So lately I have been listening to a LOT of audiobooks. People look down on audiobooks because they think they're for lazy people. I OBJECT! Audiobooks are BY FAR the most useful thing I've EVER used. Being a multi-tasker and HEAVY reader, I've always lamented at the fact that I couldn't read and do other activities at the same time. Thanks to audiobooks I have read SEVERAL books all while cleaning my room, doing the dishes, mowing the lawn, shoveling snow, drawing, and eating dinner!
One author I've ALWAYS wanted to get into was Stephen King (don't worry,Dean Koontz is next!) but one thing that deterred me was the SIZE of his books. Have you seen those f*ckers ?!I think this clip sums it up:
Yeah, for anyone who's ever read a Stephen King novel in paperback format, my heart goes out to you (that's a lot of trips to the can). But for me I selected audiobooks as the format to engage Stephen King and I decided to tackle King's Mega-Series "The Dark Tower", I GREATLY enjoyed it, SO as a courtesy to readers who are looking for good reads and looking to get into Stephen King , here is a list of books that I've read of his that I think you all will enjoy!
THE DARK TOWER SERIES
As I've said before this was the FIRST of Stephen King 's books (and I do mean books, there are 7 in all in the series and an 8th on the way) that I've decided to tackle and BOY was it a tackle BUT WELL WORTH IT! This is the gripping tale of Roland Deschain, Gunslinger of Gilead on a quest to The Dark Tower. That may sound pretty bland but TRUST ME, IT'S NOT! The Dark Tower series is Stephen King 's maxi-series for a reason because it spans across and ties-in to other of Stephen King 's books in a way I've never thought possible in the written world.
The Dark Tower genre stands as it's own, crossing in between horror, to sci-fi, to fantasy. It's absolutely FANTASTIC and you really feel a connection with the characters. I'm not going to do a book by book review of this series (not yet anyway, not saying it's entirely out of the question), But this series stands along side of ANY great maxi-series out there: Crisis On Infinite Earths, Watchmen , and now THE DARK TOWER. If you're gonna hunker down and read this f*cker, CLEAR YOUR DAY! It's not easy and it's gonna take you awhile!
CELL
YO! If you think people who become violent nutcases after answer their cellphone is a lame plot, THEN THINK AGAIN! I came into "Cell" only knowing a vague bit of it, mostly from what I know from wikipedia:
"Cell is an apocalyptic horror novel published by American author - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_(novel)
I listened to this book and was AMAZED! This book is DEEP! Seriously deep and VERY philosophical for a "zombie" story. The characters are very relatable and human. One particular character struck a cord with me, Clay Riddle (the main character) he's a comic book artist (much like yours truly) so I can definitely relate to him. The action kicks off in about the first 8 pages, IT'S INSANE! The plot of fantastic and the twists it takes is AWESOME! Check out! By far out of all the King books I've read this is my 2nd favorite!
THE STAND
"Baby can you dig your man!
He's a righteous man!
Tell me, Baby can you dig yo Man!"
All joking aside, "The Stand" is a MONSTER and a fun story to read with bits & pieces of terror, hilarity and general terror. This book also ties into "The Dark Tower" series as one of it's main antagonists (Randall Flagg a.k.a Walter O'Dim a.k.a Russel Faraday) is the BIG BAD GUY of this story. When a Super Flu wipes out the vast majority of mankind, it comes down to
MISERY
I have NEVER been scared by a book before, never UNTIL I read "Misery" and this book was ABSOLUTELY terrifying! Maybe it's because Paul Sheldon is a writer that I found this the most terrifying. Paul Sheldon is a writer that gets kidnapped by Annie Wilkes a deranged nurse who is coincidentally Paul's biggest fan. I'm not sure what bugged me the most about this book, the fact that Annie ordered Paul to burn his best book (something all authors can relate to if they lost something they've slaved over and couldn't get back) or the fact that people like Annie actually exist!
Whatever it is, "Misery" has been one of the BEST reading experiences I've had in awhile. The pacing is smooth and for a book with ONLY two characters IT SHOOTS LIKE A ROCKET and FLOWS LIKE A STREAM! I don't really consider
PET SEMATARY
This book was interesting to me. I've always wondered about it and tried to figure out what it could possibly be about..."a pet sematary"...okay, sure it's obvious. But WHAT ABOUT THE PET SEMATARY?! I've found that this was a very interesting read and a very smooth, fun, old school story. Basically it's the story of a doctor named Louis Creed and his family who move to a small town in Maine (it's always Maine with King, ALWAYS! Granted, I know the man lives there but GEEZ!). Louis quickly befriends Judd Crandall an old town farmer who, after the death of Louis's daughter's pet cat Winston Churchill, lets Louis in on an old town secret. This is a great story, very slow to unravel and while the final confrontation left much to be desired, the ending is well worth the read and later discussion. Good read.
SALEM'S LOT
Those who know me know I HATE, HATE, HATE VAMPIRES and anything to do with Vampires! BUT since "Salem's Lot" ties into The "Dark Tower" Series, I decided to give it a go. I have to say that in comparison to King's other works, this one is probably my least favorite. Not because of the vampires, in fact they were alright. I suppose my issue with this book was mostly the pacing. I've always figured that King's strongest ability was to write incredible situations with a sense of realness to them that would almost make it seem as if it could happen to tomorrow. "Salem's Lot" didn't give me that feeling. I will say it has VERY strong characters, not Ben Mears but Mark Petrie rather.
While I don't have much bad to say about it, I don't have much good either. But I will say that for people who enjoy old school vampire books or are curious to read Bram Stoker's "
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Currently I am reading "Under The Dome" and LOVING IT and when I finish it, it'll be posted here so PLEASE come back and check it out. After "Under The Dome" I'll be reading "It" (and no, I have not seen the movie so this'll be new for me) THANKS FOR READING, and check out those books!
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