Doesn’t it seem all of Stephen Kings’ kudos for excellent writing is being kept “Under the Dome” so to speak? He is a writer that doesn't get a whole lot of credit for all that he has produced and written throughout the years. Stephen King is one author that cannot be summed up in one sentence or even a few sentences.
Many years ago, I came across a large paperback book named IT written by Stephen King. Back then, I always knew a book with a little scare was what I liked but never really read very much. There were a few books I finished while growing up but when I say a few I mean 3-4 books only. I mostly read vampire and ghost books. When I was in school, I had difficulty reading. Comprehension was my ultimate problem. If you can’t comprehend, you are not understanding. There wasn’t anyone that I could turn to about my difficulties in reading. Most times, I found myself daydreaming about anything but the paragraph I was reading. Reading the same paragraph many times didn’t even help me understand the text. My mind wandered off of what I was reading. Movies were how I got my entertainment. I knew Stephen King from his scary movies. His movies were wonderful to me! Carrie, The Shining, Pet Semetary, Children of the Corn are a few movies of his that I had seen and absolutely loved. So I was in my early 20’s and saw an entire section of his books on the shelf at a bookstore. The movies were so good the books had to be better, I thought. My desire was to conquer my reading difficulties. I knew I had to overcome this stumbling block in my life. IT was a book I had to read from cover to cover. I told myself, if I could finish this book I would have defeated my problems with reading. I told myself that I was going to finish this book if it took me 10 years to do it. The decision was made. I bought the book and read a few pages, which turned into 20 pages, which turned into more….. I got about ½ to ¾ of the way through the book and realized I was really frightened by IT. Well after all, I was reading it alone in bed right before falling asleep, alone, in the dark….. Isn’t that what his books are supposed to do, scare you? That’s why I was reading IT right? Stephen King had a way of really making you love the characters, somehow connecting you to them and scaring you out of your wits. All of the characters all seemed so real to me. I didn’t want to see any of them perish except Pennywise that is. Some of the favorite characters do though I know. That always adds to the story though. I put the book down and didn’t pick it up for another 2 years. Again, I told myself, if I finish this book I will have conquered my reading obstacle. I started the book from the beginning again. This time the story went quicker since I had read most of IT once already. I finished IT! For someone who always had trouble with reading I had actually finished something without daydreaming, without wondering what the paragraph was saying, without sitting there hating the fact that I had to read at all! I had found something I enjoyed reading. I was also right about something else. From that point on I had read many more of his books and still recommend IT to this day. This is the book that really started many years of enjoyable reading for me. I needed to find books that held my interest and kept me wanting to read more. For that, I thank you, Mr. King you saved me from a life of illiteracy. Also, for anyone else who has trouble reading,you should really try many different genres. There will be something that appeals to you, I promise you that much. Don’t give up on yourself. One other thing, put your mind to it and just do it.
This blog is dedicated to All Things Stephen King. I am passionate about his books and movies. You will find all kinds of information on this blog about him and his books.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d99OToqElHY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZVq2Gm_Zjk&NR=1
