A place to discuss all things Stephen King.
I assume at some point we might get a schedule together for stuff to read and stuff to watch, but for tonight, we begin with the new CBS All Access premiere of The Stand 
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I had cbs AA until a couple weeks ago. Forgot the stand was coming even though I literally saw 2312 commercials w whoopie Goldberg
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Me or zikzak will make sure to let you know it sucks
The only Stephen King book I’ve read is Salem’s Lot. I devoured it. I got the movie/TV series and loved it too.
What other Stephen King books should I read? Stand alone novels. Not interested in super long multiple book sagas.
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It just seems like there are too many streaming services now. I have Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and HBOMax for various reasons. But I find it hard to make the case to get CBS All Access or whatever else is coming out.
What I’m saying is that I’ll just have to rewatch The Stand mini-series from the 90s with Gary Sinise.
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Dark tower series GOAT
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Definitely my favorite author in my youth. I read The Shining in a 100 year-old house on Cape Cod with ancient claw-foot bathtubs and had a whole system to prevent myself from looking at the bathtubs when using the bathroom for fear of what I might see. I’ve read everything he wrote up to 1990 or so, including the Bachman books. The Dark Tower books are the only ones I can remember not being into.
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Maybe try It or The Tommyknockers next
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Heh, super-long stuff is kind of King’s bread and butter. Even the stand-alone works are doorstops.
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I started looking for some lists ranking his books. This one really doesn’t like the Dark Tower series:
https://screenrant.com/every-stephen-king-book-ranked-best-worst/
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My favorite Stephen King book is On Writing. The other King works I have read are Gerald’s Game and the Bachman Books.
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The Long Walk, The Dead Zone, The Running Man, Thinner. You also might like Different Seasons, a collection of four novellas.
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The Long Walk is incredible. A terrific audiobook to listen to while you err…walk.
Did not like Thinner at all. Easily my least favorite King novel, and the worst ending ever by an author known for terrible endings.
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Love all these but haven’t read thinner, the premise didn’t appeal to me. Different seasons has Apt pupil right? Love that story
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The Stand was always my favorite. I also have a soft spot for Eyes of the Dragon, because I also love fantasy.
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My favorite King short story collection is 1978’s Night Shift, nominated in 1979 as best collection for the Locus Award and the World Fantasy Award. In 1980, it won the Balrog Award for Best Collection. It includes many of King’s most famous short stories, such as “Children of the Corn,” “Sometimes They Come Back,” and “Jerusalem’s Lot.”
My favorite from the collection–and easily among my favorite short stories of all time–is “The Ledge,” originally published in 1976 by Penthouse and partially adapted in the horror anthology film Cat’s Eye.
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Stephen King is a cool dude. He even reads books in between innings at baseball games.
I don’t care much for his books though. When I tell new undergrads some things not do in their writing, I use Stephen as an example. “Be an architect, not a gardener. Make a plan. You shouldn’t be surprised by how your own essay ends…”
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Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut is my favorite short story, probably in part because I used to approach driving around New England the exact same way.
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With an existential dread that you were about to turn 40? 
Just speculating. I don’t remember this one and had to look it up. King was late 30s when he wrote it, and I assume that had an impact on him writing a character who cannot help but be seduced by the allure of a mysterious but perhaps horrifying fountain of youth.
Or maybe it was about cocaine. He wrote a lot about the experience of being on drugs.