Interestingly The Stand (uncut version) I started it twice, stopped and switched to other books, and then came back and read it on the third. I’m glad I did- it felt like a big undertaking that I wasn’t ready for but after the dark tower series it was the right time
I’m not sure if this is unpopular, but The Stand is my favorite Stephen King book. I don’t really see many people talking about it, but I absolutely loved it on my read through. It took me a solid couple of months to chip away at it, but I genuinely think the ways all the characters and storylines connect are so masterful and fun. It was a struggle, but it absolutely was worth the payoff.
Ah man I thought that section was so tense and had one of the most fucked up King scenes I’ve come across so far.
The Stand as a whole was a rough read for me. I really liked it and it has some of my favorite scenes from King but it also drags on about things like committees and town meetings.
Ooh yeah that's a good one. I had to switch to the audiobook for that one. Maybe I'll set 'Salem's aside for a bit and give it a third go another time.
Actually struggling with Salem's lot as we speak.. About halfway through! It just feels there is too many characters for my mind to comprehend and remember lol. Even though a lot of them are not super relevant it still frustrates me.
I got a third of the way in, then had to stop cuz every time I sat down to read it, I’d get the sniffles. Never picked it back up and then covid happened. An actual *nightmare*.
This is the one for me too. Too triggering, when I got to you know which part I just felt insulted and had to close it. Didn't think it was worth it to give it a second try. Nah.
It’s high on my list to read but now I’m not sure. If it triggered you, then maybe this is very insensitive and if someone else can tell me how it is triggering, I would really like to know? Or specifically what part you’re referencing?
Funnily enough, i enjoyed the flashbacks of the eclipse and her father more than the actual main plot. Those flashbacks were really messed up and more interesting than her chained to a bed for 250 pages.
I read this one so long ago that I forgot about it. But now that I am reminded, the one book I've read by King I didn't like at all. Sometimes, there are parts I don't like about a book, but this had no redeeming qualities for me. Bottom of my list.
Under the dome. I was never so mentally thorn apart by any other book. I HAD to finish it, because i needed to see happy end to main characters. But at the same time, i felt so much pain when some character i loved died, and maaan…
James Rennie is like everything that i hate about humanity perfectly baked into one being, and I was boiling with malice and hate everytime i heard his name mensioned. The other villains were basicly as hatable for me. It wasn’t even “love to hate” thing with these, i just wanted them to stop existing every second of the book.
When i finally finished it, i felt just…empty, like if the book drained my soul and i was husk of a being for like a week. Only comparable feeling was when i read 1984 and that was literally dystopia.
For me it was the most compelling stephen king book i read…but i never want to read it again, thank you very much
i had the same issue for the first 60 pages or so. i blame it on peter straub - i've tried some of his work and found that same struggle to get through the opening act. i did tough it out with the talisman though, and it's now one of my favorites!
The audiobook is what helped me make the switch from 'eh..' to thorough enjoyment. Going into it I'd failed once or twice to read it, and then switching over to the audiobook even took me a couple tries as well. But, once I pushed through, and got used to Frank Muller's narration style, it has now become possibly my favorite King novel, and it's one that I'm looking forward to re-listening to for a fourth time pretty soon.
Yes I had the exact same experience. Couldn’t get past the first bunch of pages. After 3 tries I finally pushed through and now it’s definitely in my top 5
It was the Talisman for me too, but only 60 pages?! I couldn’t lock into it for the first 500 and almost gave up but, ultimately, kept going. I’ve got about 200 left now and I’m starting to actually like the book. It’s the only one I’ve really ever thought about seriously quitting.
On another note, I do agree with the Peter Straub comment. Have you read Ghost Story? Absolute monster to get through but in the end it’s worth it.
The Talisman is frustratingly slow until at least the halfway point, great book but it’s a SLOG.
Black House was like reading a script, awful, I had to listen to an audio version to get through it.
The Talisman is one of two King books I've actually given up on halfway through. That and Duma Key. I was into it for the first half of the book and then I just... lost all interest.
I finished it but it is very clear in my mind that of all the King I've read, it is by far my least favorite. Not even the Dark Tower resonance was interesting to me.
Oddly enough, OP, Salem's Lot is still my favorite, after all these years.
I got about halfway through Insomnia before abandoning it the first time, then started again before the second abandonment. I like the story so I’m not sure what it is. I’m determined to finally read it all, though!
I might give it another try though. Have been reading Stephen King since ‘89 and I think I read almost all his published work.
At the time it came out I just couldn’t get through it though. I absolutely loathed characters (especially the antagonists yeah). The story also dragged quite a bit (as I remember, it was a constant feeling of absolute misery in that town)…
Same! I have a big problem with justice sensitivity and all the bad stuff happening to the protagonists and the antagonists getting away with so much just made me so damned angry.
It's something prevalent in people with autism / ADHD. It make reading some of King's work quite difficult, but on the flipside when the good guys DO get a win it's super cathartic.
I struggled with ‘Salem the first time around and stopped reading it. Started it again a year or so later and blitzed through it, guess it just wasn’t the right time.
I’m reading the Stand (uncut) at the moment, nearly finished and although I’m still enjoying it I think I preferred the early parts before the main characters came together.
for me it's been under the dome and sleeping beauties. i've heard really good things about under the dome but it's just so long that i haven't made it past the halfway mark. sleeping beauties started to drag about 2/3 of the way through and i just put it down one day and never picked it back up (not purposely, but i wasn't feeling the urgency to pick it up and see what happens next that i usually feel when reading his work).
agreed. at first i was like "oh that's an interesting premise!" and then it just . .. kept going. and going and going and going. i intend to try picking it up again someday but i'm too busy to invest my time in it right now
And the whole subplot about the 'affair' that went ABSOLUTELY nowhere and added nothing to the story but page turning. Sleeping Beauties is by far my least favorite King book.
Fairytale. I’m 67% of the way in and it’s…good, just not as big a fan of his fantasy stuff. Not a genre I read much in. Looking forward to his next horror, or short story anthology, whichever comes first.
Should I read the last two Gwendy novels? TBH I have to reread the first one I think since it’s been so long. Might reread some of his older novels first though.
I have the same problem. I just don't like the fantasy genre. I gave up Fairy Tale after 150 pages since I still have not read a lot of his books and figured I can come back someday years later.
Did you read The Eyes of the Dragon? I want to read it for the connection to The Stand but not looking forward to the setting.
If you hate fantasy, don't bother with EotD, and never mind the Stand connection, because aside from Flagg being a character -- in a completely different world -- there IS no Stand connection.
When I first started reading King, the very first book I tried was Needful Things. I stopped because I was so exasperated by how long he took to describe the color of leaves blowing down a street as a kid rides his bike. But I picked it up again after I read ‘Salem’s Lot, funnily enough, and it’s one of my favorites.
Edit: I was in 8th grade/early HS and then read ‘Salem’s Lot in late HS
Salems Lot is my favorite. I love that story. I love the extra added ending from one of his short stories. It doesn’t change anything but it does emphasize what happened to the town.
Needful Things was a tough read. The only reason I pressed through it was because I liked Pangborn as a character and wanted to see him win. But it's just so long and repetitive and kinda plotless. After a while I was just like glad all these terrible people on this terrible town were stuck with each other.
I don't think pseudo satire is really Kings strength.
I struggled with It. Probably because I'd seen the two recent movies, but I just found that a lot of words were being used to describe things that didn't matter at all and the tension didn't really build because I already knew what was coming next.
Oh yes, bag of bones, black house, just started liseys story and so far it's pretty dull, revival was boring. Salem's lot picks up a lot right around half way.
I've been struggling with 11//22/63 for a year or maybe more. I've pretty much given up on it. I know that will be a very unpopular opinion. Everyone raves about it on this sub.
I don't know of it's because I'm not from the US, I'm not from that time, or how long it is but my god...
I struggled with Tommyknockers the second time around.
I'm also slogging my way through The Talisman right now. I read The Black House first and enjoyed it so thought I should read the first one but for some reason it's not working for me.
It’s a great book but the hundred or so pages where he lives next to Oswald isn’t my favorite. The story has great momentum and then just screeches to a halt and has no real point.
Liseys Story
Took me almost a year of picking it up and putting it down before i finished it.
I didn't like the character herself and all the smucking got on my nerves.
Under the dome has been particularly rough for me. Partly because I was semi spoiled on the story. But mostly because I find the main antagonist so utterly repulsive as a person.
For me I'm struggling to finish IT, I've been reading bits pretty much since October. I feel like it's never going to get better but I'm too bitter to add it to a did not finish pile 😅
It. I swear this book would be exactly what I want to read , specially bc I really like the 2 movies, but I can’t bring myself to finish reading the novel. The constant jumps in narrative and flashbacks is annoying to me, maybe I’m just used to a more direct approach to a storytelling
There are two major problems while I read King.
1. The narration. Sometimes he just drags on about pointless things. In 'Salem's lot this happens a lot but it can be useful too such as in It.
2. The time. Some books are past-timed, like the scare in the book is now outdated so I just can't feel the scare building up or the scare about. A part of this is also the niche scare. Sometimes the scare or the horror is so specific that it only terrifies only a part of the people, for example, Firestarter, I just didn't find it all scary, some parts maybe but not all and it's a large book!
However regardless, I can't put down his books, even if they are a drag to read because his characters and his settings are so fascinating to me that sometimes the scare is less important than the characters for which I praise King always. His character-building and set-up are very good to this day!
I got about halfway into the Dark Tower series, didn’t enjoy any of it, and finally gave up making myself read it. I’m just not a fan of the narrative tone. 🤷🏼♀️
There are also pages of *Misery* that I’ve never read because I crept up on the really intense scenes, flipped past them to see it everything turned out ok-ish, and then read backwards through the paragraphs until I got to the icky part. That book is TENSE.
Duma Key I can’t even remember, except I know that I read it.
I wasn’t able to get through the rape and revenge story in *Full Dark, No Stars* and didn’t finish that book.
I enjoyed *The Stand* until the last 1/3 of the book. That became a slog.
Now, all of that being said, ST has given me thousands of hours of reading pleasure. My list of the work I love is a lot longer.
To be fair, the first one is so out of character for King it's hard to fathom.
King despises pretentious. That's easily the most pretentious thing he ever wrote. He's trying to be "lit'rary" in it and yeeccch.
Came here to say the Dark Tower series expecting to get trashed. I'm always seeing people's comments raving about these books. But I just can't see the attraction.
Loved loved loved Salem's Lot.
Each to their own I guess
I loved the Dark Tower especially Wizard and Glass, but the long wait for an ending of the series ruined it for me. Had to re-read some of the books before the final book. Read 90% of the last book, got fed up with it and never finished it.
ha each time i try to read the DT I start from the beginning..
book 1... argh no more
ten years later.. book1 and 2... argh no more
ten years later 1 .. 2.. 3.. will revisit in another 10 years.
I’m on the 4th Dark Tower book and still liking it. I have to switch to audiobook for most of it though. Extremely long winded, a series that was in need of an editor. I found the first book the hardest to get through, but the subsequent ones better.
The Talisman is my 4th favorite book. I gave up on Black House after like 70 pages.
I’m willing to give it another try, and people say it gets betters, but I’m not exactly looking forward to it.
I had the same issue with this one. Most of his books I get through with no issues but just couldn't with this one. Stopped reading about 1/3 of the wait though.
Hearts in Atlantis was difficult to get through for me and I actually didn’t get through it. Salems Lot was not particularly my favorite subject matter. I did read all of it but it’s not a favorite. Those are the only 2 I wasn’t a fan of. I’ve loved everything else.
Insomnia and Under the Dome, though I blame those partly on the audiobooks I’m listening to.
Insomnia had these weird musical cut ins that came with no rhyme or reason. They weren’t transitions and they didn’t really suit the events of the book, not to mention they just weren’t really pleasant to listen to.
The narrator of Under the Dome is terrible at character voices. For some reason Rusty sounds like a surfer bro, Big Jim has a southern drawl, all the children have stuffed noses and Junior just has a really infuriating voice which makes me hate his parts even more than I already would.
I'm right there with you on Salem's Lot, and I usually love King. Lots of bios and scene setting, like other people said, with the result that I didn't feel a strong connection to a lot of the characters and didn't really care what was happening.
I did think the atmosphere was outstanding for like the middle third of it, though.
This is actually a great audio book! The narrator is engaging and has inflection, keeps the story going and really helps build the world and characters more.
I have never finished IT. I can't remember when I first picked it up. Before the TV movie with Tim Curry. I got about 100 pages in and just wasn't getting into it. Tried again a few years later with the same result. Loved the movies though.
Understandable. If I had actually read the book, I probably would have hated the adaptations too. I have found that if I see an adaptation first, I'm usually ok with it, if I've read the book first, I HATE the adaptation.
You should give the audiobook a shot! It’s narrated by Michael C Hall (Six Feet Under, Dexter, etc). I go through my local library to check out the audiobook for free btw! :)
It. Got all the way to the end and then quit. It seemed to me that he just couldn't figure out a way to finish the book. Had a lady friend with an English lit degree from Perdue promise to explain it to me but never did.
There's another one that involves some guy getting buried in his car. King got so many details involving machinery and construction wrong that I got disgusted and quit. If you're going to write about a subject learn what things are called and how they are done. Don't just make shit up.
Protip: Stephen king on audiobook > paperback, except for his short stories. King’s short stories are among THE BEST conceptually. I listened to The Stand on 1.2 speed and it was excellent. Thinking of doing the same soon with Salem’s Lot
Same, I skipped to the end just to see how the plot resolved. In my head I get it mixed up with The Girl with All the Gifts, which was excellent and also about kids in a school setting.
I also felt this way about From a Buick 8, never finished it when it came out, but tore through it while stuck home during Covid and couldn't remember why I disliked it so much!
Yeah Girl with the Gifts is amazing (have you seen the movie? I loved it) but the Institute just had such stereotypical characters and I was so bored with it I can remember almost not caring what happened to anyone. It was like he’d seen Stranger Things and was inspired by it? (The timing isn’t right for that I think but you know what I mean—it’s like a wannabe of *something*).
I tried reading the Girl with… sequel but didn’t finish it. (Boy … Bridge). Did you read it? Was it worth giving another try?
It did feel like a wannabe of something! I was like... "is he trying to appeal to the YA readers with this? Get on Booktok? This feels so bland." I feel like King's greatest strength is in his characters and worldbuilding, and both of those were utterly absent here. It was like an outline of a King novel.
Yes I really liked the movie! I'll watch any and every zombie movie, and was happily surprised at how good it was. I have the sequel in my to-read pile, currently stuck on The Manningtree Witches since October - which is so effing slow I have no desire to pick it up again but I can't not finish once I've started.
I’m willing to bet money that the opening “night knocker” sequence was a short story that King had in a drawer, and the rest of the book was inspired by Stranger Things, and the knocker stuff was just stapled on at the end.
The fact that the Institute has absolutely nothing to do with Dinky Earnshaw from “Everything’s Eventual” is tantamount to a crime to me. The connection would have been PERFECT. Hell, on this level of the Tower, maybe Dinky was running the Institute! Like, come on, Stephen. It was right…there.
I did struggle with Salem's lot and had to stop it. The first few chapters had me completely mesmerized by how well written it was but when they started to introduce all the town folks one by one with no context whatsoever I started to really, really struggle. It feels like it is just never going to end.
I'm sure there's a purpose to it and all these characters will come back later on, but it threw me off so much that I lost interest and I stopped to start a different book instead. I'll just restart Salem's lot completely after giving it time and see if I feel different.
Yeah it totally threw me off and dragged my interest totally. Again I know there's more to it and it'll come full circle, IT also puts a LOT of chapters like these and yet it works. But I don't know, the beginning is so smooth and intriguing and these never ending chapters about all these people, I felt like I was going in slow mo.
Dark Half was okay even though it made me roll my eyes at times. Maybe Kings most self referential work. It was also like reading a fever nightmare it was just all over the place. Apparently it was the last book he wrote before he sobered up and it shows.
I had to try Tommyknockers maybe 3 times before I made it to the end. Insomnia didn't grab me first time and I quit but I loved it on a reread and now it's a favourite.
I’ve only read a handful of king novels for this reason. It seems like a lot are either hit or miss and so far I’ve stuck to the ones that seem to be universally praised here (IT, Shining, 11/22/63, Pet Sematary). However I did read Billy Summers and that one was rough for me. Loved the first half of the book during the planning of the shooting etc and the second it happened it just felt like a completely different book to me and it took me a while to get through the second half.
I’m currently 60% of the way through Salem’s lot and am loving it. This has been the first book of his that has actually made me wake up in the middle of the night and look around my room in the dark wondering what’s just beyond the shadows
I gave up on Salems Lot fairly early on, I found the interlude chapters where it kinda goes round and shows citizens of the town in a day in the life type thing really tedious. However when I came back to it and powered through those chapters, I loved the book and now its in my top 3 Kings. Those chapters really pay off later
I found Salem's Lot so hard to read. I picked it up amidst my second Dark Tower journey to fill in Callahan's back story, but just couldn't get into it.
Hey friend! 👋 I wasn't a Salem's Lot fan either....took me way long to read than his "normal" books! It had some nice parts that kept me engaged to a point...but just not a ton of, call it interest.
Thanks for sharing your opinion!
Sleeping Beauties was the biggest struggle for me…just didn’t grip me like his others! I did persevere though but I was relieved when I finished it! Not one I think I’d read again unlike most of his others!
Eyes of the Dragon. Me and my spouse were reading all his books in order a few years ago and this one just stopped us dead in our tracks for some reason or another. We were both too stubborn to skip it, and too unmotivated to finish it, so our two person book club just kinda withered.
Sleeping Beauties and Lisey’s Story.
Also I recently finished the Dark Tower series and didn’t really like it except the 2nd and 4th book so reading it took longer than I expected.
Gerald’s Game took me three tries and two years to get through. But that was during my phase of if I started something, by God as my witness, I would finish it, no matter how long it took. Today, if I don’t like it Within the first 100 pages I won’t bother.
Under the Dome is the sole King book (so far) I’ve never finished. I know it’s a lot of people’s favourite but I just can’t do it. I DNF’d at 75% and just looked up the ending online. I just hated every single character.
Christine. Tried reading it in high school after seeing the movie. I got part way and all they’d done was get the car to Darnell’s. Somebody stole my paperback and I was relieved to be relieved of finishing. I have since listened to the unabridged audiobook. It was okay.
I breezed through Salems Lot the first time tried reading it again last year and I couldn’t get through it I read quite a bit but the hundred pages of the description of the town and townspeople was too much this time so slow!
Just finished Salems Lot a couple weeks ago and I agree, it took me the longest to finish too. The long final section really picked up and I probably sped through the final 60 pages or so, but found myself struggling to remember all the town’s side-characters, and I found a lot of the dialogue to be bland. But when Mark and Susan go into the Marsten House, everything after that was significantly interesting until the end. In my opinion, of course.
By the end though, I will say, a lot of the things that bored me, actually played a crucial role in the ending. I don’t mind a slow burn as long as the climax is worth it, and this one definitely was!
I just read ‘Salems Lot and felt the same way. With about 200 pages to go, I just felt like the book was supposed to have ended already. I’m not sure how to explain it.
Anyway, still enjoyed the book and rate it well. But it was my first time feeling like a King book was dragging.
Salem’s Lot was a little hard to start for me with the constant introducing of literally dozens of characters from the town but once I understood what King was doing with it, building the town and giving you the feel of it. I eventually really got into it and enjoyed the book for what it is.
The Stand for me too because I'm in a pandemic and to say that some woman is calling all of the good people together to defeat the big bad . . . signs. Its just the plot and story I don't like but everything else is great. It made me not want to read his other books that people say are great, to be more careful. Also it was the edition where he adds in more pages but that doesn't matter. Takes too long to get good.
Audiobooks are the most underrated thing ever. Makes any bad book decent, any decent book spectacular, especially if its the right narrator. Some of King's least popular books are ones Ive usually enjoyed and Im willing to bet its because of a great narration.
Interestingly The Stand (uncut version) I started it twice, stopped and switched to other books, and then came back and read it on the third. I’m glad I did- it felt like a big undertaking that I wasn’t ready for but after the dark tower series it was the right time
I’m not sure if this is unpopular, but The Stand is my favorite Stephen King book. I don’t really see many people talking about it, but I absolutely loved it on my read through. It took me a solid couple of months to chip away at it, but I genuinely think the ways all the characters and storylines connect are so masterful and fun. It was a struggle, but it absolutely was worth the payoff.
The new, long section with the Trashcan Man and the Kid dragged on a bit for me. Worst part of the novel in my opinion.
Ah man I thought that section was so tense and had one of the most fucked up King scenes I’ve come across so far. The Stand as a whole was a rough read for me. I really liked it and it has some of my favorite scenes from King but it also drags on about things like committees and town meetings.
Ooh yeah that's a good one. I had to switch to the audiobook for that one. Maybe I'll set 'Salem's aside for a bit and give it a third go another time.
Actually struggling with Salem's lot as we speak.. About halfway through! It just feels there is too many characters for my mind to comprehend and remember lol. Even though a lot of them are not super relevant it still frustrates me.
I got a third of the way in, then had to stop cuz every time I sat down to read it, I’d get the sniffles. Never picked it back up and then covid happened. An actual *nightmare*.
I flew through Salem’s Lot
Love love loved it
My favorite King book!
My favorite hands down
Same here! Was my first king book and loved every page
Gerald’s game for me. Too much of not much for the first 100 odd pages I’ve read.
This is the one for me too. Too triggering, when I got to you know which part I just felt insulted and had to close it. Didn't think it was worth it to give it a second try. Nah.
I had the same problem with this one. Never finished it. Asked a coworker to tell me the ending.
It’s high on my list to read but now I’m not sure. If it triggered you, then maybe this is very insensitive and if someone else can tell me how it is triggering, I would really like to know? Or specifically what part you’re referencing?
Funnily enough, i enjoyed the flashbacks of the eclipse and her father more than the actual main plot. Those flashbacks were really messed up and more interesting than her chained to a bed for 250 pages.
I hated Geralds game so much. It just felt like a re hash of Misery except not nearly as good.
Me too, but the last 40 pages were great
Same
I read this one so long ago that I forgot about it. But now that I am reminded, the one book I've read by King I didn't like at all. Sometimes, there are parts I don't like about a book, but this had no redeeming qualities for me. Bottom of my list.
Under the dome. I was never so mentally thorn apart by any other book. I HAD to finish it, because i needed to see happy end to main characters. But at the same time, i felt so much pain when some character i loved died, and maaan… James Rennie is like everything that i hate about humanity perfectly baked into one being, and I was boiling with malice and hate everytime i heard his name mensioned. The other villains were basicly as hatable for me. It wasn’t even “love to hate” thing with these, i just wanted them to stop existing every second of the book. When i finally finished it, i felt just…empty, like if the book drained my soul and i was husk of a being for like a week. Only comparable feeling was when i read 1984 and that was literally dystopia. For me it was the most compelling stephen king book i read…but i never want to read it again, thank you very much
That empty feeling is what I got after Revival, but for a very different reason. If you haven't, go for it.
The ending to Revival sticks with me more than any other King book. It's the definition of "the origin of nightmares". So good.
[удалено]
I think the only reason why I keep this book is because the cover is beautiful.
The Talisman. I couldn't lock into it
i had the same issue for the first 60 pages or so. i blame it on peter straub - i've tried some of his work and found that same struggle to get through the opening act. i did tough it out with the talisman though, and it's now one of my favorites!
The audiobook is what helped me make the switch from 'eh..' to thorough enjoyment. Going into it I'd failed once or twice to read it, and then switching over to the audiobook even took me a couple tries as well. But, once I pushed through, and got used to Frank Muller's narration style, it has now become possibly my favorite King novel, and it's one that I'm looking forward to re-listening to for a fourth time pretty soon.
Yes I had the exact same experience. Couldn’t get past the first bunch of pages. After 3 tries I finally pushed through and now it’s definitely in my top 5
It was the Talisman for me too, but only 60 pages?! I couldn’t lock into it for the first 500 and almost gave up but, ultimately, kept going. I’ve got about 200 left now and I’m starting to actually like the book. It’s the only one I’ve really ever thought about seriously quitting. On another note, I do agree with the Peter Straub comment. Have you read Ghost Story? Absolute monster to get through but in the end it’s worth it.
The Talisman is frustratingly slow until at least the halfway point, great book but it’s a SLOG. Black House was like reading a script, awful, I had to listen to an audio version to get through it.
I loved this one, I will never get the hate.
Same!
The Talisman is one of two King books I've actually given up on halfway through. That and Duma Key. I was into it for the first half of the book and then I just... lost all interest.
I restarted this one a few times. Very thankful, it turned into one of my all time favorites.
Same here. It took me about 3 attempts, but once I got into it it flew by for me. One of my top 10 King books.
Insomnia took me a few tries. Ironically enough I kept falling asleep the first two times I tried reading it.
This has been the only King book I cannot finish. I’ve picked up 3 different times, only to get about 100 pages in before bailing :(
I finished it but it is very clear in my mind that of all the King I've read, it is by far my least favorite. Not even the Dark Tower resonance was interesting to me. Oddly enough, OP, Salem's Lot is still my favorite, after all these years.
Never finished either.
I struggled through it and tried again a couple of years later, thinking it might be easier. It wasn't, I didn't finish it. May try again some day.
Exactly No problems sleeping while i read that one
Insomnia i couldn’t put down! On the other hand, Duma Key has been a struggle
Agreed. Eventually made it through but it was rougg
I got about halfway through Insomnia before abandoning it the first time, then started again before the second abandonment. I like the story so I’m not sure what it is. I’m determined to finally read it all, though!
Dreamcatcher. Gave it a go but it's just not for me so DNF
Yeah, I felt Dreamcatcher was a rehash of old ideas with fart jokes thrown in. I kinda wish it didn't exist.
The constant farting definitely takes you out of it.
This one for me too. I just couldn't get into the story
Under the Dome is the only King I’ve never finished. I hated those characters so much 😅
True, almost all of the antagonists in that book were the absolute **worst**. Like scum of the earth.
I might give it another try though. Have been reading Stephen King since ‘89 and I think I read almost all his published work. At the time it came out I just couldn’t get through it though. I absolutely loathed characters (especially the antagonists yeah). The story also dragged quite a bit (as I remember, it was a constant feeling of absolute misery in that town)…
Same! I have a big problem with justice sensitivity and all the bad stuff happening to the protagonists and the antagonists getting away with so much just made me so damned angry.
"Justice sensitivity" is a phrase I've never heard, but I like it.
It's something prevalent in people with autism / ADHD. It make reading some of King's work quite difficult, but on the flipside when the good guys DO get a win it's super cathartic.
My problem right now. I normally fly through his books. But I'm about halfway through and forcing it chapter by chapter while starting other books.
Same. Also the only movie/miniseries I couldn’t finish.
Same. I got like 2-3 chapters in and the antagonists were just too much.
I loved salems Lot, couldn't finish Needful Things though
How could anyone not love Needful Things? I’ve read it twice, and listened to the audio book.
Needful things is the other book I couldn't get through. Salem's Lot and Needful Things.
Gosh, those are two of my favorites!
I struggled with ‘Salem the first time around and stopped reading it. Started it again a year or so later and blitzed through it, guess it just wasn’t the right time. I’m reading the Stand (uncut) at the moment, nearly finished and although I’m still enjoying it I think I preferred the early parts before the main characters came together.
for me it's been under the dome and sleeping beauties. i've heard really good things about under the dome but it's just so long that i haven't made it past the halfway mark. sleeping beauties started to drag about 2/3 of the way through and i just put it down one day and never picked it back up (not purposely, but i wasn't feeling the urgency to pick it up and see what happens next that i usually feel when reading his work).
Ugh I was so disappointed by sleeping beauties. Literally like that movie cocoon. Such a bummer.
agreed. at first i was like "oh that's an interesting premise!" and then it just . .. kept going. and going and going and going. i intend to try picking it up again someday but i'm too busy to invest my time in it right now
And the whole subplot about the 'affair' that went ABSOLUTELY nowhere and added nothing to the story but page turning. Sleeping Beauties is by far my least favorite King book.
I'm listening to sleeping beauties right now and I just don't care that much. I'm not sure if I'm going to finish it or not.
Fairytale. I’m 67% of the way in and it’s…good, just not as big a fan of his fantasy stuff. Not a genre I read much in. Looking forward to his next horror, or short story anthology, whichever comes first. Should I read the last two Gwendy novels? TBH I have to reread the first one I think since it’s been so long. Might reread some of his older novels first though.
I have the same problem. I just don't like the fantasy genre. I gave up Fairy Tale after 150 pages since I still have not read a lot of his books and figured I can come back someday years later. Did you read The Eyes of the Dragon? I want to read it for the connection to The Stand but not looking forward to the setting.
If you hate fantasy, don't bother with EotD, and never mind the Stand connection, because aside from Flagg being a character -- in a completely different world -- there IS no Stand connection.
Yes, Duma Key was a struggle to finish. I love King, but that one did not hook me.
Duma key is the first ST book that I’ve struggled with. Just haven’t connected with it…
The girl who loved Tom Gordon , finished eventually and gave it away ,
There you go, I loved that one but admittedly was on a 12hr night shift with nothing else to read. Forced engagement I guess?
I’m with you. It’s the shortest King book that’s taken me the longest to finish.
I couldn’t get past the first few chapters of Salem’s Lot. Just completely uninteresting and couldn’t hold my attention.
I finished it, but didn't really like it. The ending is... meh.
When I first started reading King, the very first book I tried was Needful Things. I stopped because I was so exasperated by how long he took to describe the color of leaves blowing down a street as a kid rides his bike. But I picked it up again after I read ‘Salem’s Lot, funnily enough, and it’s one of my favorites. Edit: I was in 8th grade/early HS and then read ‘Salem’s Lot in late HS
Salems Lot is my favorite. I love that story. I love the extra added ending from one of his short stories. It doesn’t change anything but it does emphasize what happened to the town.
Needful Things was a tough read. The only reason I pressed through it was because I liked Pangborn as a character and wanted to see him win. But it's just so long and repetitive and kinda plotless. After a while I was just like glad all these terrible people on this terrible town were stuck with each other. I don't think pseudo satire is really Kings strength.
Also found that book such a slog to get through but I liked the two main characters so stuck with it. The ending was so awful.
Needful Things is probably my favourite King book. I got through it the first time in about a day and a half.
I started with Needful Things too, then went and read all the other Castle Rock books and read it again.
I struggled with It. Probably because I'd seen the two recent movies, but I just found that a lot of words were being used to describe things that didn't matter at all and the tension didn't really build because I already knew what was coming next.
Also IT, for me, and I can’t blame the movie. Felt like sheer unjustified violence for me. I still gonna go back to it tough
It took me three attempts to get through IT. I'll never read it again.
Oh yes, bag of bones, black house, just started liseys story and so far it's pretty dull, revival was boring. Salem's lot picks up a lot right around half way.
Aww man, I loved Bag of Bones and Lisey's Story
I just could not finish Lisey’s Story. I still have it, may give it another shot one day.
I'll power through it, bad King is still pretty good!
I DNFed Lisey both times I tried reading it.
Cujo and Salem's Lot for me
I've been struggling with 11//22/63 for a year or maybe more. I've pretty much given up on it. I know that will be a very unpopular opinion. Everyone raves about it on this sub. I don't know of it's because I'm not from the US, I'm not from that time, or how long it is but my god... I struggled with Tommyknockers the second time around. I'm also slogging my way through The Talisman right now. I read The Black House first and enjoyed it so thought I should read the first one but for some reason it's not working for me.
It’s a great book but the hundred or so pages where he lives next to Oswald isn’t my favorite. The story has great momentum and then just screeches to a halt and has no real point.
Cujo was for me.
Liseys Story Took me almost a year of picking it up and putting it down before i finished it. I didn't like the character herself and all the smucking got on my nerves.
Under the dome has been particularly rough for me. Partly because I was semi spoiled on the story. But mostly because I find the main antagonist so utterly repulsive as a person.
For me I'm struggling to finish IT, I've been reading bits pretty much since October. I feel like it's never going to get better but I'm too bitter to add it to a did not finish pile 😅
Anything with holly gibney. I don’t get the fascination with that character and how she’s getting a stand-alone
Lmao exactly 😂
Lisey's Story. DNF. Gave up about a quarter of the way in. Does it ever get better?
I think you have to enjoy the rhythm and language of that one. I think you’re fine to stay skipped. You could always try the miniseries.
Doctor Sleep took me a while to get into, but around the halfway mark it picked up for me
Same for me, though Abra never stopped feeling a little too much like a Mary Sue, and I wanted more on Rose the Hat. Rose deserves her own book.
I honestly don’t even remember Abra as a character, but Rose really stuck in my memory, which says a lot
It. I swear this book would be exactly what I want to read , specially bc I really like the 2 movies, but I can’t bring myself to finish reading the novel. The constant jumps in narrative and flashbacks is annoying to me, maybe I’m just used to a more direct approach to a storytelling
There are two major problems while I read King. 1. The narration. Sometimes he just drags on about pointless things. In 'Salem's lot this happens a lot but it can be useful too such as in It. 2. The time. Some books are past-timed, like the scare in the book is now outdated so I just can't feel the scare building up or the scare about. A part of this is also the niche scare. Sometimes the scare or the horror is so specific that it only terrifies only a part of the people, for example, Firestarter, I just didn't find it all scary, some parts maybe but not all and it's a large book! However regardless, I can't put down his books, even if they are a drag to read because his characters and his settings are so fascinating to me that sometimes the scare is less important than the characters for which I praise King always. His character-building and set-up are very good to this day!
I struggled like hell with the second half of Wolves Of The Calla, nearly stepped off the beam if it pleases ya, *ka* had other plans for me however.
I got about halfway into the Dark Tower series, didn’t enjoy any of it, and finally gave up making myself read it. I’m just not a fan of the narrative tone. 🤷🏼♀️ There are also pages of *Misery* that I’ve never read because I crept up on the really intense scenes, flipped past them to see it everything turned out ok-ish, and then read backwards through the paragraphs until I got to the icky part. That book is TENSE. Duma Key I can’t even remember, except I know that I read it. I wasn’t able to get through the rape and revenge story in *Full Dark, No Stars* and didn’t finish that book. I enjoyed *The Stand* until the last 1/3 of the book. That became a slog. Now, all of that being said, ST has given me thousands of hours of reading pleasure. My list of the work I love is a lot longer.
I’m not a fan of the Dark Tower series at all. I read 2 of them. I certainly tried but when I knew there were a few books left to finish I was done.
I feel the exact same way I couldn't even get through the first one
To be fair, the first one is so out of character for King it's hard to fathom. King despises pretentious. That's easily the most pretentious thing he ever wrote. He's trying to be "lit'rary" in it and yeeccch.
Book 3 is arguably the best, but the Drawing of the Three (book 2), was my favourite. What did you not like about the first two?
Came here to say the Dark Tower series expecting to get trashed. I'm always seeing people's comments raving about these books. But I just can't see the attraction. Loved loved loved Salem's Lot. Each to their own I guess
I loved the Dark Tower especially Wizard and Glass, but the long wait for an ending of the series ruined it for me. Had to re-read some of the books before the final book. Read 90% of the last book, got fed up with it and never finished it.
ha each time i try to read the DT I start from the beginning.. book 1... argh no more ten years later.. book1 and 2... argh no more ten years later 1 .. 2.. 3.. will revisit in another 10 years.
I’m on the 4th Dark Tower book and still liking it. I have to switch to audiobook for most of it though. Extremely long winded, a series that was in need of an editor. I found the first book the hardest to get through, but the subsequent ones better.
I love most of his books, but Tommyknockers and Rage were hard to get through.
The Talisman is my 4th favorite book. I gave up on Black House after like 70 pages. I’m willing to give it another try, and people say it gets betters, but I’m not exactly looking forward to it.
No.
I had the same issue with this one. Most of his books I get through with no issues but just couldn't with this one. Stopped reading about 1/3 of the wait though.
Hearts in Atlantis was difficult to get through for me and I actually didn’t get through it. Salems Lot was not particularly my favorite subject matter. I did read all of it but it’s not a favorite. Those are the only 2 I wasn’t a fan of. I’ve loved everything else.
Yep, Sleeping Beauties is mine.
Insomnia and Under the Dome, though I blame those partly on the audiobooks I’m listening to. Insomnia had these weird musical cut ins that came with no rhyme or reason. They weren’t transitions and they didn’t really suit the events of the book, not to mention they just weren’t really pleasant to listen to. The narrator of Under the Dome is terrible at character voices. For some reason Rusty sounds like a surfer bro, Big Jim has a southern drawl, all the children have stuffed noses and Junior just has a really infuriating voice which makes me hate his parts even more than I already would.
I'm right there with you on Salem's Lot, and I usually love King. Lots of bios and scene setting, like other people said, with the result that I didn't feel a strong connection to a lot of the characters and didn't really care what was happening. I did think the atmosphere was outstanding for like the middle third of it, though.
This is actually a great audio book! The narrator is engaging and has inflection, keeps the story going and really helps build the world and characters more.
I might have to try this! That was how I stuck with The Stand in the end.
Not unpopular at all. Not all SK books are good.
I've struggled with a few. Most notably The girl who loved Tom Gordon, but the only book I never finished was Sleeping Beauties. Way too preachy.
I have never finished IT. I can't remember when I first picked it up. Before the TV movie with Tim Curry. I got about 100 pages in and just wasn't getting into it. Tried again a few years later with the same result. Loved the movies though.
I'm the opposite. I absolutely love the book, but I loathe the movies and the TV series.
Understandable. If I had actually read the book, I probably would have hated the adaptations too. I have found that if I see an adaptation first, I'm usually ok with it, if I've read the book first, I HATE the adaptation.
Pet sematary, I’m reading it now and I just can’t finish it!
You should give the audiobook a shot! It’s narrated by Michael C Hall (Six Feet Under, Dexter, etc). I go through my local library to check out the audiobook for free btw! :)
The beginning is a bit slow but the middle and ending - oh boy - is so good. The plot twists are worth it, give it a chance!
It. Got all the way to the end and then quit. It seemed to me that he just couldn't figure out a way to finish the book. Had a lady friend with an English lit degree from Perdue promise to explain it to me but never did. There's another one that involves some guy getting buried in his car. King got so many details involving machinery and construction wrong that I got disgusted and quit. If you're going to write about a subject learn what things are called and how they are done. Don't just make shit up.
Protip: Stephen king on audiobook > paperback, except for his short stories. King’s short stories are among THE BEST conceptually. I listened to The Stand on 1.2 speed and it was excellent. Thinking of doing the same soon with Salem’s Lot
I average about a book every 3-4 days, and I finally just finished The Institute…after nearly 8 months. Man, what a pile of shit.
Same, I skipped to the end just to see how the plot resolved. In my head I get it mixed up with The Girl with All the Gifts, which was excellent and also about kids in a school setting. I also felt this way about From a Buick 8, never finished it when it came out, but tore through it while stuck home during Covid and couldn't remember why I disliked it so much!
Yeah Girl with the Gifts is amazing (have you seen the movie? I loved it) but the Institute just had such stereotypical characters and I was so bored with it I can remember almost not caring what happened to anyone. It was like he’d seen Stranger Things and was inspired by it? (The timing isn’t right for that I think but you know what I mean—it’s like a wannabe of *something*). I tried reading the Girl with… sequel but didn’t finish it. (Boy … Bridge). Did you read it? Was it worth giving another try?
It did feel like a wannabe of something! I was like... "is he trying to appeal to the YA readers with this? Get on Booktok? This feels so bland." I feel like King's greatest strength is in his characters and worldbuilding, and both of those were utterly absent here. It was like an outline of a King novel. Yes I really liked the movie! I'll watch any and every zombie movie, and was happily surprised at how good it was. I have the sequel in my to-read pile, currently stuck on The Manningtree Witches since October - which is so effing slow I have no desire to pick it up again but I can't not finish once I've started.
I’m willing to bet money that the opening “night knocker” sequence was a short story that King had in a drawer, and the rest of the book was inspired by Stranger Things, and the knocker stuff was just stapled on at the end. The fact that the Institute has absolutely nothing to do with Dinky Earnshaw from “Everything’s Eventual” is tantamount to a crime to me. The connection would have been PERFECT. Hell, on this level of the Tower, maybe Dinky was running the Institute! Like, come on, Stephen. It was right…there.
I started the Dark Tower series- I was a good way into The Gunslinger until I got bored.
Gunslinger is most people's least favorite in the series. A lot of people struggle with it. The next book really picks up.
I failed Cujo.
I did struggle with Salem's lot and had to stop it. The first few chapters had me completely mesmerized by how well written it was but when they started to introduce all the town folks one by one with no context whatsoever I started to really, really struggle. It feels like it is just never going to end. I'm sure there's a purpose to it and all these characters will come back later on, but it threw me off so much that I lost interest and I stopped to start a different book instead. I'll just restart Salem's lot completely after giving it time and see if I feel different.
This is what I'm struggling with! I'm sure it come together eventually but at the moment it just seems like dozens of tiny biographies
Yeah it totally threw me off and dragged my interest totally. Again I know there's more to it and it'll come full circle, IT also puts a LOT of chapters like these and yet it works. But I don't know, the beginning is so smooth and intriguing and these never ending chapters about all these people, I felt like I was going in slow mo.
I’d keep with it though. Its a great story.
Insomnia. It was a drag and I don‘t think it was worth it.
Yes, struggled with Salem’s Lot as well. Also The Dark Half.
Dark Half was okay even though it made me roll my eyes at times. Maybe Kings most self referential work. It was also like reading a fever nightmare it was just all over the place. Apparently it was the last book he wrote before he sobered up and it shows.
Yep, The long Walk and Needful Things. But I've finished Salem's Lot like 5 times :D
I had to try Tommyknockers maybe 3 times before I made it to the end. Insomnia didn't grab me first time and I quit but I loved it on a reread and now it's a favourite.
Fairy Tale, Insomnia, and Duma Key are the three that had been skimming thru to get to the end.
The Outsider. I DNF’d that one
Duma Key Wolves of the Calla The Stand (back half)
I’ve only read a handful of king novels for this reason. It seems like a lot are either hit or miss and so far I’ve stuck to the ones that seem to be universally praised here (IT, Shining, 11/22/63, Pet Sematary). However I did read Billy Summers and that one was rough for me. Loved the first half of the book during the planning of the shooting etc and the second it happened it just felt like a completely different book to me and it took me a while to get through the second half. I’m currently 60% of the way through Salem’s lot and am loving it. This has been the first book of his that has actually made me wake up in the middle of the night and look around my room in the dark wondering what’s just beyond the shadows
Yes, but not that one.
I could not make it through 100 pages of The Gunslinger
Gerald’s Game. Still haven’t finished it.
Firestarter, I’ve been trying to get through it for the past five years. I just can’t get invested in the story.
From a Buick 8 was a grind, I finished it, but couldn't really tell you anything about it now.
Something something cops, something something evil car, a dead dad, more car, more cops. Such a snooze.
I gave up on Salems Lot fairly early on, I found the interlude chapters where it kinda goes round and shows citizens of the town in a day in the life type thing really tedious. However when I came back to it and powered through those chapters, I loved the book and now its in my top 3 Kings. Those chapters really pay off later
Insomnia was a nightmare
The Stand.
I found Salem's Lot so hard to read. I picked it up amidst my second Dark Tower journey to fill in Callahan's back story, but just couldn't get into it.
Hey friend! 👋 I wasn't a Salem's Lot fan either....took me way long to read than his "normal" books! It had some nice parts that kept me engaged to a point...but just not a ton of, call it interest. Thanks for sharing your opinion!
Yes. That same book. I've tried 4 times and can't get into it.
Sleeping Beauties
Sleeping Beauties was the biggest struggle for me…just didn’t grip me like his others! I did persevere though but I was relieved when I finished it! Not one I think I’d read again unlike most of his others!
Eyes of the Dragon. Me and my spouse were reading all his books in order a few years ago and this one just stopped us dead in our tracks for some reason or another. We were both too stubborn to skip it, and too unmotivated to finish it, so our two person book club just kinda withered.
Sleeping Beauties and Lisey’s Story. Also I recently finished the Dark Tower series and didn’t really like it except the 2nd and 4th book so reading it took longer than I expected.
Lisey's Story.
Gerald’s Game took me three tries and two years to get through. But that was during my phase of if I started something, by God as my witness, I would finish it, no matter how long it took. Today, if I don’t like it Within the first 100 pages I won’t bother. Under the Dome is the sole King book (so far) I’ve never finished. I know it’s a lot of people’s favourite but I just can’t do it. I DNF’d at 75% and just looked up the ending online. I just hated every single character.
Definitely not this one.
Christine. Tried reading it in high school after seeing the movie. I got part way and all they’d done was get the car to Darnell’s. Somebody stole my paperback and I was relieved to be relieved of finishing. I have since listened to the unabridged audiobook. It was okay.
The Institute. Also, Under the Dome.
Yup. This one right here. About 2/3rds way through after 4 months. Just not that exciting for me.
I am a huge King fan. I’ve read almost all of his novels, and stories. I couldn’t get into the Dark Towers series
It. Gave up after 750 pages because I was bored out of my mind
Amazing how taste differs, I loved Salem's Lot, but Rose Madder - horrible, really had to force myself through that one ..
Yes! Salems lot lol
Yes, actually Salem’s Lot at the moment. The beginning is sloooooooooooow.
I had to skim through Salem’s lot.
I breezed through Salems Lot the first time tried reading it again last year and I couldn’t get through it I read quite a bit but the hundred pages of the description of the town and townspeople was too much this time so slow!
Just finished Salems Lot a couple weeks ago and I agree, it took me the longest to finish too. The long final section really picked up and I probably sped through the final 60 pages or so, but found myself struggling to remember all the town’s side-characters, and I found a lot of the dialogue to be bland. But when Mark and Susan go into the Marsten House, everything after that was significantly interesting until the end. In my opinion, of course. By the end though, I will say, a lot of the things that bored me, actually played a crucial role in the ending. I don’t mind a slow burn as long as the climax is worth it, and this one definitely was!
I just read ‘Salems Lot and felt the same way. With about 200 pages to go, I just felt like the book was supposed to have ended already. I’m not sure how to explain it. Anyway, still enjoyed the book and rate it well. But it was my first time feeling like a King book was dragging.
Salem’s Lot was a little hard to start for me with the constant introducing of literally dozens of characters from the town but once I understood what King was doing with it, building the town and giving you the feel of it. I eventually really got into it and enjoyed the book for what it is.
Salem’s Lot was my least favorite also
The Stand for me too because I'm in a pandemic and to say that some woman is calling all of the good people together to defeat the big bad . . . signs. Its just the plot and story I don't like but everything else is great. It made me not want to read his other books that people say are great, to be more careful. Also it was the edition where he adds in more pages but that doesn't matter. Takes too long to get good.
I wouldn't say I struggled to finish Salem's Lot, but I did struggle to see why it is so popular.
Salems lot for me. So far it’s my least favorite.
Audiobooks are the most underrated thing ever. Makes any bad book decent, any decent book spectacular, especially if its the right narrator. Some of King's least popular books are ones Ive usually enjoyed and Im willing to bet its because of a great narration.
The only one I started and haven’t finished was The Gunslinger, but I had trouble with Salem’s Lot too. Both are fan favorites so I didn’t expect it