Your first release day King book purchase?

[Dan]

I read a lot about the different collectors on here that have had books for many years or bought them new. Some King books were published before I was born, while some of my favorites when I was a child. I am always curious about whether or not anyone here bought Carrie or 'Salem's Lot on the day they were released.

My first King book that I bought on release day was The Wind Through the Keyhole. I had previous King books, but they were never bought in anticipation of digging into the latest book. They were purchased because I got a good deal or heard such and such was worth checking out.

[mae]

My first release day book was Rose Madder, the first ever hardcover I bought.

[jhanic]

Mine was Cujo. I got a second printing of Firestarter, which was actually my first King hardcover.

John

[fearless-freak]

The Wind Through The Keyhole, i had just finished Song of Susannah for the first time and i saw the advert to pre order Keyhole

[Scoogs]

I think it may have been the large format trade paperback of The Waste Lands.
That was in junior high and I had just stumbled onto The Gunslinger and DOTT a few months earlier. I don't think I even knew the Grant hardcovers existed until sometime in college.

[biomieg]

I live in the Netherlands and I initially only collected Dutch books. I think I started buying the Dutch translations on release day from Four Past Midnight onwards, until I quit collecting Dutch books about 5 years ago.

I started collecting US and UK in the early 2000's and have been buying them on (or sometimes before) the US release date since From A Buick 8, I think.

(My first King purchase was in 1988 I think, when I was 14. Not on release day though, just some 2nd hand paperbacks.)

[Coulrophobia]

Christine 1983 Waldenbooks.

[The Library Policeman]

Insomnia.

[Ari_Racing]

First Argentinian one: The green mile.

First US: Wolves of the Calla (got it one day prior publication actually).

[Ben Mears]

The Shining

[Dan]

The Shining

Fantastic! Such a diverse group here.

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

FIRESTARTER, August 1980. I still have the promotional bag for DANCE MACABRE the bookstore put it in.

[Bryant Burnette]

The first new one to come out after I started reading (and obsessing over) King was Four Past Midnight, but I can't swear that I bought it on release day, or the next few, either. The first one that I know I did that for was Nightmares & Dreamscapes, and I never looked back after that.

Which reminds me that I need to put in an off request for June 4...

[Stebbins]

Song of Susannah

[CyberGhostface]

Probably Everything's Eventual, although that was a graduation present from my parents.

Most of the time I just get the books from the library, although I order it way in advance so I'm usually one of the first to get it.

[Bryant Burnette]

FIRESTARTER, August 1980. I still have the promotional bag for DANCE MACABRE the bookstore put it in.

That's pretty damn cool!

[biomieg]

The Shining

Fantastic! Such a diverse group here.

I don't know about the demographics of TDT.org as a whole but the age range of us collectors in Calvin's Corner is from mid-twenties to 72 I think. Pretty diverse indeed!

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

Someone should start a related thread about a book you bought and at the time had no idea it would be worth a lot in the future. For me, that would be ENDER'S GAME, for which I paid cover price, and probably grumbled about the $13.95 not being discounted.

[ChristineB]

Nightmares and Dreamscapes would have been the first I bought within a week or 2 of release, not on release date though.
Cell was the first one I bought on release day.
The reason for the time frame break was that I was cheap and didn't want to pay the full cover price for the books, also I was more into the Book Club at that time (no idea then the value of different editions) I just wanted to read his books, didn't care in what form. Just before Cell came out I got into collecting, hence that being the first I bought on release day.

TBH, I am not that into buying on release day anymore, unless there is a signing I can go to, I can wait 6-12 months and get the books on ebay for way less then cover price easily. I am now buying the e-book early so I can read the story, since the books he is putting out now will never (well not in my lifetime) be worth much anyway.

[Ari_Racing]

FIRESTARTER, August 1980. I still have the promotional bag for DANCE MACABRE the bookstore put it in.

You DO know that we gotta see that bag, don't you? :)

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

FIRESTARTER, August 1980. I still have the promotional bag for DANCE MACABRE the bookstore put it in.

You DO know that we gotta see that bag, don't you? :)

It's pictured in post #81 in my collection thread.

[Empath of the White]

:tongue:The Wind Through the Keyhole; ya I'm a bit of a newbie.

[Heather19]

The Green Mile, I highly anticipated the release of those every month. I also remember asking for Nightmares & Dreamscapes for Christmas. Obviously I didn't get it on release day, but that was probably the closest prior to The Green Mile. Before then I would just buy whatever paperbacks I thought sounded good.

[Dan]

:tongue:The Wind Through the Keyhole; ya I'm a bit of a newbie.

I'm right there with you!

[Dan]

The Green Mile, I highly anticipated the release of those every month. I also remember asking for Nightmares & Dreamscapes for Christmas. Obviously I didn't get it on release day, but that was probably the closest prior to The Green Mile. Before then I would just buy whatever paperbacks I thought sounded good.

It would have been painful for me to wait every month just to finish the book. Of course, that is nothing compared to TDT series.

[Kingfan24]

Just after sunset

[Bryant Burnette]

It would have been painful for me to wait every month just to finish the book. Of course, that is nothing compared to TDT series.

It was a little painful...but in the good way.

[barlow]

I started collecting in 93 picking a couple of King books up off the remainder table at the campus bookstore. a few weeks later I went to Books-A-Million and asked if Stephen King had any upcoming books they told me come back tomorrow. I came back and picked up Nightmares & Dreamscapes, haven't missed one since. Shit it's been 20 years, doesn't seem that long!

[carlosdetweiller]

For me it was DIFFERENT SEASONS in 1982. I wasn't much of a hardback buyer prior to that but I had picked up copies of THE DEAD ZONE, FIRESTARTER & CUJO at used bookstores earlier. Went to the Waldenbooks in the Tacoma Mall on the day of release and couldn't believe my luck......discounted 30%!

[TwistedNadine]

The Shining. Was living in Colorado Springs at the time and some friends and I hitchhiked to the bookstore. I wasnt a collector yet, just an avid reader and after reading Carrie and Salems Lot I put King at the top of my Buy More list (he replaced Dean Koontz). If I remember right later that same year I read Coma and put Robin Cook on the list, too.

[becca69]

My mom got me a Stephen King book club subscription so it was quite a while before I realized that these were in fact not the same as trade copies although I would receive them on publication day. When I had my own money I started buying them when they came out but I don't remember what book that might have been.

[Randall Flagg]

<-----------------can't help but think of the thread title as "Your first release..."
My answer would be "in my sleep".

[Brice]

I think Skeleton Crew was the first I bought if not on the release day within a day or so of it.

[CRinVA]

Mine was Cujo. I got a second printing of Firestarter, which was actually my first King hardcover.

John

Ah we are very alike my friend. My first release day purchase, too, was Cujo; and my first HB overall was Firestarter, but I lucked into a First Edition! Actually, my then gf (and now wife of over 30 years) bought the Firestarter for me within a month of release date! I had been complaining to her that it took way too long to go from publication to paperback in general; remember I was a poor college student back then! :-)

Also note that my first "any type" Stephen King purchase (not on pub day) was a paperback The Stand - and the rest was / is History! :-)

[sgc1999]

first release day book for me was Needful things. Loved it and still do. I had read tons of King before that but that was the first day out had to have it book.

[Roseannebarr]

too old and cant remember. I do remember the big hoopla when it was revealed that Thinner was a SK book and i bought it and didnt save the band around the book.

always bought my books at Sams for the discounted price the first week.

[Roseannebarr]

my biggest first release that i did not buy was the gunslinger it was $20 at the bookstore and i put it back on the shelf it cost too much. :(

[jhanic]

I remember going into Waldenbooks back when the original Stand came out and seeing stacks and stacks of copies, but it was just too expensive for me to get then. Boy, do I regret that now!

John

[sentinel]

Roseannebar-----I had the same experience! I was in college and saw Gunslinger and thought "Gee, 20 bucks, and it looks like a western"
20 bucks was a whole lot of money then! I liked King and already had a hardback of Night Shift and Shining but there was no way I was
buying Gunslinger at that price........and 30 years later I'd be happy to!

[Jimimck]

Mine was Blockade Billy, cos I heard of this small publisher in America that was releasing it and I could pre order online. Well the rest is history and I blame CD for every dollar I've dropped on a King gift or signed limited as I'd never even heard of them before the release of Blockade.

[Mattrick]

Considering my mom ran a book store a good chunk of my life she brought me home many books as they were released...Wizard and Glass, Desperation, Regulators, Dreamcatcher, Hearts In Atlantis may not have been release day but pretty darn close. As for me actually buying one it would be Dark Tower Seven, which I also finished the same day. Pretty sure I bought Cell first day as well soon after.

[Bad Penny]

My personal first release acquisition was The Stand ( 1978 ) - which, being Australian, meant the the HC copy I originally purchased was the equivalent of a UK 1st/1st. Given that my transmogrification from avid reader of anything to a collector of everything was still 20 or so years in my future, the first thing I did was disposed of that pesky dust jacket, read the book to tatters (I used the "folded page bookmark" principle back then) then lent it to a fellow workmate that never returned it :arg:

[Dan]

My personal first release acquisition was The Stand ( 1978 ) - which, being Australian, meant the the HC copy I originally purchased was the equivalent of a UK 1st/1st. Given that my transmogrification from avid reader of anything to a collector of everything was still 20 or so years in my future, the first thing I did was disposed of that pesky dust jacket, read the book to tatters (I used the "folded page bookmark" principle back then) then lent it to a fellow workmate that never returned it :arg:

Ah, terrible story! Fortunately, I'm sure you repented for this mortal sin.

[Bad Penny]

sigh ... every day mate, every day ... :scared:

[needfulthings]

In 1967 I bought a magazine off the rack.
http://imageshack.us/a/img163/5832/img431l.jpg

[EXPLORER]

DREAMCATCHER was my first upon release purchase of a King book. My boss at the time had been collecting King for many years and when we heard Mr King was doing a book signing in Naples FL he encouraged a number of his staff to join him for the event.
The event at Dunn & Dunn bookstore gave the opportunity to get a copy of Dreamcatcher signed as well as a second book. Kerry enlisted a number of us to help him get his collection signed. I had the foresight to suggest we take a a long lunch & ride down to Naples prior to the day of the event so we would know where the store was and get our copy of Dreamcatcher in advance. Thank God we did. We arrived at the store to find Mr. King had dropped into the store shortly before we arrived and went around the store signing numerous books. THIS WAS THE START OF MY SERIOUSLY COLLECTING KING as I walked out of the store that day with 7 different flat-signed books, Bag of Bones (1st), Hearts in Atlantis (1st), The Green Mile (1st HB),The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1st), Different Seasons, Night Shift (Holdoff edition), The Shining (Holdoff). Two days later I added an Inscribed Dreamcatcher and a Flat-signed/dated Dreamcatcher to my new collection. I've been adding to the collection ever since.