Score

Ok, I know that the King has had some misses with his big list of books and I agree with some on the list (still haven't finished Lisey's Story) but I disagree with a few nominees.

This is why:

Dreamcatcher might have had a lot of negative stuff but I still enjoyed it. The camaraderie between the main characters was cool and the insight into King's head after his accident was intriguing.

Hearts in Atlantis is regarded as one of his best books from a technical viewpoint, and has some wonderful and weird moments.

The Regulators might lack the depth of other novels but is a fun, quick read with loads of action!

Bag of Bones - a classic ghost story told by the King!

Desperation is a action packed book filled with horror as good fight evil and even has some great religious insights.

Christine is one of my all time favourites and I had such fun reading about it. Yes, its a bit wacky with a possessed car, but what a ride!

I loved Insomnia's insight into the afterlife and all the mysteries that surround it.

Rose Madder might not be a very typical King book, but you can't blame the guy for typecasting. Rose madder's intro is one of the most intense pages I've ever read!

I found this webite by accident however after reading this list I HAD to put a comment. ome of the book I agree with however some the books on this list are a liviing example of lunacy just by being there. Classic such as Carrie and Christine I don't think should be there as well as desperation, insomnia, dreamcatcher for crying out loud. But the worst one is "IT". I have read a lot of horror books in my "young adult" life and seen every horror movie I could get my hands on (one of which was "IT" which has been a favorite since I was 4) and I have had one movie and one book in the past 18 years that has actually succeeded in giving me nightmares. The movie makes no nevermind however that book was "IT". Have the people that voted even read the book? To imagine everything you were ever scared of put in your face and used against you. No safe place, no running to mommy and everything was alright. There was no runnin and I loved it. I have to say that if "IT" has apparently been put on this list then I'm just waiting for the Dark Tower Series to be put on here as well. A lot of the reviews said they didn't like the endings of the books. Well, I'm only 21 but I understand that while the ending is important, the story is what quite frankly makes the story. So, read these books again, forget the ending, and try to look past the black and white text and see what is written underneath!

I agree. IT SHOULD NOT be on the list...I guess the people that read it didnt have the intelligence to understand it, BUT it was a FANTASTIC book...no arguing with that.

How come "Bag of Bones" is on the list!!

"Cujo" is very underrated in my opinion

and "It" should not be on the list

i think cujo is only on the list because it got sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo boring when king got off topic talking about cereal and poop.

Did the people that voted even read the books?
Gerald's Game at #2?? It's one of the best book I've read and I will read it again and again.
More than half the books here are great.

huh..? Insomnia was very first book I've read made by S.Kings... and since then I hunger for more .. well I guess people have different taste, depth and perception ....?

I liked Insomnia too. I agree that IT shouldn't be on the list. I kinda feel bad for voting for Carrie, but really it was pretty dry and boring in a lot of places. I HATED The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon...I'm mad that I lost precious time reading it and I'll never get it back!

re. Cujo. I love when King goes off topic and starts talking about cereal. I think that that's what makes him such an interesting writer :) I also believe that that's why none of his books really translate well onto the screen - the internal dialog that he's so brilliant at can't ever really be included.

Tyler wrote: "i think cujo is only on the list because it got sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo boring when king got off topic talking about cereal and poop.
"

I laughed for 10 minutes when I read your comment. I personally loved Cujo, but I agree. That part was boring.

Stephen King was my first love, but I felt like he betrayed me after I read Needful Things and then Gerald's Game. I put him away for about 15 years and I have finally found him again. I am currently listening to Lisey's Story in my car. It's killing me to listen to this boring story right now. Something needs to happen already.

And I agree with the It lovers. That book was freakin' amazing. And the Shining is on this list?? Get out of town... Those were two of the books that made me fall in love.

Jessup wrote: "I liked Insomnia too. I agree that IT shouldn't be on the list. I kinda feel bad for voting for Carrie, but really it was pretty dry and boring in a lot of places. I HATED The Girl Who Loved Tom..."

I agreed with Carrie as well. Good premise but you can tell its an earlier book for sure.

Before 2001, I had no reaction to the book Insomnia. After September 11, 2001, I tried to read the book again and couldn't get beyond the plane flying into a building and starting a fire.
I have no idea how other people feel about that day. My daughter's dad, my former husband, died in Tower 1. And I recently met a guy who worked in Tower 1, who was burned over 80% of his upper body. So my feelings about it are personal.

The fact that IT is on this list shows that the list has no credibility.

'It' was too long, and most readers couldn't stay with it, b/c it fizzled out way before page 1000. And there were over 1,100 pages in the paperback edition of the book.
Who needs that much time to tell one story?
Nobody starts out writing being allowed that many pages to work with, and 'It' had even more pages than 'The Stand' which really was good. At least in some parts.
Most of what he writes, I refuse to ever read again. Actually I refuse to read ANYTHING he writes again, but I've broken that rule at least twice and have read two short stories since I made the promise to myself. But I've never BOUGHT anything he's written since then, b/c I refuse to finance him except in cases where it's unavoidable. Like when I bought 1408 b/c John Cusack's in it and The Langoliers b/c Bronson Pinchot's in it.
There was a story in Just After Sunset, which I bought my sister for Christmas (another modified exception I guess) that was actually good, but that's b/c there was no evidence of that thing he does that I don't like in the story. There were practically no judgments in it. Except at the very beginning, when the character's wife tells him he doesn't see what's right in front of him, but I could handle it for some reason.
Anything else is strictly a no-go with me. I don't read stories for judgments. I can go to work if I want a judgment. I purposely try to make my entertainment enjoyable. Incidentally that's why I can hardly read about murders anymore.
Because of the work I do in Emergency Medicine, I feel like I absolutely have to have enjoyable entertainment.

Vicki wrote: "'It' was too long, and most readers couldn't stay with it, b/c it fizzled out way before page 1000. And there were over 1,100 pages in the paperback edition of the book.
Who needs that much time to..."

Fair enough Vikki. I feel that IT is not just a horror story just another book King is known for, but a beautiful account of kids lives and how their friendships affect them throughout. I didn't care that it didn't really get going until the end because I could've happily read about the seven kids lives for two thousand pages.
What do you mean by "Nobody starts out writing being allowed that many pages to work with"? This confuses me. A writer can work with as many pages as they want, can't they?

Thom wrote: "The fact that IT is on this list shows that the list has no credibility."

100%. I can't agree with this list at all.

I think that everyone posting negative comments about other people's intelligence are forgetting that some book choices are just personal preference; just because you think it may be the "best book ever" doesn't mean those who disagree with you are incompetent ;)

The Cell was the most exciting King book I've ever read!!!!

i just read the girl who loved tom gordon and i loved it! maybe im not the biggeest stephen king fan and maybe thats the first book i read by him but...............thats besided the point! that book doesnt deserve to be on htis list! there got my ranting out XD

Why is "The Shining" on here? It is Stephen Kings best book!

How can Under The Dome be on the list? To me, that is the best book he has ever written so far (Haven't read IT or The Stand yet) And The Shining? Come one. One of the best books behind Under The dome that I have even ever read.

I think most of us are in agreements that this list isn't up to par. And from everyone's points of view that I have read on here, and through other sites on their opinion of the 'Best/Worst book by him', it really differs.

Cell is an amazing book. I may be the only one, but i think Salem's Lot, The Shining and Cell are his best books. Dolores Clairborne is the worst. Gerald's Game is 10 times better than this.

Nicolaas wrote: "Ok, I know that the King has had some misses with his big list of books and I agree with some on the list (still haven't finished Lisey's Story) but I disagree with a few nominees.

This is why:

D..."
Rose Madder, Gerald's Game, Desperation, and Dreamcatchers are among my all-time favorites. I don't know what's happening here >.>

Stephen King Is Best and always will be.Don't Dare Call Him Worst.

What? I loved Needful Things! And IT shouldn't even be on this list (although guess for people who haven't read The Dark Tower the ending was a bit weird. Same for Insomnia)

Tom wrote: "I feel that IT is not just a horror story just another book King is known for, but a beautiful account of kids lives and how their friendships affect them throughout. I didn't care that it didn't really get going until the end because I could've happily read about the seven kids lives for two thousand pages...."

My sentiments exactly. I almost didn't even care about the horror part of the story because I just loved watching these kids together so much. Reading those 1000+ pages was a breeze.

There are some really great books on this list. Still need to read quite a few, however... I'm looking forward to them all.

What the hell are books like The Shining, IT, Carrie, Cujo doing in this list?

Some coke-snorting Stephen King hater made this list?

CELL is amazing! Can't believe it's 3th placed.

This list hurts my heart. So many of my favorites are on it!

This list is terrible. So many of these books are amazingly creative and well written. The Stand? Really? On a worst book list. My heartaches that this list even exists. Cell? Bag of Bones? The Shining? I just can't even.

This list is ridiculous.

Annette wrote: "This list is ridiculous."

Agreed! I looked at this and the only thought WTF.

The ones I've readfour) have ranged from pretty good to good enough, so no votes from me.

Stephen King has stated that Dream Catchers and Tommy Knockers were two of the worst books he has written.

Cheesy dialogue in Cell adds to a badly written novel.

why isnt the stand the shining on here, i liked them books but nota as much as "it" i didnt like roadwork but i love long walks

I may be in the minority here but I enjoyed "from a buick 8"

I dont know. My favourite books are in there too. And i disappointed for this list. In my opinion before putting these books such a list, it should be considered twice or why it is put here. Because thousands of people read here and affect it. You cannot like these books but it is subjective.

I haven't read that many, especially compared to some readers. They all seem to be about the same to me. Not bad ... not good ... the only one that stands out to me as being BETTER than the rest is "The Stand." "Everything's Eventual" is pretty good too, but it's only short stories(no horror).

I'm guessing the people who voted for "IT" are doing so because of *that* scene. You know, the one that didn't make it into the movie, thankfully.

Lindsay wrote: "I'm guessing the people who voted for "IT" are doing so because of *that* scene. You know, the one that didn't make it into the movie, thankfully."

"Art is not a democracy." He had every right to write that scene.

Bhaskar wrote: "Lindsay wrote: "I'm guessing the people who voted for "IT" are doing so because of *that* scene. You know, the one that didn't make it into the movie, thankfully."

"Art is not a democracy." He had every right to write that scene."

Certainly he did. I never said that he didn't. But I also have the right to say that the scene was gross, painful to read, added nothing to the story, and detracted a lot from its quality.

I love a long book - please give me 1000+ pages. When i dive in and enjoy, it hurts when it ends! IT is my favorite novel of his, although I think DreamCatcher is my guilty pleasure. I've reread that one the most. I Duddits!

So glad we're finally talking about Buick 8

Clearly a lot of people haven't read Roadwork..

Clearly the people complaining about other people's tastes have yet to realize what Goodreads is. We're not all robots destined to enjoy the same books, guys.