Is it healthy to only want to read Stephen King?

[mrblonde]

So I started this new job 2 years ago & it includes a ton of travel - both plane and car. I took to audiobooks & real books to pass the time. I'd always been a King fan, but over the last 2 years I've read 21 SK Books. Most I love (On Writing, Stand, Dome, Duma, Bones, Dreamcatcher, 11/22/63) Some I liked (It, Tommyknockers, Dark Half, Cell) and some I rather disliked (needful things, lisey, gerald)

Besides King I've read every Maberry, Child, Larson and a spattering of others and I've come to this conclusion:

now that I have checked out the non kings books that caught my attention I don't know what to read next. I've gone back and started rereading the SK books (Dome, Duma, Dreamcatchers, The Stand so far)

Does this make me weird? is there anyone better?

[Connie Reader]

Definitely not weird, and you're preaching to the choir on this forum! :)

[dsurrett]

In these parts, your scenario doesn't make you weird, it makes you normal. And no, no author is better than King. And you can get Salem's Lot and The Shining (and many other King titles) on audiobook downloads from audible.com for less than $15 if you get on the monthly plan.

Long days and pleasant nights.

[gniknehpets]

If you are weird you're in good company... :laugh:

[Spideyman]

Does not make you weird. I prefer SK over most writers. Variety is the spice of life, so I do read other authors. Always come back to King.
May I suggest reading SK Dark Tower series-- 7 books in all and a magnificent journey.
Other authors might include Terry Pratchett and Meg Gardiner.

[GNTLGNT]

"Better"...is up to the readers own particular "mental tastebuds"...I like me a heapin helpin' of Unca Stevie, with a side of Koontz-and that's pretty much it...

[sam peebles]

No, there is no one better. No, it doesn't make you weird. But there's a whole universe of great books out there waiting for you to discover them, and a lot of them aren't written by Mr. King.

[Haunted]

You seem to indicate a certain genre. Have you tried Guillermo Del Toro's novel, The Strain, which he co-authored with Chuck Hogan. It is the first part of a vampire trilogy. The second part, The Fall, co-authored by Chuck Hogan as well. The last novel of the trilogy, Night Eternal was released this past October. There maybe, a future series release or movie for the trilogy.

[ConstantReader1973]

Nope, you're not weird. And nope, there's no one better.

Did you really expect any other answer? Seriously, you're posting on a Stephen King message board. We're all die-hard Stephen King fans and if you dare say anything bad about our hero, we shall gang up on you and beat you verbally until you beg for mercy! Just kidding, of course. Dang, I'm gonna have to stop that. I'm going to get myself in trouble since sarcastic wit doesn't come across well in print. Sigh.

Welcome to the board!

[Becks19]

No, reading and enjoying King does not make you weird. If that's the case, then we're all weird here! I happen to think those who never bother to pick up any book audo/print are the weird ones.

[blunthead]

...I've come to this conclusion:

now that I have checked out the non kings books that caught my attention I don't know what to read next. I've gone back and started rereading the SK books (Dome, Duma, Dreamcatchers, The Stand so far)

Does this make me weird? is there anyone better?No, this does not make you weird. You are weird, but not for this reason. :cool2: I'm very funny. As far as I'm concerned to want to read at all equals healthy, especially when most people don't read, yet are considered healthy by doctors and peers who actually don't know what they're talking about anyway.

And as far as I'm concerned there really is no author better than Stephen King, period. And I don't say that lightly or ignorantly. I can recommend authors I like, but they are mostly from my past as I haven't read many other authors since discovering sK (except, I've read a number he recommended in Danse Macabre, some of whom I list below). Here...

1. William Goldman (not Golding)
2. Arthur Machen
3. Robert Bloch
4. Meg Gardiner
5. HP Lovecraft
6. CS Lewis
7. Dean Koontz
8. Shirley Jackson
9. Michael Connelly (whom I've not read but sK likes a lot)

[Jojo87]

No you definitely not weird. I love King's books too. And read and re-read them all over again.
I have a big list which King books I'm gonna re-read. So keep reading.

[J.T. Adams]

What about the rest of Sai King's books???

Read those.

[ghost19]

Every time I read something non-King, it always comes up short. Reading Mr. King's books is like putting on an old comfortable pair of blue jeans. So I just keep putting them on over and over again. I've read so many of his books multiple times, I've lost count. Only other book I've done that to is Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy...don't know why. Anyway, doesn't make you weird, you have just come to the same conclusion everyone on this board has, that Mr. King's books rock!

[momone53]

I don't only read King, but I find that his are the books I enjoy the most. I make it a habit of reading a King, then someone else then back to King. Of course, being a tower junkie, I also through in a tower book between each; I don't always read the whole tower book sometimes just certian parts. I don't think it makes me weird; crazy maybe. Unless, it's all the other things I do that make me crazy. Makes me wonder sometimes.

And may you have twice the number.

[bryantburnette]

Yes, it makes you weird. Extremely.

[king family fan]

Welcome! I only read King books or King related books. So If you are weird ,I guess alot of us are weird.LOL

[91rewoT]

Well, if it's not healthy, then I am one sick individual...
:biggrin2:

[Haunted]

To read Mr. King's books again and again fills my need to meet new and wonderful characters, be they good or bad, and at Mr. K's invitation to set off on an adventure in my new friends' company.

There is nothing wrong or weird or whatever in enjoying a wonderfully told story.

Consider yourself in the very best of company!:love:

[samhain]

I prefer SK's novels over everything else I read, but I still enjoy other books and authors.
Since I'm currently on a King-reading binge, I've been holding off on 3 new releases from other authors I recently purchased.

[King fan from trinidad]

For over a year it was only stephen king books! Now i've read about 20 of them and i finally took a little 2 day break to read intensity by dean koontz.

[Evil Queen]

No, you're not weird & no, there's no one better, just different...:smile2:

[Cthulhu]

Reading nothing but King would be like eating the same food for every meal your entire life. No doubt he is good but you should read other stuff as well.

[Sigmund]

Hi!

I don't know about weird or healthy but, around here it's perfectly normal.

I await each new SK book with bated breath. I do tend to re-read the books almost immediately after I have read them the first time.

I read other fiction and I do enjoy them but, they just are not the same. I read thrillers, mystery, psychological suspense, crime, pathology, humor, contemporary and everyday family/drama. When I pick-up and read a book I know I will get one, two maybe three aspects of the above and yay! I will enjoy the read. But, with Stephen King it seems like I get all the above and more. :cool2:

Don't question it. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

(You still have a lot of SK books to read and enjoy. Get to it! :smile2:)

Peace.

[bryantburnette]

Stephen King is far and away my favorite author, but if he's the only author you read, then you are doing yourself a truly horrible disservice -- and I am 100% certain Stephen King would agree with me on that.

[MyLife4YouSK]

yes it's healthy and no there is no one better. but I'm obsessed, so might not want to listen to my opinion on other authors....BUT I do love Robert McCammon(always have) and Dean Koontz(though not as much as I used to).

I'm working on re reading all of King's stuff. Just finished Lisey's Story, man... what a smucking great bool! um, book. ;) To those that said they don't like Lisey's Story., re read it!

Next up Cell and I'm hoping I like it more the 2nd time around. There's just too much I miss or don't understand the first time so that's why I re read books., though usually only King or McCammon do I do this with.

Don't forget to come check out Stephen King Trivia here in the social groups! It's Wednesday today, Have a Wicked Easy Day!

[samhain]

I prefer SK's novels over everything else I read, but I still enjoy other books and authors. Also, SK is the only author with whom I re-read the books on a regular basis (with the exception of the Harry Potter series).

When a new SK hardcover is released, I purchase it, read it, and place it on my bookcase along with all my other SK hardcovers. I usually scout used bookstores for the paperback versions as those are the ones I use for re-reading (it's easier taking the paperback along with me on the train to work...plus, the book is already "worn" so I don't have to worry about keeping it neat).

[blunthead]

Is it healthy to only want to read Stephen King?Depends on how much sleep you need.

[JordyVerrill]

Stephen King is by far my favorite author, and not just because his stories are good, but no other author that I've read has been able to get me as emotionally attached to fictional characters as King does. I've only been reading his work (other than Skeleton Crew and Night Shift, both of which I read as a kid) for the past couple of years, so I still have a lot of his books to read, but I do find that after reading two or three of them in a row I like to switch it up and read a book by someone else. I don't really have a second favorite author, but my favorite non-King (and non-Harry Potter... those books helped me re-discover the joy of reading I had as a kid and somehow lost as an adult, so they will always have a special place in my heart) book is probably Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill.

[Todash]

Stephen King is far and away my favorite author, but if he's the only author you read, then you are doing yourself a truly horrible disservice -- and I am 100% certain Stephen King would agree with me on that.

I'm going to have to agree with this one. On all counts.

[fljoe0]

As long as you don't smoke while you read, it's perfectly healthy.

[king family fan]

I love reading king books and enjoy collecting them.

[Sepia and Dust]

So I started this new job 2 years ago & it includes a ton of travel - both plane and car. I took to audiobooks & real books to pass the time. I'd always been a King fan, but over the last 2 years I've read 21 SK Books. Most I love (On Writing, Stand, Dome, Duma, Bones, Dreamcatcher, 11/22/63) Some I liked (It, Tommyknockers, Dark Half, Cell) and some I rather disliked (needful things, lisey, gerald)

Besides King I've read every Maberry, Child, Larson and a spattering of others and I've come to this conclusion:

now that I have checked out the non kings books that caught my attention I don't know what to read next. I've gone back and started rereading the SK books (Dome, Duma, Dreamcatchers, The Stand so far)

Does this make me weird? is there anyone better?

Are you looking for a kind of literary comfort food? If so, Mr. King is as good a safe place to go to as any, and he is better than some. I tend to hide in Derry, myself, when the sleet rattles at the windowpanes and everything just seems dreary and dull. Chicken soup for the imagination.

But to only ever read one author? No, you would be missing out on so very much.

[BoogieWoogie]

Once I started reading King's works I couldn't stop. Whenever I try to throw in a different book, it just isn't the same. Not many can compare to Mr. King, so I just stick to his stories.

[moonbeam66]

He has written so much,and I am so far behind (because I am a reborn King-fan) that I don't predict I'll have time to read much else in the next few years. And even IF one day I have read every word he ever wrote, there's always re-reads :). I'd rather re-read The Stand than anything by any other author. I have three or four series by other writers that I follow, but fortunately these authors are not as prolific as Mr. King!! I've also got pretty bored with TWO of these authors and just keep reading their series because I want to know what happens with the main characters. The other two only throw out a book every other year or less, so I'm good.

I think if I could read only King for the rest of my days, I would be ok. I also make up my own stories, so that's all the entertainment I need. I don't even WANT to discover new authors because I just don't have the time! :smile2:

[Lily Sawyer]

I like reading other authors besides King. I dig Peter Straub (big shocker) and Dan Brown; Abraham Verghese and Patrick Süßkind; Rhoda Janzen and Tracy Chevalier and Anne Rice and Dorothy Parker and Phillip K. Dick and Nabokov and Tolstoy and George Eliot and William Goldman and Hedrick Smith and Franz Kafka and Solzhenitsyn and Shakespeare and and and and.

I think people who *don't* read are weirdos who miss out on so much.

[Sundrop]

Stephen King is definitely my favorite, but I enjoy reading many other authors as well. I've picked up several authors because Uncle Steve made the recommendation.
I even picked up a new author recently, upon recommendation from a fellow SKMB member. :)

[charlotte98]

Haha. I don't think it's behavior that will land you in the looney bin. I think you're safe.
I like Sai King's books, but I'll be honest, after I read a couple of them, I need a break, and I usually turn to Grisham in the interim.
Or Lisa Gardner, who writes excellent crime/suspense novels. Whoever hasn't read one of her books, I urge you to do so!

[Doc Wilson]

I would read King exclusively if there were enough books. He's prolific, but not *that* prolific. So I read plenty of other authors, and its very rare for me to find one so enjoyable that they could have been written by King. Most recently, that was Scott Smith's The Ruins. It was so kinglike I would have thought that Stephen was messing around with a new pen name if I didn't know better.

[Evil Queen]

Of course it's healthy, it's good for your heart. :) ♥♥♥♥

[Tim D.]

Of course you have to read books by other people just so you know how much better SK is than everyone else, lol But if you like to stick with scares and suspense you can't go wrong with Clive Barker, Dean Koontz and Robert McCammon. And King's son, Joe Hill is quite good too. Just don't read John Saul.

[blunthead]

Of course you have to read books by other people just so you know how much better SK is than everyone else, lol But if you like to stick with scares and suspense you can't go wrong with Clive Barker, Dean Koontz and Robert McCammon. And King's son, Joe Hill is quite good too. Just don't read John Saul.John Saul it is, then.

[agartner]

OK, so you are not weird and I was thinking the same thing the other day. I had left King for a while. I came back again about three years ago and with full force. I can read others, which I have. However, you always come back. He is so amazing in his words and ideas. He has laugh out-loud moments, places where you cringe or make you want cry. I guess I am weird because I traveled three states over to see him talk. I honestly felt like I wanted to cry during the event because I was so happy.....to see an author. Ha! If you are weird, I guess we all are in some ways. I think King is odd too and that's what makes him so fascinating to read and listen to. Just an FYI. King audiobooks rock! D Re-read (or listened to) Dolores Claiborne. which was one and my favorite because the lady who read brought Dolores to life. I still hear her voice when I think of the book.

[Lina]

Me too, I do not think it is weird. It is the same with me. Yes, I read books by other authors, but then again I return to Mr. King, I miss reading his books when I read something else, miss his style... I do not think any other author is as good as him. Well, I like many writers - Thomas Harris, Neil Gaiman, Dean Koontz (some books). But still no one can be compared to Stephen King.

[mjs9153]

Always come back to King..currently reading three novels by Mccammon,Boys Life,Swan Song and Speaks the Nightbird,good,but gosh there are some awful coincidental similiarities to SK's works..Have read all the Prey series by John Sandford,good myster/suspense.A former professional hunter in Africa,Peter Hathaway Capstick,beginning with Death in the Long Grass, true experiences of himself and others through history,good descriptive writing of the continent,people,and animals,and also quite funny at times.Theodore Roosevelt,Ray Bradbury,Robert Ruark,Stephen Ambrose,Tom Clancy,Leon Uris,Stephen Hunter,the list goes on and on,and numerous short story anthologies..As a youngster cut my teeth on the Louis Lamour westerns,the Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan,John Carter and other series,sports,scifi,Tolkien's Rings books,and just too many to mention.As others here have already opined you are definitely doing yourself a disservice if you don't explore what is out there..enjoy!:smile2:

[irons]

When it comes to fiction I realy only read SK. I do read a fair bit of non fiction thou, mostly about cinema and history.

[Drumbum]

There's nothing wrong with you. Most of us have a preferred storyteller. Stephen is my first choice, but I have other literary tastes such as Star Wars novels and Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware adventures. Stephen isn't going to send Them to your house if you read material from another storyteller. I think he would encourage you to read stories other than his own. "There are other worlds."

[SharonC]

I like certain authors. King definitely, then there's Koontz and Patterson. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child starting with their wonderful Relic. I am a big fan of these two! Kathy Reichs for her Tempe Brennan novels. Tom Clancy - another good one. Just so many. More than enough so you won't quickly run out.

[blunthead]

Considering that I spend all my free time these days chatting and texting and never reading anymore, and that I started reading sK late in life and there's a plethora of his stuff yet for me to read, I think he may be the only author I ever read from now on.

[carrie's younger brother]

@mrblonde
You ask is it "healthy" to only want to read SK and to that question I will have to say "no" and I am certain SK would agree with me. When you read only one author, whether fiction or non-fiction, you are not exercising your mind. You are getting only that one author's view of things. Yes SK writes across genres and even worlds, but in the end a SK book is SK book, just as a Dickens book is a Dickens book, etc., etc., etc.

I have no problem with reading and rereading everything SK, but I strongly suggest to everyone that they read as many different authors as possible. There is such a rich literary world out there and all it takes is reading a book to explore it; how lucky we are!

[shookme]

Healthy? That's pretty subjective, at least pertaining to reading. I can tell you this: I used to just read mostly King, then I kind of fell off the reading bandwagon. Started reading again last year after a five year or so hiatus. Finally finished The Dark Tower series and then started reading alot of Dan Simmons, McCammon, Laymon and so on. So I can tell you from experience that you are limiting yourself. Reading other works will give you a better contrast to King's style and stories.

My $0.02...

[Speedygi81]

First of all you love reading. That is, in itself, a winner. It doesn't matter who or what you read, just as long as you read. (You don't seem to like Danielle Steel...so how can you be weird, right?)

Reading is a gift, treasure it.