The Stephen King Challenge

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On the 23rd March, 2020, the UK was officially placed on Coronavirus lockdown. All across the country, people wondered what they would do, stuck indoors with only their immediate family for company. Some found themselves anxiously remembering what happened to the Torrances in The Shining. So, what should one do when on lockdown? How does one avoid getting mallet happy?

My name is Beth, and I hate being bored. After an hour stuck indoors, I am cranky. After three, I am bordering on homicidal. After a day, I could give Jack Torrance a run for his money. I knew, as soon as the announcement was made, that I needed was a new, time consuming hobby, something to distract me from the overwhelming urges to run outside and mingle, or throw my husband from a window.

The Stephen King Challenge was born. All of Stephen King's published works, his books, short stories, poems, essays, and screenplays, in chronological order (or as close to it as I could get).

I would hazard a guess that I have read approximately 50 Stephen King novels and short story collections. I couldn't even start to guess the number of TV and film adaptations I've watched. I consider myself a Constant Reader and true fan, but there are some gaps in my knowledge. I've never, for example. read Firestarter, a fact which makes me blush to my roots. I also barely remember some of the first books I read, like Lisey's Story, although I know I loved them.

As a teacher working from home for the foreseeable future, this is probably the best opportunity I will ever have to complete this challenge. I am using this blog to hold me to account, and will post updates of my progress, reviews, and quite a lot of spoilers, so if you do, for some reason, happen to be reading this, be prepared. 

I've compiled and ordered my list through a mix of King's official website and a lot of google searching, trying to organise the texts by when they were first published. This will mean I won't always be reading the short stories in their collections, but in the order they were published. I have no doubt some of my dates are shaky, and some will be in the wrong order, but I wanted to get a sense of how King's writing style has developed, matured, and changed, as well as the cultural pressure points he has prodded at different points in his career.

I am both excited and daunted by the enormity of the challenge I've set myself. Wish me luck! 

Roque. Stroke. Redrum.

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