A to Z Challenge: My Favorite Storytellers-- S

Both as a marketer and a writer, today's writer HAS to have a spot on the list of my favorite storytellers...

Stephen King

Stephen King is not only a talented (if inconsistent) writer, and a astounding horror story teller, he is one hell of an example of how to build your personal brand.

It is one of my favorite novels, and is up there with some John Irving and Margaret Atwood novels in terms of masterful story construction. I wrote my personal ode to it a while back, and you can see it here.

But, aside from more than 50 (!!) novels, short story collections, and screenplay, King is now debuting his first musical in Atlanta. Few people alive have achieved the level of personal brand recognition. Even Paris Hilton doesn't have this many fingers in this many pots!

And this is particularly fitting timing, because King is my boy's favorite writer, and today is my boy's birthday! Happy birthday my boy!

If you've written King off as a pulp horror writer, I urge you to give him another try. And if you are a King lover like me, what are your favorites?

I need a little help on Stephen King

So my boyfriend loves Stephen King. And I mean loooooooooovvvvvveeessss him. For those of you who have relegated Stephen King into a pulp horror fiction genre, I actually do think he is much, much more than that. I've read a bunch of his stuff, and I really like most of it. But the boy... he looooooooooovvvvveessssssss it all.

And so, over the past year plus that we've been together, I've been told a myriad of times that I need to read The Dark Tower series. In fact, he is one of about a dozen people who have told me that. But here is my problem:

1. The more people tell me I HAVE to read something, the most I resist (childish, I know, but it isn't just to be obstinate, it is based on past experience). I usually avoid the next great thing that everyone is buzzing about. Sometimes I'm wrong-- I was a late Harry Potter convert and now a big fan. Other times I am not-- I didn't care for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and do not get me started on the Alex Cross books. 
2. I am just not sure I can dive into another series right now. Said boyfriend got me into A Song of Ice and Fire, which I thoroughly enjoy(ed), but five months later I am STILL plugging through book five (I did take a Hunger Games break, a psuedo-I-was-wrong instance referenced in number 1)
3. There are fans, there are really strong fans, and then there are rabid-in-your-face-you-aren't-a-real-person-until-you've-experience-this fans. The latter drive me crazy. These are the people who ruined Pearl Jam for me, the people who heckle me every single Friday for not wearing Ravens-purple to work even though I don't like football. I am a strong fan about a lot of things. I border on rabid from time to time. But the Dark Tower pushers act as though I have not progressed in a literary sense beyond "See Spot run" since I haven't read these books. It drives me bananas and makes me not want to read the books out of spite (yes, I recognize that this makes me sound 12).
4. I like Stephen King a lot, but I am just so skeptical that these books are really the best thing out there...

 So I would like some feedback from any of you out there who aren't rabid and won't make fun of me or declare me to be uncultured and stupid for not reading these books... are they really THIS good?

Consequently, for those of you now worried that I might be in an emotionally abusive relationship, I am not. The boy is actually the mildest in his assertion. From him, I get "Honey, you've got to read these," and not the same "Oh my God! HOW HAVE YOU NEVER READ THIS? I thought you were some kind of writer," that I've gotten from others.