I first picked up a paperback copy of Salem's Lot that my mother owned when I was still in elementary school. This was probably not the best idea, but I soon found myself in that group of 'cool' (in our minds) Junior High kids who had, on more than one occasion, had their copies of IT confiscated during 2nd period Geography class by a an ill-tempered Mrs. Heidelberg who proclaimed that "such sacrilegious garbage didn't belong in schools." To my dismay, one of my fellow King readers shot back "You shouldn't talk about RELIGION in SCHOOLS!" I don't believe in the supernatural, but her face definitely changed shape when she pointed at the door and screamed at the top of her lungs to "GET OUT OF MY CLASS!"
I took a LONG hiatus from Stephen King reading sometime around 9th or 10th grade. For whatever reason, I felt that I needed to use my left-brain, focus on math and science, join the service, build a career, and a really REALLY large family (7 kids - Catholic wife...actually, reverse that order
... she's great...and a bigger reader than I am at heart).
My point is this...I went from reading young man Stephen King novels to a more refined 11.22.63. I felt like it was his masterpiece. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, which should go without saying on a StephenKing.com board, but I also felt that Stephen King had gotten better in a way. Hemingway, I believe, said you have to write 10,000 pages of crap before anything good comes out (I'm paraphrasing...I don't even know if Hemingway said it, but I like it). Stephen King did this probably by the time he was 18 years old, but he's also probably written 10,000 pages of GOOD STUFF! I wonder what happens then?
Of course there is the possibility that it's an illusion. I did get older, and hopefully more mature and wiser. Is it just that you can enjoy Stephen King books better with a bit of maturity? In either case, I am looking forward to reading more of his more recent works, as well as some of the stuff I missed.
Now, on to my point. This link may or may not be silly, offensive, or funny to you,but I usually enjoy these types of things, so I thought I'd share. Stephen King kicks Edgar Allan Poe's tail in a "rap battle" ...
I took a LONG hiatus from Stephen King reading sometime around 9th or 10th grade. For whatever reason, I felt that I needed to use my left-brain, focus on math and science, join the service, build a career, and a really REALLY large family (7 kids - Catholic wife...actually, reverse that order
... she's great...and a bigger reader than I am at heart). My point is this...I went from reading young man Stephen King novels to a more refined 11.22.63. I felt like it was his masterpiece. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, which should go without saying on a StephenKing.com board, but I also felt that Stephen King had gotten better in a way. Hemingway, I believe, said you have to write 10,000 pages of crap before anything good comes out (I'm paraphrasing...I don't even know if Hemingway said it, but I like it). Stephen King did this probably by the time he was 18 years old, but he's also probably written 10,000 pages of GOOD STUFF! I wonder what happens then?
Of course there is the possibility that it's an illusion. I did get older, and hopefully more mature and wiser. Is it just that you can enjoy Stephen King books better with a bit of maturity? In either case, I am looking forward to reading more of his more recent works, as well as some of the stuff I missed.
Now, on to my point. This link may or may not be silly, offensive, or funny to you,but I usually enjoy these types of things, so I thought I'd share. Stephen King kicks Edgar Allan Poe's tail in a "rap battle" ...
