Stephen King Reading Challenge
So I finished Under the Dome on early Monday morning bringing my read count to 43. It’s a good thing I like his writing or I’d be scared of the remaining 18 books. Of course, with my luck before I get around to finishing this there will be more, at least there’s no end to the challenge so I have plenty of time to read them all.
I really enjoyed Under the Dome it was a neat mix of old and new. The story opens with what appears to be a perfectly normal day in a small Maine town and quickly descends into chaos, fear, and the best and worst of human nature. While I’ve seen it compared to The Stand, and on some levels feel it’s accurate, Under the Dome covers a much shorter length of time and demonstrates just how quickly the best and worst can be brought out of us. The ending is simple and eloquent and came as a pleasant surprise to me.
Warning to the faint at heart the body count is high, the details are graphic, and the language not always pristine. Then again this is a King novel and none of that should come as a shock. A must read for all King fans and anyone who enjoys a book that is part thriller, part horror, part reflection on human nature.
Stephen King Challenge
Books: 43 / 61 (70%)
The Published Works of Stephen King
- 1974 – Carrie (2 times)
- 1975 – Salem’s Lot (2 times)
- 1977 – The Shining (2 times)
- 1977 – +Rage (as Richard Bachman)
- 1978 – Night Shift
- 1978 – The Stand (5 times)
- 1979 – *The Long Walk (as Richard Bachman)
- 1979 – The Dead Zone
- 1980 – Firestarter
- 1981 – *Road Work (as Richard Bachman)
- 1981 – Cujo (3 times)
- 1981 – Danse Macabre
- 1982 – The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger
- 1982 – *The Running Man (as Richard Bachman)
- 1982 – Different Seasons
- 1983 – Christine
- 1983 – Pet Sematary (2 times)
- 1983 – Cycle of the Werewolf
- 1984 – The Talisman (written with Peter Straub)
- 1984 – Thinner (as Richard Bachman)
- 1985 – Skeleton Crew
- 1985 – The Bachman Books (as Richard Bachman)
- 1986 – It
- 1987 – The Eyes of the Dragon
- 1987 – Misery (3 times)
- 1987 – The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three
- 1988 - The Tommyknockers
- 1988 – Dark Visions
- 1989 – The Dark Half
- 1990 – Four Past Midnight
- 1991 – Needful Things (2 times)
- 1991 – The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands
- 1992 – Gerald’s Game
- 1993 – Dolores Claiborne
- 1993 – Nightmares & Dreamscapes
- 1994 – Insomnia (2 times)
- 1995 – Rose Madder
- 1995 – Umney’s Last Case
- 1996 – The Green Mile (3 times)
- 1996 – Desperation
- 1996 – The Regulators (as Richard Bachman)
- 1997 – Six Stories
- 1997 - The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass
- 1998 - Bag of Bones
- 1999 – Storm of the Century
- 1999 – The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
- 1999 – Hearts in Atlantis
- 2000 – Secret Windows
- 2000 – On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2 times)
- 2000 – Dreamcatcher
- 2001 – Black House (written with Peter Straub)
- 2002 – From a Buick 8
- 2002 – Everything’s Eventual: 14 Dark Tales
- 2003 – The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla
- 2004 – The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah
- 2004 – The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower
- 2005 – The Colorado Kid
- 2006 – The Secretary of Dreams
- 2006 – Cell
- 2006 – Lisey’s Story
- 2007 – Blaze (as Richard Bachman)
- 2008 – Duma Key
- 2008 – Just After Sunset
- 2009 – Under the Dome – 11/30/09
- 2010 – Billy Blockade
- 2010 – Full Dark, No Stars
* – These titles were re-released in a collection called The Bachman Books in 1985
+ – Rage was included in The Bachman Books from 1985 to 1997 when it was removed at the author’s request.
