Elizabeth Renstrom for The New York Times

The essential Stephen King

Stephen King’s first novel, “Carrie,” is turning 50 this year. To mark the anniversary, we spoke to George R.R. Martin, Sissy Spacek, Tom Hanks, the archbishop of Canterbury and others about the powerful impact King’s work has had on their lives.

If you’re new to King, my colleagues at the Book Review have put together a list of his essential works. One of my personal favorites is “On Writing,” which is something of a memoir as well as an instruction manual. For the scaredy-cats among us, there are even a few books on the list that won’t have you checking under the bed before you go to sleep.

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