Stephen King Top 50 - All of the Stephen King books I've read rated and ranked!
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- Опубліковано 23 січ 2022
- This was meant to be part 3 of my library tour, but it ended up growing arms and legs. Watch me discuss all 58 of the books by horror legend Stephen King that I've read and rank them. Plus show all 48 of the physical King books I own. Get yourself a cup of tea and some biscuits before you start though, it’s a long one.
Books discussed:
Lisey's Story
Black House
Wolves of the Calla
Song of Susannah
Doctor Sleep
Duma Key
Sleeping Beauties
Later
The Tommyknockers
Cell
Blaze
Bag of Bones
From a Buick 8
The Regulators
Desperation
Hearts in Atlantis
Needful Things
Full Dark, No Stars
If It Bleeds
Everything’s Eventual
Insomnia
Thinner
Cycle of the Werewolf
Rose Madder
The Gunslinger
The Eyes of the Dragon
Four Past Midnight
Firestarter
The Bachman Books
Different Seasons
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
The Green Mile
Wizard and Glass
The Wastelands
Cujo
Mr Mercedes
Under the Dome
Just After Sunset
Gwendy's Button Box
The Dead Zone
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams
The Talisman
Nightmares and Dreamscapes
The Drawing of the Three
Gerald’s Game
Misery
Skeleton Crew
Joyland
The Stand
Revival
The Outsider
The Dark Half
‘Salem’s Lot
11.22.63
Dolores Claiborne
End of Watch
The Colorado Kid
Finders Keepers
Pet Sematary
It
Christine
Carrie
Night Shift
The Shining
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I discovered Stephen King in high school when I read Carrie. It was the first book I remember enjoying reading, and not being a chore. Dolores Claiborne is my favorite King book, not just for the story but for the structure of the book... wow. I also really enjoyed The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon because it was unlike his usual horror plot. I think King is a genius at character development.
He does do characters very well. I think he's that rare thing in that his books are immensely readable, but have a kind of hidden depth that makes them stick with you once you've finished them
recently found your channel and must say i am thrilled. i was an avid reader, but due to health havent been able to concentrate long enough to enjoy anymore. finding your channel has made keenly aware how much i miss reading and even though i cant physically read anymore i can listen to most titles online or some app. i look so forward to watching more of your videos and my list of must "reads" is growing. kudos
Thank you! Really glad you like the channel. There’s so much stuff available as audiobooks nowadays. Hope I can help you find some good books to listen to!
@@CriminOllyBlog from all the rankings I watched on King this si the one I agree the most. In general, much of his books are just too long, and you noticed it the most. Would love to hear your review on "Night in Zagreb" by Adam Medvidović if you belong to group who knows about it, and the backside story that follows that book.
Hullo, Ollie! So.... about The Tommyknockers. I am a Scot and my Mum was English. She is the person who introduced me to Mr. King and I've been a fan since a child (I am 57 now). She loved to read aloud to my sister and me and even now when I pick up one of his older books, I hear her Cockney accent in my head 😊My Mum insisted that Mr. King's wife Tabby was the actual author of Tommyknockers. She was so invested in this idea that she wrote him a letter. To our shock, he wrote her back! Thus began an approx 15 year span of correspondence between him and my Mum. She was enormously well-read, very intelligent and quite outspoken in her opinions. Mr. King is an amazingly kind person and seemed to delight in her acerbic wit and critique of his books. I may not have loved every book he has written, but I own them all and I will always love him for being so respectful and lovely to my mother. She never told anyone but close family about her famous correspondent. My sister has all of the letters carefully put away in a vault and roughly every couple of years, we take them out and read them (aloud in a bad Cockney accent! 😉) Love and Bless xo EDIT: The Stand, IT, Pet Sematary and Salem's Lot are my top 4. Night Shift was my 1st. Read feverishly in the back of my parent's old station wagon on a trip home from holiday. I finished it, turned it over and read it again. Loved it.
Oh wow, what an amazing story. That's really lovely! And great that he enjoyed her critique of his work!
I’ll never forget reading Night Shift for the first time and reading scary story after scary story and then he just put The Last Rung on the Ladder right in the middle. I will never emotionally recover
Read the cycle of the werewolf when I was in middle school and I LOVED IT back then. I'm not saying it's great, but it was quite good as I remember... short but fun.
I recently reread it and it’s still really good. Illustrations are excellent!
I loved the illustrations
Okay, so about 15 years ago I decided to reread King’s novels. I grew up in Bangor, Maine, had photos of King’s mansion, and did my very first book report on King (with much dismay from a teacher with a raised eyebrow).
I wanted to reread to see if the writing was up to par after having grown up. For some reason, I thought the work to be amateur-ish; however, upon rereading The Shining, I was proven absolutely wrong! So incredibly beautiful!!
I did learn, in my adolescent report, that King would turn his desk, such that his back was against the wall in his chair so he could see outward and disallow the opportunity for anything/anyone to creep up behind him.
Your choices are yours to own!! My favorites are around the Marsten house, but I love so many!! His work held up for me. Excellent journeys!!
That’s a great fact about him sitting with his back to the wall!
My very favourite kind of book is popular fiction that has that little something extra that lifts it. I think King’s best books have that.
@@CriminOllyBlog I should note that I was also 6 years old when I wrote that report. 🤣🤣 Granted, I was too little to understand half of what he was writing about, but I loved Sometimes They Come Back. I did love Tommyknockers (especially the film adaptation with Traci Lords), Pet Semetary, The Dome, Misery, and (gosh) so many others!! The Green Mile!?I bought each book as they came out. You’re right in that there seemed to be a lot of filler in between his best works, but I enjoyed following his stream of consciousness, none-the-less. 😊
Really enjoying your channel. Great video!
Thank you so much!
I grew up in Germany and when I was 13 our new young German Teacher thought it was a good idea to let us introduce our favorite book and then pick one democratically that we all read together. So a girl told us about this very interesting book about friendship, sticking together and social dynamics from Richard Bachman called "The Long Walk" We picked this. Our teacher- not knowing who Bachman was- ordered 30 copies and gave them to us on a Friday. It was the first time in the history of our school that almost everybody had finished their book next Monday. We had a boy whose mother was a fundamental Christian. Let me say it this way. That guy is happy that he is still allowed to teach...
Oh wow, 5 minutes in and one of the only books you haven't read by him is my all time favorite of his (Lisey's Story) lol. I know a lot of people skip over that one or put it low on their lists but something about it really stuck with me. I hope you'll enjoy it when you do read it!
many thanks for taking the time to compile your lists and create this video. I have read the hardcover version of 'Salem's Lot numerous times and I think that one along with The Shining are my favorites. best wishes from south Florida 🏖
Glad you enjoyed it!
Loved watching this and have a similar view as you to the rankings. For me revival was the novel that got me into stephen king so it is nice to see someone who gives the novel some love as I do feel it is a good novel
Just discovered your channel a few days ago. Really enjoying your videos .
Thank you! Really pleased you're enjoying the channel :)
I'm a huge SK fan and I enjoyed this video. I really loved seeing all of the UK editions with covers I have never seen.
Ah cool! I hadn’t even considered that side of things
Wow, what an undertaking! I'll have to get back once I've finished this video 😁
I've only read about 6 or 7 King novels so far lol
Yeah it required a bit more planning than most of my videos 😂
I remember picking up Insomnia a long time ago and read a little bit of it. What I read I enjoyed but for some reason put it down. I may try and give it a go again sometime. 11/22/63 is my favourite King novel, with Under the Dome coming at a close second. Great video and nice collection!
Thank you! Those are both fun ones!
Excellent! Your hauling down all those books was well worth it!
Thank you, sir!
Just found your channel yesterday: great, great stuff! You got a new subscriber from Finland. ☺
Misery is not just my favourite King, it is also one of my favourite books of all time: I love the characters (like you said, Annie is a fantastic villain!) and I love that very limited situation they are in (it all happens basically in one room) and how twisted and weirdly, umm, domestic their relationship kind of is. I love King when he writes about writing, and I love the aspect of addiction in the book. It was also the first King I ever read. I've since re-read it at least four times and own two different copies of it. 📚
I also really liked Billy Summers when I read it last year, and I would recommend it. Even though it felt pretty standard "assassins last gig"-movie, I loved the deep character study, which I think is one of King's specialities, I think he is excellent in that. And again there was a lot about writing (the main character was undercover as a writer), which I love. And a scene set in Colorado. Again, the book was a little too long but overall great.
So far I've read 13 of King's books, but this video certainly served as a recommendation: Cujo and Gerald's game are now on top of my list. Thanks, I might report back!
Thank you! Really glad you’re enjoying the channel 😊
I’m hoping to get to Billy Summers soon. And I completely agree that King is often at his best when he’s writing about writing.
Thank you Olly. I truly enjoyed That and the way you divided them up. Some of the books you mentioned I had not heard of and will definitely look into some of them. My favourites are The Stand, Salem's Lot, Dolores Claiborne, Christine and Misery. Take care of you and keep doing what you are doing 🧙
Thank you! Really glad you enjoyed the video 😊
King is such a fantastic author
It's so nice to hear someone loves Dolores Claiborne like I do! I agree it was a beautiful book and the writing was some of the best of his I've read. That one is probably in my top three or four along with Misery and The Long Walk.
Yeah I really did think it was a great book
Loved this video. Makes me want to go back and reread all these. I liked how sentimental you seemed when you pointed out the first Stephen King book that you bought. I feel that way about The Dead Zone, which I bought for fifty cents at a garage sale.
I think he's an author that so many of us have lived much of our lives with
@@CriminOllyBlog You're so right. He's etched himself into the reading zeitgeist for most of the reading public. Even if you don't read Stephen King, you know who he is.
It was great listening to you talk about why you liked or didn’t like all these books, impressive collection! Thanks for sharing the video!
Thank you! Really glad you enjoyed it.
I never understood how King became famous. I am surprised to learn he wrote as many books as he did! You're teaching me stuff. Thank you.
Glad you found it useful!
@@CriminOllyBlog It seems the older I get, the less I know!
@@warrenpope749 Same! Or at least the less I know that's actually useful and relevant
Fun video! You remind me that I still need to read more King.
Thank you! And yes you do!
I loved your list, I recognized it was a real effort to rank all Stephen King's books we know it is huge!! My first books from Stephen King came from the local library starting with Carrie, Pet Semetary, Dead Zone, Shinning, and It... But the one in the beginning which really hurt me to the point of being in my head till today (30 years later) was Christine. Serious, I was in my high school and I could feel the pain of the boy who bought the car. The pain, rage, and incapacity to change the impression that people had about him. That is when King took my soul forever.
Thanks Heloisa, really glad you liked the list. And yes agree that King does a great job of the Cunningham's character in Christine. Thanks for watching!
I just finished Mr Mercedes.
The first time I tried to read it, it didn´t work for me but a few years later, I loved it and started Finder´s Keepers today.
I have nearly all of his books was collecting pretty heavily for years then I finally decided to slow down and actually read them back in January I started his books in release order and I'm doing very well
Excellent! I think reading in release order is always a fun way to experience an author. You’ve got some great reads ahead of you!
That is a great list! Personally, I have The Stand, IT and The Shining as my top three. This is closely followed by the entire Dark Tower series and Salem's Lot. Needful Things, I believe, is a criminally under-rated novel and Full Dark, No Stars blew me away.
I definitely need to reread Needful Things, as a few people have said they really rate it. I think I've only read it once and that was when it first came out.
Loved the green mile series could not WAIT for next edition and used to go out to lunch from work to see if it was in the shops !
I think there are some other brilliant stories in skeleton crew i.e. The Jaunt, Word Processor of the Gods to name two. Unsure what you mean with ‘African American tropes’ in The Stand. I only ever felt Mother Abigail was a homely wise old woman with a channel to god etc. IT agree weird ending however films did not help the cause making it weirder. Hated second TV adaptions on to of IT and The Stand! Christine my fave! End quote made me cry. Everything’s Eventual, The Man in the Black Suit is chilling to me and 1408, those two are two of the only King stories that genuinely scared me! The Talisman is epic. Bizarre of Bad Dreams Bad Little Kid was creepy!
Yeah it was a really great way to read a book
Needful Things is a King classic! I guess everyone has there own opinions but for me that’s top 10 everyday
Very interesting rankings! I find it so funny how every King fan I know or have listened to online have so many widely varying opinions on which ones are their faves and which ones aren't... the rankings are totally different every time. Maybe that's King's genius right there! Also, I got far too excited at your kitties two seconds of fame in this video. Let him hang out more! 😅
I think he’s one of those authors (perhaps partly because he’s so prolific) that people read over decades, so the books that really connect with them might have done so because of something that clicked with that at that time in their life.
People do seem to like Venus. I’ll have to see if I can persuade her to feature in more videos.
Earlier this month, I finally read a Stephen King novel - Firestarter. I quite enjoyed it after I got past the usage of the “sinister secret government organization”, which is now cliché but was probably less so back then. The final page had a nice kick to it that left a grin on my face.
My only other Stephen King book was the graphic novel “Creepshow”. It’s been years since I read that.
I think I used to have a copy of that Creepshow comic. I might have to dig around and see if it’s in a box somewhere. Glad you enjoyed Firestarter! I agree it is quite dated and cliched though.
I really enjoyed the video and loved your choice of No.1 - but I was shocked that Needful Things was so low in the ranking as it is my favourite King novel! hahaha - I'm probably a bit weird, I just love the build up and the trope of a stranger coming to town and screwing with everyone is one I love and I think he does it great in that book - other than that 22/11/63, Pet Sematary, Shining, Dead Zone and Misery are top picks for me too - Nightshift is a special one for me as it's one of the first books I bought from anyone. I liked Christine too, but I see a lot of King fans rate it quite badly...amazing that you got through 58 books in that commentary! A hell of an undertaking!
Thank you! I probably need to reread Needful Things, but I remember being pretty unimpressed with it.
Needful things reminded me of The Master and Margarita
Which like needful things... Starts off good but just drags on and I begin to lose interest.... Both of these novels I've read a little over half way and then put back on the shelf without completing
@@bradleymcdonald6273 I thought that was going to happen to me but it kept up the interest for me - but I was surprised, after noticing how the book was going to pan out. I totally get what you’re saying though
@@bookssongsandothermagic my favourite Stephen King so far is
11.22.63
And one that I think doesn't get the love it deserves... INSOMNIA
@@bookssongsandothermagic I love how everybody has different tastes, it's interesting... Like I absolutely hated Salem's Lot... but for some people it's number one
Olly, I'm new to your channel and late to this video, but should you see this comment, I HIGHLY recommend the audiobook version of Dolores Claiborne. IMO, it's a vanishingly rare novel that's elevated in other formats, but this is one. The performance by actress Frances Sternhagen as Dolores is a tour de force--she absolutely NAILS the complexity of Dolores as a character. Cheers!
Thank you, Carla. Dolores Claiborne is one of the King books I’ve been thinking about rereading so I may give the audio a try.
Ooh! I love “vanishingly rare!!” What a great descriptor!!
Pretty epic, man, despite the DNFs. SK was such an enormous part of the 80s, his impact is still strongly felt, whatever the quality of his (many) novels. I really liked 'Salems Lot, The Stand, The Dead Zone, really, really, really liked The Talisman. I still think about some of those characters, especially the minor ones. I mean, Trashcan Man--f---king hilarious (the one in the novel, not the TV series). Mark Petrie was awesome, to name only a couple.
Yeah as someone who was a teenager in the 80s he played an enormous part in my growth as a reader
@@CriminOllyBlog Ramsey Campbell, in my humble opinion, is superior, and Straub. But I'll always have a soft spot for the King. He was my childhood.
thanks for doing this!
Glad you found it useful!
I wholeheartedly agree on The Shining and Sleeping Beauties! However, I also really liked Needful Things. I liked the dynamic within the town and between the people, that way people can be easily manipulated and the slow escalation that created quite a lot of dread while reading it. Overall, I do agree with most of your ratings though - gotta go watch more of your horror-related videos, we do seem to have similar taste. Where have you been all my (booktube) life? :D
I do need to reread Needful Things as it’s been a long time and quite a few people seem to regard it more fondly than me.
Glad you enjoyed the video! Plenty more horror content on the channel 😊
"A lot longer than it needs to be" should be the go-to cover blurb for most of his books. Sometimes he starts strong and then rambles on so long he doesn't know how to end them. CELL is a good example of that.
Ha! Very true
The Stand, Needful Things, Misery, The Long Walk, 11.22.63, The Dead Zone, Salem's Lot, and The Shining, are my favorites.
All great ones - thanks for watching, Lisa!
woooow what a list!! way to go!
CriminOlly did a fantastic job with this video! Ranking videos are always fun but a lot of work to put together!
@@Monsterblood totally agree!! 💯
Thanks! Was fun doing it, although it did need a bit of brain power
@@CriminOllyBlog I'm sure it did!
We have the same exact taste! The Shining is my all-time favorite, and I really detested The Tommyknockers hahaha. Definitely give Doctor Sleep a chance; I was pleasantly surprised by it.
I've read it now and I didn't love it I'm afraid
Aw that's a bummer! I tend to be overly generous with this particular story though because I loved The Shining THAT MUCH! I liked the movie too! @@CriminOllyBlog
@@IngaNoniFayJeth yeah I’ve head the movie is really good from a few people. Will definitely try it now that I’ve read the book
King brought me into reading and "It" is still my favourite book of all times!
Thanks for that video Ollie. I disagree on most of the choices ;-) but obviously that's individual thing to like or dislike certain books, especially if you have a writer with that many books out. Two things though: 1) loved your comment on 11.23.63 / this is the only book ever which left me in tears by the end of it. honest! 2) Revival - agreed, not so popular but I loved it. Such a great concept. Reminded me a lot of "Prestige" by Christopher Nolan's film. Among my favourite SK books. Thanks for the effort with creating the video. All the best Ollie
Yeah I think everyone’s list will be different. And yes I get what you mean about Prestige, there’s definitely a similarity there. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Loved The Tommyknockers, Duma Key, Mr. Mercedes, Storm of the Century
This was great! The Shining is definitely a top fave of mine also. And I loved Revival-I know some folks don’t like it but I thought it as fantastic. My least fave King is Elevation. Blech.
Thank you! I haven’t read Elevation yet, but I have heard mostly negative things about it, so it’s not near the top of my list!
@@CriminOllyBlog yeah don’t rush to read that one.
Recently read Revival and it was terrifying and amazing! King coming back to true horror!
Yeah, a lot of people seem to have not liked it so much, but I thought it was great
Very interesting rankings. I don't have a list handy, but I know our lists diverge wildly. Except when they don't. :-)
Ha! I think I'd be a bit freaked out if anyone's list was identical to mine
ja again funny and intriguing: i was really convinced that there was a broader consensus among King fans on his bad or good books, but the books you dont like i do very much, some are my favourites like Insomnia Rose Madder or Lisey`s story and Duma Key...
6:30 no, sorry Sir, but Tommy-Knockers is so great. There are some really interesting plots inside. I enjoyed reading it when I was a teenager, back in the late 80s and I remember so much of it now.
I do need to reread it, as has been a very long time! I may well be completely wrong.
Tommyknockers is a flawed masterpiece
Sorry to hear that Duma Key didn't work for you on your first attempt. I also abandoned it on my first read-through, but upon revisiting it, I found it to be great fun. It also contains the best friendship in all of King's oeuvre, in my opinion. It's very uneven but worth another look.
I’ll definitely give it another go at some point. It’s on my TBR shelves rather than hidden away in the attic!
Loved Duma Key.
Recently read The Outsider, The Colorado Kid. Some reviewers place The Colorado kid dead last. I agree with you that it’s very good. I really liked Mr. Mercedes so eager to read the other 2 in the trilogy.
Yeah, I love King's crime work. The other two Hodges books are just as good as the first (if not better!)
I'd be curious what you thought of the last entries into the Dark Tower series if you got around to reading them. I didn't like book 5 and 6 but loved the final book, and think the ending is fine. The only King book i never finished was Insomnia; gave up on it about 400 pages in or so.
I will politely disagree about Bag of Bones. I loved the story and the imagery of the story. I have read it and listened to it.
Fair enough! I think everyone's list will be different
Thank you for this list. The Talisman and Dark Half are my two favorites so far. For some reason I have not been able to get through the Dark Tower and I dont know why. I almost forgot about Desperation. I remember not liking the ending. I liked Bag of Bones. And Skeleton Crew is just overall a good introduction to King. Needful Things is a dry read (to me) until the last 20 pages and that is the best part of the book
Thanks for watching! Needful Things is one I'm planning to reread at some point, so I'll see what I think of it second time round. A lot of people seem to really love that one
I don't like Dark Tower either
@@CriminOllyBlog I think because the ending is so good it makes people forget how dry the beginning was. And it's a lot of "small town" gossip that I'm sure many people are into. But I liked that it referenced so much of the Stephen King multiverse, so to speak 😆
Love Talisman and Black House. I also loved hearts of Atlantis, gunslinger, and the eye of the dragon, and The Bachman Books, and Different seasons… my favorite of kings short stories is Mrs. Todd’s short cut. I think that one is in skeleton key? Christine was the first king book I read too
How funny we both started with Christine!
@@CriminOllyBlog yeah because my grandma was a home beautician and one of her customers was a high school teacher and they knew I loved horror, so the teacher brought over Christine (I had just finished the exorcist and Dune). She thought it was one of the most tame King books (although, like you said, there was a lot of cursing and stuff😄)
@@tiffanyclark-grove1989 That's really awesome!
Great reviews olive but i tried with the book ( it) and 400 pages in I was lost and I ended up watching film , which i try avoid the imagination is far greater and audiobooks if want to see it as listening,but can I ask question it’s wolves book you mentioned there about werewolves ?, before I look it up ,
I noticed you have a couple of Michael Slade novels, love his stuff
Yeah he's great! I read the first few back in the 80s/90s and bought them again recently to do a read through of the series
Of the ones I've read, The Stand, Dolores Claiborne, Gerald's Game, Eyes of the Dragon and The Talisman are some of my favorites. Pet Sematary and Cujo are good too. Oh! And The Drawing of the Three.
Oh and I loved The Bachman Books. Rage, The Long Walk and The Running Man are great. I've not read Roadwork.
I started re-reading the Dark Tower series last year. I haven’t read The Talisman, Black House, Bazaar of Bad Dreams, The Regulators, Hearts in Atlantis, Thinner, Joyland, Night Shift, Sleeping Beauties, Cycle of the werewolf, The Colorado Kid or Later yet. Lisey’s Story is a favorite. I want to re-read Tommy Knocker and Needful Things, I remember loving them but it’s been 20 years ago. I read The Green Mile the same way. John Saul had a book set up that way. I agree, Finders Keepers is the best in that trilogy. The Dark Half was my introduction to King when I was 14. Nightmares and Dreamscapes is on my nightstand. I just finished Billy Summers, loved it. I also really enjoyed The Institute 😊
I started The Institute but didn't get on with it - I think I just wasn't in the right mood. Really want to read Billy Summers!
Yes, I enjoyed all the recent books; Billy Summers, Later, The Institute. I have a lot of John Saul books but have not read them yet.
@@CriminOllyBlog The Institute does not really kick in till the last 100 pages so hang in there.
@@AllenFreemanMediaGuru thanks! I’ll definitely give it another try sometime
Lisey's Story (lee-see) is, as you say, "worth the effort." It's different for King, but still familiar in his ways... beautiful... And on a side note, the Apple+ adaptation is spot on, in retrospect to Hulu's adaptation of 11/22/63, or the recent adaptation of The Stand, which both took to many shortcuts, including cutting best-parts of the story. ☺
Ah that's good to know - thank you!
I couldn't see Lisey's story on the numbered list. What number is it? I'm currently reading it and finding it a little tricky to stick with!
@@lew.parker it's not on the list. It's on his unread list. ☺
@@KodaMeansFriend Thank you 😃
The Drawing of the Three is definitely my fav of The Dark Tower series. My fav SK book though is The Stand.
Yeah I really like The Drawing of the Three!
@@CriminOllyBlog I've read it at least 3 times.
Firestarter is great! 🔥 The Dead Zone is excellent.
I’m looking forward to rereading Dead Zone soon
King is my favourite author by miles, so here is my top list. It's a top 13, as I can't narrow it down to just 10. I've not read all his books, but of the ones I've still to read, I can only really see Revival or possibly Duma Key cracking this top 13, but probably not!
Anyway...
1. The Stand
2. It
3. The Dark Tower VII - The Dark Tower
4. 11/22/63
5. Needful Things
6. Salem's Lot
7. Under the Dome
8. The Dark Tower II - The Drawing of the Three
9. The Green Mile
10. The Dark Tower III - The Waste Lands
11. Pet Sematary
12. Misery
13. The Shining
For such a classic book as the Shining to only be my 13th favourite book of his illustrates how highly I regard his work.
Currently my bottom 5 is...
1. Rage
2. Lisey's Story
3. Gerald's Game
4. Elevation
5. Carrie
I think the wonder of King is that everyone gets something slightly different from him and has different favourites.
My Grandad had that edition of Carrie, with the same cover. I remember sneaking to his book case to look at it, at around 7 years old, and being completely terrified by the picture, but I just couldn’t stop looking at it
It is a really striking cover image! Horror book covers were so much more graphic back then
Cool ranking..
Glad you enjoyed it
I have just started reading stephen king books last year. The books I have read are IT, the shining, and part of dreamcatcher. I have read IT twice. The book I'm reading right now is if it bleeds. After that book I'm gonna a read Firestarter because I recently ordered it off line
You’d started with a couple of his very best ones! I read If It Bleeds recently and totally liked 2 of the stories in it. Firestarter is a lot of fun too. He’s a great author to get into as he’s written so much! Hope you continue to enjoy his work
I have to admit that the first Stephen King book I read was The Shining, knowing the plot having seen Kubrick’s rendition of the novel by movie. Sooo much scarier than the movie!!🎃
It really is!
I have a unique position on King’s books (I think?). Apparently the planets were aligned on 4/5/74, the day that Carrie (his very first published novel) was published. By a stroke of I don’t know what, a mere 2 days later I accidentally came across it on my weekly trip to my neighborhood Bookmobile. That week it was the only available book I was interested in (my weekly haul was typically 3-4). Loved it 100%. So-49 years later, I’ve gone out of my way to make sure I purchased new releases, in hardcover, on the release date. Of course, there are a handful that I found “meh”, but none that I actually disliked. My ranking list differs wildly from yours, but to each their own, for sure! Now - I need to buy another bookcase!!
Wow, that is a great story. I bet your shelf is very impressive
This is an interesting ranking. Personally, I think King is really good at epic horror. Books like It, The Stand, Duma Key, which are very long but brilliant. I have only read about 11/12 King novels. My favourites are:
3. Pet Sematary.
2. Duma Key.
1. It.
I think his style suits that kind of epic book quite well, because the length fits the subject matter
Awwww, you didn't talk about his nonfiction! Danse Macabre and On Writing are two of the best books I've ever read! Danse Macabre is particularly fun, as he praises and dishes on books, TV shows, movies, and even old time radio shows he loved. While he's doing that, he weaves in bits of biographical information, so you get a clear picture of what his interests are and what made him into the writer he is. It's dated (of course it is; he wrote it forty years ago), but he is at his best when he's talking about horror novels in the final chapter. You literally can't stop reading, and after you're done, you want to go find copies of the books he recommended. I did, and King wasn't wrong about them. On Writing is simply a masterpiece. The bio, the advice for aspiring writers, and what he remembers about the accident that almost killed him...not to mention how moving the story is of how writing brought him back to his life when he was absolutely miserable. It might just make you want to pick up a pen and start writing yourself. It did for me. By the way, you asked, so...
My favorite King book is Night Shift. When I was a kid, knee-high to a grasshopper, I loved those Alfred Hitchcock anthologies that I believe I've mentioned before, if you remember. Couldn't get enough of them. My late cousin, who I loved very much, found out about my obsession and said, "You like scary short stories? Read this!" And she handed me a copy of Night Shift. Holy gee! This was one of those Alfred Hitchcock books on steroids! Every story in that book is a winner! Steve's got this talent for taking an absurd situation (like a big bulky speed ironer and folder getting possessed by a demon) and making it seem plausible and terrifying. A world wiped out by the flu. An astronaut gets taken over by something he picked up out in space. A guy lays on a psychiatrist's couch to talk about the deaths of all three of his kids, but there's something he doesn't know about the shrink. The best ones are the nonsupernatural ones that play on our real-life fears of heights, being watched, losing a loved one, becoming the victim of a criminal. I can't find enough good things to say about Night Shift, but enough's enough. It'll all be in my book, _Why I Kill._ Coming out this Christmas. Bantam, $4.95. Also makes a wonderful First Communion or Bat Mitzvah gift.
I do actually have a copy of Danse Macabre, but have never read it or On Writing. As for writing, I did actually try my hand at it a few years back and self-published a few things. I know how much work it is, so congrats on your book and good luck with it!
My favorite Stephen King book is Carrie. It the first Stephen King book I ever read, and it quickly became my favorite book period. It's a really short but really powerful about high school. Having graduated just last year, I understand it completely. My only complaint about the book is the ending. It's the most depressing thing I've ever read.
I have to compliment you in the fact that I thought you were quite young age-wise until you mentioned in the video that you read it when it first came out. I'm 55 years old I read it when it first came out It scared the hell out of me to the point where I put it down somewhere in the 3/4 of the book because I was just too terrified and would not pick it up again for 6 months. But the thing is that makes you somewhere near my age and quite honestly looking at you in the video I was just thinking you were in your 30s.
I’m 50 - so yes not far off!
Great ranking!!!
I didn't know Rage was being taken out of publication, I suppose that's not too surprising though. I do want to read it now because of that lol.
11/22/63 is a book I've heard nothing but good things about, but the very premise holds no interest or appeal to me... the idea of time traveling historical fiction has me scratching my head. I just don't get it 🤔
I remember really enjoying Koontz's novel Lightning, up until it treaded into that historical fiction category involving WW2 and I completely lost interest at that point, lol.
I can see why you haven't yet finished Duma Key. That and Bag of Bones; probably my 2 least favorite King books so far. They're both incredibly long with not enough of a story to make use of that length. I definitely agree most of his books are longer than they need to be and I think King is at his best in the short story! Night Shift is fantastic.
My two favorite novels of his are Salem's Lot and Misery. They're kind of tied, both 4 star ratings from me.
Yeah Rage has been out of print for some time now. More recent versions of The Bachman Books only has the other three books.
I like 11/22/63 a lot, but the good thing about King is if you don’t like a particular book there are plenty more to choose from 😂
Cell didn't do it for me either. I also thought he was ripping off The Stand. I really liked The Dead Zone. I think it's worth another read. Carrie was my first King book and Cujo was my first King movie! I still remember Rest Stop too and think about it when I travel! Just After Sunset is great.
I might try and get to The Dead Zone again soon!
In the early 80s through the early 90s I read every King book as it was published, but I started losing interest with Needful Things. I kept up here and there for a few more years after that, I’ve read nearly nothing for years. I did read 11/63 but I found his explanations of time travel down right silly.
King does have a tendency to amp up the supernatural or extraordinary events to a volume the breaks my suspension of disbelief. Growing older I have less tolerance for his style of magic or whatever you want to call it.
Pet Cemetery is my favorite.
Yeah I do think some of his books would be better if they were written straight with less supernatural bells and whistles.
Also it occurred to me after filming the video that I should have referred to 11/22/63 as 22/11/63
Sadly I felt I grew out of his particular style of writing in my late 20's and 30's as well for much the same reason (suspension of disbelief) and was kind of curious to know if he's penned a few good reads since then. I like his short stories/collections books alot. The stories are quick and fun.
First book I ever read by king was Later since i got it for like $6 at target and it was pretty short so it was a good first book. Finished it last night. I thought the story telling was great, but I just think the ending really left the story wide open without much conclusion. I guess I'm in for a treat in his other books if its your worst book haha.
😂 perhaps! A lot of people do seem to like Later a lot more than I did though.
You’ve certainly got some wonderful reading ahead of you.
Thanks for watching!
My top 5 worst books by king are Gerald's game, Thinner, Revival, Rose Madder and Joyland. I love this author, I've read about 35 of his books so far, most of them I really enjoyed or loved. I like his recent work, I know a lot of people don't but I think he's still got it.
I tend to prefer his earlier work, but I do agree he’s still capable of turning out fantastic books
I liked Joyland but most of it was not horror. The scary part seemed tacked on to a nice little “my summer job” story.
It’s funny, I agree with you on most of these, but I loved Bag of Bones and The Colorado Kid is one of my least favorite books I’ve ever read. But I thoroughly enjoy your videos and am grateful to both agree and disagree with you. I’m glad to see Christine so high, I think people frequently underrate it.
Thank you! I think everyone's list is going to be different. Glad you're enjoying the channel
I had Desperation and The Regulators shrunk wrapped together back in the mid 90s. Fell in love with Desperation but couldn't get into The Regulators. I think The Stand and Desperation are two of his best works, truly works of literary art. I just recently listened to the audiobook not 11/22/63 and loved the idea and all but it slogged heavily when it got to the love story but. And if I ever hear the phrase: "The past is obdurate" one more time I swear I'm going to jump off the highest mountain I can find. I swear he said that phrase at least 70 odd tims in that book. Sooooo irritating
Ha! Yeah he does get stuck in little ruts like that sometimes.
I don’t know if you ever got to Duma Key but it wasn’t one of my favs and about 2 years ago I listened to it on Audible and it is now one of my favorites.
Ah that's good to know - I still haven't got to it
@@CriminOllyBlog it was also the only way I go through Under The Dome as well
@@angelaarcher7781 yeah that one took me 3 goes I think
I’m still fairly new to SK and have only read 17 of his books so far. For a while now I have been struggling to choose which one to read next. Which would you recommend I read next based on my ranking of the ones I’ve read so far?
1. IT
2. Rage
3. The Running Man
4. 11/22/63
5. Joyland
6. Gwendy’s Button Box
7. Misery
8. Revival
9. ‘Salem’s Lot
10. Firestarter
11. The Long Walk
12. The Shining
13. The Institute
14. Cycle Of The Werewolf
15. Pet Sematary
16. Later
17. The Colorado Kid
I'd say The Stand - thanks for watching!
I loved From a Buick 8
I've enjoyed everything Stephen King has done. You might say I'm his number one fan.
Very good!
I actually found "Later" to be an outstanding short novel. "Cell" I enjoyed too.
Also olly that copy of duma key and liseys you have are extremely rare and out of print, I collect those editions of hodders and they’re worth so much money currently
I loved the fact that The Colorado Kid ranked high. Much hated not just by fans of King but also of Hard Case Crime Books.
I consider it a great postmodern mystery in the thread of Auster's New York Trilogy and Murakami's A Wild Sheep Chase. No clear solution, but that's precisely the point.🙂
Thank you! Yes I really, really loved it. It seems to get to the heart of what makes mystery fiction appealing.
I read the Colorado Kid just towards the end of 2022... and I absolutely loved it also. Not sure why a lot of King fans don't like it.
11.22 was my favorite too.
It is a good one
What do you think of Danse Macabre and On Writing? I enjoyed them both, but the first is a favorite.
I've actually not read either!
I think you forgot "Dreamcatcher". Not a popular book but I quite liked the alien aspect and the crazy general hunting them.
I have read that one, but may well have missed it in the list! Thought it was interesting but not entirely successful. Thanks for watching!
Me too 😄
A long one! So long you had to change rooms and clothes? I thought the TV series of Mr. Mercedes was really good! The music startled me! 🎶🎵 How many cats do you have?
Yeah this is still the longest one I've done I think. Just the one cat
Hi there, on the whole would you recommend reading the stand to a Stephen king fan? It’s obviously quite a large commitment
Yes, definitely. If you’re a fan already it’s very much worth reading. It’s not perfect, but a lot of it is really great.
@@CriminOllyBlog cool thank you, will pick up a copy.
The dark Tower is my favorite literary work of all time!
I really need to finish reading it!
it is just after BERSERK for me
Haven't gotten into Berserk yet, but it's definitely going to happen for me at some point.
@@SLAYGOTH I need to read that too sometime
Thank God Pet Sematary was in your loved list! It blew my mind man! I still think about it after reading it long ago when I was a teen.
You like the "starkness" of The Dark Half. I see what you did there.
Lol that was accidental 😂
Read very few King books but they do include From A Buick 8 and Cell which I found very addictive reads if disappointing endings. I loved 11/22/63, remember enjoying Finders Keepers but don't remember the story. Will reread this one as still on my book shelf. Disliked Night Shift, especially the Lawnmower Man story.
Yeah Lawnmower Man is a very strange story!
Crazy how no one’s King list is the same. Shining is in my bottom 3-4 King books I read and yet you have it at #1 😅
I guess when he’s been writing for so long it’s not surprising. I think a big part of it is down to personal connection with the books rather than objective assessment of their quality.
Thanks for watching!
Funny how you hated Bag of Bones, Desperation and Hearts In Atlantis. I love them. In fact Hearts In Atlantis for me, may contain some of his very best writing. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
Yeah totally, every book is different for every person! That's why talking about them is so much fun!
Oddest thing about King's books is how widely different peoples opinions of them are, people can love a book and others hate the same book, except an handful and even they don't escape it. There's mostly no real consensus of opinion, which makes me wonder is it the book and writing or is it the people reading them.
Well that's kind of true of any book - I think it's just more visible with King because so many people have read and expressed opinions on his books
I like S. King, specially his macabre stories. IT and The Stand are my favorites.
Those are both great ones! Thanks for watching, Lydia!
Must add, Rage probably should be retitled back to its original, stunning name: Getting It On
I may have missed it, but did you mention Storm of the Century? Besides The Shining, it's my favorite film adaptation.
I didn’t. I actually haven’t read that one