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The Best and Worst of Stephen King

I think we can all agree that Stephen King is such a part of American pop culture that it’s hard to have gotten through the past forty years without experiencing at least one of his stories in book, graphic novel, television, or movie form. Even people who don’t read horror may have read Stephen King- my sister, for instance, who has complete disdain for genre fiction, loved The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. It’s actually one of the few books that she and my dad, who has much different reading tastes, will both discuss enthusiastically with each other.

King is a huge draw for reluctant readers. One King-obsessed guy I knew in college had never read anything until he discovered and devoured King. The Stand is the ONLY book I know of that my best friend has read cover to cover twice (she also brought the audiobook of Nightmares and Dreamscapes with her on an endless car trip we took together one summer to the Pennsic War. King in audio is pretty awesome).

Still, I am really pretty darn impressed that someone took the time to read everything he’s ever written and rank the books in order (click here to see the rankings). I know there are people who have read all of his stuff, but I certainly can’t claim to have done so. The rankings, as rankings always are, are pretty subjective and open to debate, but my gosh! It takes perserverance to get through some of those books (ahem, IT), and for the very reason that many non-readers of horror have found a King book they like, it’s hard, I think, to find someone who will find that all of his books will be personally appealing. I think that actually makes it hard for librarians to know which of his books to recommend. If someone comes in looking for another King book, is it because they loved Lisey’s Story, or because they were scared out of their wits by The Shining? I’d love to know if Becky Siegel Spratford, the RA queen of horror, has a list of read-alikes for them, since so many of them are so different in nature.

I will admit that I haven’t read a lot of the books that made the top ten. Some I had no desire to read, others I had no access to (a lot of the King I read was stolen from my dad’s bedside table). And my favorites, with the exception of Misery, didn’t make the top ten on this particular list. Carrie is right there at the top for me. When I read it in high school (which is the best time to read it) I literally jumped out of my seat when the bell at the end of study hall rang.

So, King. What are your top picks? Do you agree with the author of the rankings list?

Posted on April 26, 2012 by , Reply

GL Magazine rocks Teen Read Week!

I’m normally not a reader of magazines for teen and tween girls, seeing as my daughter is four, but this week I had to examine several of them. I was surprised and impressed that GL Magazine (also known as Girls’ Life) devoted a section to Teen Read Week! Granted, it was labeled “Promotion”, but considering that many of the “articles” focus on clothes and beauty products, how much they cost, and where you can buy them, I’m not sure how much difference it makes. What’s cool is that it’s there at all, especially considering some of the other magazines I looked at this week.

And it doesn’t appear to be just a bunch of advertisements from publishers, although the section doesn’t hide the fact that publishers paid for the advertisements. GL called the section “Teen Read Week Book Club” and YALSA’s Teen Read Week logo is on almost every page.

I visited the website for GL to see if they had extended their promotion there, and there’s a poll right on the front page for the October-November issue. It’s not splashed across the page (and I wouldn’t expect that) but it’s there. GL also gave their Teen Read Week Book Club its own page, but I sure as heck never would have found it if I didn’t have the actual magazine in hand to search for the direct URL to get there (maybe that’s the point). If you can get there, you can win a giveaway not just some very nice YA titles, but an iPad 2 for your ebook reading pleasure. GL also has a regular Book Club feature, with some substance to it, and I think it’s really cool. Unfortunately, with a front cover story like “15 weird boob questions you’re too embarrassed to ask” on the print edition, a lot of girls might never find something like the Teen Read Week center section, or the book club feature, which seems to be only online.

Major kudos to GL Magazine for recognizing that girls’ substance matters, instead of just their surface, and for promoting not just Teen Read Week, but reading for all the teen girls in their audience, every month.

Posted on October 18, 2011 by , Reply

Teen Read Week is here!

It kinda sneaked up on me, but Teen Read Week is here! I love that there’s a time of year to celebrate teens reading and get them involved with books and materials of all kinds in brand new ways.

This year’s theme is Picture It. That can be interpreted in so many ways! The obvious connection is to point teens to great graphic novels, or to media tie-ins to favorite television shows, movies, and video games. Although we haven’t gone in that direction for teen tie-ins here yet, there are many of these specifically aimed at teens that might lead them to related books, with you as a guide.

There are a lot of oldies out there that you can give some new life to, as well. Dracula, Frankenstein, Edgar Allan Poe- there are so many connections there I can’t even list them. From Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (sorry, this list hasn’t been updated in awhile); from Jessica Abel’s fantastic graphic novel Life Sucks to the awesome iPad app Dracula: The Official Stoker Family Edition; from storyteller Syd Lieberman’s audio recording of The “Tell-Tale Heart” to Ray Bradbury’s “Usher II”… these are the things that (to paraphrase Dave Etter) create the pictures that storm inside our heads.

Whatever you decide to do or promote, have a great Teen Read Week!

Posted on October 18, 2011 by , Reply
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