in 1990. My mom was pregnant with my sister. I had gone over to my older brother's place, to visit, but I was probably snooping too. I found an orange book, called the Bachman Books with Stephen King's name in big bold letters. I obviously knew who King was (maybe from watching Pet Semetary with my best friend) and so I grabbed the book. My younger brother and I went to New York and I brought the book with me. By the I finished The Long Walk there was no doubt that I would spend my time reading all of his works. Now, I don't know the exact order that I read his books in, but I do know that IT was the next book I read. 12 years old, sitting in Mrs. Jackson's class reading an 1142 page novel. I was a strange kid.
What is it about Stephen King that I find so fascinating?
Well, you could say that I have a fascination with the darker aspects of life. I am not obsessed with death, or anything like that. Simply put, there is this whole other side of life, where terrible things happen and no one really wants to explore that side. We might feel comfortable watching the news, but journalism is just to report the facts and not opinions. I want to know the mind of the person that commits an atrocity. I want to know what they were thinking, what happened in their past to make them do that. I want to explore the relationships between the attacker and the victim. This is not morbid curiosity, this is just a curiosity about life - all aspects of life.
Now, this does not make me unhappy, it does not make a weirdo in a dark room with frightening pictures on the wall, listening to Death Metal. Most people are probably surprised to find out that I love reading something as "dark and disturbing" as Stephen King, because I am happy, smiley, and I enjoy life. Perhaps the reason that I enjoy life is because I have explored the deeper and darker sides of life.
Why do you, dear reader, enjoy Stephen King?
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