Rose Madder got me out of a very abusive relationship ❤ I went to school (at 36) and took it with me every day, so I could pull from Rose and her determination, and get out on my own, with my son. At first, my social anxiety had me sitting sweating in my car, and I'd be holding that book trying to hype myself up. Now I'm an EMT, which annihilated my social anxiety 😅 its gone. EMS got rid of a lot of my fears, actually, through exposure. That book means so so much to me.
I have heard other fans of The Dark Tower say that they had a hard time getting into The Gunslinger. I had the opposite experience, it completely gripped me, if it hadn't I wouldn't have continued the series.
I was still getting back into reading when I read it and parts of it came across as confusing. Being a more seasoned reader now I think I would it much more if I were to reread it. Glad that you enjoyed it when you read it.
@BradProctorReads I did listen to it on audible, so that may be a little different. I haven't actually sat down and read a book in over 15 years, and I can't really see myself ever doing it again, which is why I started listening to books on audible recently. Anyway, the thing that others seemed to not like about the Gunslinger was that it was confusing, and they didn't really know what was going on. I heard one person describe it as like they were seeing it through a haze. That was the thing that I loved about it. It was like you could quite see what was happening, but you were getting glimpses and ideas. Too me, that was what got me hooked. I downloaded it to listen to on a long flight, and when I got there, I had to download the second book asap because I was invested.
I know its technically Written by "Richard Bachman" but THE LONG WALK is my Favorite book written by Stephen King. I rarely ever read a book twice and I have read that book 3 times. Once in my teens then late 20s and again about 4 months ago while I was recovering from Surgery.
I LOVE The Shining! It’s definitely top tier for me, for sure. My favorite book ever. I’ve read it several times now and always pull for Jack, even though I know full well what’s going to happen. He, Danny and Wendy are such great characters and I just always want the best for them. The changes made for the movie are a net loss for me save for omitting the hedge animals. I can’t imagine how that could effectively be done on film without just looking cheesy. I do feel like the maze is a better visual representation of what’s happening than the hedges would have been. Wish they had kept virtually everything else though. Danny and Wendy are such good characters, I wish the movie only folks could get to know them too.
Yea, I think the hedge animals, especially back then, would have looked really bad on screen. Nowadays they would be bad cgi lol. I did like the hedge maze in the movie. Have you read Doctor Sleep and if so what did you think about it being a big fan of The Shining?
I've never seen that version but know that it is a much more faithful adaptation than the Kubrick movie was. I'll have to see if I can find it somewhere to watch.
@@BradProctorReads Yes, very faithful. Unfortunately it's not remotely scary, has a very annoying Danny and some dodgy CGI. But I think it's worth a watch, it has some effective scenes and Rebecca De Mornay is a very good Wendy.
Excellent video. Some recommendations which did not appear: Different Seasons, Under the Dome, Duma Key, Desperation, Needful Things, Skelton Crew, Full Dark No Stars, Four Past Midnight. Thanks again.
Duma Key was hard for me to get through at times, but once I neared the end I was glad I stuck with it. Same with Lisey's Story. Hard to get through to start, but now I've read it 5 times 😅 It links with The Regulators in a way, in my opinion, too. I'm reading Needful Things right now, and have heard it's one of the best. I read and loved all the others you mentioned too lol
Enjoyed this video. I’m still a newbie, currently reading my 10th Stephen King book (IT) and now I have an idea of what the next SK books im going to read, thanks to your video. I’d love to see another ranking video when you read them all.
It's really interesting to see other people talk about King books that I've read. I loved Fairy Tale; I think King does an amazing job writing the lengths you'll go to for a dog, but Revival was a slog for me until the end. I felt like I spent the whole book waiting for the book to start. I agree with you on Later, though, I really liked that one. This was a great ranking, I liked how you discussed your whys for each book with a great amount of detail without spoiling it.
Thanks for watching! Glad that you enjoyed the video. I think it's cool that King's fans can have such varying opinions on the individual books but still enjoy King as an author overall.
Agree with you 100 percent on number one. Salem's Lot is his best. I think it's the best paced novel he ever wrote. Curious as to why. It's probably due to his editor who more than likely became less effective with subsequent novels once King became so popular that he was granted carte blanche.
I've got a copy of it, just haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I'll probably get to it sooner rather than after though with the new anthology coming out with all the stories tying into The Stand.
I usually suggest people get the uncut version and then skip to Hap's Garage where the original version started and go back afterward to read the first part. I've seen SO many people stall out in that slow first half of introductions and exposition and the uncut version makes it that much more likely. Once you've hit and melted through that second half you're more than ready to go back for the further details about Captain Trips.
I plan to read Desperation some day. I've heard that most people either like one or the other when it comes to those two books. I'm hoping I like Desperation a lot more than I did Regulators.
Great Tier Ranking! I am looking forward to both Billy Summers and Fairy Tale, we shall see. 😂I actually loved The Gunslinger as well as the entire Dark Tower series, will be doing a re-read soon. Salem's Lot is awesome. Joyland was an awesome 5 star coming of age story for me. I enjoyed Rose Madder, but the supernatural ending was underwhelming. Ka is a wheel, I agree that it was a great ending. More importantly, Roland sets off with additional "tools." The Waste Lands is one of my favorite books of all time, top tier for me. I think The Institute is one of King's more underrated novels, I loved it. Wizard and Glass is awesome and Roland's backstory is incredibly moving and tragic. You need to read The Stand and 11/22/63. . Great video!
Thanks, Cliff! I hope that you enjoy Billy Summers and Fairy Tale more than I did. After finishing the Dark Tower I did appreciate The Gunslinger a lot more than I did before. 11/22/63 is one I hear nothing but great things about so I do need to get to that one sometime soon. I started The Stand a year or so ago and got 400ish pages in but then got distracted by other books and haven't revisited it again. I was really enjoying it though and will probably start it over from the beginning when I do go back.
I did a chronological read of Stephen King a couple years back (it took me almost three years to accomplish). That's one of my favorite reading challenges I've tried. I love King's work and even the subpar ones are incredible page turners.
I started a book tube channel because of fantasy books. But I’ve taken a break to dive into Stephen king and let me tell ya…I LOVED misery! I’m half way through the outsider and am enjoying it. Afterwards I plan to dive into PEAK King with Pet Semetery and Salem’s Lot in time for Halloween! Loved this tier ranking!
Glad you liked the ranking! If you end up enjoying The Outsider you should go back and read the Bill Hodges trilogy (Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch) as some of the characters appear or are mentioned in The Outsider. Also, you being a fantasy reader if you haven't already I highly highly recommend checking out the Dark Tower series. I think you'd really enjoy it.
Im looking forward to starting the Dark Tower series, but something I find weird is how many people say they love the series and its one of their favourite fantasy series ever, and then proceed to say how many of them are quite meh, or slow or confusing. So Im intrigued why people still seem to love it.
Happy reading on your journey to the tower! I think for the Dark Tower it's a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts if that makes sense. The overarching story through all 7 books is amazing.
I'm on Susanna's song now, after the dark tower series I'm gonna read your peaks next. I looooved misery, it's what got me into king. You need to read The Stand! Randall flag and a couple others mentioned in the dark towers series too, I love it.
Wishing you long days and pleasant nights on your journey towards the tower! How are you liking the series so far? I did start The Stand and got 400ish pages in but then got distracted by other books and haven't revisited it yet. I was really enjoying it though. Misery was so good. One of the times that both the movie and the book are great.
I find your take on fairy tale interesting because I had the opposite reaction. Fairy tale was the first Steven King book that I read, and I thought that the first 40% of the book was super slow and uninteresting but loved the fairy tale part. Maybe the problem with the book is that it felt like two different books. The vibes shifted a lot from the first half to the second half. Because of this it is my least favorite Steven King book that I have read, next to Eyes of the Dragon. Also, you should check out The Long Walk, it is a different vibe from his other books, but I think it is my favorite so far.
That is interesting that we enjoyed different halves of the book. I agree that it definitely feels like it is two different books combined into one. I do need to read the Bachman books. I've only read The Regulators under the Bachman name and didn't really like that one.
@@dawnpowers7626 This is probably King's greatest achievement with this novel, creating a page-turner with over thousand pages. This is what distinguishes his best books, where he maintains tension from the first page. In other books, he sometimes just holds the reader's interest until he ratchets up the tension towards the end.
Only have read 5 of his books at this point; The Stand, The Shining, Doctor Sleep, The Eyes of the Dragon, and IT. All great in their own right but I’m sorry, IT stands in a league of IT’s own ;)
IT is amazing! I've been eyeing Doctor Sleep on my shelf recently so that may be my next King read. I've been really wanting to watch the movie adaptation but have to read the book first.
Agree about the ending of The Outsider. I’d personally put it in Meh. I personally loved The Gunslinger. It’s mysterious and keeps you wondering. I thought it was a perfect introduction to The Dark Tower.
I was so disappointed with the ending of The Outsider because I was so invested in the rest of the book. It's not even really a "bad" ending, just more so like "that's it?". I really need to go back and reread The Gunslinger. I think I would enjoy it much more now than I did when I first read it.
Haha this is so interesting to hear, Fairy Tale was the book that got me out of my reading slump last year! I really loved it. My top Stephen King book is IT
I just finished listening to Fairy Tale. I have owned it for a while on my Kindle, but never got to it. Downloaded a library app and it was available so I thought I'd try it. I have to say, I liked it. It wasn't my favorite, but it worked for me. (My favorite is Rose Madder, followed by Drawing of the Three and The Long Walk.)
I really wanted to like Fairy Tale and actually loved the first 150ish pages, but the rest was just a slog for me to get through. Depending on the day Draw of the Three is my favorite Dark Tower book. Eddie's introduction is fantastic.
That is pretty much the exact point the series took a sharp downward trajectory for me. I know a lot of people came to terms with the last 2 books and the ending but we should call that what it is; Cope. I honestly feel like Stephen King owed his constant readers and apology for it but he kinda insulted us instead.
@@madmarduk1936 I'm currently reading book 7 and have noticed more deus ex machina to push the story along. Like when everyone gets todashed together to see the birth of Mordred. King puts a single line in that mentions how the beam can call to people when it needs them to witness something. Sure, it makes enough sense but it feels so cheaply done. Even having the setup a couple chapters earlier would have helped.
Thanks! The Dead Zone hasn't been too high up on my priority list to read of his books, but a bunch of people have been commenting how good it is so that might be the next King book that I read now.
I think I will. I'm currently listening to On Writing on audiobook right now and what King has mentioned about The Dead Zone has me interested for sure.
It is a skinwalker kind of monster but Holly comes in as a character later into the book. In the timeline The Outsider takes place after the events of the Bill Hodges trilogy.
If that concept would have been fleshed out in a longer story and actual show how scary that would be it could have been so much better. Instead it was just like, "I don't like my neighbors but now we are friends, the end."
I don't get the hate for the ending either. It's one of King's best endings with everything coming full circle. I get chills whenever I go back and read the last few pages of The Dark Tower.
Salem's Lot is an excellent choice. The Shining movie and book are quite different from each other. I like both versions though. Happy reading! Hope you enjoy Salem's Lot.
First video I've seen of yours and my mind and eyes don't work well together, when your logo came up I thought it said bread protector. Had to look at your channel name for clarification.
Come on! Revival's ending was great because he completely stole it from Lovecraft (wasn't just "inspired by it"). I had misfortune of reading the Silver Key less than a year before Revival andbit was still in my head. Then I took Revival to my vacation and suffered through meaningless hundreds of pages that were just a needles setup for copying last 20 pages of Lovecraft's book. Really changed my opinion of King for worse...
I've only ever read a handful of Lovecraft stories, none of which are his real popular ones, so I can't comment on if the ending of Revival ripped off Lovecraft or not. Is Silver Keys the story with the same ending?
@@BradProctorReads so, what I got was a compilation of 3 tales that can be viewed as a short novel. They are (in this order): The Statement of Randolph Carter, The Silver Key, Through the Gate of the Silver Key. If you have the opportunity (and time) please read all three of them. The ending of the last one is the ending Stephen King "borrowed"
I've got a big Lovecraft compendium so I'll check to see if those stories are in there. I'm guessing they should be since the book is supposed to be all of his works.
It staggers me how devoted King fans are despite the amount of mediocrity and sometimes truly terrible books. Independent authors struggle to get published or shelf space while King publishes his used toilet paper.
With the volume of books King has written, which is 80ish, there are bound to be some that readers don't like. No one is perfect and it'd be impossible to write so much and have everything you've written be perfect. Even if you are not a fan to say that he publishes his used toilet paper is just a garbage take. I agree that it is hard for indie and small press authors to get seen by a wide audience and have their books stocked in brick and mortar stores. I'm a big fan of indie publishing and support a ton of those books and authors on this channel. I have way more videos talking about indie small press books than I do about Stephen King.
@@BradProctorReads To call someone’s take a garbage take if they sincerely feel that way is not a valid criticism of their perspective. What if I were to take off my glasses and try to see this through another set of lenses? I tried to think of it from a different angle. What if they dislike King’s large body of work because most of it is not top tier? You didn’t place too many books at a very high level. So, to me, That’s fair. What if the reference to used toilet paper is based on repeated overused King tropes? 1. Strange goings on 2. Oddballs come together 3. Evil strikes 4. Oddballs discover odd rituals or a particular way to fight back 5. Evil falls or does it 6. A sacrifice is made or an oddball dies 7. Evil is defeated Those items, adjusted for exact storyline, fit an awful lot of his work. He is extraordinarily popular and wealthy. He also reuses his own set of tropes nearly ad infinitum. It works for him. It isn’t just him. Most authors have their own linguistic tics or story narratives they favor. Not being negative about it, I’m just pointing out that it’s a possible explanation for the op harsh criticism. Myself, I don’t love him or hate him. I recognize and respect his success and understand why he’s successful. I also recognize that the bulk of his work is just not for me so I move on. Art is subjective. Different people, different perspectives, different styles.
I wasn't saying that them not liking King was a garage take. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on what they like and don't like, which is completely fine. What I think is a garage take is saying he publishes crap (his used toilet paper). It's subjectivity vs objectivity. You can not like his stories, or writing, or characters, or whatever, but to say that his writing is actually crap just isn't true. I can not like something but still appreciate the skill it took to create it.
I did NOT like The Outsider. I gave up not very far into it because there was just TOO MUCH lawyer talk. If I want lawyer talk, I'll read John Grisham. I would move Carrie up to Loved it. Fairy Tale to Good. Billy Summers is right on the nose. I can't get through it because so far it just isn't good enough to care. I'd like to finish it, but it's been over six months, and I'm only a third of the way through it, so I dunno. You should read The Long Walk (in the Bachman books). He does kids/teens so well, and they're the entire book.
I do need to read The Long Walk and the other Bachman books. I didn't really notice the lawyer talk in the Outsider. I liked it overall but the ending felt a bit lackluster to me. I think putting Carrie in the Loved it tier is legit. It was much different than I was expecting and much better than the movies.
@BradProctorReads I couldn't believe it was King's book when I first read the green Mile. it's so different to his usual stuff ( in my opinion) but it's brilliantly heartbreaking 11/22/63 I went into it only having read the blurb and it was very good, a long one but good! I watched the TV series after and well... that was a waste of time. After you picture a character for so long for them to be a complete 180 on TV 🤣
I've heard the TV series for 11/22/63 wasn't very good so I'll probably skip it lol. I think Green Mile and Shawshank are two of his books that most people can't believe he wrote.
@@dawnpowers7626 I had a similar thought while reading it. I thought the first half was a little slow-but when it picked up, I was hooked. You should try to keep going, but if you really hate it, don't push yourself.
'Carrie' is my favorite book ever, so I, of course, rank it very highly. Carrie is my Stephen King character, so seeing the book in anything less than the top spot makes me sad. I know that my opinion on it differs from yours, but I just thought I'd give my thoughts. P.S. good job for saying the book was better than the movie. I hate the movie.
Cool to hear that Carrie is your favorite! I think it's definitely a solid book and a great entry point into reading King. And yea, the ending to the book is so much better than what they did in the movies.
@BradProctorReads I actually hated the ending to the book. I'm a huge fan if Carrie, so having to witness her die is painful for me. I'd recommend watching the 2002 TV movie, because it feels like the book for the most part, but with a better ending.
I really appreciate what Song of Susannah does, but ranking it on its own as a book and not part of the series as a whole I didn't like it as much as the other Dark Tower books.
@@BradProctorReads thank you for responding, please elaborate on what it is that song of Susannah does. Also a question, how much of stephen kings backtrail have you followed?
Song of Susannah set up a lot of cool stuff and then kind of left it all as cliffhangers. To me it felt like the final book in the series was going to be too long so he split it into Song of Susannah and The Dark Tower. What do you mean by following King's backtrail?
@ I mean are you at all familiar with the works that inspired Kings creative journey? Including but not limited to T.S Eliot, Robert Browning, or Thomas Wolfe. Understanding what inspired Stephen king is what makes the structure of books like song of Susannah so very important and in no way meh. In my opinion. I will shame you no further good sir and thank you for your time.
Gotcha. I have heard King speak about some of his influences, but the ones you've mentioned I've yet to read any of their works. I'm interested to know how those authors inspired the structure for SoS?
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
Rose Madder got me out of a very abusive relationship ❤ I went to school (at 36) and took it with me every day, so I could pull from Rose and her determination, and get out on my own, with my son. At first, my social anxiety had me sitting sweating in my car, and I'd be holding that book trying to hype myself up. Now I'm an EMT, which annihilated my social anxiety 😅 its gone. EMS got rid of a lot of my fears, actually, through exposure. That book means so so much to me.
Thanks for sharing your story! That's really cool and powerful how that book was able to change your life.
That's awesome... great book..and keep going on your journey.
11/22/63 - my favorite fiction book of all time
I've heard it's great.
My least favorite King book so far. I just dont get the appeal for this one
Your name just gave me a random image of Jake Chambers working as a State Farm agent.
I have heard other fans of The Dark Tower say that they had a hard time getting into The Gunslinger. I had the opposite experience, it completely gripped me, if it hadn't I wouldn't have continued the series.
I was still getting back into reading when I read it and parts of it came across as confusing. Being a more seasoned reader now I think I would it much more if I were to reread it. Glad that you enjoyed it when you read it.
@BradProctorReads I did listen to it on audible, so that may be a little different. I haven't actually sat down and read a book in over 15 years, and I can't really see myself ever doing it again, which is why I started listening to books on audible recently.
Anyway, the thing that others seemed to not like about the Gunslinger was that it was confusing, and they didn't really know what was going on. I heard one person describe it as like they were seeing it through a haze. That was the thing that I loved about it. It was like you could quite see what was happening, but you were getting glimpses and ideas. Too me, that was what got me hooked. I downloaded it to listen to on a long flight, and when I got there, I had to download the second book asap because I was invested.
I know its technically Written by "Richard Bachman" but THE LONG WALK is my Favorite book written by Stephen King. I rarely ever read a book twice and I have read that book 3 times. Once in my teens then late 20s and again about 4 months ago while I was recovering from Surgery.
I really want to read the rest of the Bachman books that I haven't read.
The Stand is his magnum opus
I started reading it, just need to go back and finish it.
I think that Desperation does a better job at capturing what The Stand was going for
It’s overrated. First 400 pages are amazing, next 400 are mixed bag, climax is okay, and the last 100 pages mostly need not exist.
I'm guessing you've read the uncut version, just curious if you've read the original version and if you liked that one better?
The Dark Tower series would've been his Magnum Opus if he hadn't crapped the bed in the last 2.5 books.
I LOVE The Shining! It’s definitely top tier for me, for sure. My favorite book ever. I’ve read it several times now and always pull for Jack, even though I know full well what’s going to happen. He, Danny and Wendy are such great characters and I just always want the best for them. The changes made for the movie are a net loss for me save for omitting the hedge animals. I can’t imagine how that could effectively be done on film without just looking cheesy. I do feel like the maze is a better visual representation of what’s happening than the hedges would have been. Wish they had kept virtually everything else though. Danny and Wendy are such good characters, I wish the movie only folks could get to know them too.
Yea, I think the hedge animals, especially back then, would have looked really bad on screen. Nowadays they would be bad cgi lol. I did like the hedge maze in the movie. Have you read Doctor Sleep and if so what did you think about it being a big fan of The Shining?
@@BradProctorReads Have you seen the 1997 'Stephen King's The Shining'? They did the hedge animals in terrible 90s CGI!
I've never seen that version but know that it is a much more faithful adaptation than the Kubrick movie was. I'll have to see if I can find it somewhere to watch.
@@BradProctorReads Yes, very faithful. Unfortunately it's not remotely scary, has a very annoying Danny and some dodgy CGI. But I think it's worth a watch, it has some effective scenes and Rebecca De Mornay is a very good Wendy.
Same! It's my favorite, period. I would look over my shoulder while reading it lol Just absolutely love it
Excellent video. Some recommendations which did not appear:
Different Seasons, Under the Dome, Duma Key, Desperation, Needful Things, Skelton Crew, Full Dark No Stars, Four Past Midnight.
Thanks again.
Thanks, Todd! All the ones you mentioned are on my to read list of King's books.
Duma Key was hard for me to get through at times, but once I neared the end I was glad I stuck with it. Same with Lisey's Story. Hard to get through to start, but now I've read it 5 times 😅 It links with The Regulators in a way, in my opinion, too. I'm reading Needful Things right now, and have heard it's one of the best. I read and loved all the others you mentioned too lol
SALEM’S LOT is a peak book, truly. Great character development, great story, and terrifying. The 1979 TV miniseries was wonderful, as well.
Couldn't agree more.
Love the video. My one pushback is calling the Drawing of the Three easy to follow. 😂
Glad you enjoyed the video. For me I thought Drawing of the Three was much easier to understand than Gunslinger was.
Enjoyed this video. I’m still a newbie, currently reading my 10th Stephen King book (IT) and now I have an idea of what the next SK books im going to read, thanks to your video. I’d love to see another ranking video when you read them all.
Glad you liked the video, appreciate you watching! Hope you enjoy IT and the rest of the books on your King journey.
It's really interesting to see other people talk about King books that I've read. I loved Fairy Tale; I think King does an amazing job writing the lengths you'll go to for a dog, but Revival was a slog for me until the end. I felt like I spent the whole book waiting for the book to start. I agree with you on Later, though, I really liked that one. This was a great ranking, I liked how you discussed your whys for each book with a great amount of detail without spoiling it.
Thanks for watching! Glad that you enjoyed the video. I think it's cool that King's fans can have such varying opinions on the individual books but still enjoy King as an author overall.
I actually loved Revival! I have a hard time articulating exactly why, which is odd. I just enjoyed it. 😂
Agree with you 100 percent on number one. Salem's Lot is his best. I think it's the best paced novel he ever wrote. Curious as to why. It's probably due to his editor who more than likely became less effective with subsequent novels once King became so popular that he was granted carte blanche.
Yea, I think as King's popularity soared his editors have become less inclined to have him cut parts of his novels.
Brother, you gotta read The Stand (The uncut version) if you like long stories. This one is awesome 👌
I've got a copy of it, just haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I'll probably get to it sooner rather than after though with the new anthology coming out with all the stories tying into The Stand.
I usually suggest people get the uncut version and then skip to Hap's Garage where the original version started and go back afterward to read the first part. I've seen SO many people stall out in that slow first half of introductions and exposition and the uncut version makes it that much more likely. Once you've hit and melted through that second half you're more than ready to go back for the further details about Captain Trips.
Please read Desperation! It’s one of my favorite SK books. Note that it’s 100% better than The Regulators and a completely different story.
I plan to read Desperation some day. I've heard that most people either like one or the other when it comes to those two books. I'm hoping I like Desperation a lot more than I did Regulators.
Great Tier Ranking! I am looking forward to both Billy Summers and Fairy Tale, we shall see. 😂I actually loved The Gunslinger as well as the entire Dark Tower series, will be doing a re-read soon. Salem's Lot is awesome. Joyland was an awesome 5 star coming of age story for me. I enjoyed Rose Madder, but the supernatural ending was underwhelming. Ka is a wheel, I agree that it was a great ending. More importantly, Roland sets off with additional "tools." The Waste Lands is one of my favorite books of all time, top tier for me. I think The Institute is one of King's more underrated novels, I loved it. Wizard and Glass is awesome and Roland's backstory is incredibly moving and tragic. You need to read The Stand and 11/22/63. . Great video!
Thanks, Cliff! I hope that you enjoy Billy Summers and Fairy Tale more than I did. After finishing the Dark Tower I did appreciate The Gunslinger a lot more than I did before. 11/22/63 is one I hear nothing but great things about so I do need to get to that one sometime soon. I started The Stand a year or so ago and got 400ish pages in but then got distracted by other books and haven't revisited it again. I was really enjoying it though and will probably start it over from the beginning when I do go back.
@@BradProctorReads I hope you enjoy 11/22/63 when you get to it! It really is a magnificent novel, in my opinion. Happy Reading!
I think I'll enjoy it quite a bit.
Great video! Stephen King is a fantastic author🔥Currently reading Under the Dome and it’s really good so far!
Thanks! Under the Dome is one I still need to get to.
I did a chronological read of Stephen King a couple years back (it took me almost three years to accomplish). That's one of my favorite reading challenges I've tried. I love King's work and even the subpar ones are incredible page turners.
I've thought about reading his books in chronological order a few times. I'm going to have to commit to it one day.
I started a book tube channel because of fantasy books. But I’ve taken a break to dive into Stephen king and let me tell ya…I LOVED misery!
I’m half way through the outsider and am enjoying it. Afterwards I plan to dive into PEAK King with Pet Semetery and Salem’s Lot in time for Halloween!
Loved this tier ranking!
Glad you liked the ranking!
If you end up enjoying The Outsider you should go back and read the Bill Hodges trilogy (Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch) as some of the characters appear or are mentioned in The Outsider.
Also, you being a fantasy reader if you haven't already I highly highly recommend checking out the Dark Tower series. I think you'd really enjoy it.
The Stand, Christine, Cujo, The Dead Zone.
I've read Cujo since I recorded this and enjoyed it.
@@BradProctorReads Christine is low key one of his most enjoyable reads
I feel like people don't talk about Chrisine much.
Im looking forward to starting the Dark Tower series, but something I find weird is how many people say they love the series and its one of their favourite fantasy series ever, and then proceed to say how many of them are quite meh, or slow or confusing. So Im intrigued why people still seem to love it.
Happy reading on your journey to the tower! I think for the Dark Tower it's a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts if that makes sense. The overarching story through all 7 books is amazing.
Salem's Lot......yay! That is my favourite too. I read it in 1976 and it has stayed with me ever since.
My first King and still my favorite King.
I'm on Susanna's song now, after the dark tower series I'm gonna read your peaks next. I looooved misery, it's what got me into king. You need to read The Stand! Randall flag and a couple others mentioned in the dark towers series too, I love it.
Wishing you long days and pleasant nights on your journey towards the tower! How are you liking the series so far? I did start The Stand and got 400ish pages in but then got distracted by other books and haven't revisited it yet. I was really enjoying it though. Misery was so good. One of the times that both the movie and the book are great.
I find your take on fairy tale interesting because I had the opposite reaction. Fairy tale was the first Steven King book that I read, and I thought that the first 40% of the book was super slow and uninteresting but loved the fairy tale part. Maybe the problem with the book is that it felt like two different books. The vibes shifted a lot from the first half to the second half. Because of this it is my least favorite Steven King book that I have read, next to Eyes of the Dragon.
Also, you should check out The Long Walk, it is a different vibe from his other books, but I think it is my favorite so far.
That is interesting that we enjoyed different halves of the book. I agree that it definitely feels like it is two different books combined into one.
I do need to read the Bachman books. I've only read The Regulators under the Bachman name and didn't really like that one.
23:58 I read it through in one week
That's quick!
I did, too. My right hand was in a cast and the only thing I could do lefty was turn pages, so that's what I did. ONLY during the daytime. :)
@@dawnpowers7626 This is probably King's greatest achievement with this novel, creating a page-turner with over thousand pages. This is what distinguishes his best books, where he maintains tension from the first page. In other books, he sometimes just holds the reader's interest until he ratchets up the tension towards the end.
Only have read 5 of his books at this point; The Stand, The Shining, Doctor Sleep, The Eyes of the Dragon, and IT. All great in their own right but I’m sorry, IT stands in a league of IT’s own ;)
IT is amazing! I've been eyeing Doctor Sleep on my shelf recently so that may be my next King read. I've been really wanting to watch the movie adaptation but have to read the book first.
11/22/63
Agree about the ending of The Outsider. I’d personally put it in Meh. I personally loved The Gunslinger. It’s mysterious and keeps you wondering. I thought it was a perfect introduction to The Dark Tower.
I was so disappointed with the ending of The Outsider because I was so invested in the rest of the book. It's not even really a "bad" ending, just more so like "that's it?". I really need to go back and reread The Gunslinger. I think I would enjoy it much more now than I did when I first read it.
Really interesting ranking😊
My favourites are Salem's Lot, Wizard & Glass and Needful Things.
I've been wanting to read Needful Things forever! I really love the cover for it.
Interesting ranking...thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
Need to read Green Mile
I've got a copy, two actually. I've only ever heard nothing but great things about it.
This was so fun! Man-Fairy Tale did us both so dirty. 😆
That book did, didn't it. I really struggled with wanting to read anything after finishing that book.
Haha this is so interesting to hear, Fairy Tale was the book that got me out of my reading slump last year! I really loved it.
My top Stephen King book is IT
Glad to hear that you liked Fairy Tale. IT is such a fantastic book. The ending is so bittersweet.
I just finished listening to Fairy Tale. I have owned it for a while on my Kindle, but never got to it. Downloaded a library app and it was available so I thought I'd try it. I have to say, I liked it. It wasn't my favorite, but it worked for me. (My favorite is Rose Madder, followed by Drawing of the Three and The Long Walk.)
I really wanted to like Fairy Tale and actually loved the first 150ish pages, but the rest was just a slog for me to get through. Depending on the day Draw of the Three is my favorite Dark Tower book. Eddie's introduction is fantastic.
Currently halfway through Wolves of the Calla, in the Telling Tales section which does slow down.
Yea, that's the section that was slower for me too.
That is pretty much the exact point the series took a sharp downward trajectory for me. I know a lot of people came to terms with the last 2 books and the ending but we should call that what it is; Cope. I honestly feel like Stephen King owed his constant readers and apology for it but he kinda insulted us instead.
@@madmarduk1936 I'm currently reading book 7 and have noticed more deus ex machina to push the story along. Like when everyone gets todashed together to see the birth of Mordred. King puts a single line in that mentions how the beam can call to people when it needs them to witness something. Sure, it makes enough sense but it feels so cheaply done. Even having the setup a couple chapters earlier would have helped.
Nice job! IMO the best books you haven't read yet are The Stand, Needful Things, Bag of Bones, The Dead Zone, and 11/22/63.
Thanks! The Dead Zone hasn't been too high up on my priority list to read of his books, but a bunch of people have been commenting how good it is so that might be the next King book that I read now.
@@BradProctorReads How have you not read The Stand?? You must
You would love The Dead Zone
I think I will. I'm currently listening to On Writing on audiobook right now and what King has mentioned about The Dead Zone has me interested for sure.
Outsider is a holly novel? I thought it was the skinwalker thing
It is a skinwalker kind of monster but Holly comes in as a character later into the book. In the timeline The Outsider takes place after the events of the Bill Hodges trilogy.
Salem's Lot is King's most scary book. The Gunslinger is a great read.
I want to reread Salem's Lot and The Dark Tower series.
Agree on Salem’s Lot. First King book I read and still my favorite after 13 books.
We chose the best first lol.
I agree on Elevation, the idea was cool but then become something pointless and I never finished it.
If that concept would have been fleshed out in a longer story and actual show how scary that would be it could have been so much better. Instead it was just like, "I don't like my neighbors but now we are friends, the end."
Good list enjoyed your thoughts. Hoping you eventually make it to “The Stand” or “11/22/63”
Thanks for watching! I definitely plan on reading The Stand and 11/22/63 eventually.
Goated take on book 7 of Dark Tower. I don’t get why the ending gets a lot of hate
I don't get the hate for the ending either. It's one of King's best endings with everything coming full circle. I get chills whenever I go back and read the last few pages of The Dark Tower.
Salem's lot was my first too. Top five easily. Need to give it a reread since first time was 09
I think I read it probably around 2017 or so.
you gotta read desperation. its way better than the regulators in my opinion
I really hope so. I found myself bored with The Regulators.
My first Steven king read was Billy Summers 😂. I was debating between The Shining (saw the movie) and Salem’s lot I’m going with Salem’s Lot now. ❤
Salem's Lot is an excellent choice. The Shining movie and book are quite different from each other. I like both versions though. Happy reading! Hope you enjoy Salem's Lot.
First video I've seen of yours and my mind and eyes don't work well together, when your logo came up I thought it said bread protector. Had to look at your channel name for clarification.
Haha that's funny. The bread must be protected at all costs!
My favorite book was THE STAND, followed by SALEM’S LOT.
I really need to read The Stand.
@@BradProctorReads It is a page turner. You’ll love it. 👍🤗
I really enjoyed Joyland, good human characteristics. I'd recommend.
I enjoyed Joyland. I remember it making me misty eyed near the end.
I read the stand before the gun slinger and actually liked the book
I don't think that The Gunslinger is necessarily a bad book, just compared to the other books in the series it's my least favorite.
I am so glad I found this channel
I appreciate that! Hope you enjoy the videos and book talk.
Holly , best in a long time , a return to form, all the right ingredients.
I've heard mixed opinions on Holly. I'm hoping I enjoy it when I get to reading it.
Sometimes…….dead is betta!
💀🐈
Pet Semetary is such an insane book.
It really is when you think about it.
If you weren't a fan of the Regulators, then don't write off Desperation. It's a lot better.
I hope I like Desperation more.
Come on! Revival's ending was great because he completely stole it from Lovecraft (wasn't just "inspired by it"). I had misfortune of reading the Silver Key less than a year before Revival andbit was still in my head. Then I took Revival to my vacation and suffered through meaningless hundreds of pages that were just a needles setup for copying last 20 pages of Lovecraft's book. Really changed my opinion of King for worse...
I've only ever read a handful of Lovecraft stories, none of which are his real popular ones, so I can't comment on if the ending of Revival ripped off Lovecraft or not. Is Silver Keys the story with the same ending?
@@BradProctorReads so, what I got was a compilation of 3 tales that can be viewed as a short novel. They are (in this order): The Statement of Randolph Carter, The Silver Key, Through the Gate of the Silver Key. If you have the opportunity (and time) please read all three of them. The ending of the last one is the ending Stephen King "borrowed"
I've got a big Lovecraft compendium so I'll check to see if those stories are in there. I'm guessing they should be since the book is supposed to be all of his works.
It staggers me how devoted King fans are despite the amount of mediocrity and sometimes truly terrible books.
Independent authors struggle to get published or shelf space while King publishes his used toilet paper.
With the volume of books King has written, which is 80ish, there are bound to be some that readers don't like. No one is perfect and it'd be impossible to write so much and have everything you've written be perfect. Even if you are not a fan to say that he publishes his used toilet paper is just a garbage take.
I agree that it is hard for indie and small press authors to get seen by a wide audience and have their books stocked in brick and mortar stores. I'm a big fan of indie publishing and support a ton of those books and authors on this channel. I have way more videos talking about indie small press books than I do about Stephen King.
@@BradProctorReads To call someone’s take a garbage take if they sincerely feel that way is not a valid criticism of their perspective. What if I were to take off my glasses and try to see this through another set of lenses? I tried to think of it from a different angle. What if they dislike King’s large body of work because most of it is not top tier? You didn’t place too many books at a very high level. So, to me, That’s fair. What if the reference to used toilet paper is based on repeated overused King tropes?
1. Strange goings on
2. Oddballs come together
3. Evil strikes
4. Oddballs discover odd rituals or a particular way to fight back
5. Evil falls or does it
6. A sacrifice is made or an oddball dies
7. Evil is defeated
Those items, adjusted for exact storyline, fit an awful lot of his work. He is extraordinarily popular and wealthy. He also reuses his own set of tropes nearly ad infinitum. It works for him. It isn’t just him. Most authors have their own linguistic tics or story narratives they favor. Not being negative about it, I’m just pointing out that it’s a possible explanation for the op harsh criticism.
Myself, I don’t love him or hate him. I recognize and respect his success and understand why he’s successful. I also recognize that the bulk of his work is just not for me so I move on. Art is subjective. Different people, different perspectives, different styles.
I wasn't saying that them not liking King was a garage take. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on what they like and don't like, which is completely fine. What I think is a garage take is saying he publishes crap (his used toilet paper). It's subjectivity vs objectivity. You can not like his stories, or writing, or characters, or whatever, but to say that his writing is actually crap just isn't true. I can not like something but still appreciate the skill it took to create it.
I did NOT like The Outsider. I gave up not very far into it because there was just TOO MUCH lawyer talk. If I want lawyer talk, I'll read John Grisham.
I would move Carrie up to Loved it. Fairy Tale to Good. Billy Summers is right on the nose. I can't get through it because so far it just isn't good enough to care. I'd like to finish it, but it's been over six months, and I'm only a third of the way through it, so I dunno.
You should read The Long Walk (in the Bachman books). He does kids/teens so well, and they're the entire book.
I do need to read The Long Walk and the other Bachman books. I didn't really notice the lawyer talk in the Outsider. I liked it overall but the ending felt a bit lackluster to me. I think putting Carrie in the Loved it tier is legit. It was much different than I was expecting and much better than the movies.
Gunslinger at meh? Turning off video now.
It's meh for me, but I love the series as a whole.
I love the shining, misery, pet semetary, the green mile, 11/22/63
Green Mile and 11/22/63 are at the top my list for books of King's I want to read next.
@BradProctorReads I couldn't believe it was King's book when I first read the green Mile. it's so different to his usual stuff ( in my opinion) but it's brilliantly heartbreaking
11/22/63 I went into it only having read the blurb and it was very good, a long one but good!
I watched the TV series after and well... that was a waste of time. After you picture a character for so long for them to be a complete 180 on TV 🤣
I've heard the TV series for 11/22/63 wasn't very good so I'll probably skip it lol.
I think Green Mile and Shawshank are two of his books that most people can't believe he wrote.
Makes a Stephen King tier list. Hasn’t read The Stand 😂
Oh, wow! What a good listener you are.
Billy Summers in Meh is wild.
Glad that you liked it more than I did. I enjoyed the first half way more than the second half of that book.
I'm about a third of the way through it, and I just. Can't. Do it. I don't know why this is a tough read for me, but it's killing me.
@@dawnpowers7626 I had a similar thought while reading it. I thought the first half was a little slow-but when it picked up, I was hooked. You should try to keep going, but if you really hate it, don't push yourself.
I was the opposite enjoying the first half more, but I did like the brief connection with The Shining nearer the end.
'Carrie' is my favorite book ever, so I, of course, rank it very highly. Carrie is my Stephen King character, so seeing the book in anything less than the top spot makes me sad.
I know that my opinion on it differs from yours, but I just thought I'd give my thoughts.
P.S. good job for saying the book was better than the movie. I hate the movie.
Cool to hear that Carrie is your favorite! I think it's definitely a solid book and a great entry point into reading King. And yea, the ending to the book is so much better than what they did in the movies.
@BradProctorReads I actually hated the ending to the book. I'm a huge fan if Carrie, so having to witness her die is painful for me.
I'd recommend watching the 2002 TV movie, because it feels like the book for the most part, but with a better ending.
Good ranking but the lip smacking every ten seconds
I only smack my lips every 16 seconds thank you very much.
👄
Song of Susannah meh??? Know you nothing of structure? Shame on you!
I really appreciate what Song of Susannah does, but ranking it on its own as a book and not part of the series as a whole I didn't like it as much as the other Dark Tower books.
@@BradProctorReads thank you for responding, please elaborate on what it is that song of Susannah does. Also a question, how much of stephen kings backtrail have you followed?
Song of Susannah set up a lot of cool stuff and then kind of left it all as cliffhangers. To me it felt like the final book in the series was going to be too long so he split it into Song of Susannah and The Dark Tower.
What do you mean by following King's backtrail?
@ I mean are you at all familiar with the works that inspired Kings creative journey? Including but not limited to T.S Eliot, Robert Browning, or Thomas Wolfe. Understanding what inspired Stephen king is what makes the structure of books like song of Susannah so very important and in no way meh. In my opinion. I will shame you no further good sir and thank you for your time.
Gotcha. I have heard King speak about some of his influences, but the ones you've mentioned I've yet to read any of their works. I'm interested to know how those authors inspired the structure for SoS?