#i literally got into college with an essay about stephen king 👑

[jennifersbod]

as a fellow stephen king girly, what are some of your favorite king recs?? looking for my next pick and thinking maybe salem’s lot or the stand… thots??

both of those are great! the stand is a long, long read so make sure you have time to invest. salem’s lot is a classic for a reason BUT definitely had some issues holding up when i tried to reread it (maybe i just wasn’t in the mood when i tried idk). my most recent was revival, which shocked me how good it was- especially the ending! it had some great references to a certain famous classic horror novel by a woman (don’t want to spoil it), but it mixes that with some really bleak cosmic horror that is very unlike his other works. i’ve also found craig dilouie (children of red peak and episode 13 are his best) and ronald malfi (come with me and black mouth are his best i’ve read) have similar styles to king so give them a read if you need that vibe.

my faves in no order:

carrie (my first stephen and what got me into “adult” horror)

the shining + doctor sleep (personally think doctor sleep is so underrated and too many people couldn’t get past the vampire-esque concept)

salem’s lot (also like the best adaptation of this is midnight mass despite not being an adaptation and i hope flanagan continues his original novel that he posted an excerpt from)

IT (can’t explain how much this one means to me; read it while listening to cobra starship and fall out boy if you want my middle school Experience™️ reading it)

pet sematary (it’s a classic for a reason but watch out because i felt this one did women especially dirty)

rose madder (a deep cut that stephen himself hates but i absolutely love- big tw’s for domestic violence though)

gerald’s game (also the movie lives up to and may surpass the book)

joyland (a kind of sweet coming-of-age/noir slow burn that’s a really tame but quick read)

christine (i’m from pittsburgh where it takes place so it’s special to me and its best adaptation is actually Halloween Ends and if anyone wants to discuss that further with me please do)

11/22/63 (great if you like historical fiction and for a quick cameo by some IT characters!)