Stephen King

No thanks StillILearn. I like my angry ape.

It's okay now if you don't
Of'ring things is just my wont
Your angry ape is pretty neat
But it don't knock me off my feet

Aqua-
The verse I quoted is from The Wastelands.
I haven't gotten to The Song of Susannah yet. The verse appears and re-appears in different forms, I suppose.

ions-
I get the impression you are getting weary of this conversation, and that's fine if you are.
Let me just state MY position then:
-You're right, it's completely OVER THE TOP for me to compare Stevie with James. Absolutely. I have to take that on faith, though, because I love many of Steven King's books, and can't read Joyce. It's above me, if you will. But I get where you're coming from. It would be like saying that Irving Berlin is on the same level as Bach because a lot more people can GET him.
-I'm as capable of using a dictionary as the next guy. With Joyce, it doesn't help. So now I know the definition of purlieu and fillibeg. Doesn't really make the passage any clearer.
-You're right about the use of obscure. I DID mean ACCESSIBLE. Joyce is NOT obscure. His references are.
-The forest analogy - excuse me, I mean to say the purlieu analogy, is PERFECT. What I mean to say is, the only reason I have any clue that Joyce's writing is any good at all, is that a whole lot of people whom I respect (including you, truth be known) say so. Couldn't prove it by me, though. Bach, well, ahhhhhhh Bach. Loved him the very first time I heard his music - and ever since.

Desperation

Did anyone catch the Desperation movie this past Tuesday?
I thought it was 90% the same as the book... (but of course since King wrote the teleplay)... The book was better of course, it was good for a tv movie... 7 out of 10 as far King TV movies go.

eyez0nme said:

Unfortuantly for Stephen King--and many other writers--his best works were when he was influenced by alcohol, on drugs, and snorting cocaine:

Misery, Cujo, The Shining, Night Shift

All his recent novels pale in comparison--are pretty much crap.

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I hadn't heard this. But, OK, let's say it's so (except the CRAP part).
Ever hear of Edgar Allen Poe?
You know Sigmond Freud was a tobacco addict?
Barry Bonds?
The list would be so long as to be nearly infinite, if we included everyone who has achieved greatness, while doing some form of drugs.

What, are you perfect?
Do you think that doing drugs makes anyone able to create works of genius?

By the way, I'm into The Dark Tower Book IV. Sensational. It's literature. It's beyond reproach. Glorius, fabulous, wonderful.

The Regulators

Libra6Poe said:

Did anyone catch the Desperation movie this past Tuesday?
I thought it was 90% the same as the book... (but of course since King wrote the teleplay)... The book was better of course, it was good for a tv movie... 7 out of 10 as far King TV movies go.

Click to expand...

Well, since watching the movie, I decided to pick up the alternate reality book to Desperation: The Regulators. Just finished it this evening... I really enjoyed it. It was scarier (I think, I read Desperation 2 years ago)... and the book connections are always fun (to me anyway).

Haven't read any Stephen King novels for a while now, the last one was 'The Green Mile' which i enjoyed. I was thinking of trying one of his books again but not sure which one to choose.
I've read most of his early stuff but i haven't picked up one of his books now for a few years, i know there are a lot of Stephen King fans on this forum so any views on which one to read next.

I'm halfway through The Dark Tower.
It's fabulous, if you're ready to make the commitment to a 7 book series.
It hasn't been all a bed of roses - I struggled through the first book (encouraged by fans here on TBF), gained momentum in the second book, loved the third book, and I'm also loving the fourth book.
What's ahead, I don't know. But I've been reading this series - it seems like for so long - that it is my alternate reality.
I can almost imagine finishing the 7th and last book, and then starting it all again at book 1 to pick up on all the stuff I missed first time 'round.
In short (or rather, in LOOOOOONG), I highly recommend it!

Libre said:

I'm halfway through The Dark Tower.
It's fabulous, if you're ready to make the commitment to a 7 book series.
It hasn't been all a bed of roses - I struggled through the first book (encouraged by fans here on TBF), gained momentum in the second book, loved the third book, and I'm also loving the fourth book.

Click to expand...

I agree with you, my friends had recommended it and the first one is not that great but you keep pushing because you hear it’s worth it.
As soon as I finished the ending of the Gunslinger (which was fantastic) I directly when to the bookstore and got more of the series. I also got the last book before the 5th and 6th book because it was the last copy . I still have a week and my summer vacation starts and I’ll pumping my imagination with Stephen’s journey.

I love Stephen King, too. I just read "Misery", then I saw the movie. I loved the book, but the movie not so much. I also loved "Carrie", the book and the movie.

ThelmaCat, have you read the "Dead Zone". I read it like two years ago and it's one of his famous novels, plus there's a movie (produced in 1983, before I was born ... hehe ) and a TV series, too. It's one of his dark thriller, horror and fantasy combination.

Thelma, Samerron... that is so weird! My boyfriend & I were reading Misery & The Dead Zone just last month... how strange that you two just mentioned it. Misery was definitely better (and more gruesome) that the film (no surprise there). I've yet to read the Dead Zone, I'll get to it sometime this year hopefully. I've only seen the first episode (two hour premiere) of the series, and only bits & pieces of the Walken movie. I like what I've seen.

Thelma, looks like we have even more in common! I like SK too (most of the time!) and have really enjoyed the Dark Tower series as well as his longer works like The Stand and It. Besides those, I also especially recommend Insomnia, Pet Semetary, and (for short stories) Different Seasons.

"The Dead Zone"..yes, I saw that movie on cable. I have not read the book yet, though. Now, the novel that got me hooked on SK was "Carrie"! Now, that is wonderful! I also loved "Thinner", but once again, that is another example of the movie not doing justice to the book. I think SK's work is hard to translate onto film, just because it is soooo awesome!

SK's work is also hard to translate because I think that good character writing just doesn't go as well in the medium of film. Plus, SK likes to gross people out and the film ends up emphasizing that a bit too much.

To get me back into reading SK looks like it's going have to be the 'Dark Tower' series, lets hope i'm not dissapointed.
I'll put the 'Gunslinger' on my TBR list

WONDERFUL!
Put it on the TOP of the TBR pile. Don't despair if it's slow at times in book 1. If you need encouragement, I'll be there for you.

Consider me in and make it two .
I'm telling you, once you reach the end of the first book you'll be grabbed and you'll never forget the face of your father!

Thanks Guys, you've sold it to me.
I'm watching two copies of the 'Gunslinger' on ebay.

Stephen King...upcoming!

Here are some dates of upcoming King material:

• August 29: The Dark Tower (US paperback)
• October 24: Lisey's Story
• October 31: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance
• November: Cell (paperback)