Doctor Sleep Before The Shining?

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king4aday

Well-Known Member
Apr 22, 2013
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155
Please, do not hate me for saying this but I have never read The Shining. I know, I know...bad kitty. But I recently purchased Doctor Sleep and when I finish soaking in every delectable word of every glorious page of Mr. Mercedes I plan to dive into Doctor Sleep. *But* Would that be unwise since I haven't read The Shining? I have seen every movie adaptation of the book but by the time I discovered the delicious treasure trove of literary terror that is The Stephen King library, I had skipped over it and went on to read other works by him. So, should I postpone my date with Doctor Sleep until I read The Shining? Or since I have seen the movie(s) would it be alright to go ahead and book an appointment with the old Doc?

Thanks ahead for any help.
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Please, do not hate me for saying this but I have never read The Shining. I know, I know...bad kitty. But I recently purchased Doctor Sleep and when I finish soaking in every delectable word of every glorious page of Mr. Mercedes I plan to dive into Doctor Sleep. *But* Would that be unwise since I haven't read The Shining? I have seen every movie adaptation of the book but by the time I discovered the delicious treasure trove of literary terror that is The Stephen King library, I had skipped over it and went on to read other works by him. So, should I postpone my date with Doctor Sleep until I read The Shining? Or since I have seen the movie(s) would it be alright to go ahead and book an appointment with the old Doc?

Thanks ahead for any help.
I would not bother reading The Shining. He makes a few references to it, but the Shining was written so long ago, much of it was forgotten by me when I read Doctor Sleep, so I do not think it will make a difference to your reading enjoyment.
I thought Doctor Sleep was a great read by the way!
 

Moderator

Ms. Mod
Administrator
Jul 10, 2006
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It didn't matter for me. I read Doctor Sleep first and then listened to the audiobook of The Shining months later. Like you, I felt I knew enough about the plot of The Shining that it wasn't necessary to read it first and still feel that way.
 

AnnaMarie

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Feb 16, 2012
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It is fine as a stand alone book. However, I chose to reread The Shining first, and I'm glad I did. Partly because The Shining is just such a great book. Why wouldn't you want to read it!

Doctor Sleep does NOT follow either movie. It follows the book.
 

King fan from trinidad

Order of the rose
Dec 15, 2011
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Trinidad W.I.
It didn't matter for me. I read Doctor Sleep first and then listened to the audiobook of The Shining months later. Like you, I felt I knew enough about the plot of The Shining that it wasn't necessary to read it first and still feel that way.

Wait so you didn't read (or in your case heard) The Shining until he gave you Dr Sleep to read :apathy:
 

Baldeagle79

New Member
Jun 21, 2014
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Please, do not hate me for saying this but I have never read The Shining. I know, I know...bad kitty. But I recently purchased Doctor Sleep and when I finish soaking in every delectable word of every glorious page of Mr. Mercedes I plan to dive into Doctor Sleep. *But* Would that be unwise since I haven't read The Shining? I have seen every movie adaptation of the book but by the time I discovered the delicious treasure trove of literary terror that is The Stephen King library, I had skipped over it and went on to read other works by him. So, should I postpone my date with Doctor Sleep until I read The Shining? Or since I have seen the movie(s) would it be alright to go ahead and book an appointment with the old Doc?

Thanks ahead for any help.
I'm in the same boat. I was a bit young for The Shining at the time, and only saw Kubrick's movie version (which was obviously panned by King). I recently read Mr. Mercedes and then went directly to Doctor Sleep. It was a fantastic read from my perspective, but I will definitely have to read The Shining sometime soon! Enjoy!
 

Moderator

Ms. Mod
Administrator
Jul 10, 2006
52,243
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Maine
Wait so you didn't read (or in your case heard) The Shining until he gave you Dr Sleep to read :apathy:
That's right. I still haven't read all of his work--mostly the stories that were written before I came to work for him. I've tried to keep up with the new material but even with that, I've missed some of the short stories.
 

ReallyRosie

Well-Known Member
Mar 26, 2014
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South Carolina
Well, Doctor Sleep does not require knowledge of The Shinning to understand or enjoy, I just can't fathom why someone would want to read it out of order. I always try to respect what, how, and when an author released something, and I personally want to read it in the way it was intended.
 

king4aday

Well-Known Member
Apr 22, 2013
53
155
I'm in the same boat. I was a bit young for The Shining at the time, and only saw Kubrick's movie version (which was obviously panned by King). I recently read Mr. Mercedes and then went directly to Doctor Sleep. It was a fantastic read from my perspective, but I will definitely have to read The Shining sometime soon! Enjoy!

Exactly. I was just a bit too young at the time The Shining came out. Especially with the first line in the first chapter of the book containing the word..., well you know. My parents didn't want me to get into that just yet so it was bypassed. I went straight into Greek mythology and then on to Mary Shelley and others and by the time I went back to Mr. King other works by him had caught my interest. Not an intentional skip but just never went back after having seen the movie and television adaptations of it. I'll eventually go back but man, I have a hard time waiting on Revival.
 
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