Plus, his books are crazy-good and very readable. So, here are my personal favorites. I've read all of his published works. Most of them I've read multiple times, so if I forgot a good one, its owing to my impending senility. Anyway, here is a Stephen King starter list for the uninitiated:

1. Bag of Bones

   Unlike some of his earlier work, this book has the pacing and plot of a thriller. The character development is a little thin, but the first-person narrative explains that. Also affords a good look at racial discrimination and its long-term, and sometimes supernatural, consequences.

2. The Talisman (With Peter Straub)

   The tale of a young runaway with a mission to save his mother. This book does a remarkable job of capturing the gloom and isolation of the American underclass, while contrasting it with the agrarian myth of the ideal “kingdom”. The drawback on this one is the fact that it is clear which author wrote which chapters, which breaks the flow considerably. There is also considerable insight on what it means to be twelve.

3. The Long Walk (as Richard Bachman)

   A startlingly prescient commentary on America's love of blood-sport, the Long Walk is a sport with one simple rule: Walk or Die. One hundred participants begin the Walk, and this story describes the journey of the one winner of that year. This is a great observational commentary on dealing with inner demons while engaging in a physical ordeal, and what would drive a sixteen-to-twenty year old kid to risk probable death for a prize of “anything they want.”

4. Duma Key

   King's most recent work, this novel combines the strengths of his earlier work (character development and history) with those of his later work (pacing and action). This is the latest of three or four novels written after King announced his retirement. It seems that Brett Favre is the Stephen King of football. As far as I'm concerned, both of them should continue until dragged away kicking and screaming.

5. The Running Man (as Richard Bachman)

   Another nearly spot-on prediction of America's obsession with reality television. This book is action-paced to the point that the chapters are titled as a countdown (ie: T-100…). This book is also a scathing commentary on the exploitation of the underclass, and the numbing force of the media.

6. The Green Mile

   Originally released as a serial (in honor of Charles Dickens), this is a thrilling story as well as an allegory that addresses martyrdom, the curse of longevity, and capitol punishment. (Michael-Clark Duncan = Jesus…get it?)

7. The Tommyknockers

   One of the “old-school” King novels that was ruined by an attempted TV mini-series. With a few exceptions, (Stand By Me, Misery, the ShawShank Redemption, Green Mile) King's books do not translate well on the big (or small) screen. This book is rich in character development, regional (fictional) history, and fascinating conjecture on what would happen if our worldly problems were solved. (hint: we'd have new problems). The narrative explores themes such as alcoholism, domestic abuse, environmentalism and alien intelligence.

8. It

   Another novel ruined by an attempt to make television. This book is NOT ABOUT A HOMICIDAL CLOWN. It's about a creature that feeds on terror. Clowns just happen to terrorize children, get it? This novel contains excellent character development, and wonderful insight on the joys and strengths of childhood, growing older, and the demons of childhood. Also, great historical context in the form of “interludes” that explain the Monster's effect on earlier generations.

9. The Stand (Uncut Version)

   This is really two novels in one. The first half chronicles the fall of western society in the face of a super-plague that wipes out 99% of the country. The second part, cleverly interwoven with the first, is an apocalyptic battle between the forces of good and evil. King pulls this off without getting all religious and preachy. Great character development, including that rare beast in literature: character change over time. Also follows how an outcast can choose evil over acceptance and be victimized by the promise of prominence.

10. The Dark Tower (series of 7 books)

    Meant to be his defining work as an author, and written over 30 years time, this Magnum Opus lives up to its billing. It's got the Steven King standards of character and history, as well as a little something for everyone else: Western, fantasy, adventure, time travel, alternate realities, and more. It also makes oblique reference to about 20 of his other novels (and them to these novels). King even utilizes a version of himself in the book as the characters are forced to convince him to finish writing their story. The ending will piss you off until you think about it, and realize that it could not end any other way. (Hint: not like The Sopranos…)

We discovered soon after beginning the third in the Twilight series, Eclipse, that there would be a book release party at Books-a-Million for the next book “Breaking Dawn”. My daughter was ecstatic. She all but begged me to take her to the party. I admit to getting caught up in her excitement, enjoying that she looked forward to doing something different on the weekend rather than just watching a rented movie at home.

Friends Join Us in Adoration of Bella and Edward

We discovered a couple of her public school friends also loved the Stephenie Meyer collection. We asked them to join us at the book release party. I was merely curious to see what that sort of party would be like, and I wanted to chaperone the girls. Once we arrived at the party, the girls almost burned a hole in the ground getting into the bookstore! I was relieved that they were excited to visit a bookstore instead of some of the other dangerous places teens choose to go on weekends. The girls had even gotten into the spirit and dressed for the prom theme of the party.

Bella Contest Takes Us by Surprise

Surprisingly, my daughter won the contest for dressing like Bella! She was happier than I'd seen her in awhile. We hadn't known there would be a costume contest. She just dressed in something she thought Bella would wear. She had mentioned that she wanted to dress up because it might be the closest she would ever get to attending a prom. While that made me sad, I kept quiet about it. After all, she is a teenager. We all know how moody and dramatic they can become at times. I wanted to say, “How do you know you'll never attend a prom?”

We both enjoy following the exploits of the characters in the Twilight series. Bella, with her love triangle between Jacob and Edward, keeps us a little frustrated, but she is charming as well with her personality quirks and insecurities.

The girls and I enjoyed the party, walking around to admire the others who had dressed for the occasion, listening to the many comments of the other guests, joining in the trivia contest about Stephenie Meyer books, and browsing through the selections while we eagerly awaited the release of “Breaking Dawn”.

Meyer is Tops on Our List of Authors

Even the Harry Potter books didn't capture our attention as the Meyer collection has. It's been so much fun to be able to discuss the characters with my daughter and her friends. It's great that the story line is on a level they can enjoy as teenagers in the process of becoming young adults. Stephenie has done a fine job on these stories. To be able to bring teenagers and a middle-aged mother together in a mutual respect for an author and her characters is awesome to me.

Not only are the books worthy of our attention and devotion, her interest in Bella has encouraged my daughter to willingly search for and read a classic called “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte'. How great is that? I am so excited about this, I've decided to read it, too!

Stephenie Meyer definitely has a fan club here in our homeschool.

Yet, Vlad III had no association with vampires, and he was not a count. He was a Christian Romanian prince. (Wallachia is one of the three Romanian provinces.) Vlad surnamed himself Dracula (“Son of Dracul”), a reference to the fact that he was the son of Vlad Dracul, a member of the Order of the Dragon (dracul is Romanian for dragon). The Order of the Dragon was a semi-military, religious society of knights, created in 1378 by the Holy Roman Emperor. Their official dress was a black cape over a red garment. (In most horror films vampires wear black capes with red lining.)

Vlad III was notorious for the atrocities he inflicted on his enemies. He had people skinned, burned, nailed or buried alive. His favourite execution technique was impaling his enemies on long wooden pointed stakes. Legend has it that he once impaled 20,000 Turkish prisoners in concentric circles outside his capital of Tirgoviste.

To Romanians, however, Vlad is something of a national hero, who defended his country and religion and defeated the Turks in 1462. They do not call him Dracula, because of the western association with vampirism, which they regard as an affront to their history. Instead, they refer to the Prince as Vlad Tepes (pronounced tsep-pesh) alias Vlad the Impaler, a nickname given to him by the Turks.

Some scholars question the link between Stoker's Dracula and Vlad Tepes. Professor Elizabeth Miller, a leading authority on Dracula, states that Stoker new little more than the name Dracula and that he was not really familiar with the Vlad Tepes stories. The only thing that is for sure is that Stoker came across the name Dracula in a footnote in a history book written by William Wilkinson and that he linked the association with “devil”.

Why vampires don't have a reflection

The idea that vampires have no reflection is based on a superstition that a mirror reflects a person's soul. As vampires are “un-dead” and therefore have no soul, no reflection appears.