Friday 3 April 2009

'Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King' - Lisa Rogak (St. Martins Press)


This is not a review... 'Haunted Heart' has been sat on the 'to read' pile for a little while now and I decided not to give it a go. Basically, I'd rather read books by Stephen King than books about Stephen King (unless he was haunted by a psychotic supernatural clown as a child, I could be persuaded to read the book if this actually happened...)

However, even though I'm not reviewing 'Haunted Heart' I still thought it would be worth mentioning here just in case you're a Stephen King fan and didn't realise this biography was around. Here's the blurb from the St. Martins site...

One of the most prolific and popular authors in the world today, Stephen King has become part of pop culture history. But who is the man behind those tales of horror, grief, and the supernatural? Where do these ideas come from? And what drives him to keep writing at a breakneck pace after a thirty year career? In this unauthorized biography, Lisa Rogak reveals the troubled background and lifelong fears that inspire one of the twentieth century's most influential authors.

I've never got my head round why people make such a big deal about biographies being unauthorized... Can anyone help me out here?

2 comments:

Luke Forney said...

I read this book. It was okay, but I didn't feel it was all that well written, adn nothing in it was new or worth getting an entirely new book, especially at hardcover prices. It was okay and gave a few hours entertainment, but not as good as I had hoped for it to be.

Tim said...

If you haven't already, you should try ON WRITING by Stephen King himself. About half the book is memoir and the other half is dedicated to the craft ... with plenty of memoir thrown in. A really great read!