What is your favorite Stephen King or Richard Bachman book?

Never read any of his books, although Iīd like to read the story īThe Shawshank Redemptionī was based upon.
Does anyone know the title, or is it just īThe Shawshank Redemptionī?

I enjoyed The Shining and Carrie, but the one I liked most was Dance Macabre - about why he wrote what he wrote and how he felt about horror writers and the genre in general.
Vos - The Shawshank Redemption - wasn't that in the Richard Bachman collection of novellas called Different Seasons?

I like Richard Bachman. I don't like Steven King. Go figure...

The only S. King I even read was the short-story version of the Fire Starter published in Omni Magazine. I liked it, but not enough to read a whole novel of it.

I like so many of them, it's really hard to choose! If I had to pick just one, I think it would be Bachman's "The Long Walk" (not listed here) but so many of the other shorter works are great. I love "Firestarter" too (also not listed).

I've been pondering for years how to turn TLW into a movie screenplay and haven't yet found a way to make it work. But I recently saw a documentary called "Hands on a Hard Body" (see it!) that gave me a lot of ideas...

I've never read any of them

The Stand. The one that got on my nerves the most though was "The Long Walk".

ILJ: That story drove me crazy... I couldn't stand the fact that the kid got into it in the first place.

they: Well, you have to admit that the prize is pretty good...

Maybe the reason I didn't like it is because I didn't think any prize would be worth what those kids put themselves through..

they: Probably not. I always chalked it up to a combination of two things. One is the vague but seemingly totalitarian nature of the society in which it is set. With people being carted off to "The Guards" left and right, maybe this is one of the few chances for a good life. The descriptions of the spectators, however, don't point to a terribly oppressed people so there goes that theory. The second thing is the contestants' ages. They were all very early teens, right? Could be the naivete of youth, thinking they're immortal, but then again they do have parents who could talk them out of it. I always thought it could make a great movie (think "Stand By Me") but clearly a few logical wrinkles would need to be ironed out.

I would have been shot if I participated in "The Long Walk"

Jody: I really have no idea, thatīs why is was asking!

ILJ: Maybe it was a really good story since it got me so stirred up... I was just irritated the entire time I was reading it. I actually gave my sister the book off my shelf the last time she was here to visit and recommended that story to her..

I cannot choose. I love all his work that I have read.

I agree with you there Twister....

I've only read four, and the last one I really liked, it was "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon".

Can I please re-enter my question, as Jody wasnīt sure?
Does anyone know the title of the story īThe Shawshank Redemptionī was based upon?

Rose Madder is the best book ever written.

vos: "Rita Hayworth & The Shawshank Redemption" I believe.

Brian: Thanx. Iīll try to find it.
Oh, written by King or Bachman??

Brian, Vos: yeah, I think that's the title too. Just checked. According to the site I looked at it is called "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" - there is no "the" and it's by Stephen King. It was published in Different Seasons along with Apt Pupil, The Body and The Breathing Method. The last is the only one of these four that has not yet been made into a film to the best of my knowledge.

The only King I've read yet is the Legends novella and the first Dark Tower book (and probably a short story or two I have since forgotten), both good fun light reading but not brilliant. Will be reading more eventually though for sure.

Thanx supp!

I liked The Girl who loved Tom Gordon too.. I didn't like Rose Matter. I thought Misery was good too... I never could get into Pet Sematery or The Tommyknockers.

I got seriously squicked by the *ads* for Misery.

they: What was so bad about Rose MADDER (not Matter).

Sorry.. I just didn't like it.. Not my kinda story.

I have only read 'The Long Mile". It was pretty good. I saw the movie 'The Green Mile', but I never read the book.

rage

they: I know you didn't like it, but WHAT EXCATLY did you find wrong with it?

Rose Madder: I liked how descriptive Stephen King was about how the main character was beat so badly in her marriage...I was so ready to find the bastard and kill him ....i rose madder about the guy while I was reading it..........he stalked her so bad!

Watched Christine on tv yesterday.. still a great movie!

Tough choice! I picked Salem's Lot. I read it as a teenager and it scared the hell out of me. Through the mid 80's or so I had read all his books, but at some point I thought he got boring for awhile and I lost interest. The most recent I've read is Delores Claiborne, and that was really good.

supplicant- You reminded me, those Dark Tower books are the ones I didn't like.

SueBee: Delores Claiborne was good. Brian: I don't remember very much about the book.. I just remember not liking it.

I really don't like Stephen King's writing style at all.. but he has great ideas for stories.

The books of his I like really get into the characters heads. His good books can pull me right in...but a few have put me to sleep. Christine was a favorite, too.

Sinatra: That bastard totally got what he deserved, don't you think?

I LOVE his writing style because he so damn descriptive usually. Yes Brian he did get it - Another favorite is The Stand.it sucked me in so much I read in in 3 days... which I think is pretty good because it is a very long book...

I loved the Stand too. I think it would've been better if I had been able to finish. Sadly, barrin devine intervention, I'll just have to buy a new copy and start over again.

SueBee: it could be because the Dark Tower books are fantasy and not horror? or do you like fantasy but just found them crap? People call Dark Tower "Dark Fantasy" but from what I remember of the first book it wasn't dark, more like an adventure yarn

The Long walk (is not listed but included in the bachman books)is good so far it is a Bachman book I generally do not like Stephen king but a few books are good

i really liked "needful things"

supplicant - It may have been because it wasn't what I was expecting, but I have enjoyed same fantasy books. I think of fantasy as fairies and banshees and that sort of character though.

For those of you who would've picked The Talisman if it had been up there, ABC and King are working on a miniseries for it. If it's even half as good as The Stand and The Shining miniseries were, it'll be worth it.

The Shining! I couldn't even read the darn thing at night when my husband was on the night shift.

I just finished reading The Green Mile.. it was pretty good.

they - Is that one a horror story?

No way.. It actually brought a tear or two to my eye.

A Stephen King romance novel, then??

Nope.. I can't handle romance novels

Misery, Gerald's Game

It's one of the novellas in "Different Seasons".