My journey with Stephen King started with his famous book ‘It‘. I have heard of him in different ways, which made me want to take a look at the movie adaptation of his books. It started with the movie ‘Stuck in Love‘, I like to read about writers’ lives. This is what this movie or book is all about. Then I decided to watch the first and second parts of the movie ‘It‘, which were unexpectedly fabulous.
After the Harry Potter book series, I couldn’t find any book like them. But Stephen King was like a reunion to me. His pen is rich and smooth; that’s a real power.
After studying as a psychology major, trying to look into everything from a psychological perspective will become your obsession. For me, this was true. The list below is a good example of what I was looking for. (Thank you, AI, for this list.) You can see a great portion of Stephen King’s books on this list.
Primary Psychological Themes
- Fear & Trauma
- IT, Pet Sematary, The Shining, Gerald’s Game, Bag of Bones
- Themes: childhood trauma, PTSD, generational trauma, fear of death
- Addiction & Obsession
- The Shining, Doctor Sleep, Misery, Duma Key
- Themes: substance abuse, codependency, creative mania, compulsions
- Identity & Mental Deterioration
- Secret Window, The Dark Half, Lisey’s Story, Dreamcatcher
- Themes: dissociation, schizophrenia, identity fragmentation
- Good vs. Evil (Moral Psychology)
- The Stand, Needful Things, The Institute, Revival
- Themes: free will, corruption, sociopathy, moral panic
- Childhood & Repression
- Carrie, Firestarter, The Body (Stand By Me), Christine
- Themes: bullying, parental abuse, coming-of-age repression
- Isolation & Madness
- The Shining, The Mist, 1408, Gerald’s Game
- Themes: cabin fever, isolation-induced psychosis, loneliness
- Grief, Guilt & Existential Horror
- Pet Sematary, Revival, Bag of Bones, The Green Mile
- Themes: bereavement, guilt spirals, cosmic indifference
- Reality Breakdown & Metafiction
- The Dark Tower series, Insomnia, From a Buick 8, The Langoliers
- Themes: dream logic, narrative collapse, author-as-god
Based on last few weeks research, I came up with a list to read.
| 1 | IT | Childhood trauma, group psychology, fear as a shapeshifter. |
| 2 | 11.22.63 | Grief, Obsession, Time, Alternate Realities |
| 3 | Pet Sematary | Parental grief, death denial, fear of mortality |
| 4A | The Shining | Alcoholism & trauma under supernatural isolation |
| 4B | Doctor Sleep | Recovery, redemption, inherited trauma |
| 5 | Misery | Creative obsession, captivity, and addiction allegory |
| 6 | The Stand | Classic epic of moral allegiances, archetypes of good/evil |
| 7A | Mr. Mercedes | Sociopathy, PTSD, Depression, Obsession |
| 7B | The Outsider | Doppelgängers, perception, and belief |
| 7C | Holly | Psychology of denial, moral decay, illness, and grief |
| 8 | Billy Summers | Identity, Trauma, Moral Psychology |
| 9 | Carrie | Puberty, repression, bullying, rage |
| 10 | Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption | Hope, Isolation, Resilience, Institutionalization |
| 11 | The Green Mile | Grief, Guilt, Justice, Supernatural Mercy |
| 12 | The dark Tower 8-book series | Reality Breakdown & Metafiction (Including themes of Identity, Moral Ambiguity and Longing for Redemption) |
The numbers which have alphabets beside them show that these books are related and indicate the order in which they are better read.
2 comments On My journey with Stephen King + A list to Start Reading
Thankful to Stephen King and you for the books.
Yes, Thanks him.