Better When You're Older

[crestfallen49]

I began reading King as a teenager, as I'm sure many of you did also. Now at the ripe old age of 25, I've come to find on re-reading books that I enjoy and appreciate his books much much more. I guess I've just lived and experienced more now and can relate to the characters better than I could before. I know one book in particular that was much better as an adult was The Shining. Just wondering if any other people have had similar experiences and if so what books stand out.

[AndyDufresne]

Well, about The Shining, it was the first ever Stephen King book I ever read, so it will always have a special place. Not to forget that's it's an excellent book as well, of course. It's only been eight or nine years since I first read it (I'm twenty now) and I don't really know my experiences have really changed me. So, my opinion of the novel is still the same as it was when I was eleven.

[coolambindang]

I am 31 this year and began reading SK when I was 12 or 13, I would agree that re-reading stories at this age does give me more apprecitation of course most of SK's books I have re-read many times in those years. Some stories affect me more now that I have kids, and some I cannot read at all anymore because of that.

[Mr Nobody]

Good point (or question, depending on what it was). For me, the way relationships between childhood friends is portrayed scans better now, at a remove of 20+ years from those days, than they did when I was younger. Seems to strike just the right note of nostalgia, because while SK describes American kids in a 60s/70s setting (for the most part), there's a truth there about childhood - at least in the way it's recalled - that spans oceans and crosses the gulf of years.
I have to admit, though, there have been times in re-reads that I've paused, remembered that I originally thought X was a wuss and Y was worrying over nothing, etc, only to find that I can now empathize with those characters. Which is slightly worrying in itself. :wink2:

[TheHardcase]

I began reading King as a teenager, as I'm sure many of you did also. Now at the ripe old age of 25, I've come to find on re-reading books that I enjoy and appreciate his books much much more. I guess I've just lived and experienced more now and can relate to the characters better than I could before.

I think you've hit on a key point here and touched on one of the fundamental reasons why SK's books have such timeless value. Yes, he's a writer of horror fiction. But he's so much more.

In many ways, the genre is simply the frame for a much deeper commentary on a wide variety of topics from childhood trauma to adult issues of character, loyalty, treachery, and in general the weary round of life.

I really believe the reason his works have resonated so consistently with so many Constant Readers is that there's a universal truth he taps into -- and does it with amazing impact -- using the horror motif as his platform.

I've said it before and I'll say it here -- he really is the spokesman for an entire generation, encapsulating much of the angst, hope and fear of those of us who have been navigating the minefield of life for the last thirty years or so.

[sessions728]

I read "IT" when i was 11 or 12, and of course seen the movie dozens of times. Maybe i'll re-read it when i'm done with Everythings Eventual.

[Gard-ole-Gard]

I am 31 this year and began reading SK when I was 12 or 13, I would agree that re-reading stories at this age does give me more apprecitation of course most of SK's books I have re-read many times in those years. Some stories affect me more now that I have kids, and some I cannot read at all anymore because of that.

I almost put Pet Cemetary down after the death of the boy, but stuck it out and enjoyed it immensely. I often wonder if Sai King really understands how much he enhances our journeys through life. I'm 52 and enjoy his work more than ever. I connect with all of his characters on a level that defies explanation, perhaps none more than Gard on Tommyknockers.

[Anton177]

I'm currently 18 and I can see your point. One of the first things that hooked me to Stephen was nothing to do with the plots (to be truthful, the following is still the main reason I read the books) but the vulgar fitting choice of language that he manages to adapt into so many scenarios, personalities, cultures etc. Along with that is the psychological tie-ins and the character relations. I swear that there are a certain few male characters Mr. King could never have gotten down to the perfect T as he did without relating in his own experiences or thoughts and that's where a lot of it lies for me. If I'm feeling like this at my age then I'm sure in a decade or two I'm going to find a whole new way of loving these books and that really gives me a content, almost nostalgic feeling.

This is a great way to think since after I finished IT I was not only in awe, but I felt absolutely terrible. I enjoyed reading that so much that I was devastated when it ended and the immediate feeling was "I'm never going to be able to read it like that again, not like the first time". I'm not ashamed to say I kissed the book's cover after I closed it since an overwhelming surge of affection came over me! If I can manage to get that feeling again at any point in my life then I am sure I am in eternal debt since you really cannot get those rare surges of complete emotion very often.

[EMARX]

If 25 is ripe. I must be positively rancid. But when you re-read something after many years your looking at it with a different set of eyes.

[thymeoperator]

i can't say yet, as i'm only going on 26, but i do have to say that i think if i'd read 'IT' as a teenager it wouldn't have affected me nearly the right way, because i think it's a book that makes more sense once you've gone out and lived a little - and i'm sure when i'm older still, it will move me even more. so i would imagine a lot of his books are like that.

[delores 74]

I definitely agree. Some of the books I read when I first started on my SK journey at the tender age of 12 and now re-read take on a whole new meaning. Subtle nuances and hints that are glossed over or missed altogether with your first reading are glaringly obvious when you re-read at an older age.
I think some of them get scarier when you are an older reader because you have lived long enough and have just enough wisdom to think through what he is writing. A lot of his horror is psychological in nature, and you have to have a certain level of maturity to fully grasp it.

[crazycrashink]

I'm only 23, but I've been reading Stephen King since I was approximately 12 so a solid decade. I am glad I waited to read Pet Sematary until I had a child as I feel I got the full effect of horror and loss I enjoyed the books when I was younger, but I will also be able to read them as I age, gaining a better appreciation for them and a deeper love of the great characters.

[SWNH1980]

I also find I appreciate his work more now at 29 than I did when I was 12. I think most of it is just that I understand adult issues better now, since I am one, so I guess that's a good thing, lol! I do find that whenever I re-read one of his books, I notice things I didn't notice before, even in books I've read a few times! I am so glad I found SK though, I think I would've been a different person if not for his books. I'm glad that I'll have them all to read for the rest of my life!

-Sen

[Froglady]

I just posted a little note regarding this on another thread called "Duma Key - how'd you like it". I haven't read much of Stephen King during the last 20 years, but am now on my way of rediscovering his literaty qualities. And I do recommend Duma Key if you want a really good read, althoug the Cell was also a great book!

/Marie

[Sms231]

I think that the idea of Mr. King's books being better when the reader is older can apply to all authors, and not just SK. There are plenty of books that I was forced to read in school that I could have cared less about. Now at 28, I've been re-reading a lot of the classics that i forsook when I was younger, and I most certainly have a greater appreciation for literature now then I did when I was coerced into reading them.