Why people recommend it
The Shining by Stephen King is a chilling psychological horror novel about an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic who takes a caretaker job at an isolated, haunted mountain resort where malevolent forces slowly drive him insane. The book received extensive discussion across multiple episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience, where host Joe Rogan and various guests analyzed the intense nature of the narrative and its deep connections to the author's personal life. Warren Smith joined Rogan to discuss how Stephen King famously disliked Stanley Kubrick's classic film adaptation because it drastically altered the protagonist's character arc, noting that in the original novel, the Jack Nicholson character begins as a fundamentally normal person who gradually and tragically deteriorates. Other guests, such as Bob Gymlan, reflected on the fascinating reality that King was deep in the throes of severe addiction while writing the deeply captivating story. Shane Gillis joined the conversation to marvel at the sheer intensity of the book compared to the film, while Rogan frequently highlighted the novel as one of King's absolute best early works. Furthermore, Rogan and other participants explored the autobiographical elements of the text, specifically connecting the harrowing descent into madness and isolation directly to King's heavy substance use during that turbulent period of his life, cementing the novel as a landmark achievement in horror literature.
Who recommended it
- Joe Rogan Discussed
- Warren Smith Discussed
- Shane Gillis Discussed
Joe Rogan — 3 mentions
“Oh, [ __ ] It's um I can't remember the shining. The shining book, whatever you would call it, bibliography.”
“Oh, [ __ ] It's um I can't remember the shining. The shining book,”
“Stephen King is my one of my favorite authors this earlier work MH Carrie and The Shining the I mean amazing”
Warren Smith — 1 mention
“Stephen King didn't even like he didn't like that movie which is so crazy because it was different than his novel. so in his novel The Jack Nicholson character I forget the name of the Jack Nicholson character starts off normal and becomes crazier and crazier”
Shane Gillis — 1 mention
“did he do The Shining mhm yeah he rules oh he wrote The Shining he rules the book is even more intense than the the movie he didn't like the movie which is crazy”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker — 9
“Um, so is The Shining, you know, it's another one where he was like deep in the throes of addiction just writing this captivating book.”
“so the Stanley was the uh inspiration for the shining right”
“I mean, I've never messed with cocaine, but he was a big cocaine user and 'The Shining' was all about cocaine!”
“The book is unbelievable!”
“Yeah, he thought like in the movie the guy becomes crazy; in the book, he’s just a normal dude who becomes crazy during the stay at the Overlook!”
“And also a little bit of like The Shining vibe! You know that hotel from The Shining?”
“I mean with his incredible results I mean ya know it's Holly also earlier [ __ ] like The Shining”
“You ever read The Shining? No. It's really interesting different. Stephen King did not like it.”
“I mean it's all that uh the Jack Nicholson in the shining you know too much work no play makes Jack a dull boy right”