The Stephen King Book Club

Posted byRoryPosted inLists, ReviewsTags:, , ,

The Stephen King Book Club?

That should be a thing. And I want to be a member. My guess? It’s already a thing somewhere, I just haven’t found it (or been invited) yet. Soon.

This week’s top ten list is book club picks. There are so many books, both old and new, that would make for great discussions in group settings – Jane Eyre, The Other Typist, The Stand, How To Build a Girl, Wild – but where’s the fun in that? More than likely, you already know that these are great book club picks. Oprah told you so.

So I decided to take a different route, thus the Stephen King Book Club. Since I’m already attempting to read my way through his entire bibliography, I’d like to go beyond that to the ways the books are tied together. I’d like to put together a series of books to read in such a way that we can read and discuss what a small world Stephen King writes.

Stephen King Collage

Let’s start with a classic: (01.) The Shining. Dick Halloran shares a psychic connection with Jack’s son Danny. You know who else Dick Halloran knew? Mike Hanlon’s father, they served together in the military. Mike Hanlon is one of the founding members of the Losers Club in (02.) IT. Mike is the only member of the group who stayed in their hometown of Derry, Maine, where he became the town’s librarian. One of the first group members to leave town was Bill Denborough, whose little brother George had been killed by a being calling himself Mr. Bob Gray (also Pennywise, etc.). A (different, yet likely related) Mr. Gray comes back to Derry in (03.) Dreamcatcher.

Derry, Maine is a bad place, at least one might assume from the amount of terrible shit that happens there. Also a longtime resident of Derry? Ralph Roberts, who with the help of his neighbor and future wife Lois, defeats…evil (let’s leave it at that) in (o4.) Insomnia. After a wicked snow storm, Ralph ventures out to a diner and shares a coffee with fellow Derry resident and novelist Mike Noonan from (05.) Bag of Bones. Bag of Bones also updates us on fellow writer Thad Beaumont, who we got to know oh so well in (06.) The Dark Half. Now Mike also has a summer place out in the lakes region of Maine, or The TR, as locals call it. It’s the ’90s before Mike permanently takes up residence in the region, but his family has roots in the area, as do the Bannermans – Nehemiah Bannerman was sheriff of the area in 1901.

By 1972, the Bannermans had migrated towards Castle Rock, Maine, where George Bannerman was the sheriff.  Castle Rock rivals Derry for the ‘bad things happens here’ title. In (07.) The Dead Zone, we learn the town is the home of the Castle Rock Strangler as well as psychic Johnny Smith, who helps the sheriff solve the crime. Unfortunately for George, he meets an untimely end when he is mauled by the rabid (08.) Cujo.  Not only does George meet his demise, but the entire town of Castle Rock does too (essentially) in (09.) Needful Things. And which town does Castle Rock share a border with? Chester Mills, which is near catastrophically trapped under glass in (10.) Under the Dome.

In short, the list is as follows:
01. The Shining
02. IT
03. Dreamcatcher
04. Insomnia
05. Bag of Bones
06. The Dark Half
07. The Dead Zone
08. Cujo
09. Needful Things
10. Under the Dome

For more book club suggestions, visit The Broke and The Bookish. Also, it’s worth noting that there are people out there who take the Stephen King connections way more seriously than I do. Some even make gorgeous flow charts.

29 thoughts on “The Stephen King Book Club”

  2. Books with Cass is doing a King yearlong reading challenge – so yup, it’s a thing. And oh my gosh – thanks for summing up some of these connections. I love reading King’s books and seeing a link to another one of his books – it’s like a secret club and I got the password 🙂

    Tanya Patrice
    Girlxoxo.com

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  3. Isn’t that the book club that Juliet hosted in Lost? ^_^ I love the idea of a Stephen King book club. I would be all in on this. I’d even watch the movies to accompany each, the good and the bad.

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      1. Juliet read a lot of Stephen King, and Ben made comments to her about how it wasn’t worthy of being discussed at a book club. She’s hosting a book club for King’s Carrie when she’s introduced in the series.

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  4. Wow, that flow chart should be framed and placed on a wall! The cross-overs and connections between stories and characters is pretty awesome. I love the idea of Stephen King book club and I would also watch all of the movies.

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  7. Definitely the best book club list I’ve seen. I had no idea that Stephen King’s world is so small. Now I’m even more motivated to try and read these (I’ve actually read Under the Dome – guess I started the list at the wrong end…)

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  9. Not exactly a book club, but another blogger and I are hosting a year-long Stephen King reading challenge! This post is actually perfect for me: I’m still something of a newbie when it comes to his stuff!

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  11. I love this so much! “Derry, Maine is a bad place, at least one might assume from the amount of terrible shit that happens there.” PERFECTION.

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  13. I would love to join that book club! I just finished Needful Things and have started The Dead Zone. I wish I could find a read a long or something.

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      1. Just finished and I loved it! The only problem I have is that when I read King, I want to read another of his books immediately. Any suggestions for my next one? I haven’t read It yet.

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