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As someone who has read most of King, I would say steer clear of It and The Stand until you have a better idea whether his work is for you. They're fan favorites, but probably because they're sprawling and self-indulgent and as "SK" as SK gets. Likewise, if you're looking for less schlocky horror, Salem's Lot is probably not the way to go. 11/22/63 is a good entry point. Duma Key was one of the least typical King books that I still enjoyed; it's set in Florida rather than Maine with mostly wealthy rather than salt-of-the-earth characters. It is horror, but the horror isn't really the core of the story.
Also, yes, many mediocre and terrible films have had SK's name on them, but there are a few good ones besides the dramas. The director's cut of 1408 is one of the better horror movies of the past couple decades, and both Maximum Overdrive and The Mist are cult classics, though far from schlock-free.
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