If you’re new to Stephen King, you may be asking yourself, “With so many books, where do I start?” Well, first of all, welcome Constant Reader! This is an exciting time for you. You are about to discover what readers all over the world have come to know: Stephen King is a master storyteller. Whether it’s a short story, a long novel, psychological suspense, supernatural, horror or even detective fiction, there’s one thing for certain, you are in for a good read. Our recommendations this month are all books celebrating anniversaries in June.
4 Masterfully Crafted Stephen King Books Celebrating Anniversaries This Month
On Writing
20 years: Part memoir, part writing guide, ON WRITING is one unique and masterful book. It’s like sitting on the porch with Uncle Steve on a long, endless summer night. He shares one story after the next and some hard-won wisdom. He bolsters your spirit and inspires you. You’ll end up reading into the late hours wondering where all the time has gone. We recommend reading with a pencil or highlighter as there will be many passages you’ll want to read over again. As an added bonus, this 20th-anniversary edition has contributions from Steve’s sons Joe Hill and Owen King, writers with whom he has also collaborated on IN THE TALL GRASS AND SLEEPING BEAUTIES.
On Writing
Twentieth Anniversary Edition with Contributions from Joe Hill and Owen King
Immensely helpful and illuminating to any aspiring writer, this special edition of Stephen King’s critically lauded, million-copy bestseller shares the experiences, habits, and convictions that have shaped him and his work.
“Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999—and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it—fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.
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Skeleton Crew
35 years: If you think you don’t like short stories, well, you likely haven’t read Stephen King. This short story collection is celebrating 35 years in print. THE MIST, a novella in the collection, has been made into both a movie and a TV series. Have you seen the series Castle Rock? If so, you may find yourself in a familiar setting when you read UNCLE OTTO’S TRUCK and MRS. TODD’S SHORTCUT. SKELETON CREW puts all of Stephen King’s storytelling power on full display.
Skeleton Crew
Includes the stories “Uncle Otto’s Truck” and “Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut”—set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine
Features “The Mist” now a TV series event on Spike
The #1 New York Times bestseller and winner of the 1986 Locus Award for Best Collection, Skeleton Crew is “Stephen King at his best” (The Denver Post)—a terrifying, mesmerizing collection of stories from the outer limits of one of the greatest imaginations of our time.
“Wildly imaginative, delightfully diabolical…King once again proves to be the consummate storyteller” (The Associated Press).
A supermarket becomes the place where humanity makes its last stand against destruction. A trip to the attic becomes a journey to hell. A woman driving a Jaguar finds a scary shortcut to paradise. An idyllic lake harbors a bottomless evil. And a desert island is the scene of the most terrifying struggle for survival ever waged. This “wonderfully gruesome” collection (The New York Times Book Review) includes:
-“The Mist”
-“Here There Be Tygers”
-“The Monkey”
-“Cain Rose Up”
-“Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut”
-“The Jaunt”
-“The Wedding Gig”
-“Paranoid: A Chant”
-“The Raft”- “Word Processor of the Gods”
-“The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands”
-“Beachworld”
-“The Reaper’s Image”
-“Nona”
-“For Owen”
-“Survivor Type”
-“Uncle Otto’s Truck”
-“Morning Deliveries (Milkman No. 1)”
-“Big Wheels: a Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman No. 2)”
-“Gramma”
-“The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet”
-“The Reach”
King is best known for his iconic, immersive long novels, but he is also a master of the short story, and this is a magnificent collection.
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Rose Madder
25 years: This is classic King—edge of your seat suspense, a thrilling mystery, with a supernatural twist. The #1 bestseller, published 25 years ago, introduces Rosie Daniels, a woman trying to escape an abusive marriage and make a new life for herself. You will be turning the pages as quickly as you can and holding your breath as you root for Rosie…or Rose Madder.
Rose Madder
The #1 national bestseller about a woman who escapes an abusive marriage is “one of Stephen King’s most engrossing horror novels. Relentlessly paced and brilliantly orchestrated…fueled by an air of danger immediate and overwhelming” (Publishers Weekly).
After surviving fourteen years of hell in a violently abusive marriage, Rosie Daniels has finally summoned the courage to flee for her life. But leaving her husband Norman for a new city and a new start is a very daunting prospect. It’s hard for Rosie not to keep looking over her shoulder, and with good reason—Norman’s a police officer with the instincts of a predator, a force of relentless terror and savagery…a man almost mythic in his monstrosity.
He’s very good at finding people, even if he is losing his mind. Rosie’s only hope for salvation may lie in a far more dangerous place, where she must become her own myth and the woman she never knew she could be.
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Finders Keepers
5 years: Constant Reader, meet Holly Gibney. She is one of King’s most endearing characters. He recently said in an interview with Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air “I just love Holly. And I wish she were a real person and that she were my friend because I'm so crazy about her….she stole my heart.” We bet you’ll feel the same way. And if you’ve seen the Mr. Mercedes series, Holly Gibney may be familiar to you. But you know the book is always better, so read on.
Finders Keepers
Now an AT&T Audience Original Series
A masterful, intensely suspenseful novel about a reader whose obsession with a reclusive writer goes much too far—the #1 New York Times bestseller about the power of storytelling, starring the same trio of unlikely and winning heroes Stephen King introduced in Mr. Mercedes.
“Wake up, genius.” So announces deranged fan Morris Bellamy to iconic author John Rothstein, who once created the famous character Jimmy Gold and hasn’t released anything since. Morris is livid, not just because his favorite writer has stopped publishing, but because Jimmy Gold ended up as a sellout. Morris kills his idol and empties his safe of cash, but the real haul is a collection of notebooks containing John Rothstein’s unpublished work...including at least one more Jimmy Gold novel. Morris hides everything away before being locked up for another horrific crime. But upon Morris’s release thirty-five years later, he’s about to discover that teenager Pete Saubers has already found the stolen treasure—and no one but former police detective Bill Hodges, along with his trusted associates Holly Gibney and Jerome Robinson, stands in the way of his vengeance....
Not since Misery has Stephen King played with the notion of a reader and murderous obsession, in this #1 acclaimed bestseller filled with “nail biting suspense that’s the hallmark of [his] best work” (Publishers Weekly).
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