In King's beloved Maine, high school English teacher Jake Epping discovers a doorway into the past: into 1958, to be precise. Epping soon realizes he has the ability to change the past: any action he takes in 1958 inevitably changes the present day. Before long, Epping commits himself to a bold mission: to tinker with the past and prevent the Kennedy assassination. King's weird blend of history is decidedly creepy, but not scary, and I found it enthralling.

If you're not a horror reader but want to give Stephen King a try, this massive novel is on your short list of options. As in Station Eleven, the apocalypse comes in the form of a super-flu that wipes out 99% of the population, and leaves the others quickly choosing sides in a battle of good vs. evil. This is decidedly creepy not not scary like It or The Shining. I added this to my TBR list after I LOVED 11/22/63.

This is an exceptional book for book lovers and a must-read for writers, and I'm saying that as someone who has read a grand total of two books by King. (The other is 11/22/63.) I thoroughly enjoyed his descriptions of his fiction writing process (although his descriptions convinced me that I never, ever want to read Carrie.) I especially enjoyed the anecdotes he shared about his marriage, and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough when he explores his devastating car wreck and recovery.

From the publisher: "#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King's beloved novella, the basis for the Best Picture Academy Award–nominee The Shawshank Redemption—about an unjustly imprisoned convict who seeks a strangely satisfying revenge. A mesmerizing tale of unjust imprisonment and offbeat escape, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption is one of Stephen King’s most beloved and iconic stories, and it helped make Castle Rock a place readers would return to over and over again. Suspenseful, mysterious, and heart-wrenching, this iconic King novella, populated by a cast of unforgettable characters, is about a fiercely compelling convict named Andy Dufresne who is seeking his ultimate revenge."

I don’t read much horror but I’m so glad I listened to readers who described this as “a good story, well told.” Seventeen-year-old Charlie Reade has had a tough life: his mother was killed in an accident when he was young and his father retreated into alcoholism before finding a path to recovery. He ends up befriending a lonely old man named Mr. Bowditch and his dog Radar. When Mr. Bowditch is hospitalized, he pays Charlie to watch his dog and tend to the property. And when Mr. Bowditch dies, Charlie is shocked to learn that he’s inherited the house, a heap of gold, and a cassette tape telling an unbelievable story. Charlie now has access to a portal to a fantastical world and piles of gold. But Charlie’s not the only one who knows about either, which puts him in grave danger. Readers can trust that Radar will stick faithfully by his side through it all. (There are a handful of horror elements but this is not pure horror and it worked just fine for this scaredy cat.)