Nightmares and Dreamscapes discussion

what’s your favourite stephen king book that you’ve read i just started getting into his stuff and am absolutely obsessed!! i’m trying to figure out which one to read next so i would love to know your favourites and opinions :)

The Shining and Pet Sematary. I've read The Shining 5 times since I was a young teenager, but now that I'm older, Pet Sematary may be edging it out. Don't overlook his short story collections. Night Shift is particularly excellent.

Salem's lot, Carrie.... classics

I can't pick just one favorite. I love so many of his books for different reasons. I love the books that take place in Castle Rock because of the repeating characters. They become like family as I read about them over and over. Three of my favorites are Needful Things, The Dark Half and The Sun Dog (found in Four Past Midnight). Outside of the Castle Rock setting, I also love the Bill Hodges trilogy (starting with Mr. Mercedes). King is an excellent character writer and his characters in these books are amazingly crafted - even the villains! I'll stop there. I could go on... but I think I set you up with enough of my favorites and why! :)

Adriennelee wrote: "The Shining and Pet Sematary. I've read The Shining 5 times since I was a young teenager, but now that I'm older, Pet Sematary may be edging it out. Don't overlook his short story collections. Nigh..."

thank you so much for your recommendation, it makes me so excited to start getting into his works properly :)

Jason wrote: "Salem's lot, Carrie.... classics"

thank you!! :)

Theresa (mysteries.and.mayhem) wrote: "I can't pick just one favorite. I love so many of his books for different reasons. I love the books that take place in Castle Rock because of the repeating characters. They become like family as I ..."

i actually picked up Mr Mercedes today! reading your comment actually made me so much more excited to get into his stuff especially since spooky season is basically here. i love how passionate you are about his works and thank you so so much for your recommendation :)

victoria wrote: "i actually picked up Mr Mercedes today! reading your comment actually made me so much more excited to get into his stuff especially since spooky season is basically here. i love how passionate you are about his works and thank you so so much for your recommendation :)"

Oh yay! I hope you enjoy Mr Mercedes as much as I did! And I'm a little jealous that you get to read all of his books for the first time. :) I'm running low on his books that I haven't read yet.

victoria wrote: "what’s your favourite stephen king book that you’ve read i just started getting into his stuff and am absolutely obsessed!! i’m trying to figure out which one to read next so i would love to know y..."

Cool on this thread Victoria. I have moved this topic to our Master of Horror folder. We set this folder up last year which is for the "King" himself. All discussions for King are in this folder. :)

As far as favorite books I have to agree with the other members on here - there are so many to love that it is mind-boggling. I have been reading King for over 40 years and there are tons of great books out there. Will try to list some out on here for your obsession. :)

So for what I have read - I will do a top 12 - in no particular order:

IT
Christine
Carrie
Firestarter
The Institute
Nightmares and Dreamscapes (we named this group after this book - :) )
Pet Sematary
Cell
The Stand
Salem's Lot
The Shining
The Outsider

Plus the crime thriller trilogy which the first book is Mr. Mercedes. I read the first and second book - need to read the third book. But that trilogy introduces Holly which is the new book that everyone is reading right now. :)

I would just pick one and go! :) Never can go wrong with King - that is why he is the Master of Horror.

Oh and if you like fantasy stories - check out Fairy Tale. Plus a lot of King fans recommend the Dark Tower series. I have only read books 1 & 2 but need to read the rest at some point. :)

IT for me! It was my first real horror paperback and made me into the horror enthusiast I am today!

Top five:

1) Different Seasons
2) IT
3) Pet Sematary
4) Misery
5) Dolores Claiborne

4 was supposed to say “Misery”, but the “always glitchy” Goodreads ate my words (what else is new?)

Marie wrote: "As far as favorite books I have to agree with the other members on here - there are so many to love that it is mind-boggling. I have been reading King for over 40 years and there are tons of great ..."

thank you for all this!! i just bought a lot of these so i cannot wait to dive in :)

Marie wrote: "As far as favorite books I have to agree with the other members on here - there are so many to love that it is mind-boggling. I have been reading King for over 40 years and there are tons of great ..."

definitely going to look into reading this one, i really enjoyed the movies!! thanks :)

Dan wrote: "Top five:

1) Different Seasons
2) IT
3) Pet Sematary
4) Misery
5) Dolores Claiborne"

i just started misery!!! thanks for all your recs i really appreciate it :)

Dan wrote: "Top five:

1) Different Seasons
2) IT
3) Pet Sematary
4) Misery
5) Dolores Claiborne"

I got that awesome looking copy of Different Seasons in the 90's as a teen but am still to read it. Your list def prompted me, his old stuff was extra good.

Hi! I'm new to SK's writing and have fallen in love with his books.
I first picked up his books at random starting with Pet Sematary then the Long Walk then Firestarter. I recently finished Holly as part of the BOTM hehe.

Tbh, I don't know why it took me this long to pick up a book of his. Beforehand, I somehow got it in my head that SK's writing was complicated and hard to follow - boy, was I wrong! His writing style pulls you in and he paints such vivid pictures to go along with the story. He is such a great storyteller, one of the best hands down.

Some friends of mine suggested reading his books in chronological order (so I could spot out the Easter eggs he drops) so that's what I've been trying to do. Ticked off Carrie (LOVED IT) and now currently reading 'Salem's Lot.

Re: 'Salem's Lot, I generally don't enjoy books regarding vampires so I was a bit wary to pick this book up but man, SK's writing... it just pulls you in! Enjoying it so far. It's so creepy and odd and mysterious I LOVE IT. (What is that Marsten House??? +I can't wait for all the characters' storyline to come together)

Another quick question: when reading SK's books in chronological order, does that include his Richard Bachman books? Or does that fall under a separate category? Probably not, if I'm guessing, but thought I should ask you fellows.

@Gia: That's so cool and no worries, many people discover King at various stages in life as I'm just glad you did and enjoyed it! I agree, his writing brings me to my happy place and has for well over 25 years. He's STILL able to do that and it makes me so happy he is still churning out great novels at 75 years old!

I loved 'Salem's Lot as that ending is wild, enjoy and happy reading with that :-D

I'd say YES, you should count his Bachman books if you're going in chronological order. Some people do it separately from what I've seen but if I was doing that, I'd do it including those books and go by year/publishing dates :-)