What are the best King books?

[dsurrett]

Since you stated "I prefer the more grounded, semi-realistic, and highly personable King books to the pure horror ones (such as Cujo, Carrie, etc..)" I would highly recommend Full Dark, No Stars.

I misread the original message earlier. For non-horror, Full Dark No Stars would be great since you named other novellas. Green Mile isn't classic horror either. Deloris Claiborne, Misery.

[charmed_one3]

I agree with the poster above. Dolores Claiborne would be a great one to read if you want SK non horror. At first, it takes a bit getting used to reading, as the text is a continuous narrative. There are no chapters or section breaks. But I found it to be a quick read, and I really enjoyed it.

Full Dark, No Stars is great too! 1922 and Big Driver are my standout favorites. You may want to give Misery a try as well.

[FlakeNoir]

That was a great Willie Nelson tune

But I do think there are 2 categories of King books, the ones that are just designed to
scare you and freak you out, and then there are the more quiet and thoughtful ones
usually set in Maine, with a lot of introspection and pathos.

Shawshank Redemption, for instance, is a heartfelt human story, whereas something like
The Shining is just purely terrifying.

I've always found the former category very moving, and hope for books in that genre.

11/22/63 was perfect in that regard.

Thanks for all the recommendations though... (will probably try Full Dark, No Stars...)

Absolutely, I agree with you that Stephen's stories can be split like you mentioned--I would give you a bit of a heads-up though that FDNStars is one of those ones that just wants to bridge the gap.
I found several of the tales to be extremely disturbing. (They scared me more than some of his out-right scary ones)

[Shoesalesman]

But beware so you don't drop it on you feet.

...or read it in bed, unless you dig Popeye forearms come morning time.

[Lina]

I agree with those who recommend Full Dark, No Stars, I think it is one of the best realistic books. Also, I would also recommend Firestarter and Misery.