Stephen King and the Abundance of Joy

Posted on December 3, 2004

Bestselling novelist Stephen King chatted with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show last night about King's new book, Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season (Scribner), which chronicles the amazing season of the Boston Red Sox.

King said that he originally meant only to assist novelist Stewart O'Nan with the book but then his "addictive personality" took over and he ended up being obsessed with the project. At one point last summer, when it looked like the Sox were going to have a mediocre season, King couldn't bear to watch and instead tuned into All My Children. He confided that he quickly became an compulsive watcher of the doings in Pine Valley.

King looked good, and had a spring in his step as he walked across the stage. He also smiled a lot and cracked jokes, which prompted Stewart to ask King what he was going to do with all that joy he got from the Red Sox's World Series win. Would King now write a book in which a car actually helps people? How was he going to write horror now that he's so happy? King just laughed and said he hadn't figured it out yet, then looked thoughtful. Stewart helpfully chimed in, "Maybe the baseball in the book could kill somebody."