My fav King book is The Shining…I think it is possibly his masterpiece.
Runners-up are It, The Eyes of the Dragon, Cujo, and The Running Man.
I should note here that the The Running Man novel is very different from the movie that it inspired. The movie was an overblown, video-game action flick…the book is much better.
For a first-time King reader, I recommend The Dead Zone, then Firestarter. No, they are not King’s BEST work, but they’re far more coherent in storyline than a great deal of his later stuff, and the premises for both books are intriguing.
I used to be into King for the horror, but I’ve found as I’ve gotten older that I really prefer stuff like “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,” “Hearts in Atlantis” and “The Body.” I guess maybe I am over being interested in the gross-out factor.
)There was a book compilation of short stories published some years ago…it was called Nightmares and Dreamscapes. “Dolan’s Cadillac” was in that one, IIRC.
Or perhaps you’re thinking of Different Seasons, which I believe was really four novellas in a single novel.
My earlier post indicated that Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption appeared in the book Different Seasons.
It was indeed a collection of four novellas, as was Four Past Midnight. But the novellas did not connect in any way, unlike the stories in Hearts In Atlantis.
Missery
Am I really the only person in the whole of the SDMB who actually enjoyed Tommyknockers?
I can’t believe so many people think it was a complete turkey. Might have to read it again to check 
Also, SK wrote something about what it was like to write Tommyknockers. He often comments on his own writing, and I do enjoy reading him. But with that added information (spoiler below), I wanted to mail him my copy and demand $6 back from him.
He had a really serious coke habit by then, and wrote it all high as a… whatever is a good metaphor
Mine:
The Stand
and almost all of the short story collections, including Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Different Seasons, and **Night Shift **
My tastes seem to stand in sharp contrast to that of most of the folks here becuase I can’t stand the Dark Tower books. I think that King’s writing is at its sharpest when he is addressing moral and ethical issues and matters of spirituality and the individual’s relationship to the Divine. That’s why I think The Stand and Desperation are his two finest books, followed closely by Insomnia and Bag of Bones, which had me in tears a the end. For good, fun scares-a-minute, read Salem’s Lot, The Shining, IT,, and ** Needful Things.**
In his autobiographical book On Writing, King confesses to a hellacious beer and cocaine habit in the 80s, during which time he dioesn’t even remember writing Cujo and The Tommyknockers, and, boy howdy, does it show! Those two stink on ice, along with Dreamcatcher, Rose Madder, and The Regulators.
I’d have to say “The Stand” is my all-time favorite novel.
Misery is also a great (and quick) read.
Of his short stories, I think “The Mist”, “The Long Walk”, “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” and “The Body” are probably my favorites.
I can’t believe no one has mentioned this one: “On Writing”. Not a novel, of course, but one of the best books on the subject of writing I have ever had the pleasure of reading.
I did, last post on page one. I also recommend people check out King’s nonfiction analysis of 20th century horror novels and movies, Danse Macabre.
Aye, I forgot to mention both On Writing and Danse Macabre… both excellent books. The account of King’s car accident in On Writing made me physically wince while readng it. I have to admire the man’s dedication in getting back on the horse.
However, since I got the feeling that the OP was looking for novels, I don’t think anyone was thinking of non-fiction books. While we’re on the subject, though, his story “Heads Down” (about a Little League baseball season) is absolutely wonderful.
I have to say, this thread is a perfect example of why it’s so hard to recommend something to someone you don’t know well. Consider gobear, I totally agree that The Stand, Desperation, and Insomnia are some of King’s finest novels. (Bag of Bones I’ve only read once, right after it came out, so I haven’t really had a chance to form a solid opinion on it, but I remember liking it. I’ll probably re-read it soon). However, I think The Dark Tower is a masterwork. I also enjoyed The Tommyknockers which has gotten a sound thrashing here, but didn’t care much for Needful Things, Dolores Claiborne, Rose Madder, Carrie, or Pet Sematary. (I didn’t think any of those were really bad, but they weren’t my favorites. I guess, to me, like sex and pizza, even when King is not that great, he’s still pretty good.)
Incidentally, I’ve never met anyone who thought The Dark Tower was okay, or mediocre, everyone I’ve heard from seems to either love it or hate it. It’s one of those polarizing things, in my experience (I fully expect about nine people to chime in saying they didn’t like it or hate it, but I think a majority or readers feel one way or the other.)
I’m wracking my brain trying to think of a novel of his that would sum up the “essence” of King and give a good idea to a novice whether they would like his work on the whole or not, and I’m sorta coming up blank. I agree that some of his best novels are a bit, shall we say, weighty, and probably not the best place to start. I’m tempted to say The Shining would be the best one to start with. I can’t think of anyone I’ve ever met who didn’t like it. On the other hand, I tried to read The Shining once, before I’d ever read any other King, but couldn’t get into it (I was probably 13 or so, at the time) I finally read Misery and was off and running, catching up with everything else over the years. So age and reading experience may play a factor as well.
(If this is a double post, I swear it’s not my fault. I waited and checked and it hasn’t shown up, so here goes…)
Thanks all for your replies! I really can’t sort out one rec from another, but all of the glowing reviews for The Stand has made me want to try it out, despite the length. Actually, I like long novels (because it lets you stay with your beloved characters just that much longer)…
That shall be read 3 books from now, as I have “A Wild Sheep Chase” by Murakami currently in my mouth, with “Leviathan” by Auster on the backburner. I guess “The Stand” has just got out of the freezer and is currently thawing…
Which book you should start with really sort of depends on what you’re looking for in a book. The big draw for me has always been how real King’s characters are, and how caught up I get in their lives. I stayed up till 4 in the morning finishing Bag of Bones because I just couldn’t sleep till I found out what the hell those people had done.
With The Stand I got so upset at one point, I threw the book across the room and swore I’d never read the rest. I managed to leave it alone for a good 10 minutes. The Dark Tower series is like that, too, as are Carrie and Rose Madder.
Salem’s Lot, which has been widely touted in this thread, bored the living shit out of me. I realized at one point that characters were dying left, right, and sideways, and I just didn’t care. There wasn’t enough development to MAKE you care.
Since you seem to be a character person, I’d start with Carrie or Four Seasons. Both have wonderful character development, are fairly short, and have active enough plots to keep you from getting bogged down in the first little bit. (Stevie does get off to a slow start sometimes.)
You really ought to eventually read the Bachman books, too. My very favorite story ever written, “Rage”, is in the older editions.