I really hope that this one is made. It’s a good story that deserves to be told. There have been rumors that George Romero would direct it and I think that would be a good choice, even if there surely are others out there who also could pull it off…if he’s not available…
****
Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography of the World’s Most Popular Author
Written For the Book
Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography of the World’s Most Popular Author (yes, the title is that long) is written by Justin Brooks, and in the book’s foreword he says he has worked on the book for no less then eight years. You have to admire that kind of dedication.
He also says that he hopes the book won’t be obsolete when it’s published, and that has actually been one of the book’s problems. On the back of the book it says it’s updated to the end of 2005, which means that the book, before it’s published, is already missing the last 1½ years of publication. As I see it, that’s a problem for a book like Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography…
This is a problem since there are constantly things happening in the King world. King is releasing new stuff all the time, and older stuff has a habit of popping up when you least expect it. So, is it impossible to do this kind of book until King has stopped publishing? No, it’s not, but I think you have to approach it in a different way. I think you need to do it on the web.
The biggest problem for Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography… and other books like it is the time between the research and when the book is published can be far too long.
If you put it on the Internet you can update it as soon as you have a new entry…or at least once a week or once a month. The only problem is getting paid for the work you put into it. People have a tendency to just take what they want when it comes to the Net, and that is probably something we have to live with. Still though, King fans are quite demanding and they want the latest as soon as possible.
I think that Rocky Wood was onto something when he released The Complete Guide to the Works of Stephen King, which is a CD-ROM with a lot of listings. He then updated the CD a couple of times (now it’s been a while though) and it was quite up-to-date. I think that is one way to go that would work.
With that said, I do want to say that the work that Justin has put into this book is above and beyond what I would ever have the discipline to do. I knew Justin from before and can still remember his emails from time to time, asking about something. I hope I could help some of the times (he does thank me in the book, so I guess I was of some use)…
Lilja’s last words about Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography of the World’s Most Popular Author
This is the book for those of you who want to know everything about every story King has published. If you just enjoy one of King’s books from time to time you probably don’t want this one. It’s definitely not a book you read from cover to cover. You simply use it when you need facts about one of the stories…and believe me, the facts are all there!
****
Stephen King: The Non-Fiction
Written For the Book
Stephen King: The Non-Fiction is what I would call a dictionary, but not only a dictionary. Let me explain. Stephen King: The Non-Fiction contains information on what I believe is almost every nonfiction piece King has ever published by the time the book went to print. I’m sure he has written more, but who knows what exists that isn’t published, right?
Authors Rocky Wood & Justin Brooks have collected information about them all in Stephen King: The Non-Fiction, and the nice thing is that they aren’t just listing them and where they have been published. They also offer a short review of each of the different pieces.
The reviews are interesting to read and give you that little extra compared to just the listing; it makes the book more interesting. You usually only use a book that just lists things when you’re looking for information about a specific item, but with Stephen King: The Non-Fiction you can pick it up, look through it casually and find small entries here and there that are very interesting to read…just for the fun of it. And you shouldn’t be surprised if you find yourself reading the entire book from cover to cover either.
Then there is also the question of what’s worth reading about. I mean that if King is writing an article about something, that is one thing. Then, if he writes a letter to an editor, that’s something quite different. Don’t get me wrong, I like to read both articles and the letters, but the big question is, is everything worth listing?
As far as I can tell Rocky & Justin haven’t left anything out of their book, and I must admit that I like that. Let’s face it, we King fans tend to be kind of goofy and want to know about everything King has ever written, even if it’s just a short note…and for that purpose Stephen King: The Non-Fiction is the right book to use.
The only problem with Stephen King: The Non-Fiction, and all other similar books that are out there, is that it gets outdated really quickly, since King is extremely productive. The column section in Stephen King: The Non-Fiction stops with a column from 2006, two years before the book is released…
Lilja’s last words about Stephen King: The Non-Fiction
As an extra bonus we also get to read King’s essay “My Little Serrated Security Blanket,” and for that we can only be thankful! Stephen King: The Non-Fiction is the perfect book if you’re interested in learning more about what King has done in the non-fiction field.
Part 7—Afterword
Lilja’s final words about Lilja’s Library
Well, what can I say? It’s been a wild ride. Who would have imagine a book with my name as the author some years ago? Not me, that’s for sure. But as you can see it has now happened and that is very much thanks to Brian Freeman over at Cemetery Dance who approached me about doing this book. At first I wasn’t at all sure it would work but now I actually think it does and hope you feel the same after reading it.
There is so much I want to say that the Afterword itself could be an entire book but I’ll try to keep it short. I do however what to thank all of you out there who’ve been supporting Lilja’s Library over the years. Back in 1996 when I started the site it was very small and modest but thanks to all of you it has grown to one of the biggest Stephen King sites on the Net. For that I thank you!
I also want to send out a special thanks to Bev Vincent who has written a wonderful introduction to this book. For that and his never ending support.
Of all the things in the book I’m most proud of my interviews with Stephen King himself. I was, not surprisingly, very nervous about doing the interviews but once we started to talk it wasn’t that hard. Steve is very easy to talk to. He even started the first interview by telling me he enjoyed seeing me in London (we had meet a few month earlier at a publishers party) and that he liked Lilja’s Library. After that the ice was broken.
Besides Steve himself I’ve also gotten the chance to interview Frank Darabont (three times in fact) and he’s also a very kind and down to earth person. As is Peter Straub, Mick Garris, Marsha DeFilippo and all the others I have had the fortune to interview.
In the book there’s also a lot of reviews that I have written during the years Lilja’s Library has been online. The earliest are not the best reviews written but I hope that I have grown as a reviewer over the years and am getting better at it for each new review. While getting the books and movies I have reviewed I’ve also had the fortune to get to know a lot of people at a lot of different publishers. They’ve all been very kind and supportive and I want to thank them all for that; it would have been a lot harder to run the site without your help and support. Thanks!
I guess that since you’ve gotten this far into the book that you’re a fan of the site, Stephen King, both (hopefully), or maybe a reviewer forced to read this book. Either way I hope you enjoyed the time you spent with it. I have spent over 13 years with the site and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.
Even though I’d like to thank each and every one of you out there in
person it’s not possible. I will however single out a few of you to whom I need to send an extra thanks:
Stephen King for everything,
Marsha DeFilippo for all her help and support during all these years,
Bev Vincent for his support and nice intro,
Mike Perkins for making the site immortal by putting it in The Stand comic,
Glenn Chadbourne for creating my fantastic mascot, Marv – The Library Policeman,
Anders Jakobson for designing the look of Lilja’s Library,
Cemetery Dance for publishing this book,
Simon & Schuster, Simon & Schuster Audio, Hodder & Stoughton and Marvel for sending me numerous of books and magazines,
Everyone else that has helped me over the years and keep on doing so as we speak, you all know who you are. Thanks!
Last I also need to send out a very special thanks to Kerry Hood at Hodder & Stoughton who invited me to a publishing party in London in 2006 where I got to meet Steve and shake his hand. For that I’ll be forever grateful!
Thank you all!
Lilja - Örebro, Sweden March 25, 2009.
Cemetery Dance Publications
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Table of Contents
Foreword
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3 Section 1
Part 3 Section 2
Part 4 Section 1
Part 4 Section 2
Part 4 Section 3
Part 4 Section 4
Part 4 Section 5
Part 5 Section 1
Part 5 Section 2
Part 5 Section 3
Part 5 Section 4
Part 5 Section 5
Part 5 Section 6
Part 6
Part 7
Cemetery Dance Publications
Lilja's Library Page 56