Question about reading Stephen King

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edwest211 said:
Always bring up the exceptions. No, don’t read those either.
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Seriously? We shouldn’t read staples of classic children’s literature or a tome about a pilgrimage all because someone uses the word a**?
 
Interesting that you had to put in the asterisks. I have met creative people who led me to believe that they had some high-minded goals and reasons to include unnecessary words like a** in their books. It was a bad assumption on my part because as the years passed, the effect was to add more words like f*** and others for no good reason. Some even claimed it was necessary and others - we’ll only go so far and no further. They weren’t being honest with us.
 
I read The Stand when I had the flu. It’s much better that way.

My favorite Stephen King is Firestarter. It’s one of his shorter works. Haven’t seen the movie. Love the book.
 
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I used asterisks because the forum is sensitive to certain language. That’s it’s own standard, not some universal standard. I think that’s fairly obvious.
 
Beryllos said:
I read The Stand when I had the flu. It’s much better that way.

My favorite Stephen King is Firestarter. It’s one of his shorter works. Haven’t seen the movie. Love the book.
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I never got into the mini series so I never read the book, but I’ve always wanted to. Is the book far better?
 
StudentMI said:
So, I’m not asking if it’s a sin to read him, but I’m asking my fellow Catholics: are his books (specifically The Stand and It) a good read for a Catholic? I’m trying to ‘clean’ up some of my listening and reading habits a bit, not making everything g rated but just avoiding things that aren’t necessarily good for me. I was interested in reading those novels and I’m wondering what the experience of others was, or anyone’s thoughts. Thanks.
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One of my favorite books is still Salem’s Lot. Which has some Catholic elements to it and is definitely one of his best works.
 
I agree Salem’s lot has a lot of Catholic elements. Remember Stephen king also wrote the Green Mile and the Shawshank Redemption which are very good moral tales.
 
I read through an anthology of his–and good or not it’s depressing. After a while, even a sunny day can seem gloomy. 😎
 
I haven’t read the two works you mentioned. But I think @TheLittleLady and @edwest211 have it right. I agree that it’s a prudential matter—fine for some, occasion of sin or even sin itself for others—while also thinking that they’re not quite clean enough. In my opinion, not clean enough to be worth the read.

That said, before I’d ever thought twice about reading King, I read a collection of short stories called Four Past Midnight, which were quite good.
 
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King and Dean Koontz both put out a book about every month. They specialize in the same kind of weird, imaginative & gruesome subject matter - spinning the routine to a conclusion that doesn’t really matter because the whole story doesn’t matter. Nothing of value and little entertainment.
 
grotto said:
King and Dean Koontz both put out a book about every month. They specialize in the same kind of weird, imaginative & gruesome subject matter - spinning the routine to a conclusion that doesn’t really matter because the whole story doesn’t matter. Nothing of value and little entertainment.
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I have enough in my personal history to have a touch of PTSD, and, personally, most works of the whole genre are too much for me. You can go ahead and read them, but they disturb my relationship with God.
 
I’m a fan of his early works. It. Rose madder, misery, thinner, the stand. Good works. He is a great storyteller and a so so writer like so many modern writers. After a while though he started cranking out books rapid fire. And the quality of the story suffered.
 
I am not a fan of either author. Don’t need that stuff for my reading enjoyment. I read Firestarter by King and Koontz by selecting the wrong book - done.
 
If you enjoy Stephen King, feel free to read him. I’m not really into fiction or horror fiction. I have enjoyed some of the movie versions of his works.

I did read the book version of “Carrie” and thought it was very well crafted, especially the ending which was much better and more subtle than the film ending.

On a general note, if you think something isn’t good for you personally, you’re the only one who can make that decision for yourself. Other people may have completely different tastes or completely different stuff that sets them off. I know someone (adult) who says he fell into serious sin over certain G-rated media and had to get rid of everything in the house pertaining to it. I could read Stephen King all day and the only effect it would have on me is making me feel bored or that I wasted my time. Someone else might read the same thing and have dark thoughts come into their head.
 
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