I voted "From a Buick 8" - which I finished last night.

Reads like one of Grandpa's stories - rambling, easily side-tracked. Oh, and nothing actually happens! Terrible ending - I was hoping for a reward for a hard slog through the first two thirds and was dissapointed. Finished it just so I could give it away - plus I couldn't afford to spare the bookmark. ;)

I would not have picked this up if it hadn't been the only possible choice in a tiny bookstore in Canada while on vacation last week. Even though I cut my teeth (ow) on King books growing up, I have to admit his later ones just aren't as snappy - and I've moved on (or downwards) to authors like Little, Laymon, etc...

Other King books I didn't finish were:

Dreamcatcher: I'm surprised to hear so many people didn't like it. I had heard nothing but good things about it from friends, but still it sits on my bedside table with a dusty bookmark sitting approximately halfway through. I stopped reading around the time of the alien "body rides" ESP whatever it was mumbo jumbo shit. Started off great - but couldn't take it after

Insomnia: So it's not just me? Bookmark sitting about 30 pages from the end. Looks like I got further than most! :D

(PS - can't believe the lack of love for the Tommyknockers! I ploughed through that, and actually cried at the end - yes, like a GIRL. Of course, I was 12 years old at the time, so I'll reserve judgement! :D)

Is Gerald's Game really as bad as you all say? I love it when authors and film makers set something in the SAME PLACE for long periods of time - (but only if it's done well, obviously)

I'm sticking with it (after taking a break to read Orwell's 1984 and two Lemony Snicket books I borrowed from a nephew) and it's getting better now that I'm past all the long introductory stuff. I'm also in the middle of Everything's Eventual and plan to switch off books for a break if Black House gets the better of me again.

For fear of being stoned, Gerald's Game is one of my favorite books! (ducks) I voted for Tommyknockers.

I had to go with Tommyknockers. The basic concept was a good idea, but man, is that book bloated.

I'm also a big fan of the Dark Tower books. Some of his best stuff. I'm halfway through Song of Susannah now.

Black House starts out very awkwardly for me, hell I almost gave up on it. But if you can get through the first 50 pages or so, it turns out being a great story. Not as good as The Talisman, but a must read for Dark Tower fans.

Gerald's Game most definitely. It actually started off really good, but after the first 20 pages, blah...

I liked Gerald's Game. It's been a while, but I still remember the woman handcuffed to the bed and waking up in the night to see a strange man standing in the corner (I can't remember the specifics - I think he was a murderer or something - but I remember it being very creepy).

Rose Madder is the worst for me. I read Insomnia when it first came out and didn't understand most of it, probably because I hadn't read any of the Dark Tower books at the time. I need to re-read that one.

Reading Dreamcatcher now (well, not technically reading it - listening to the unabridged audio version. From what I've heard, it's not worth the time to actually read, so I'm listening to it while commuting, etc.).

As I remember, the bit with the murderer in the room was in a short postscript at the end of the book, and was almost like a separate short story. It was the only part of that book I liked.

I have read very few King books, but quite enjoyed Gerald's Game.

And the first person I asked, who has read a lot of King, has it as one of her favorites also.

I have read about 15 King books and the only one i thought was bad is insomnia it was real boring and hard to get through,all the others i have liked(although i have not read all of them on this poll, i see that the tommyknockers are leading this poll,i actually liked that book

Wow, you're pretty devoted. Stephen King's my favorite author and there are still 4 books from his bibliography that I've yet to read.

Gerald's Game was so horrible i stopped reading King entirely. And while í'd like to check out the Dark Tower series, every time i go to pick it up the cover of Gerald's Game floats into my head and i have to put it down. Horrible.

I can't believe how many votes Tommyknockers is getting for his worst book. I loved that story! I also liked Gerald's Game.

I voted 'From a Buick 8' as I never really got into it. The Dark Tower series is the best, especially books 2-4. I think it's starting to lose some steam now, he seems to be stretching things out too much.

I've also read his entire catalog.

Worst book: From A Buick 8

It's the only thing I've read by King that makes me think he might actually be ready to retire. :(

You better get on that then, Sammy.

I've read everything too (I've been reading King for over 20 years now), and actually I rather liked From a Buick 8. I dunno, for me, it has a bit of the old spark that has been missing from a lot of his more recent stuff (except the Dark Tower books, which are always great IMO).

Well aren't you just the merry imbecile.

Tommyknockers got my vote. It was written during his binge days, when he was not really writing his best stuff.

I liked GG because it was such a departure for him stylistically, though I wouldn't rate it near his best.

The Dark Tower series is the pinnacle of his career though, as is proved out with each successive novel. Volume VII should be a hell of a ride to the finish.

I think I'll have to stop and actually let it sink in that I'll finally have all 7 DT volumes ( in Grant 1st Edition hardcovers). I bought the first 2 at a book dealer back in '85 or so and have been getting the rest directly from Grant ever since. It'll be hard to finally admit that it's all over.

I know. It'll be a sad, sad day when I finish DT VII.

"Cujo" was the only SK book I hated.

Good thing you didn't go out on a limb -- King was far from the first writer to use multiple viewpoints.

I've read a lot of King, but I couldn't vote in the poll because the only books I have read on the list are the Dark Tower series and Tommyknockers and I enjoyed them both. I've read all the classic King stuff, but with the exception of the DT series I haven't been keeping up. Based on the selection of books for this poll I don't think I have missed much.

ROSE MADDER by a country mile...frankly, I'm astonished GERALD'S GAME ranks so much worse on this list (word to the wise, I've not yet tackled DREAMCATCHER, but the movie was definitely grade-Z tripe--I had hoped the book would offer a vast improvement, but this poll seems to imply otherwise...a shame...). It's kind of ironic--I've always considered GERALD'S GAME, DOLORES CLAIBORNE and ROSE MADDER to make up an unofficial "battered women trilogy", and have always found DOLORES CLAIBORNE to be one of King's finest hours, GERALD'S GAME to be enjoyable, but rather average, and ROSE MADDER to be the single most excrutiatingly difficult King read to be suffered through (though even at his lowest point of story-creating talent, his command of the language makes for its own compelling, hard-to-put-the-book down element). Even though I might be hard-pressed to find anyone who will agree with me, I rank the pseudonymously penned THINNER a close 2nd...BAG OF BONES would likely be 3rd...that one read like the mind of V.C. Andrews filtered through the voice of King...not so fortuitous of a mix...

Ive read ALOT Of SK books.. and of the ones Ive read so far.. Gerald's game is the only one I didnt bother finishing

although.. there are a couple on that list I havent read yet.. so I guess they could be worse
bag of bones (although I have this one now, so Ill give it a shot).. and from a buick 8

http://www.twikoff.com/dvdtalk/dasTwik.gif

Another vote for Gerald's Game. It was so bad, it scared me. I was in high school at the time and i read all his books up that point. I loved just about all his books even (Tommyknockers). So when i got to Gerald's Game i was in sudden shock. Just amazed of the drop compared to his earlier work. Remember most of the past 15 years (up and down in quality) etc hasn't happened yet.

I find his old stuff to be great, not quite sure what's happened to him now though

I went with "Dreamcatcher" though "Gerald's Game" is a very worthy worst choice too. I guess I give GG some bonus points for at least trying something different. I think King's output has suffered since he became a mega-star in that no editors probably have the stones to tell him to change anything. You'd think an editor, if confronted with something like DC from a lesser-known writer, would have the initial response: "Shit weasels?!? Haha, that's a good one. Now where's the real book?"

I was really into reading his stuff when I was 12... a few years later none of the stuff was very interesting to me.

I could never finish The Dark Tower and Desperation was pretty bad too.

My favorite? I'd say The Dark Half.

Geralds game/rose madder-Only started both, but didn't like either one enough to continue.

Also, bag of bones I could not get into. I need to read insomnia.

Man did I love IT, Eyes of the Dragon, 1-4 DT (haven't gotten to the last 3), The Stand, Bachman Books, ALL of the short stories (practically).

King rocks...its too bad I didn't have the steam to plow through some of the more recent stuff. I am in a different stage of reading, kinda trying to read some more classical and acclaimed stuff.

I will finish DT though...probably the coolest synergy ever. I wish he wrote more fantasy, and it really makes sense that DT is quite compelling when you consider the strongest points of his other novels. DT is like diving into the entire mystique that submerges the everyday occurences in other novels...

You could add Insomnia to your battered womans list. The victim actually turns lesbian from the abuse. I asked some lesbians I know if that was something that happened in real life and they just laughed. I've read almost all of Kings books. Met him twice, once in the hotel Boulderado where Misery takes place and the other in Estes Park while he was filming The Shining TV miniseries. I did get to converse with him for a while but I never got around to telling him how much I hated Geralds Game or that domestic violence is not a leading cause of homosexuality.

I don't think it caused her to become homosexual...some people have bisexual tendencies--that's all I read into INSOMNIA's instance. I also don't include INSOMNIA in the "battered women" trilogy since the character referenced, while key to the plot, is not a main character.

I'm convinced that, since his wife Tabitha is also a writer, that the bad Stephen King books are really written by her!

After what filmmaker dubbed "the battered women trilogy," that was a major rumor. I wouldn't be surprised if it was true.

Does anyone know if SK has a particular "least favorite"? I doubt he would hold a press conference to announce such a thing, but just wondering if he'd ever mentioned it...

I remember that. It's always that or that he had college writers writing for him around that time as well. About that time he was churning them out like Patterson does.

I've read all of his books, one of my favorite authors. Tommyknockers was my least favorite...it just seemed to drag on and on and on.

I just started reading this thread and was confused by all the posts on page 1 Talking about the Dark Tower being his crowning achievement, then I saw the post that talked about Song of Suzanah coming out SOON, looked at the dates and said ....ahhhhhh!

I loved Insomnia and Rose Madder.

Well, I haven't read Dreamcatcher but saw the movie which sucked big time. My choice of the books I read would be Insomnia. It just seemed to go on and on. A massive edit would have improved that book tremendously. Same with the Stand though that is my favourite of his books.

Definitely The Dark Half. Although Dreamcatcher was pretty bad, too.

The Tommyknockers was chore to get through, but I remeber The Regulators being pretty awful, although I did like Depseration