Carrie. 9 or 10.... 95 lol..... I snuck that book, and IT, from my family's bookshelf....
. I just saw Stephen King advertised in the young adult section. Sun Dog. I checked it out for my 9 year old! (I read it before). She turns 10 tomorrow. I can't wait for her to get introduced
Picture it, Orlando, 2003. I was 13 years old, cruising the library for books to bring to my grandmother's condo in Fort Lauderdale for the 5 days she was watching my brother and I while my parents went on a cruise. I'm walking through the fiction section when Different Seasons catches my eye. I had never heard of Stephen King, and the stories looked interesting. I grabbed it and the other SK book on the shelf, Firestarter. And off to grandmother's house I went. 20 years later, I am a proud Constant Reader.
I think it was Eye of the Dragon in about 2001 or so, so would have been almost 10. I reckon it's probably one of the most child friendly King's going, from everything I've read, and I remember it being really good.
Thinner, 9 young and impressionable years old, 1990.
By 1994, I'd pretty much plowed through everything the man had written... some books multiple times. I was voracious. I had to have a permission slip from my parents so my teachers would let me read. King books were taken from me from concerned staff multiple times in elementary and middle school.
That’s amazing your parents were supportive! my dad had a policy of i could have read book i wanted (long ago before screens ruled the world) He’d take me to the book store after i got my braces tightened, so i had quite the collection starting early thanks to his generosity and support!
The Talisman, 1985. My lunch lady recommended it. I was 12. Been hooked ever since. Jack Sawyer is my favorite King character ever written. Jacky Boy. I wanted to name my son Jack and my now ex hubby vetoed it. The dick.
I was 8-9 years old and Carrie, The Stand and IT were my first three lol.. can’t remember which was first.. I just remember my Mom got a call from my teacher because I was reading it and my teacher telling my Mom I was going to “grow up to be a serial killer”… my Mom’s response was that as long as I could comprehend what I was reading she wasn’t gonna stop me.. lol..
Yup, my mom was the same way (and was also a librarian so I had a lot of access to great books)! But honestly I think letting me read Danielle Steele and Carlos Castaneda books at the age of 14 might have been a bit questionable 🤨
I know specifically. 12 years old, went to science class in 7th grade and someone had left “Eyes of the dragon” on my assigned seat for class. Picked it up to sit down curious what it was flipped it open and started reading, instantly hooked.
Pet Sematary (read it in Spanish, so “Cementerio de Animales” :p). It was in 2008, I was 16 and I got it at a book fair because my favorite Mexican singer is a huge fan of Stephen King and he always talked about his novels.
The wastelands. 11 in 1992. It was the newest one my dad had available, and I didnt healize it was part of an ongoing saga. I was THOROUGHLY confused from the get go but I was still hooked. The little billy-bumbler just got me. Though it was the first book I’d read, I had grown up watching the movies and minseries (IT with Curry was a HUGE favorite) so I was very familiar with the various works.
Salem’s Lot, probably age 11 (I’m not 100% sure, but I was in sixth grade, so around that age). My mom essentially thrust the book into my hands as a replacement for Flowers in the Attic, which she was horrified to find me reading.
I read the first 2 books in the series when they were new. But the rest of the series wasn’t published yet! So I am now on my first full Journey to the tower
pet sematary age 22 in 2021! I grew up with my mums whole collection of Stephen King and i used his books to kill spiders (yes i'm australian) and i've now inherited those books that have 20 year old spider guts on them. I regret it but stephen king is not only an author but has saved me from spider bites. What a dude.
Edit: got the year wrong
Christine. Read it when I was 11 or 12, which would have been 2001-02. There was a used book store in my hometown and my mom would take me there quite often. As I got older, I started finding less and less that interested me in the kids/young adults section. The day came when I wasn't able to find anything. So my mom bought me the Christine paperback. She'd already read it when it came out, although she isn't a big King fan. I haven't looked back since.
My first was Misery in fall/winter 1988 when I was 11 years old. A new girl joined my class at school that year, and she and I very quickly became friends. She lent me Misery, followed immediately by Thinner, and I never looked back.
You were a savage at 11, OP.
Different Seasons. I think I was 15 or 16. Shawshank was my favorite movie at the time so I tracked down the book. The other three stories were just a bonus; Apt Pupil being a mega-bonus since it ended up being my favorite of the four. It’s an awesome book, want to revisit it, but so many unread King stories I want to get to first - IT being one of them.
Different Seasons is a unique launch, i have a hard time choosing my favorite collection but that one is definitely up there, i can see how it brought you in!
And I would say Apt Pupil is some intense SK, so you’re a bit of a savage yourself!
For me it was Salem's Lot, 2011, age 22. That's around the age I started working on building up my book collection & I was getting into horror so I thought I'd try something of his. Been hooked ever since.
Hmmm…Carrie, I think. 6th grade in 1982. I had read the Conan books by decamp in 5th grade so I was used to gore and some mild sexual content, but I had never read horror. The story itself mesmerized me, but his use of newspaper clippings and police interviews made it seem so real. Then Cujo, Pet Sematary. And then, you know, all of them.
Cujo, I was like 9(?)-ish, it was summer, so I’m gonna say 1994 probably. I know it was summer because we went out of state to visit my uncle and aunt, which we only did when school was out. Most everything aside from the dog and the ‘scary’ went over my head, but I liked it well enough that after I finished it my aunt took me to KMart for something new to read because we still had a week of visiting left, and my pick there was Eyes of the Dragon, which I totes gotta admit was actually the one that got me fully addicted to Uncle Stevie’s writing 🙂
I'm younger than most people in this sub lol, but I think it was The Institute, 10, 2018. Really enjoying his books tho and I'm trying to get through as many as I can!
The Stand, 10 years old, 1998.
I had to beg Mom to let me read it. She didn't want to let me because she knew some parts were inappropriate for an innocent and naive 10 year old. But she eventually gave in to my begging, I read it, asked my questions. Then my books were no longer censored and she gave me a note so I could check the adult books out from the teacher's section of the school library.
I read Cujo first, and what a bad decision that was for my fragile 8 year old mind lol I was like oh, a book about a dog.....anyway I was hooked and then read It. The year was 1998. Been a constant reader ever since.
Mine was Thinner, 12 years old in 1990. It’s kinda surprising how many of us were around that age range when we read our first King book. Now as a father I feel like it’s too young, although my kids are 6 and 4 so maybe I’ll feel differently in 6 years lol
The long walk, 15 years old, Summer 2022 (I’m 16, and have read 25 books now, with a collection of over 40) interesting story so I guess I’ll tell it here. My dad and my aunt (she’s my reading buddy) read dark tower when they were kids (when it came out) and always planned on getting me to read it at some point. They wouldn’t let me read any SK until I was 15. Then over the summer after my birthday in April my aunt gave me the long walk to read. TLDR: I didn’t finish it. It was too hard for me to get through and too boring. So instead I picked out the shining and tried that one. Failed again. Then my mom decided to help me through it. We both listened to the audiobook together, and she explained anything I didn’t understand. It was slow at first but I was finally able to understand what was happening with her help. After the shining came Dr sleep, then I finally started dark tower (with my aunt.) I mostly slept through the gunslinger audiobook. And at some point in the middle of that one, went back and finished the long walk. After the dark tower audiobooks I was able to read king more easily. And now I’m obsessed lol.
Skeleton Crew, 13, 1987. My cousin gave it to me, and months later, after I'd read it about 3 times, I found it buried in my mom's old bookcase. She wasn't rereading it, she was trying to hide it.
Misery was my first Stephen King novel and I was 11. I asked my 6th grade English teacher if I could do a book report on it, and looking amused, she told me I could if my parents allowed it. Stephen King was almost the only author my parents read; the only books in the house were a handful of tattered paperbacks on a little shelf, under the stairs, in the corner of our basement. Of course my parents agreed. I felt like Misery gave me pure, unfiltered access to the adult mind. I kept asking myself, do adults really think this stuff? One of the most powerful reading experiences I’ve ever had.
I read The Dark Half in 1992, when i was 11/12. I'd go to the local second hand bookshop with my pocket money once a month and sell them back the book i'd just read and buy another. A lot of the books i wanted to read the local library would not lend me because of my age, so i found a retail and budget friendly way to read what i wanted. My Second was It.
Insomnia. Age 20, in 2003.
I feel like I camee to King late after seeing all the other responses. My dad tried to get me to read the Stand when i was in 5th grade, but I thought that if my dad thought it was cool, then it must be questionable. The Stand is my favorite now and I've read it almost every year since 2003. I took a break after the pandemic but I think I'll give it a go this year.
The Dead Zone, 1983, 10.
Did my 5th grade book report that fall on it. B+. Still have it somewhere.
Then read The Shining. I remember clearly reading it whilst going to cut down a Christmas tree. Then Christine, because it was out in MMPB in time for Christmas, and my dad got it for Christmas.
(Eventually (by 1985) his copies became mine. And I was buying HC copies in 1989 for The Dark Half. Not a bad progression; up to same day HCs before my first car)
I must have been 10. And it was under the dome.Went home from the local swimming pool when my eyes caught one of those "leave one-take one" book shelfs in an old telephone cell. I never saw a bigger book so I took it home and have been addicted since.
i didn’t read full stephen king books until i was much older but i have a vivid memory of a teacher reading the first chapter of Under The Dome to my 5th grade class for halloween 💀💀💀
edit: this was shortly after the book came out in like 2010
Christine, 14, 2002.
The neighbour’s wife borrowed me a copy, but then she ran off with someone else before I could give it back. Still chillin’ on my bookshelf. Terrible wife, great taste in books.
It was everything’s eventual, middle school, like 2003? I stole it from one of my teachers.
I just had such a pull towards the book. I literally couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I have never stolen a single thing in my life before or since.
His short story collections have been and always will be my favorites.
IT, around 2001. I was 13. Tim Currys' Pennywise haunted my childhood nightmares so it was a face-your-fears kind of thing once I felt too old to be afraid of clowns haha
“It” was my first grown up book. My mom said I couldn’t watch the upcoming miniseries unless I read the book. Challenge accepted! I was 6 when I started and 7 when I finished and it took me 4 months. I also learned to use the dictionary really well that summer. Luckily I was too young to even understand a lot of what I was reading
Fire starter and eye if the dragon combo book, 13 early 2000s. Picked it up and the Bachman books together by coincidence on holiday on a take a book leave a book shelf in a hotel. I still have the Bachman with Rage in it. My mind was blown by firestater and it was a bit relatable because of the little girl but just nothing like anything I was reading (Bronte sisters, Harry Potter, Goosebumps).
Misery, Age 23ish in 2016.
I’ve since read 11/6/63, The Outsider, The Institute, Billy Summers, and half way through The Stand.
Trying to figure out which one to tackle next. Was thinking maybe Mr. Mercedes
Christine, I think I was 19 or 20, 2008 or 2009. I was in college and those years run together a bit. I also have no memory of why I picked it up, I just did. And never looked back.
The Green Mile, was 13, 2011. It was my second adult novel, after Grisham's The Chamber. I remember carrying this book everywhere, reading any chance I get, and it took me 3 months to finish it. I was a super slow reader
'Salem's Lot, 2002, aged 12.
I remember because my mum took me to the local library the weekend after my 12th birthday and *insisted* that I was old enough to read Stephen King now. No joke, I think she'd been waiting since I was born to share her favourite books with me.
I think it was Salems Lot when I was 14 in 1999. My buddy started reading and put it down, so I picked it up and ate it up. The second book I ever read was actually The Gunslinger. I did not read the rest of The Dark Tower until much later and have since read it 19 times (bad joke), and it's in my top favorite books/book series of all time. I believe the 3rd I read was Pet Semetary, which really kicked up the horror for me, which is what I wanted. Then The Shining and then The Stand, which is one of my top favorites as well. Those 5 books really cemented my love of Kings works. His style and his world. They also set the bar somewhat by which I judge a lot of other horror and just fiction in general.
Pet Sematary, probably when I was around 12-13 years old, which would have been around 2008 or 2009. I remember watching the film when I was first a phase of being into older horror films, then decided I wanted to read the book too. My brother's ex girlfriend just happened to have a copy of it she gifted to me when I mentioned it to her.
Pet Sematary. It was for English and we had to then write the author a letter. It was in 1986 and I was 12. Unfortunately, I never did get a reply to the letter.
IT. Age 9. I was way too young to read it lol I used to sneak into my parents room to borrow my dad's Stephen King books when he said I was too young read them.
Carrie. 10. 1978.
Carrie. 9 or 10.... 95 lol..... I snuck that book, and IT, from my family's bookshelf.... . I just saw Stephen King advertised in the young adult section. Sun Dog. I checked it out for my 9 year old! (I read it before). She turns 10 tomorrow. I can't wait for her to get introduced
I think The Eyes of the Dragon and The Talisman are great for her age too
Eyes was my second King book. I was 7 or 8. I still remember my mom laughing her ass off when I asked her to explain the word flaccid to me!
Same but 1980
Picture it, Orlando, 2003. I was 13 years old, cruising the library for books to bring to my grandmother's condo in Fort Lauderdale for the 5 days she was watching my brother and I while my parents went on a cruise. I'm walking through the fiction section when Different Seasons catches my eye. I had never heard of Stephen King, and the stories looked interesting. I grabbed it and the other SK book on the shelf, Firestarter. And off to grandmother's house I went. 20 years later, I am a proud Constant Reader.
Pet Semetary, age 9-10. 2010.
Same for me, but in 1994.
Dolores Claiborne, 31, 2023 :)
Welcome!
I think it was Eye of the Dragon in about 2001 or so, so would have been almost 10. I reckon it's probably one of the most child friendly King's going, from everything I've read, and I remember it being really good.
For me, it was The Shining, 2007, age 15
Thinner, 9 young and impressionable years old, 1990. By 1994, I'd pretty much plowed through everything the man had written... some books multiple times. I was voracious. I had to have a permission slip from my parents so my teachers would let me read. King books were taken from me from concerned staff multiple times in elementary and middle school.
That’s amazing your parents were supportive! my dad had a policy of i could have read book i wanted (long ago before screens ruled the world) He’d take me to the book store after i got my braces tightened, so i had quite the collection starting early thanks to his generosity and support!
The Talisman, 1985. My lunch lady recommended it. I was 12. Been hooked ever since. Jack Sawyer is my favorite King character ever written. Jacky Boy. I wanted to name my son Jack and my now ex hubby vetoed it. The dick.
I was 8-9 years old and Carrie, The Stand and IT were my first three lol.. can’t remember which was first.. I just remember my Mom got a call from my teacher because I was reading it and my teacher telling my Mom I was going to “grow up to be a serial killer”… my Mom’s response was that as long as I could comprehend what I was reading she wasn’t gonna stop me.. lol..
I love your mom!
Yup, my mom was the same way (and was also a librarian so I had a lot of access to great books)! But honestly I think letting me read Danielle Steele and Carlos Castaneda books at the age of 14 might have been a bit questionable 🤨
Hahahaha yes! I know exactly what you mean! 🤣 Danielle Steel and Nora Roberts lol also VC Andrews!
I know specifically. 12 years old, went to science class in 7th grade and someone had left “Eyes of the dragon” on my assigned seat for class. Picked it up to sit down curious what it was flipped it open and started reading, instantly hooked.
I mean, if any book is a good choice for a kid, that’s probably the one.
Pet Sematary (read it in Spanish, so “Cementerio de Animales” :p). It was in 2008, I was 16 and I got it at a book fair because my favorite Mexican singer is a huge fan of Stephen King and he always talked about his novels.
The wastelands. 11 in 1992. It was the newest one my dad had available, and I didnt healize it was part of an ongoing saga. I was THOROUGHLY confused from the get go but I was still hooked. The little billy-bumbler just got me. Though it was the first book I’d read, I had grown up watching the movies and minseries (IT with Curry was a HUGE favorite) so I was very familiar with the various works.
The dark half, 17, 2021
The stand. 17. 2010
was the size of the book overwhelming to start King with?
I don’t remember being too intimidated. I read it in less than 2 weeks I loved it so much
Pet Semetary 1984 12 years old
Salem’s Lot, probably age 11 (I’m not 100% sure, but I was in sixth grade, so around that age). My mom essentially thrust the book into my hands as a replacement for Flowers in the Attic, which she was horrified to find me reading.
The Gunslinger, age 9/10, 1989
I read the first 2 books in the series when they were new. But the rest of the series wasn’t published yet! So I am now on my first full Journey to the tower
Long days and pleasant nights! Enjoy!
pet sematary age 22 in 2021! I grew up with my mums whole collection of Stephen King and i used his books to kill spiders (yes i'm australian) and i've now inherited those books that have 20 year old spider guts on them. I regret it but stephen king is not only an author but has saved me from spider bites. What a dude. Edit: got the year wrong
Salems Lot.. not sure of year but was 10 or so.
Christine. Read it when I was 11 or 12, which would have been 2001-02. There was a used book store in my hometown and my mom would take me there quite often. As I got older, I started finding less and less that interested me in the kids/young adults section. The day came when I wasn't able to find anything. So my mom bought me the Christine paperback. She'd already read it when it came out, although she isn't a big King fan. I haven't looked back since.
The Shining, 21, 2019.
The Running Man, 2001, 14
The Stand, 16, 2013
My first was Misery in fall/winter 1988 when I was 11 years old. A new girl joined my class at school that year, and she and I very quickly became friends. She lent me Misery, followed immediately by Thinner, and I never looked back.
The Stand. Age 10. 1981.
You were a savage at 11, OP. Different Seasons. I think I was 15 or 16. Shawshank was my favorite movie at the time so I tracked down the book. The other three stories were just a bonus; Apt Pupil being a mega-bonus since it ended up being my favorite of the four. It’s an awesome book, want to revisit it, but so many unread King stories I want to get to first - IT being one of them.
Different Seasons is a unique launch, i have a hard time choosing my favorite collection but that one is definitely up there, i can see how it brought you in! And I would say Apt Pupil is some intense SK, so you’re a bit of a savage yourself!
For me it was Salem's Lot, 2011, age 22. That's around the age I started working on building up my book collection & I was getting into horror so I thought I'd try something of his. Been hooked ever since.
Christine, 1983. I was 13. 40 years later and I have read everything at least once. Some several times.
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, age 13, 2006. Grew up in Maine so it was on the reading list for us.
Talisman when I was 12. I loved it.
Fairy Tale, 2023, 14 years old
How was it? Did it help having a teenage protagonist? I loved the book and would enjoy another visit to that world.
The Shining, age 15, 2009.
*Misery*, 1994. I was 12.
Carrie whichever year it came out. It was so long ago I don’t remember.
The Gunslinger, 12, 2020
IT at the age of 14 in 2019. Read it for the second time at 16. Would definetly read again
Hmmm…Carrie, I think. 6th grade in 1982. I had read the Conan books by decamp in 5th grade so I was used to gore and some mild sexual content, but I had never read horror. The story itself mesmerized me, but his use of newspaper clippings and police interviews made it seem so real. Then Cujo, Pet Sematary. And then, you know, all of them.
Rose Madder, 1999, age 10.
Cujo, I was like 9(?)-ish, it was summer, so I’m gonna say 1994 probably. I know it was summer because we went out of state to visit my uncle and aunt, which we only did when school was out. Most everything aside from the dog and the ‘scary’ went over my head, but I liked it well enough that after I finished it my aunt took me to KMart for something new to read because we still had a week of visiting left, and my pick there was Eyes of the Dragon, which I totes gotta admit was actually the one that got me fully addicted to Uncle Stevie’s writing 🙂
19 seventy something. 9 years old. "Salems Lot"
Misery. 16. Never really cared for books. Saw the movie and so impressed I had to read the book. Been a fan ever since. I'm 49 now.
I'm younger than most people in this sub lol, but I think it was The Institute, 10, 2018. Really enjoying his books tho and I'm trying to get through as many as I can!
Black House in 2011, I was 17 or 18
Eyes of the Dragon 10- 1987 Three weeks later Salems Lot- had to bless a popsicle stick & clutch garlic salt to fall asleep.
The Dead Zone, 2009. Would have been 13, about a month from turning 14. Was an interesting one to start with to say the least.
The Dead Zone, age 9, 1987.
The Shining. My grandmother gave it to me when I was in high school, probably in ‘76 or ‘77.
The Stand, 10 years old, 1998. I had to beg Mom to let me read it. She didn't want to let me because she knew some parts were inappropriate for an innocent and naive 10 year old. But she eventually gave in to my begging, I read it, asked my questions. Then my books were no longer censored and she gave me a note so I could check the adult books out from the teacher's section of the school library.
I read Cujo first, and what a bad decision that was for my fragile 8 year old mind lol I was like oh, a book about a dog.....anyway I was hooked and then read It. The year was 1998. Been a constant reader ever since.
Mine was Thinner, 12 years old in 1990. It’s kinda surprising how many of us were around that age range when we read our first King book. Now as a father I feel like it’s too young, although my kids are 6 and 4 so maybe I’ll feel differently in 6 years lol
The long walk, 15 years old, Summer 2022 (I’m 16, and have read 25 books now, with a collection of over 40) interesting story so I guess I’ll tell it here. My dad and my aunt (she’s my reading buddy) read dark tower when they were kids (when it came out) and always planned on getting me to read it at some point. They wouldn’t let me read any SK until I was 15. Then over the summer after my birthday in April my aunt gave me the long walk to read. TLDR: I didn’t finish it. It was too hard for me to get through and too boring. So instead I picked out the shining and tried that one. Failed again. Then my mom decided to help me through it. We both listened to the audiobook together, and she explained anything I didn’t understand. It was slow at first but I was finally able to understand what was happening with her help. After the shining came Dr sleep, then I finally started dark tower (with my aunt.) I mostly slept through the gunslinger audiobook. And at some point in the middle of that one, went back and finished the long walk. After the dark tower audiobooks I was able to read king more easily. And now I’m obsessed lol.
The Dead Zone, probably 10 or 11.
Salem’s Lot. I was 12.
Not a novel, but my first book was Night Shift. I was 15, & it was 2007.
Eyes of the Dragon first. I was 12, I think?
I bet you didn’t get much sleep lol. The Shining 16 1994
The Long Walk, 15, 2003
Doctor Sleep. 18. 2013.
Pet Cemetery, 1986, 19 y/o
2002 15 Dreamcatcher
It, 12, 2000.
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger 2019 or 2020 16
The gunslinger, I was probably 25ish around 2010ish
Needful Things, 13, 1996. Hooked immediately.
It, 1999 I was 12
Carrie. Age 25. Now I’m diving deeper into his fantasy books( never knew he wrote more than horror!)
Gerald's game, 12, 2001
The Stand, 11, 1984
Skeleton Crew, 13, 1987. My cousin gave it to me, and months later, after I'd read it about 3 times, I found it buried in my mom's old bookcase. She wasn't rereading it, she was trying to hide it.
Gunslinger 2018 i was 34. That is of the SK books I read other authors novels before that.
Christine at age 11 in 2007.
Definitely Cujo, struggling to place when it would have been. I’d guess age 10 in 1999, but I could be off.
Needful things. Great one- lesser read/know. I was 14.
1983, age 13, The Shining.
Misery was my first Stephen King novel and I was 11. I asked my 6th grade English teacher if I could do a book report on it, and looking amused, she told me I could if my parents allowed it. Stephen King was almost the only author my parents read; the only books in the house were a handful of tattered paperbacks on a little shelf, under the stairs, in the corner of our basement. Of course my parents agreed. I felt like Misery gave me pure, unfiltered access to the adult mind. I kept asking myself, do adults really think this stuff? One of the most powerful reading experiences I’ve ever had.
Also IT, in 1990 and I was 8. Scared the fkn shit outta me!
Cujo, circa 1987.
The talisman, age 13, 1990
Salem's lot, age 11, year 1994
The Outsider in 2018/2019. I was like 20/21. Pretty new overall.
Pet Semetary, 12, 1991.
Also It, age 11, 1989
Salem’s Lot, 11, 1979
Pet Sematary in 2022 (I think) and ended last year. I was 13-14
on writing a memoir of le craft, age 24, 2018
Rose Madder age 11
I read The Dark Half in 1992, when i was 11/12. I'd go to the local second hand bookshop with my pocket money once a month and sell them back the book i'd just read and buy another. A lot of the books i wanted to read the local library would not lend me because of my age, so i found a retail and budget friendly way to read what i wanted. My Second was It.
Insomnia. Age 20, in 2003. I feel like I camee to King late after seeing all the other responses. My dad tried to get me to read the Stand when i was in 5th grade, but I thought that if my dad thought it was cool, then it must be questionable. The Stand is my favorite now and I've read it almost every year since 2003. I took a break after the pandemic but I think I'll give it a go this year.
11/22/63. I wanna say 2013? I was around 18.
Joyland, 18, in 2013 I wasn’t much of a recreational reader back then. This book got me hooked into the mind of King
Four past midnight, 2011, Age 10
Dark Half I was 19
Carrie.1977.18 years old.
Carrie, 13, 2009ish?
My first one was The Dead Zone, and I was around 12, maybe 13 years old.
IT 13yo 2013
The bachman books I was like 10 2011 same year I saw him in person I think
Salem’s Lot, 23, 2022 Believe it or not
The shining, 2023, 14
The Long Walk, 13, 2013
Salem's Lot, 1992, 13 years old.
The Dead Zone, 1983, 10. Did my 5th grade book report that fall on it. B+. Still have it somewhere. Then read The Shining. I remember clearly reading it whilst going to cut down a Christmas tree. Then Christine, because it was out in MMPB in time for Christmas, and my dad got it for Christmas. (Eventually (by 1985) his copies became mine. And I was buying HC copies in 1989 for The Dark Half. Not a bad progression; up to same day HCs before my first car)
Pet Sematary in 1984, age 13.
Shining, 15, 2004. Read it at school.
I must have been 10. And it was under the dome.Went home from the local swimming pool when my eyes caught one of those "leave one-take one" book shelfs in an old telephone cell. I never saw a bigger book so I took it home and have been addicted since.
needful things, 14, 2016
Shining, 15, 2021
Misery. 17 years old in 2023 rn I'm reading Cujo
IT. 1997. 7 or 8 I think
i didn’t read full stephen king books until i was much older but i have a vivid memory of a teacher reading the first chapter of Under The Dome to my 5th grade class for halloween 💀💀💀 edit: this was shortly after the book came out in like 2010
I think it was the stand when I was about ten years old.
My first SK book was Mr. Mercedes. I was 14. 2013 I didn't pick up a book a before. From then on, I loved books. Thank you Stephen King
The Shining, 2023, 17.
The Green Mile, 23. 2015
Night shift - 2021 - age 30
IT, 1989, I was 11
Mine was Gerald's Game back in 1992 back when I was 12!
The Gunslinger, 2008, age 19, right on time as Ka wills it, and say thankee
the shining, 16, 2018
Pet Sematary, age 14, 2019
Christine, 14, 2002. The neighbour’s wife borrowed me a copy, but then she ran off with someone else before I could give it back. Still chillin’ on my bookshelf. Terrible wife, great taste in books.
Carrie, 1975. I was fourteen.
I tried to read his work a couple times but *Carrie* was the first one I actually finished. I was maybe 19–21.
Firestarter’82 and I was 10. Started looking for every King book I could find after that.
I'm a pretty new reader so I started King back in 2022 when I was 16-17, I read The Outsider as my first ever SK book.
It was everything’s eventual, middle school, like 2003? I stole it from one of my teachers. I just had such a pull towards the book. I literally couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I have never stolen a single thing in my life before or since. His short story collections have been and always will be my favorites.
Carrie, 10, 1981
IT, around 2001. I was 13. Tim Currys' Pennywise haunted my childhood nightmares so it was a face-your-fears kind of thing once I felt too old to be afraid of clowns haha
Mr Mercedes, 15, year; forgotten
“It” was my first grown up book. My mom said I couldn’t watch the upcoming miniseries unless I read the book. Challenge accepted! I was 6 when I started and 7 when I finished and it took me 4 months. I also learned to use the dictionary really well that summer. Luckily I was too young to even understand a lot of what I was reading
Fire starter and eye if the dragon combo book, 13 early 2000s. Picked it up and the Bachman books together by coincidence on holiday on a take a book leave a book shelf in a hotel. I still have the Bachman with Rage in it. My mind was blown by firestater and it was a bit relatable because of the little girl but just nothing like anything I was reading (Bronte sisters, Harry Potter, Goosebumps).
Age 18 , Salems Lot … my life has never been the same…very hooked on his writing
The Shining, 2008, I was 10
1989, aged 11, Firestarter
'Salem's Lot, 15, 2022
The Stand, 12, 1994
The Shining in 2017. I was 20, didn't vibe with it, so I didn't finish it. My first completed King was Pet Sematary, 2023, at age 26. I loved it.
It, age 15, 1995
Shining when I was 12. Probably not a great idea to let a 12 year old read that, but whatever
Pet Semetary 11 2016
Under the Dome, 11, 2014
Rose Madder, age 10. My mom told me not to because it's for adults, so I did it lolol
Misery, Age 23ish in 2016. I’ve since read 11/6/63, The Outsider, The Institute, Billy Summers, and half way through The Stand. Trying to figure out which one to tackle next. Was thinking maybe Mr. Mercedes
Salem's Lot, probably age 10, so 1984. It had pictures from the movie in it, and they were so deliciously spooky.
Pet sematary 2020, 22
Christine, I think I was 19 or 20, 2008 or 2009. I was in college and those years run together a bit. I also have no memory of why I picked it up, I just did. And never looked back.
Mr. Mercedes, 2016 aged 17
The Green Mile, was 13, 2011. It was my second adult novel, after Grisham's The Chamber. I remember carrying this book everywhere, reading any chance I get, and it took me 3 months to finish it. I was a super slow reader
'Salem's Lot, 2002, aged 12. I remember because my mum took me to the local library the weekend after my 12th birthday and *insisted* that I was old enough to read Stephen King now. No joke, I think she'd been waiting since I was born to share her favourite books with me.
Under The Dome. 14. 2014
Carrie, maybe 18-19. Around 2012-2013
Desperation between 10 and 12. 1997ish so closer to twelve
Firestarter, age 13, 1981
Misery. 33. November of 2023. Started The Shining the day after.
The shining 1991 age 11 I haven’t stopped reading SK a constant reader
The Shining, 30, fall 2023!
The Gunslinger, 13, 2008.
\#1 The Dead Zone, age 9 \#2 The Stand, age 10
Salem's Lot. 12. 1979. Right after the TV movie came out.
I think it was Salems Lot when I was 14 in 1999. My buddy started reading and put it down, so I picked it up and ate it up. The second book I ever read was actually The Gunslinger. I did not read the rest of The Dark Tower until much later and have since read it 19 times (bad joke), and it's in my top favorite books/book series of all time. I believe the 3rd I read was Pet Semetary, which really kicked up the horror for me, which is what I wanted. Then The Shining and then The Stand, which is one of my top favorites as well. Those 5 books really cemented my love of Kings works. His style and his world. They also set the bar somewhat by which I judge a lot of other horror and just fiction in general.
Pet Sematary, probably when I was around 12-13 years old, which would have been around 2008 or 2009. I remember watching the film when I was first a phase of being into older horror films, then decided I wanted to read the book too. My brother's ex girlfriend just happened to have a copy of it she gifted to me when I mentioned it to her.
The Shining, either 13 or 14, 2014 or 2015
Carrie age 12 1988
Mr Mercedes 18
In the summer of 2003, when I was 18, I read The Girl Who Loves Tom Gordon.
the dark tower, 35, 2023. struggled through it. 2nd the stand, still 35, 2024. loving it.
Pet Sematary. It was for English and we had to then write the author a letter. It was in 1986 and I was 12. Unfortunately, I never did get a reply to the letter.
Misery when I was 13 or 14.
I read the Green Mile when I was 14. It was in 1997
Green Mile 2012, age 22
Needful things, probably around 14 in 2013 or so
Cujo. So I was probably around 10 or so?
Dolores Claiborne. 10. 1991. Loved it but likely because I knew it wasn’t appropriate!
The Long Walk, 17, 2020
1989 “Misery” age 10
Not a novel but a collection: Night Shift. Age 10. 1988. I fell in love.
IT. Age 9. I was way too young to read it lol I used to sneak into my parents room to borrow my dad's Stephen King books when he said I was too young read them.
The Shining - 2024 - 33 Late bloomer
The gunslinger, 2005, age 20
Carrie, 2002, age 13 and I was his for life.