Your most beat-up King book?

[LadyPain]

I am sure I am not the only person who has a battered book or two. Hopefully you are not the one who did the damage. What does it look like?

My most battered King book is "From a Buick8". I rescued it from a library book sale for 25 cents. The bottom righthand corner was chewed off. A rat got at it. The rest of the book looks like it might have been shared with all of the Stephen King fans in Canada before I got my hands on it. It's really worn out.

I looked at that book for a while before I read it. It was attacked by the kind of critters that usually end up in the novels. Somehow, it seems appropriate to have a book like that once in a while.

Quid pro quo.

[Cowboy]

My copy of Everythings Eventual is pretty beat up! Someone bought the paperback version and read it. They knew I liked Sai King so they gave it to me. They folded the pages back as they read it and it almost looks like it went through a good stone washing. I will get around to replacing it eventually.

[The Dark Tower]

I found my moms first edition hardcover of IT down in the basement (about 5 years ago). 1/3 of the pages were bent the wrong way so it couldn't even close. I nursed it back to health and now you can't even tell :smile2: My most beat up one now is The Bachman Books, which I bought from a used books store.

[bookworm101]

my paperback The Stand

my hardback Eyes of the Dragon

[REDRUM617]

My most beat-up King book is IT. It's the hardcover edition with tears, marks, and stains all throughout the DJ. We're just getting started! The actual book has stains on the pages, scuff marks, and the last 100 pages or so kind of...fell out.

[mstay]

My paperback copy of the Stand - Uncut is pretty ragged. The front and back covers are gone, the last page is not attached (I keep it tucked inside) and a number of other pages are about ready to fall out. But I love it!

My hardback copies of the first 4 Harry Potter books are falling apart. There are whole sections and individual pages that are not attached to the binding anymore. This is because my son read these four books about 5 times each when he was in 4th, 5th and 6th grade. I wish he read that much now. :glare:

BTW does anyone know where or how to get a book re bound? :grinning:

[Sam Catoe]

I had to replace my paperback copy of Eyes of the Dragon twice. I read that book to death.

[Todash]

Much as I love SK's fiction, my copy of Danse Macabre looks like it's been through a couple of alternate universes and back. I love that book; it's good, solid (but not unsufferably "literate") analysis, and there's not much that's more entertaining than watching smart people think.

[kataline96]

My most beat up King-book is my copy of Skeleton Crew. It was an ex-library book left behind by a flatmate when I was in university. The pages that haven't fallen out are yellow and leave a strange greasy feeling on your fingertips. The cover is hanging on by a thread. It has handwritten notes inside than I think are Mandarin translations of certain phrases. Most of it is still readable though, so I haven't gotten rid of it.

[mojomofo]

IT, Desperation, Insomnia and the paperback Bachman books. They all are stained, torn, pages about to fall out...

[SKgirl]

None of my books are really beat up, but, I guess the one that has the most creases in the spine and the yellowest pages is Misery.
I'm not sure why, though. It's not a very old book.

[Whitey Appleseed]

I try not to show any favoritism...beat 'em all equally...a few wounded ones I've had to put some tape on 'em...bandage 'em up...one of the collections the most recent to receive the purple heart...Different Seasons I think...Blaze is probably due for a session...looking pretty new and pristine up there on the shelf, smug, you might say...

[Flyinglilypad]

My most beat up is definitely Wizard and Glass. ^_^ I was eating oatmeal while reading it and slopped a bunch on the pages. They all had to come out.

Then probably 'Salems Lot. I've had the book for about 10 years, and I left it on the floor of my truck, where it got oil, soda, and fast food all over it. U_U It truly did not deserve such treatment.

Many of mine have had the cover and first couple pages come out, but I will say this for King's books:

NONE of mine have ever cracked into two. I hate when that happens.

[mrbeer]

my most beat up book is the gunslinger paper back. I got it at a used booksale for less than a dollar. The pages are yellow and stained, and the front cover fell off the day I got it. still enjoyed it though!:biggrin2:

[Julian]

I love many of Stephen King's stories, though not all of them. My most "beat-up" King books are probably "IT", "Needful Things", "Carrie", "The Stand" and "Salem's Lot". I couldn't really choose just one title as being the most "beat-up". To be honest, I tend to prefer Stephen King's older stories to his newer writings. I dislike the "Dark Tower" series for example. Unlike some writers in the horror genre, I have noticed that Stephen King's characters seem to be more "human" and credible than the creations of others. In other words, his characters almost seem to be real sometimes.......

Julian L Hawksworth

[Ponch]

Salem's lot, paperback. I found this in the bottom of a closet when i was in the 7th grade and it was beat up pretty bad. I still have that copy.
The Stand paperback (the original edited version) is in pretty "well loved" condition too, got that at a used bookstore.
My paperback of IT, the spine is nothing but white cracks, the pages at the bottom are coming away from the glue on the spine, there are thumb-prints where the reader held the book so long so many times, the cover has fallen off and been taped back on.
It was brand new when I bought it and I've read it so many times that all of it was caused by me, but not through neglect or abuse or anything.
Simple wear and tear from loving that book so much.

[conniebobonnie]

My copy of Everythings Eventual is pretty beat up! Someone bought the paperback version and read it. They knew I liked Sai King so they gave it to me. They folded the pages back as they read it and it almost looks like it went through a good stone washing. I will get around to replacing it eventually.
love the word play

[conniebobonnie]

my first set of dt all 7 of them were used when i got them, the gunslinger was my mother in laws and she read it hard and put it up after the cover came off and the spine gave way. after that all the rest were also used and my poor husband told me he would by me a new set and he has and i am trying to keep them from the bath water.

[MrsSmeej]

My hard cover copy of Black House appears to have been caught in a flood or stored in a damp place. There is a strange orange substance growing on the cover and black mold colonies on the first hundred or so pages. I think it adds to the atmosphere. :biggrin2: As long as it isn't whatever got Mouse. :eek2:

[Shasta]

My old paperback Gunslinger. I must have let 50 people read it and they always gave it back. i loved it because it felt like history, like each person that had read it. Then I gave it to my husband's cousin to read and he left it in some one-night-stand's car, never to be seen again. I could have KILLED him! I had had that book for 15 years. Now I buy used copies whenever I see them so that I can just give them to people. Other than that most of my books are pretty nice. I guess my first edition of the Eyes of the Dragon has some wear because I have a hard time reading the paperback. It just doesn't feel the same.

[Gunslinger_of_Ka]

My cheap little copy of The Gunslinger... and I've only read it twice... :smile2:

[Gwenivere]

My best loved and most warn book is The Stand in paperback. Most of the print on the surface is almost gone. This was my first. I lifted it from my father back when I was a teenager, he is gone now and influenced so much of my life that he never knew which makes this one so important to me.
This paperback has been with me through 4 moves and many years. Although no one has opened its cover since oh, 1980-something, time just has not been kind to this particular book. I still have a copy of almost every one of Stephen King’s work and those others have fared much better probably because most are HB.

[daisygirl]

My most beat up King book is Skeleton Crew. I have had it since I was 12 years old. It's been re read so many times by me, my brother, our friends. I just can't part with it though. It is the first SK book that I ever read, so I'll keep it, taped on cover and all!!

[FaithsJock]

The Dark Half. I got it from a library used book sale...VERY beat up

[Antony butterworth]

Hello fans of the king

my paper back copy of desperation has seen better days

[SnakeGirlKat]

Needful things in hardcover...the dustjacket is long gone and its falling apart but I got it for free at the transfer station so it sits on my shelf until I find a better free replacement. My transfer station is literally a gold mine for SK books and I even have a few first edition hardcovers from there:biggrin2:

[patrick734]

My paperback version of "The Gunslinger" was pretty bad...I used to work in an auto shop, and carried in the back pocket of my work pants for a while, reading it on my breaks...it had oil, transmission fluid, and gear lube stains on it. Just shows how much it was loved!

[linxminx]

My most beat up book is definitely "Misery", I have read the story so many times I am ashamed of myself, its still going strong though, the miracles of sellotape! It reminds me of living at home, Annie is a lot like my mother, ha ha.
I'm fast running out of Stephen King books that I haven't read, can anyone suggest any authors or books that are as easy to read as these novels? Its a long shot but someone might.

[billyboyoc]

It has to be The Shining. I purchased it at a school book fair when I was in fourth grade.

[Spideyman]

My paperback of the Stand, uncut. Has more tape then paper at this point. Will never part with it:blush: Next would be the Gunslinger- read it so many time.

[mstay]

It has to be The Shining. I purchased it at a school book fair when I was in fourth grade.

Only in Maine would they sell SK books at an elementary school book fair. :biggrin2: That's cool!

[donna1982]

The Stand uncut for me too. I visit "old friends" in that book at least once a year and now I have to be very careful with the pages.

[hipmamajen]

"The Stand-Uncut" here.

It always makes me a little sad when I think about it. I didn't buy this version of the book, instead I borrowed it from a friend (a new paperback was big money in college, we passed them around!)

Before I could return the book to him, he was killed in a car crash. I kept it, and have read it several times over the years. Each time I pick it up think a while about Andy.

[dejolane]

I am happy to say all my paperbacks & hardbacks are in excellent condition. :y:

Debbie

[mvt317]

The Stand, It, Salem's Lot- those are all pretty beat up. The worst are the DT1, 2, and 3 because I read them so many times waiting on the rest of the series. Most of SK's books I have 2 or 3 copies of, though, because when I have to start taping the pages together, I buy a new one.

[Mushroom Head]

Mine is Everythign Eventual. I have read it many, many time and it has gone by all of my friends at least once or twice. The cover is held on by tape and the top right-corner is wrinkled from being wet. Yeah, its my worst.

[JohnDalglish]

Hi,

Like so many of us, The Stand uncut. I bought it new on the day of publication in 1991, in fact I was standing at the book shop when it opened on the day of publication, a ritual that I repeated recently with Duma Key.

This copy was read by my wife and I, then my parents took it on holiday to the US, and it was read by the Pacific, it was the first Sai King novel either of my children read, and it (he?) lived with us in Spain for a few years where he was read by Scots, Irish, English, Welsh, Norwegian, Swedish and Spanish friends, so I reckon he's been read at least forty times. Friends borrowed him for a holiday in Thailand, so he's seen the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, plus the Mediterranean and Aegean seas.

He sits on my bookshelf nowadays like an old tom cat, content to rest in the sun, but still capable of ripping apart the unwary with the teeth and claws of nothing but story!

But the most beat-up I've ever seen was my wife's copy of Wizard and Glass which she carried in her (large) handbag for five years or so, in case she was held up at traffic lights or somesuch. When she died I threw it out (it was incredibly beat up!) and I've deeply regretted doing that ever since.

Long days and pleasant nights

[Badkittie]

I've had several cpoies of IT (paperback) until I found a first edition, so now I'm trying to take care of it. The Stand is pretty worn out. I'm on my second copy of Different Seasons. The Shining is pretty beat up. I'm on my second copy of The Skeleton Crew so well. All of my SK books are now hardback!

[nominal_sidus]

My most beat up king book would have to be dreamcatcher. I bought it the day it came out (I think I was like 13 at the time?) I carried it to school every day for weeks until I finished it. since then I've read it every time I run out of new books to read. atleast five times a year! Unfortunatly its traveling days are over its strictly used in the house with nothing dangerous around. I even bought a paper back copy to take to work on occasion and lend out. :smile2:

[losers_club]

"The Stand" may actually be missing pages.
"IT" is pretty beaten up too, as well as "Gerald's Game."

[poisonbat]

Mine would have to be The Talisman. I read it recently and had to glue the book back to the binding. Thankfully it is a paperback and the glue worked. I also had to tape on the cover. Next in line would be my paperback copy of It, the cover is also held on with tape. I am trying to replace some of my books so that I can lend out the old ones without worrying about them coming back.:bat:

[tons of fun]

my most beat up book is the drawing of the three (DT2)

[Flood1980]

Misery. I received it used and beaten up. I haven't read it.

[mcarr68]

My Christine paperback. I've read it 3 times. Great read.

[Nebulosity]

My most beat up book is my old copy of Skeleton Crew. For some reason I thought I had lost my newer copy so I picked it up at my local used book store. When I got home I realized that I still did have my other copy...shrug...dont know what I was thinking! Oh well it was only a dollar or something. Honestly I really try to take good care of any book Im reading, I hate cracking the spine and I want these copies around for a long time. I know SK has said he loves signing old beat up books, but my interest is not really in his opinion of the condition of my books.:wink2: (I hope that last sentence doesnt come off wrong!)

[LadyPain]

Come to think of it, my copy of The Shining is also really beat up looking. Again, it was a second-hand book from a charity sale.

I keep my new ones looking pretty close to mint condition. The used ones still get treated with respect so they don't end up totally falling apart.

[cougar1912]

IT. I bought it for 25 cents at the library. The first few pages are copies from an old copy machine!

[Allison Wonderland]

Hard question. All of my soft cover Kings are in bad shape because I have read each of them 2 or 3 times, but my copy of It looks like Tim Curry has been chewing on it and left it at the bottom of a morloc hole.

[Kitten]

Well, I'm quite proud of myself. Over this year, my Stephen King library has grown to about 6 books. I'd say "Desperation" is the most bashed up book at the moment! :)

Kitten

[Flood1980]

IT. I bought it for 25 cents at the library. The first few pages are copies from an old copy machine!

Thats hilarious and really ghetto.. LOL. At least someone had the consideration of doing that eh?? :biggrin2:

[garykingfan]

my most beat up book would have to be a tie.

in sai kings work my most beat up book is thinner.
it was battered before i bought it but then my ferret decided the pages in the middle of the book made a nice crinkly sound when she jumped on them so ..... got a few hole in too.

however also have a beaten up first edition of harry potter deatly hallows.
my puppy decided to eat the front hardback cover while i was sleeping.

[Black Flagg]

I'm on my FOURTH copy of THE STAND right now.
Throughout high school & college I used to read it once a summer. I've been through 2 paperbacks and I'm on my second hardcover.

I've also been through 2 copies of SKELETON CREW (my first copy doesn't even have a cover anymore).

[Draga]

My most battered King book is also "From a Buick 8" Its hardback is crumpled. And the other one is "Misery", many of its pages are torn. But i bought them new like this. It wasn´t more copies to buy in better conditions, I just bought the last ones. Here people isn´t careful to keep the books in the shops.:sad:

[emjay999]

I bought The Drawing of the Three when it first came out, decades ago. Of my collection, it's the only original I still have left. It's been through an apartment fire (soot and smoke, still smells of smoke a little), several moves, and some water damage to the spine (because the A/C flooded). I will NEVER get rid of it because it seems to be a chronicle of my life as a fan of SK; like a tree recording life through its rings, it has recorded every major event and catastrophe.

[skimom]

I (and a few friends/relatives) read through three copies of The Stand before i finally got a hard cover-you know, I still wish i had the paperback, it just doesn't feel the same reading it in hardback. My most battered currently would probably be Different Seasons,both because i've had it for so long and read it so often, and because by son carried it back and forth to school and shoved it in his locker so many times. Come to think of it, that book is now on it's second trip through our secondary educational system!

[Ritchina37]

<Sigh>
I have 3 hard books that I have lost the cover to. They are Carrie, Skeleton Crew & (I cant believe I cant remember the name!!) (And I am too lazy to get up and look LOL) the one that was made into a movie with Anthony Hopkins, where he has the secret people after him because of his abilities.
Otherwise, all of my books are in primo condition. I only collect hard covers, oh, except for one I just ordered off of Ebay, which I could shoot myself for because it wasn't in very good condition and it was a softcover. The Shining.

[ZGDK]

All of my paperbacks. I bend, I twist, and so on.

[jchanic]

Mine has to be The Stand. I've gone through two paperbacks and finally have gotten an inexpensive hardcover edition that I use for my reading copy. The two paperbacks literally fell apart.

John

[cime280VENEZIA]

I've the paperback of 4 past midnight divided in two books... But I find the old version "all in one" in a library for 2 euros... It's so beaten up, but i think to all the people that read it in the past years...

[Jen 9663]

I received "It" as a Christmas gift when it was first released, when I was 15/16. I finally loaned it to my brother, who destroyed the hard cover. I bought a paperback, which finally wore out. I recently bought another hard cover.

I've also been through more than 1 copy of "The Stand". I tried the first release, with much edited out -- I couldn't do it. Then I tried it again at 19 (this would be in the really early 90's, when a new, less edited version was released) and was hooked. I got my best friend hooked. So you could say that I'm on my 3rd purchase of that one as well.

My 2nd purchase of "Insomnia" is starting to fray, and my 1st-purchase "Bag of Bones" is starting to look a little rough. And I own a paperback of "Bag of Bones" for traveling.

[sarajlewis]

That depends...

I've gone through four or five paperback copies of Misery. I would loan them out and they would up and disappear, and a couple just kinda fell apart in my hands as well.

With the falling-apart-in-my-hands crowd, I'm also on my third paperback copies of both The Talisman and The Stand.

I enjoy hunting out used paperbacks at those tiny shops you sometimes see in unfamiliar strip malls, and the great majority of King paperbacks on my bookshelves have previously spent time in those establishments. Therefore, I'm never quite suprised when I find myself needing to replace a copy of a much-loved book.

[deltadog32]

Well, where do I start. I used to try and buy most of my books brand new. Then I started going to thrift stores where you could get used paperbacks for less than a dollar. So let me see... Tommyknockers, Bachman Books, Hearts in Atlantis, but the worst of them all is Different Seasons. The pages are all yellow from the heavy smoker who owned it before me and the covers are one good pull from coming off.

[LadyFingersarechewy]

Hands down, THINNER even my teens love that book. It scares the hell outta them.

[BlackRose]

My paperback of the Stand. I picked it up second hand in a bunch of books off Ebay. But personally it doesn't bother me, if a book is tatty looking I know it has been read well and enjoyed. :smile2:

[tooolgrl]

For me its my beloved Desperation, I have read it over and over, it has withstood many moves in which I have lost a lot of my SK books, much to my dismay, this one has somehow stayed with me.

[The Gooch]

My paperback of Tommyknockers. I bought it used which never helps, and the fact it took me so long to read it and I constantly travel with a book has left it to a point where I should consider recycling it and picking up a new copy for my bookshelf.

[Born In Sin]

Dreamscapes and Nightmares, my dog got a hold of it and ripped it up pretty good, thank God I had a second!

[Jula]

I still have 'The Tommy Knockers' book that I (cough, cough) borrowed from my mother when I was about 15. Still got it! lol. It's a little tattered now and frayed around the corners, but it's still readable. :)

[RhiRhi]

Id have to say IT or needful things.

[Phyxius]

Salem's Lot for me--it used to be my Dad's, and he bought it second hand. I've read it five or six times that I can remember and my brother's read it twice.

[Speedygi81]

My Green Mile books are pretty beat up.

[Frizz]

My most beat up novel is It, unfortunately it was me who beat it up as I have read it about 7 times. It is so long that I have to take it with me everywhere to read it and it takes a beating. But I have one to replace it, as I know it will not be the last time I will read it.

[Remotepart]

It for me too - it is still in one piece but is looking a little worse for wear! It is, however, my prized possesion. It is signed by the man himself! (He drew a balloon too!) Sorry, just bragging....:blush:

[Maelstrom]

All my King books are in pristine shape (except maybe some spaghetti sauce stains within) but I have a very old copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula that would fit the bill as being the most beat up book in my library.

[potato_master]

my most beat up king book has to be Carrie.i haven't had it long but it was rescued from a garage sale down my street for 25 cents. i love that book.

[dejolane]

I am proud to say all of my SK books are in Tip Top Shape !!!

Debbie

[slither20_03]

my paperback copy of dreamcatcher is pretty torn up got it at Traders Village i think its called. just outside of dallas. after the time i read it pages started to fall out of the back. my rose madder copy looks ok (hard cover) until you open it and the middle of the book falls out

[Brian's Twinner]

So far, in my collection of two (!), my hardcover copy of The Shining is somewhat beat-up...but I have more coming (mostly used copies), so time will tell. :p

[interplanetjanet]

My most beat-up copy is by far The Gunslinger. Everytime the next Dark Tower book came out I had to go back and re-read the other ones so by the time the last one was available the poor gunslinger looked pretty sad. That would be the one I would have Sai King sign for me.

[GarratyVStebbins]

My Different Seasons Hardcover is pretty beat up. But I bought it that way from the Salvation Army.

I haven't had the chance to re-read any King books because I want to read them all first.

[Aquaria89]

My copy of The Drawing of the Three is a bit tattered from being in a book bag and my now passed away rat chewed the cover of The Stand.

[Chassit1999]

The Stand. We've had that book since the 1990's.

[racheypen80]

I had a great copy of 'Salem's Lot when I was eight (I'm 27 now), but my mom threw it away because she didn't want me reading any of King's stuff. If she'd let me keep it- it would have been my most worn copy. Other than that I'd say my copy of Different Seasons is the most worn.

[TheRose]

Definitely the Bachman Books. It was passed down to me from my grandfather when I was a teen(I'm 30 now) and I've read it every couple of years since then. It has no front cover and the first few pages have to be shoved in the middle of the book. This go round, my son spilled some pop on it. Still readable though!

[dejolane]

We all must take pride in our Stephen King books. :grinning:

Debbie

[kingsthebest]

My book of the month club of The Shining. The dust jacket has several rips in it. It was like that when I bought it. The copyright is 1977 so it has been around for a while.

[idak88]

Carrie and Pet Sametary is quite beat up, because I bouhgt it second hand and they are from the 80's so they are quite old and that's why they are beaten up I think.

[naviboy95]

My Misery is just SCARY:oo::oo::oo:Hahaha the cover is creepy.The pages are fallen and more.....:biggrin2:

[MwNNrules]

I was given a copy of Hearts in Atlantis. The cover is falling off and the spine is pretty weak. It's paperback. Picture of Anthony Hopkins as Ted Brautigan. The former owner really used that one up. Either that, or he forgot about it, and put it up for sale.
My hardcover of Dreamcatcher doesn't have a cover. I once had the chance to buy a hardcover which did, but it wasn't as if my copy was in a different language. The only person who could prevent me from reading it was myself, and I wouldn't let something as minor as a cover stop me. I still wonder why the cover was missing, though.
A beat up copy isn't bad. It's a sign that you've read it, and don't mind its appearance.
All my other books are in fairly good condition. Some bent pages I guess, but that's no big deal.

[magrinch]

Insomnia. I've read it at least 3 times and my son has read it. I love Ralph and Lois.

[deeds]

My first SK book was the eyes of the dragon.I still have it over ten years later and it's ragged out,but it's still there.Also, after reading half of the talisman my rottweiler ate the last half of the book.stupid dog

[deeds]

My mom bought me my first hardcover SK book when i was about ten.I still have it and it's in rough condition.Also after reading the first half of The talisman my dog ate the last half.Dumb dog.

[Sundrop]

My paperback copy of Skeleton Crew

[cindianajones]

That'd be Christine. I've been schlepping her around since I got her by mistake in the Literary Guild monthly selection mailing. It was the greatest thing to ever come from my disorganization. I failed to return my Literary Guild selection card with the appropriate X's on the choices I did not want them to send me. So, one Friday evening I got the book in the mail. As fate would have it I had nothing else to read in the house so I was stuck-- I was mightily annoyed. So I read the first page, with my lip pooched out, expecting to loathe a story about a ****ing car. Instead the first page lead to the second and on and on and by Sunday oh, aruond 3 am-- I had finished it.

Since that time I've been on a Stephen King feeding frenzy. I think that was about '83 or so... but I could be mistaken.

God knew what I would enjoy-- so he made sure I got it.
:)
Cindy

[LadyPain]

My mom bought me my first hardcover SK book when i was about ten.I still have it and it's in rough condition.Also after reading the first half of The talisman my dog ate the last half.Dumb dog.

Oh man... that surely sucketh the hind teat... I hope you didn't have to spring for a vet bill after that on top of losing half of the Talisman.

[shaolin]

Mine has to be "IT." I got that book from my grandma when I was 12. I'm 30 now. That book has been across state lines, borrowed out, lost, taken away by teachers, and it always comes back to me somehow. The front picture of Pennywise is weird too, the eyes always seem to follow you. I'd make it a point to turn it face down when I got through reading. LOL!

[Ducky]

The two "Four past midnight"-books someone gave me for my birthday in the early 90's. The jackets are coming apart, the pages are turning yellow, but I love them. :smile2:

[kisun]

I found a used version of Eyes of the Dragon (paperback) and it was pretty torn up. You should see it now, lol!

[Cody44]

I keep all of my SK books in Mylar covers, because most are first editions. None of them are beat up, but my paperback copy of the Stand is in circulation around the school it seems.

I gave it to a friend, after I bought the hardback (It was my first Stephen King Book.) Its been passed to about 15 people, pretty cool to go to friends houses and see it in their rooms, knowing that they are enjoying it just as much as I did.

[JohnDalglish]

Hi,

And don't we just love them too, in a way that a pristine, first edition couldn't touch.

(Doesn't stop me buying pristine first editions though LOL).

Long days and pleasant nights

[nancy cosgrove]

All of my early books are rather tatty but it's just because they are well-loved and well -used. I have lost count of how many copies of "The Stand" Ihave bought over the years.I have lent them to various friends and lost copies over the years; I have also wore them out.Most of the later ones are in hard-back and are in quite good condition and I am wary of lending books out now:biggrin2:

[MrBobGray]

I have a very small, paperback version of IT. The front and back covers have both fallen off. And, as a result, the first and last few pages are torn and bent.

OOPS.

-Peace.

[soontobehorrorwriter]

Oh "The Stand" definitely.

[anth_knight]

I have a paperback copy of Christine, the first one I ever bought and read. It's been read somewhere in the region of fifteen times and is falling to pieces. Just as well I've got another eight copies lying around :)

[ellaina]

My most beat-up book by far is my paperback Thinner. I think it must be my oldest book. The cover is torn and no longer attached to the pages, and the pages split into two sections that are now just cradled in the loose cover. It also kinda smells... :dunno:

I like to read in the bath, so I also have quite a few swollen books :D

[henrythomasgirl]

None of mine. I am very gentle with books so all mine look brand-new. :)

[ihavepromisestokeep]

Has to be Talisman. Read it at least 5 times. Was a real life saver when my Dad died.

[marew1]

My books are in good shape. A book I had did have a real bookworm in it (not a King book). That freaked me.

[Agincourt Concierge]

It's a tie...paperback Talisman or paperback Nightshift....both have been read and re-read too many times to count. Both have been folded, spindled and mutilated...

[Tery]

My trade paperback copy of Danse Macabre has definitely seen better days.

[professornutbudder]

My copy of It that I got the day it was released wayyyyyyy back in '85. I had to retire it to the bookshelf permanently a few years ago. The ink has about been read off the pages of that one.

[JayneH]

I retired my paperback version of the Stand a couple of moths ago... cant bring myself to throw it out as I have had it many years now and read it many times. But will be buying a new copy soon ready for when the urge hits again

[Nero]

4 Minutes to Midnight and The Regulators are my most beat-up, I believe.

[bex35]

Mine is Cujo and Tommyknockers, both pinched from hostels (TK - new zealand, Cujo - fiji).
They've travelled with me and are in tatters!

[Jane]

I'm trying to finish the Talisman before all the pages blow away! cheap paperbacks grrrr
well I've only had it like 15 years I guess! The spine glue is shot so big chunx of pages are falling out.

[dejolane]

I am proud to say none of mine are beaten up.

Debbie

[pixiedark]

Let's see: My paperback of The Stand is beat up because my son ripped 5 pages out of it and I scotch taped it back together. Then there is a paperback copy of The Bachman books that is old and creased. My other beat up book is The Dark Tower 4 which I dropped in the toilet. Thank goodness it was just a paperback!

[KatieScarlet]

My copy of The Gunslinger (stolen from a certain sister who hangs around the board sometimes...Hi Mrs. Smeej!) would have to be the book by SK that I read despite its condition. I could hardly make out the words on some pages. What does she do to these things?? It was waaaay worth it though~

[elysian]

It would have been my original copy of The Stand (early hardcover, original "cut" version, swiped from my parents), but I seem to have gotten rid of it at some point. So, the most beaten I have is It. Again, early hardcover swiped from parents ;) It lost its dustjacket long ago, and I just discovered it's also missing the first 200 pages. :glare: Guess I need a new one!

[Sexy Mcmanbeast]

Definitely my copy of the Talisman, either that or my copy of the gunslinger, cuz I got it from a used bookstore when I was like 15, so roughly...ten years ago.

[knarf]

My most beat up book would prob. be my copy of Skeleton Crew I bought it from a thrift store for 50 cents when i was like 10 years old..its trashed...but readable

[o2paint]

"The Stand" because I love that book and have reread it a couple of times. It's from my college days so it's a paperback and couldn't handle the pressure :-D

"On Writing" has also been read a few times. I keep hoping if I read it enough times something will magically rub off and I will be able to write prolifically AND well!

[phidgt]

My copy of The Stand has definitely seen better days. The dust jacket is long gone. It's the mongo unabridged version in hardcover and I would just chuck it in my backpack to have it on hand for whenever a reading moment presented itself. It's also my absolute favorite book.

[RhiRhi]

Mine has to be IT so used and read.

[agent4CK]

My copy of The Talisman, and my copy of Needful Things are both in pretty battered condition.

[wailingpaddle]

Definately my first copy of IT. Not sure how it happened but all the middle pages just started to fall out. Now my book knows what it's like to go bald.

[dejolane]

My most beat up book would prob. be my copy of Skeleton Crew I bought it from a thrift store for 50 cents when i was like 10 years old..its trashed...but readable

Time for a new copy knarf. :biggrin2:
Debbie

[MrsSmeej]

My copy of The Gunslinger (stolen from a certain sister who hangs around the board sometimes...Hi Mrs. Smeej!) would have to be the book by SK that I read despite its condition. I could hardly make out the words on some pages. What does she do to these things?? It was waaaay worth it though~

Hmmmm..... So that's where my copy went. "Give me back my dust catcher."

Only teasing honey. Okay, not really... Give it back. :wink2:

[BlackThorn]

Probably 'The Waste Lands'.

I carried this book around with me in my high-school napsack for a while, and I used to go sneak off when I got a chance to skip a class or a study hall, and I'd go find a spot under the stairs behind everything and read it. Kind of how the boy does in 'The Never Ending Story.' Once, a teacher came out and found me reading, and just looked at me, saw that I was only reading, and left without saying a word. He didn't report me or anything either.

Eh, I graduated, so I must have been doing something right.

But it's such a big book, the edges and corners are pretty frayed from being shoved in an already overloaded book-bag.

[ebutler]

Mine has to IT read it so many times, even tried to get a hard back copy but there doesn't seem to be any here in England, so guess I'll just have to buy another paper back.

[belynne333]

It. I am on my third copy: my 1st was a paperback from when I read it in the 5th grade. . . it went everywhere with me and it was passed around to share some gory passages (still have that copy). My 2nd was a used a hardcover that I read to death. The front and back covers are gone but the story is still intact. Now I have a gently used hardcover that's in great condition. It is my most read book and I keep the 1st and 2nd copies as evidence of my SK obsession!

[aussiewonder]

I dont have a most beat up book, because I am so careful not to damage them in any
way, I suppose my paperback copy of the stand, might qualify, it has weathered just with age.

[Gillie]

My copy of Night Shift (paperback) has no front cover, although I use the inner cover with the eyes on it as a book mark, and is held together with a rubberband. :smile2:

[BRUMMIEYID]

Hi,
My most beaten up copy is a 3rd re-print futura paperback UK edition of the Dead Zone.
I picked it up for 75p on a stall at a carboot sale a few years ago!!!

[duf70]

Hi,
My most beat up SK book is Four Past Midnight. The cover was somehow real thin that it worn out with its use. The other one that was real damaged, it got really battered on a house move, is Needful Things.
Keep reading!

[C.Entragain]

I have a paperback of Skeleton Crew that a friend gave me that looks like it got drug behind a car for about 6 miles!!

[FranklinBR]

Well the destruction is of my part. I pretty much destroy the Gunslinger series and IT. I have the original hardbacks kept in a safe place, but when I want to read, and reread, again and again, which will tear up the books, its usually paperbacks that fall apart. Thus my most beaten up SK books are the Dark Tower series and IT.

[ellisd]

my most beaten copy is my paperback copy of IT which was purchased brand new 14 years ago or so, has since, fallen apart:sad:

[JRLauer]

I found a hard back UK version of Skeleton Crew at a used book store. The spine was coming apart, but I managed to repair it, somewhat.
:oo:

[sinfiniti]

my THIRD paperback copy of The Stand

[sknut70]

Definately IT. I have a few signed books, but IT is something I have read and re read so many times. I had him sign it, but its definatley not worth anything it sooo beat up

[The Uncool]

I have a beatup paperback of Salem's Lot that is being held together with packing tape and Elmer's glue. I keep it because it was the first King book I read and was passed down to me in bad shape to begin with from my Mom.

[all dead rock band]

Gotta say IT as well. From the ages eleven through to around twenty two, I read it at the very least once a year. The thing has ultra thin bible pages, they started falling out like bad teeth and sticky tape permeates the book these days. I don't dare read it again, so I got the audio book.

[Eddie D]

IT has had the most handling, closely followed by The Stand.

[bopropadop]

The Stand. It looks like a pile of pulp.

[Georgie's cousin Nick]

I am sure I am not the only person who has a battered book or two. Hopefully you are not the one who did the damage. What does it look like?

My most battered King book is "From a Buick8". I rescued it from a library book sale for 25 cents. The bottom righthand corner was chewed off. A rat got at it. The rest of the book looks like it might have been shared with all of the Stephen King fans in Canada before I got my hands on it. It's really worn out.

I looked at that book for a while before I read it. It was attacked by the kind of critters that usually end up in the novels. Somehow, it seems appropriate to have a book like that once in a while.

Quid pro quo.

Well, I'm sitting here looking at my copy of "The Bachman Books" (four novels in one) and it has industrial clear tape on the binding to keep it in one piece. I know my copy of "The Stand" from 1979 or so has maybe one reading left in it before all the pages cease to exist for good.

[Marty]

A few years ago a co-worker gave me a bagfull of books. One turned out to be a 1st edition of Salem's Lot. This book looks like absolute HELL! I'm very proud to be its caretaker. Before that it was the Talisman. While having it signed I actually apoliged to Peter Straub. He said the really used ones were his favorites.
Marty

[JohnDalglish]

Well, I'm sitting here looking at my copy of "The Bachman Books" (four novels in one) and it has industrial clear tape on the binding to keep it in one piece. I know my copy of "The Stand" from 1979 or so has maybe one reading left in it before all the pages cease to exist for good.

Hi,

Welcome to the MB, and keep posting.

Yeah, I've got a copy of The Stand just like that, and I'm obviously not the only one here with a seriously battered copy LOL

Long days and pleasant nights

[aspergillus]

Skeleton Crew. Can't remember how I obtained it, but have done a lot of the damage myself just reading, carrying, etc. I usually take better care of my books, but this is one of my favorites.

[Haunted]

My unabridged edition of The Stand.

[Georgie's cousin Nick]

Hi,

Welcome to the MB, and keep posting.

Yeah, I've got a copy of The Stand just like that, and I'm obviously not the only one here with a seriously battered copy LOL

Long days and pleasant nights

My 15 year old son asked to read my copy of "The Stand" but I went out and bought him his own copy. This thing would never stand up to a teenager LOL. I think it's as fun to discuss his opinions of the King books as it was to read them for the first time when I was not much older than him. He thought "Duma Key" was awesome and I am struggling to get through it. Oh, to have the wonderful brain of a 15 year old again! He read it in like 3 days.

[super_nova]

I've replaced 'IT' about 4 times, 'From a Buick 8' Twice. Not to mention 'Carrie', 'Cujo', 'The Stand' and 'Needful Things' a couple of times each. About to get another copy of 'Skeleton Crew' and 'Night Shift'. Most ragged at the moment though is 'Christine'. Having a bit of trouble finding it in the shops, so I have to wait to replace it.

[Marianne]

My most beat-up SK books are: Desperation, The Regulators, Needful Things and The Talisman. They're all paperbacks and you can hardly read what it says on the spine of them :oops:

[Sanctuary]

I have an old copy of Cujo that, ironically, my dog chewed up.

[hipmamajen]

I posted earlier in this thread about my copy of The Stand Uncut. But, in the meantime, IT completely fell apart and I had to tape it back together. I posted about it in the thread I and T (http://www.stephenking.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7396) but forgot to come back and update this thread.

Books are so fragile :(

[Ubasti]

I recently acquired a rather gnarly looking 1st edition of The Stand. It has a lot of personality.

[cheerios]

My Stephen King books always seem to suffer. Actually, all my books suffer. I have a battered Salem's Lot from a charity shop that some kind soul scrawled all over before giving it to Cancer Research, and I didn't think they were allowed to sell drawn on books, but apparently they are. It's just a very ugly looking book, haha. Other than the usual wear and tear, I have a yellowed copy of 'The Shining' completely lacking a cover and a couple of pages [publishing info, fortunately], thanks to my delightful friends, and another charity shop copy of 'The Dark Half' that somehow got ripped in half.

Criminal, huh? I really -should- take better care of my books.

Incidentally, I laughed at the dog-mawled Cujo a lot. Really, a -lot-.

[BeepBeepJenny]

Hello Friend,
My first copy of "IT"- paperback. The cover completely ripped off.

[Dark Reader]

The majority of my books are second hand and most of the paper backs are pretty beaten up, but still readable which is the main thing :wink2:

[fredo]

Night Shift. Bought a paperback copy when it first came out. Beat to heck.

[~Ally~]

Most of my books are pretty beaten up too but strangely i have read my copy of IT more than any other book and it seems to be holding up amazingly..pretty indestructable really:smile2:

[Medeann]

Hearts In Atlantas. The poor thing is about to fall apart :(

[TheWalkinDude]

Sorry ... But I couldnt imagine damaging a Stephen King book (just refer to my profile pic).

[Sterling]

None of them are in horrible shape, but IT is in the worst shape of them all.

[Greg]

The Bachman books. I got it quite some time ago at a local library in Lancaster, PA for $1.00. It had crease splits down the spine and I think an old remnant of gum on the cover.

[jacobtlong]

Dreamcatcher, The Dead Zone, Christine, and Dolores Claiborne aren't in great condition. All of them were bought from a used bookstore. I guess the previous owners put some serious mileage on them.

[Flayer]

I have a used copy of Firestarter that is falling to pieces.

[trekker28]

My copy of The Green Mile looks like a beat up piece of crap. I've read it 8 times, i think.

[Jay77]

IT(is raggedy Anne and Andy's -rarely spoken of- triplet) and my best copy is a first edition The Stand hardcover (which, as you can see, I am very proud of :D).

[Sheila Carlyle]

I keep all my hardbacks in pretty good shape, if I'm leaving the house w/a book, though, I try to make it a paperback...a lot of those look like they've been rode hard and put away wet.

S.

[Vegetable in Glasses]

Eyes of the Dragon - which I inherited from my mom. The whole family read it on a long car trip when I was, I think, in 5th grade or so. And we loved our cheese doodles, so there are some sister-shaped finger prints.

[honey_roasted_orc_ears]

Mine would have to be The Gun Slinger,a paperback ,my dad got it in the 80's when it first came out. Not only has he read it countless times, my bro and I have too.

[Susielikesit]

Have to say it's Different Seasons. Found it on the floor in high school. The pages were "graffitied" and the back cover was missing. My husky chewed it a couple years ago and I still have it. It's approximately 20 years old...yipes!

[arachnapheobia]

mine would have to be Night Shift. one thing i have to tell you, if you love your books, never give it to a firend!!! i got the book back, and the cover, the next day!!!

[Kurt Rambis throwback]

IT

I jacked it from my uncle in 1990

[Seussy]

The Stand, but it isn't in bad condition.

[BTRNYC]

Uncut Paperback Edition of The Stand. Had to staple the cover back on after I finished it. You can't fit all that goodness in a regular sized paperback. Ha.

[Patricia A]

My paperback copy of On Writing, but it's all good. :smile2:

[paul yates]

My copy of the stand fell to pieces last time i read it and the back cover of wizard and glass as fallen of its very upsetting

[Claire3007]

IT.....and closely followed by The Stand :smile2:

[ComeUntoSweetDeath]

Insomnia.. the jacket cover is ripping.. Even though i've only read it twice

[bryras]

Mine is Cujo. I got a paperback copy from a yard sale and it was pretty beat up. I read through it once and it was pretty much destroyed. I eventually brought it in to work and had it rebound. We do a lot of printing so we also have binding equipment. It looks almost new again!

[hemingway2z]

Oh yes, beat-up books, aren't they cool.
My beat-up King books? Some have been donated to libraries.
Some I find in donation boxes in front of book store's as "overstock"
And the one's that are underlined with penned in foot notes are the best.
Then there are the used King books that seem to have been never read at all?
Those are found where ever there is a used stuff store or almost anywhere.
Odd though, old beat-up books are in more demand than old beat-up people?
Maybe some day there will be an old beat-up book about old beat-up people?

How about a nice Hawaiian Punch?

Was there a Jack Dempsy in the house?

[JackTheRipper]

I would say Salem (Pocket Books edition with SK's intro) cuz it's taped up...but that's a partial lie... We had ants at one point and they ate the points where the spine meets the covers. But The Stand (most recent paperback Signet edition), those same points are coming off and not by ants :P and I haven't even finished it once!

[Mistress Sawyer]

IT...I got it from someone else who got it from someone else etc.... :)

[GetRichie99]

My paperback of The Bachman books, which is completely falling apart to the point where I'm afraid to open it. This is horrible because the more time I spend on this board the more I want to reread Rage and The Long Walk, both awesome stories.Maybe the book fairy will find me another copy :smile2:

[Checkman]

Danse Macabre and The Stand.

[lessanguish9]

The "Bare Bones Interviews". I found that one in a library here in N.C. about thirteen years ago -- is that lucky, or, unlucky? -- and have read it about two dozen times.

[dark_entity]

Nightmares and Dreamscapes.

My husband gave it to me for my birthday years ago.

[JohnDalglish]

Nightmares and Dreamscapes.

My husband gave it to me for my birthday years ago.

Hi,

Welcome to the MB, and keep posting!

Re-reading N&D at the minute myself, and mine's pretty battered too.

Long days and pleasant nights

[bopropadop]

Until recently it was The Stand. Then one evening, playing the addictive trivia game over in the social forums, I had reason to pull my old copy of Firestarter off the shelf. The back cover fell off. Just fell right the hell off. Pages have since departed the binding as well.

Planning a Viking funeral this weekend and trip to the bookstore for a replacement.

[sgmonje]

My most beat-up SK book is The Shining, I am on my second copy because the first copy was falling apart at the seams and the pages were falling out. I bought my second copy when the TV miniseries came out and that copy is currently being held together by a rubber band and some tape. Maybe I should stop carrying books around in my back pocket...haha.

[Pyro]

Pet sematary. Got it at a library booksale for 1$. The covers falling off (hardcover) and they're coffee stains on alot of the pages. Seems as though someone had a good tiem reading the book...:oh:

[TBlack]

"The Stand" has traveled with me from Pennsylvania-To Maine-To Nova Scotia- across Canada- To Michigan-down to Tennesee & back up the East Coast to New York.
IT IS just a little dog-eared!

[NiceGuyCody]

My paperback Signet copy of IT pretty much melted in my hands after the second reading. :laugh:

[Matthew.Degnan]

I most beat up King book would have to be Night Shift- I have the original paperback, got it the day it came out and have read it over 30, or 40 times (i forget :smile2: )

I wont ever replace it because it was the first king book i ever bought.

Matthew.

[RainOfNineteen]

The Gunslinger. I've read it so much it's pretty much just for looks now.

[Jeannie812]

I am sure I am not the only person who has a battered book or two. Hopefully you are not the one who did the damage. What does it look like?

My most battered King book is "From a Buick8". I rescued it from a library book sale for 25 cents. The bottom righthand corner was chewed off. A rat got at it. The rest of the book looks like it might have been shared with all of the Stephen King fans in Canada before I got my hands on it. It's really worn out.

I looked at that book for a while before I read it. It was attacked by the kind of critters that usually end up in the novels. Somehow, it seems appropriate to have a book like that once in a while.

Quid pro quo.

I used to be a huge King fan. I stopped reading novels somewhere in life. Now days my idea of reading is a shampoo label while I'm on the john. I don't know how I lost my love for reading. To answer your post about my most tattered King book. I'd say it was the one with the lobstrosities on the beach. I can't remember the name of the book, but I do remember that I craved lobster for years.

[JohnDalglish]

I used to be a huge King fan. I stopped reading novels somewhere in life. Now days my idea of reading is a shampoo label while I'm on the john. I don't know how I lost my love for reading. To answer your post about my most tattered King book. I'd say it was the one with the lobstrosities on the beach. I can't remember the name of the book, but I do remember that I craved lobster for years.

Hi,

Drawing of the Three; have you read the rest of the Dark Tower cycle?

Long days and pleasant nights

[gclark]

i would have to say the first 4 books of the dark tower series. I read through each at least 10 times after i got them, and they were pretty beat up at that time. Can't beat those used book stores. and although i recently recieved the revised book 1 for christmas, (two years ago i think) i have yet to replace the other 3. I'll probably be going for all hardcover king books from here on out. and maybe a good book marker or two. :biggrin2:

[LadyHitchhiker]

I have worn out 12 copies of the Stand and am working on 15. I currently have three copies of it in varying states of disarray, the most recent one being an unabridged in the best condition (with my favorite cover, with the crow on it), one missing a cover (a gift from a friend and a cut version), and one very dog-eared unabridged.

[Jack Frost]

That would be my first paperback copy of "IT". I think I made it through a good 8 readings or so before the pages started falling out. The cover has been taped on several times. With the pages falling out I just decided it was too dangerous to keep trying to read that one (I'd hate to actually lose some of the pages). I'm on the 3rd/4th read on my new paperback. Seems to be holding up okay so far!

[Annarkie]

I'm on my second Hardcover of IT because I read it to death...My paparback of Insomnia is taped together, but I don't know how long it's gonna hold

[tess4da]

'IT', paperback 1987. This book's seen more of life than I have, but I've read it in several of these United States, Britain and Germany, and through Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav. Read it in labor, too. :)

[Spooky]

Man, I think it's a toss up between IT and The Stand. Both copies are the first edition paperbacks, and are not in the best shape. Both books, unfortunately, have the covers torn off. I really want to try and replace them with hardcovers. Otherwise, most of my SK books are in generally good shape.

[loobylou]

my version of the stand is in the worst shape ever, all the pages have fallen out and are sort of half taped back in, theres some baby milk all over about 50 pages (it dried and i pulled them apart lol) i would get rid of it but its the first ever king book i read. it was second hand then and that was around 15 years ago, so its gotta be ancient. oh and i love it x

[tedthepowerman]

When I was in 6th grade, I had a paperback movie tie-in copy of Dreamcatcher that I transported back and forth to school for about 6 months in my bookbag. It took me forever to finish it, and by the time I finally did, the cover was missing completely, about 10 random pages had been accidentally torn out, and several others were ripped in half horizontally. I eventually threw it out because it was in such bad condition. Pretty good story though!

[jellydonut25]

I have a copy of The Talisman that is nearly unreadable, destroyed two copies of The Stand, and my paperback Bachman Books collection and Different Seasons are not fairing too well right now...neither one has a cover anymore.

[Silhouette86]

Mine would have to be the first edition paperback of "The Stand". The cover's gone, some pages are clinging on for dear life. It's quite the sight.

[gniknehpets]

My poor first edition hardcover of Cujo. I bought it when it first came out, read it, then loaned it to my nephew who then loaned it to all his school friends. Tape and love are all that hold it together now.

[muskrat]

My PB copy of THE STAND has no cover, it's been read to death. Before that I owned a hardback that also got read to death, fell apart. They don't make 'em like they used to.

Tell ya what I'm gonna do, though. See, a coupla years back, I found an original PB of the old edited version of THE STAND, and I bought it for the cover (I love that cover, those scary eyes over a blue/purple evening desert sky). I'm gonna take THAT cover, and have it bound onto the coverless PB of the restored version. I think it'd be sweet, a custom job that nobody but me will have.

No, I don't have a life at the moment. Why do you ask?

[king family fan]

I am not really thinking I have any as i have replaced all that were in bad shape. One of my Dark towers was taped together thou. Looked rough but also was used when I bought it.

[DebA913]

The paperback copy of The Talisman I have is probably the one I gave the hardest time!! My pb copy of It is a mess! I've taped the cover on, but somehow the spine part is missing:dunno:.And the first few pages refuse to stay attached. And my copy of The Bachman books is also pretty worn out, but I got it used and it wasn't in that great of shape at the time.

[prufrock21]

I do not collect beat up SK books. (It might even be sacriligeous to do so.) All my SK books are in good to excellent condition, even after I have read them. I have a paperback copy of The Stand (complete and unabridged) whose pages have yellowed, but otherwise is in good shape. I have traded two SK books--hardbacks, mind you--and for this I know I will one day be punished.

http://www.stephenking.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=13301&thumb=1&d=1313676786 (http://www.stephenking.com/forums/album.php?albumid=1438)

[cat in a bag]

My paperback copy of It is missing the cover and it has electrical tape holding the first 50 or so pages in. (Don't ask me why I used electrical tape, I don't remember--it was probably the only thing I could find!)

My paperback Four Past Midnight has some loose pages in The Langoliers, and so does my paperback The Dark Half.

My paperback of the original The Stand is also missing its cover. Oddly, my paperback of the unabridged version is in pretty good condition, and it is the one I have read the most times!

All of my hardbacks are in great condition, though. :smile2:

[91rewoT]

I just found this thread - got nauseous and started sweating as I read each subsequent account of folded, bent, taped, coverless, King books...I think I need to go lie down for awhile. *takes a deep breath and curls into fetal position*

[Speedygi81]

I guess my copy of Danse Macabre has seen better days...

[1BachmanKing9]

My dog Cujo all but demolished my copy of Wolves of the Calla, and I let a friend of mine read it as I was supplying him with the stories of the Dark Tower cycle. He was still able to read it.

[Mookie]

I always take the dust jackets off of my books....I am pretty hard on them. The books are holding up better thank heaven!!

[Alexandra19]

I should throw my copy of The Shining out because it looks like Hell, but for some reason I can't.
My mum actually spilled a whole thermos bottle full of hot water on the book and Shelley Duval on the cover is pretty blurry now...
My copy of The Stand is pretty old, pages are yellow and some of them a bit torn, plus there is sand between some pages because I've read it on the beach (among other places) but at least I've wrapped it in plastic.
I'm not sure one wraps a book in plastic, but anyway it's pretty much what I did, I'm not manual at all...

[Shoe]

My copies of The Drawing of the Three and The Talisman are both held together with duct tape. Although I am not the original owner of either one.

[ghost19]

My paperback copy of Eyes of the Dragon looks like it was originally checked out from the Delain public library.....well read book that one is.......

[furrawn]

Most of my books are in great condition because I am a bit prissy with my books... but my hardcover copy of The Stand uncut was from a used bookstore... I bought it when I was in college sans dust jacket... I read that book every year - and whenever there's a crisis in the U.S. that makes me want to hunker down and prepare for the worst... It's my go-to book... It looks and feels like an old friend... and there are some tears on its pages... and maybe a few stray spots from an index finger orange from eating Tang:blush:

[Velouria]

My most "beat up" SK book is The Shining :-)
It is still my favorite!
My non-SK books in poor shape from reading are probably from Edward P. Roe, Jane Austen, and L.M. Montgomery.

[larchi]

i got most of my SK's second hand, so they all tell a story (pun intended-lol) but my copy of cujo takes first prize. it's kinda my 'hold all' book, have it on me just in case i get stuck for 2 hours on a metro, and now it's shaped to fit me rump :)
but i like a tatty book- well read, well loved

[Out of Order]

It's a tight race between Pet Sematary and Skeleton Crew followed closely by The Shining, Night Shift and Cujo.............well Christine is pretty well trashed as well.

Perhaps I could tell you what books are still in good shape?? :wink2:

[King fan from trinidad]

Stephen king goes to the movies.
I passed this book around to many people who don't really take care of books like i do but it was worth it as it made about 4 new king fans and all of them now own over 5 of his books!

[MelissaConstantReader]

The Running Man. It is a pretty old copy that I got at the thrift store. You can really tell that a number of people wrapped the pages around the book while reading.

[fushingfeef]

My "Under the Dome" got surprisingly beat up after one reading...I think it was just so big it got banged around a lot.

My most worn out King-related book is The Road to the Dark Tower by Bev Vincent. This is basically the Dark Tower handbook/user's guide, so I refer to it a lot.