Has This Happened To You?

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blunthead

Well-Known Member
Aug 2, 2006
80,755
195,461
Atlanta GA
Has reading Stephen King ruined you for reading anyone else? I'm trying to read widely as Mr. King says but nothing grabs me like his work does. Any suggestions?
Since I started reading sK I've checked out some of the authors he suggests in Danse Macabre. These authors have not failed me. I also recommend considering the authors SKMB members recommend periodically in posts on the Board.
 

Angelo Bottigliero

Well-Known Member
Sep 6, 2013
764
3,103
Rotterdam
Has reading Stephen King ruined you for reading anyone else? I'm trying to read widely as Mr. King says but nothing grabs me like his work does. Any suggestions?
Not really. I can still enjoy authors like Clive Barker, Brandon Sanderson, Bernard Hennen. For my historically correct needs I love W. Michael Gear & Kathleen Gear- O'Neal's 'The People of...' series. Their standalone book "Dark Inheritance" is one of the best non Kings I've ever read. Also, "Lost boys" by Orson Scott Card and "Dreamland" by Garfield Reeves Stevens (could have been a SK book). For Brandon Sanderson, try "Elantris"
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
Has reading Stephen King ruined you for reading anyone else? I'm trying to read widely as Mr. King says but nothing grabs me like his work does. Any suggestions?

No question about it, there is no writer I like better, but I read a LOT, and all over the place. What I found is that it's his style that grabs me--conversational, slightly earnest, earthy, with realistic characters. It's writers like that that grab my heart: Steinbeck, Alcott (Don't laugh! I have a whole theory about the similarities in their styles :D), Wharton, Twain, McMurtry (earlier rather than later, here), even Shakespeare. Writers with similar humor would be Irving, Roddy Doyle. His childlike wonder: Bradbury, Gaiman (who led me to Pratchett--he's hilarious, so we're back to humor). Then there are all the fine writers who write in counterpoint to Mr. King--precise where he's expansive, cooler where he's emotional. They all balance together and against a King-sized (heh-heh) yardstick in my head/heart. But I read them all, because reading good writing both builds your skills and the lexicon you draw upon (for writery types) and enriches your mental and emotional playground as a human being. SO figure out how Mr. King is feeding your inner animal, then search for writers that can do something similar. Eventually, you'll catch on something in them that leads you to someone else, and that person will lead you elsewhere, and then... Oh, the places you'll go! :)
 

Jojo87

Prolific member
Jan 8, 2009
7,468
19,518
37
Finland
SK is coming first, but yes I've read other authors books too. Lee Child for example. I found his stories three years ago and he is
a great author too. I think that SK has mentioned something about him too or something about his books. A related to
SK is Dean Koontz. He is a good one too. So no Stephen's books is not the only one I read. Oh SK mentioned Justin Cronin. I liked
both The Passage and The Twelve.
 

never2muchfun

Well-Known Member
Feb 9, 2014
112
484
64
New England
Has reading Stephen King ruined you for reading anyone else? I'm trying to read widely as Mr. King says but nothing grabs me like his work does. Any suggestions?
I've found Diana Gabaldon to be very good. She pulled me into the story. "Outlander" is the first one of a series. Time travel in present day America and England to 1700 America, England and Scotland. I'm reading a number of authors now. What genres do you like to read?
 

VampireLily

Vampire Goddess & Consumer of men's souls.
Jul 25, 2013
1,469
8,829
New Jersey
I've found Diana Gabaldon to be very good. She pulled me into the story. "Outlander" is the first one of a series. Time travel in present day America and England to 1700 America, England and Scotland. I'm reading a number of authors now. What genres do you like to read?

without a doubt, one of the BEST series out there.
 

HollyGolightly

Well-Known Member
Sep 6, 2013
9,660
74,320
54
Heart of the South
I've found Diana Gabaldon to be very good. She pulled me into the story. "Outlander" is the first one of a series. Time travel in present day America and England to 1700 America, England and Scotland. I'm reading a number of authors now. What genres do you like to read?
Lots of people have recommended this series to me, but I haven't read it yet! Maybe someday soon.
 

HollyGolightly

Well-Known Member
Sep 6, 2013
9,660
74,320
54
Heart of the South
I read a lot of other stuff as well, but SK sets the bar high - I nitpick other authors based on his perfection. I like Steinbeck (Cannery Row stuff mostly), McMurtry (his character development is intense, like SK), Koontz (sometimes, he scares me though), Marian Keyes (laugh out loud funny) and Fannie Flagg (ditto on the characters).