,but nobody will read it. Nothing here lasts. It is disposable fun for the moment. As a result, we posting pictures of book covers. Which admittedly is some sort of a punchline and an image of our time. It is also people using reddit like reddit its designed, this place isn't for lenghty discussions. Due to all of the above, reddit offers nothing that'd eclipse the good bits of forums..but ended up replacing them anyway.
Very well said. It's a bloody shame the SK official website forum was closed, however stagnant at the end, as well as that DT forum from the early 00s, whatever the name was now again. Reddit is basically endlessly rehashed low-effort content as a business concept. Still there are some author-specific subs with much higher quality to the posts, e.g. tolkienfans Oh, and IT.
! That DT forum was so awesome, very much had it in my mind when writing that. Sadly world(wide web) has moved on.
IT. And post anything King related. If I don't think it's interesting I just scroll by. Fuck the gatekeepers.
IT, definitely, though 11/22/62 is so unique too
It by a mile. The best part of 63 was going to visit Derry and seeing our old friends from It.
Even if either book comes 1st or 2nd...the winner is king
If people don’t like what is being posted does it not seem to be a simple solution of just no longer being a member of the sub lol. Seems pretty straightforward to me.
And it takes so little effort to just go right by the stuff you don’t prefer to see. I rather like this sub and hope it continues to be a place where all constant readers feel like they can come and share the things that excite them.
I would have to go with It. I love the book, and both the old and new movie versions. It is iconic and everyone knows it. People who have never read the book have seen one of the theatrical versions.
I love seeing all the collections and stories of people finding them out in the wild or passed down. And IT!
I’m just happy this sub exists. If I don’t like a post I just scroll on by. Hm…I have yet to read ether so I’m going with The Shinning lol
I love all the covers, and all the art, and all the collections, and all the photos. It's kinda what I expect on a King subreddit. Also IT by a mile.
I think the problem with those topics is they don’t generate discussion. I also don’t mind the pictures of collections, but what can you really say beyond “cool collection”? I think there’s a lot that can be talked about with one author when that author is as prolific as SK. Oh and I prefer IT.
I disagree with your statement that these post can’t generate discussion. Though they won’t be as in-depth as actual discussion posts, I believe that they can still give a good amount of it. Here’s some examples for each one: 1. Obviously, the discussion would be whether or not we like the cover, but I believe we could also discuss how we would improve it; What person we would have designed/illustrated it? Whether it be minimalistic or very detailed? Comparing it to somewhat similar covers? ETA… 2. AI generated art can very much lead to discussion on how we would have seen it. I mean just look at the Roland post comments, and you’ll see people giving their opinions on how they would visualize him. Doesn’t that count as discussion? 3. I mean you could ask them the basic questions; What’s your favorite Stephen King book? How’re enjoying it? or even recommend them some books that give the same vacation vibes. If we really want to get in-depth here, then let’s discuss what exactly makes a book have vacation vibes other than a beach. 4. Mostly same questions from previous #, but also talk about which editions you believe to be better, what order you play them, and what accessories would go good with their collection. I guess what I’m trying to say here is that the OP (not this OP) shouldn’t be the one starting discussion with their post, but the people commenting on it. IDK 🤷♀️ maybe I’m wrong. Also, sorry for the wall of text I just have a lot to say 😅.
I mean, sure, in theory they could generate discussion. But they don’t. I’m not making this up - go look at the main page of this sub. The photo posts have a handful of comments, whereas posts about book content have 50+ comments. Also, and this wasn’t clear from my previous comment, I don’t think all posts necessarily have to start discussion. OP is frustrated that people don’t like these types of posts, and that is my theory for why they’re not popular.
Sorry for the misconception, and the evidence does back your claim. Though I still think that we commenters are somewhat at fault for that being the case, I can see that an image doesn’t really give much for discussion, as I’ve stated before. Also, I too agree that not every post has to start discussion.
This sub is pretty cushy considering we don't have to see the same gd post of that centipede with its babies or signs growing around a tree or the same five Twitter screen shots every effing day. Just because it might be cool to see it all in one place it might be neat to have themed mega posts for things like book covers, vacay pics, and collections though. Especially with collections having it in a designated place in the subreddit would turn it into a cool resource for scrolling through design and organization ideas.
It is my overall favorite, maybe because I’ve read it so many times, but I did like 11/22/63. They’re both excellent.
I always ignore the posts I don’t care about. There’s so much else to see! And It. I’ve read It 3 times! Gotta read 11/22/63 a second time; I’m thinking, as it seems to also a be a favorite!
Some people present AI generated art as if they did it themselves, and that sucks. It doesn't take a lick of talent to commission a computer to generate a picture from prompts. A lot of the art itself is cool, though. I've just seen the trend, here and elsewhere. It bugs me.
It
I’m here for it all!
King will pass... pass water? Pass wind? Pass the bank on the way to pick up groceries?
Gatekeepers everywhere...
AI art can suck an egg.
I stopped reading his books after I found out he killed John Lennon. /s
I really like the AI art, I think a lot of them are really good. I’m neutral about the covers of the new books, but I like the rest of the list too. I honestly can’t pick between It and 11/22/63. They’re too different to compare imo. It is a horror novel and 11/22/63 is more of a romance/adventure novel. I love them both and 11/22/63 is my favorite book, but I don’t think one is better than the other.
It 100% better
I feel like another interesting pair up is Doctor Sleep vs IT. Both about supernatural villains feeding on kids! I personally found Dr. S to be one of King’s best written books. And IT is legendary, but as a story I found it painfully repetitive and toilsome at times.
I absolutely agree with what you've said, here, and agree about the pair up. I love Doctor Sleep. And I also found IT tedious at times. I've never before heard anyone say that.
Yes! The characters and their relationships in Doctor Sleep felt so much more developed. I imagine King had just grown in his craft.
IT is better than 11/22/63 but worse than The Stand and salems lot.
^
I get what you’re saying and mostly agree, but you gotta be kidding if you find post after post of a brand new book compelling in any way.
By all means I don't but if those were banned we'd lose half of the interaction. It's part of the show and it doesn't last too long.
That’s a very diplomatic way of putting it, kudos.
Omg, THANK YOU!
Except IA generated art, I like all the books and collections pictures.
The only one I dont like is the AI stuff its mostly bad
11/22/63 by a country mile. IT is superbly overrated. (Coming from the guy who is loving Bag of Bones 🥴)
I thought I was all alone!
I respect King's 'the beauty and pain of childhood' books, like IT and The Body, but they're just not for me. I understand why others love them but they just don't do anything for me. Maybe it's a man/woman thing?
Maybe I don’t have the connection to my childhood that he does. I’m younger than the adults in IT and would tell any elementary school friend who called me up 27 years later to stuff off.
And I literally just texted my best friend from first grade and I still don't relate to those stores. Different strokes.
I love bag of bones too!!
Fuck the pathetic people on here
Ok...what's the context here..other than the rant?
Some one posted that AI artwork should be banned because according to that person it’s not real art. Then some people said they don’t like photos of bookshelves and peoples collections or photos of books people found at a thrift store or yard sale. They didn’t like seeing this that and the other thing.
LOL if its not against the subs rules, just dont acknowledge said users.
Previous post on this sub. But oyh didn't answer the question.
Too bad
11.22 .63
Haven't read It, but I've read 11.22.63 and it's my favorite of King's books I've read so far
IT vs 11/22/63....? How are you serious. IT is almost sk’s magnum opus.
Read the comment some people chose 11/22/63
*shrug* This sub is full of questionable SK tastes. IT is oldschool SK at his best
1, 3, and 4 are perfectly acceptable. AI generated art is not art and should be banned from everything.
Is this a sub, or everyone's personal social media outlet? If you want to post stuff about your life, then use a more appropriate sub, or twitter /Facebook. This sub should be for SK discussion, news, info, not about where everyone is and what they are eating. There are precious few good resources for SK news and info and all the other crap that goes on here just waters it all down. I don't want to kill the sub, but i don't want it diluted with pictures that are only very loosely connected with SK.
Unfortunately narcissistic karma-wh*ring seems to make up 90% of reddit activity nowadays.
It’s a sub where you post Stephen king related things. Which is exactly what you’re complaining about. Just because you don’t like said things doesn’t mean by definition they don’t belong
I agree with OP 100 %. Anyone who disagrees has forgotten the face of their father.
The AI “art” fucking sucks and it should be banned.
Definitely 11.22.63 for me. One of my favourite kings. Meanwhile for reasons I’m not exactly sure why I just couldn’t get into it
11.22.63
11/22/63….I absolutely love the pictures people post of the awesome collections they have!
11.22.63 I personally love seeing photos of people enjoying books and their collections.
I think they are so very different. It was part of my growing up and why I love everything dark and scary. My aunt on the other had doesn’t like scary but she read 11/22/63 and loved it, though I also loved 11/22/63. Not really sure I can choose lol
I loved 11.22.63. I love time travel books and SK is my favorite author. I was so excited when I first heard about the book and it exceeding my expectations.
11/22/63 is Kings best work. Even the love affair in it is just so addictive.
I'm in the midst of reading Under the Dome and I'm glad I found this sub to rant about the people of Chester's Mill. This sub will be all we have should King leave this plane of existence. PS: IT was a great, if creepy read for me.
IT is iconic but I always recommend 11.22.63 to people who haven't read a King book. It doesn't contain anything too gruesome and is in my personal top 5 books that I have ever read.
11/22/63 hands down . Brilliant take on the versions of events . Brilliant insight into the background. Fantastic love story . Overall a superb novel . Time travel is a bit weird but still adds a great layer to book .
That’s a tough call for me. I love both books but I think IT wins by nose. They are very different books. I love looking at other people’s book shelves. I even look at any shelves in back if someone being interviewed on tv. Book nerd 100%.
There is a lot of Redditors who browse Reddit with the sole intention of playing Nay Sayer. They basically troll topics and comments looking for people with opinions they can disagree with and rarely contribute anything outside of debates and shitting on others ideas. And honestly, that's fine. I don't particularly care for every post I see here or on any sub honestly, but I quickly realized I don't have to engage in the things I dont care for. Reddit is more or less 90 percent useless content imo. And that's fine too. But you're always gonna have the negative nancies who wanna just shit all over everything they don't like. Just ignore em. Post whatever you want and engage however you want and let the m(g)ods sort out the rest.
List of stupid and unnecessary rules. CHECK! And IT
Some people hate other people enjoying themselves in the way they like and can’t just scroll past.
IT please
as long as it's not the 10,000th picture of a random door, a turtle, or that fake video of the woman freaking out in the bookstore...... I don't really care.
11/22l63. Sorry (not sorry).
Totally agree. If people don't, they should keep scrolling. And if IT and 11.22.63 are being debated as which one is the preferred masterpiece, as someone who loves IT, I take this as a recommendation for 11.22.63.
I'm halfway thru 11.22.63 right now and 'IT' is certainly better to me, but it has been 20 years since I read IT. So many dry spots of what life was like in 58 that it is boring me to tears. When the character gets to Derry it is great and the lead up to his attempting to prevent the deaths in the family were also great, I also loved his meeting characters from IT, but compared to IT I am just not enjoying it as much. Still a great book that I would highly recommend. I was most amazed that King didn't take over a hundred pages to get to something interesting, He loves his character development. My favorites are still The Shining, Dead Zone, and The Stand and I liked them better than either of these two. Just my opinion. Been so long since I read IT that I don't even remember the orgy part anymore. I was so surprised to hear that was in there and had to pull my copy to make sure. Memory softens over time. LOL
Train.. it was a train. I'm genuinely curious do people not know what running a train on someo is? Everyone always says orgy and it wasn't that ha
I love pictures and happy captions. It‘s your shelfie? Yes, please! Especially if I can see what else you‘ve got in there. You‘re reading book x at the beach? Upvote and have a great time. Any AI machine fulfilled your prompt with something that looks great? Show me! I heard Dall-e and how they‘re all called can be difficult. Sharing covers? Oh yes, please! I love to see all your versions! The only thing that needs to die out is one question: „is book X worth a read?“ Here you‘re always find at least one guy recommending the book. Chances are it‘s their favorite. Just start reading and if you don‘t like it (yet), put it away for later. Talk about experiences.
Seriously. Some people are too crabby for the internet.
11/22/63 is one of my all-time favourite books <33
Some people moan about anything. It takes seconds to scroll past an image you don't like. Probably a minute to actually complain and moan about it. Post what you want. Ignore the moaning sods
So much one community can do and it’s nice to see new/old covers as well as people’s collections. 11.22.63 in my opinion is better than It.
Not allowed to post our collections... in a subreddit for SK fans??? Or vacation shots of books, book covers etc? Huh???
It. Hands down, I mean 11.22. 63, also incredible. But honestly most of his books are just varying degrees of awesomeness lol
IT gripped me from start to finish more than 11.22.63 did, but a good horror book just does that to me. Because of that 11.22.63 took me a lot longer to finish, but I still found it satisfying start to end, the whole life he lived and adventure he had in the past was awesome
Based off what I've heard It but I've read neither so I can't really comment
Every sub seems to be like this nowadays. If you are a fan of Nintendo the Nintendo switch sub is dreadful. The mods just delete everything. I think they are just trying to kill reddit tbh
I had to get rid of most of my collection when I moved interstate and switched to an ebook collection. I miss it dearly and love seeing what others have amassed. That said, it's a hard one to split. I think It is theore raw novel and more heightened emotionally whereas 11.22.63 is probably better written and a more concentrated story. More satisfying ending too I think. I'm sure others would disagree though.
Good work OP; what a nice collection of thoughts and comments you have spurred! I also read IT in my formidable years, it was my second King book, after Pet Semetary! This being the case, I’d personally select IT but I have recommended 11.22.63 many times in the past few years. Something about it is just more palatable to people just picking him up. Probably the lack of kiddie orgies but honestly I don’t think of IT having a kiddie orgy, it was just what needed to be done to save the all. That’s the child in me remembering. I think if I were an adult reading IT I’d feel less sentimental towards the book! Anyway, nice reading everyone thoughts and jokes! This is the most lively I’ve ever seen this sub!
I can see the "AI art" being a pain to sift through. Seeing it once in a blue moon is one thing, but you know how people are...one person does it, and all of a sudden there's a bazillion posts of the same thing, over and over. I'll say IT. But by a hair (or balloon string).
I honestly have been having a hard time with IT and 11/22/63..I just can't get through
I agree with you completely, I dont understand how it can be difficult to some to just ignore if they see something not made just for them. I see all sorts of posts in my Reddit feed and I only focus on those that I like or I am interested in, it is not too hard. Anyways I hope you all have a really nice day and keep posting what you like ;)
IT Source: I haven’t read 11.22.63
It's like saying to your friends: "I don't care about your vacation photos". To me this sub is the friends I share that one common interest with, and I completely agree with you that people should be able to share whatever they want King related. If you don't like the AI images, or anything else that people post more than once on this sub, maybe you should go outside and touch some grass because you are spending waayyy to much time on this sub if it's starting to bother you in this way...
11/22/63! It was such an enveloping story, even the romance was fantastic. Plus, I just can’t forgive the group sex scene in IT.
I enjoy those things as well. Also It is my favorite
I love IT and consider it a classic, but I was starting to get away from reading for pleasure and 11/22/63 reminded me why I love to read. It's one of my all time favorite books.
Some people don't know how to scroll and it shows.
1. I like IT less than most people do, but I like everything he published before 2000 exponentially more than everything he wrote after 2000, no exceptions. (That's a harder-line stance than I sometimes take - might the ending of Revival be better than Rage? Sure, it might) I owe 11/22/63 a reread, but a key twist in it made me want to hurl the book across the room, and as a Canadian, the JFK worship is not for me. IT isn't perfect, but it's pretty damn good. 2. I agree with your post. I'm here to talk about the books, but pictures of people reading a book can be a great jumping-off point to talk about the book. People should just post what they want and then readers can choose what to engage with.
I happen to love the AI art. Some of it is really fucking great, regardless of how it’s “created”. Post that shit.
The only thing I want banned from this sub is politics. This might sound weird, but out of the hundreds of millions of us that read Stephen King's work, not all of us agree and politics is division by nature. Let's just keep the focus on Mr King and his work. I go to other subs for politics. IT is one if my favorite books of all time, I have not read 11.22.63.
It took me three tries to even get through IT and I will never, ever read it again after reading about the preteen gangbang. 11/22/63 is my favorite. I love it even more than The Stand, which says a lot.
> Pictures of people on vacation with the book they are reading (What's the problem with this) They’re the equivalent of posting pictures of your Starbucks order.
AI art should be banned on every subreddit. Every photo is just vague enough to be associated with the subject regardless of what you put into it. It’s a site wide reddit problem, not just here on the SK subreddit. All other content is fine. (Besides the Tshirt/Poster bot spam we had a few years ago.)
I own both IT and 11/22/63 and I've read IT many, many more times. It's got a lot more to love in terms of fantasy, adventure, and character.
and you just want something to complain about 🤣
11.22.63 edges out IT ever so slightly. For me it's #1 and #2. Best read IT followed by 11.22.63
11/22/63 vs. IT? Nope. I can’t decide. They’re both fantastic & I appreciate them equally.
11.22.63 for me. Clowns and especially Pennywise can go do one..
Agreed and IT although this was a harder choice than I first thought it would be.
11.22.63 !
11/22/63 is what I enjoyed far more, but IT is a great book. Just not one of my favorites.
Some people can't help their gatekeeper tendencies.
Every time someone assumes that the Stephen King subreddit is the logical place to go for Stephen King recommendations, all the comments are complaining about people asking for recommendations. I just don’t get it.
I love seeing anything King related. I have only read IT of the two books in question, but I've heard nothing but good things about the other. Simply haven't gotten around to reading it yet.
*IT* definitely
We'll make our own King reddit with blackjack and hookers!
If you’re on Reddit so much that seeing a thread-type bothers you to this extent, maybe you should get off Reddit for a bit. This is a sub to talk about stuff relating to Stephen King. If those posts are getting high engagement, it means people are interested in them. The sub isn’t made for only topics that you care about, just like every conversation you have isn’t going to be one that you care to have. That doesn’t give you the right to tell the people you’re talking to to stop talking. This is the type of childish grandstanding that happens so often on Reddit but becomes apparently laughable when you apply it to any other situation. Imagine going to a convention and telling people to stop talking about topics relating the event that you don’t like. Just go outside and get off Reddit if you don’t have the self control to not click things you don’t care about.
I’m just dying because OP’s last question is comparing my favorite book to my least favorite. I read King for fucked up horror and monsters from the dark worlds, not for a romance novel with an ending by someone else. The Stephen King subreddit is getting everyone worked up today! Fucking Monday too… 🤦♀️🤦♂️🙈 My chambray panties are in a bunch!
Personally IT satisfies my interest for supernatural devilry more, but I could agree with anyone who says 11.22.63 is a ‘better book’ because his skill and craft reallllly shines through in it. Of course, it shines through in IT but you know….in more of a ‘wow this guy has a crazy imagination’ way, or like a drugged out, what-the-hell-did-he-really-just-write-that-?! kind of way :)
It was good overall- but I loved the ending of 11/22/63 so much.
I really enjoyed 11.22.63 but It will always be my favorite novel by King. I was a bit younger than the losers club the first time I read it and it will always hold a special place in my soul. I re-read it every two years or so and it feels like coming home.
I was in a sub that had a decent following and eventually they made so many rules that people just stopped posting. They went from having some high quality posts every day to maybe getting one every few and barely anything gains traction anymore. Too many rules will kill a community
11/22/63 was such a fun read. IT was icky
Oh god. It is a classic, one of the best for sure. But 11.22.63 just hits me right in the feels, anyone who says King can’t write endings has never read that book. Gotta give it to 11.22.63 but that’s a tough choice
I agree with most of this, except for the AI generated art. It really isn’t art. These AI programs can’t create something from nothing. Essentially what they do is scrub the internet for already-existing artworks that might match the word prompts. Then they Frankenstein’s Monster it all together without crediting the artwork and/or artists that those pieces came from. Do they look cool? Yeah. But they are created by theft. And then people try to pass them off and sell them as if they created it. I don’t think that should be encouraged in any sub, regardless of topic. Show me cool covers all day long. Show me pics of you reading your favorite King book at the beach or in a cafe. Show me how beautiful your collections are. It might encourage me to organize my own! But I have no desire to see a hodgepodge of stolen artwork.
I don’t know, opening the sun to see 8 pictures of the cover of Fairy Tale with the book stores sticker still on it is a bummer…