Where to start and what order in which to read Stephen King's books?

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Yodan

New Member
Jan 6, 2014
1
9
48
Brantford, Ontario
Hello all. I've been a fan of SK since the first book of his I read over 20 years ago (It). Since then, I've been a big fan and Constant Reader, and I continue to enlarge my collection of his books. One question I've never been able to find a good answer to is the one I asked above - where should a Stephen King virgin start reading his books? My girlfriend has decided to come to the dark side, and asked me where she should start. Obviously, I want her to read the Dark Tower series, but I feel like she should read the other novels related to it and the characters in it first, so that as she meets the characters throughout the series, she'll know who they are. Many of his books aren't related to the Dark Tower series, and while they are related to other books (Rose Madder and Gerald's Game, for instance) they could be read any time. What are your thoughts on this? Would you suggest she read the other books first (Salem's Lot, Hearts in Atlantis, The Stand, etc) or should she dive right into Roland's world? The best idea I've been able to come up with is that she read his books related to the Dark Tower story or characters in chronological order of when they were published, leaving the actual series for the end, and then continuing on with reading anything else by him she likes. Mr. King, if you happen to see thread, would you be so kind as to offer your opinion? Thanks in advance.
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
Starting out with the DT books is a pretty tall order- I'm not saying your girlfriend couldn't handle it- just that it might be abit daunting to someone, looking at all of those books and all of those pages......... Why not start her out with Carrie and let her go chronologically from there?
 

Shasta

On his shell he holds the earth.
Starting out with the DT books is a pretty tall order- I'm not saying your girlfriend couldn't handle it- just that it might be abit daunting to someone, looking at all of those books and all of those pages......... Why not start her out with Carrie and let her go chronologically from there?
As usual, I agree with Kingricefan. I would go chronological.
 

The Nameless

M-O-O-N - That spells Nameless
Jul 10, 2011
2,080
8,261
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The Darkside of the Moon (England really)
Hi Yodan, welcome. I personally would not recomend that anyone start with the dark towers. However, nor would I really recomend chronological order. If you have a collection, ask your girlfriend to read the synopsis on the back of your books, and just go with whatever she likes the sound of best, or a particular film/TV adaptation she might like. This is how I started with IT - it was a favourite film of mine, and even though I had never read a book outside of school (over a decade before I read IT), I just wanted to try the novel. The last King book I read was Dr Sleep (2013), but I have never read 'Salems Lot (1975) - I'm just not into vampires, if I had to read this second, I may not have have read as many as I have. I would say let her get 4 or 5 books under her belt - including one big one (IT, stand, UTD, 11/22/63 etc), then start the DT's.
 

HollyGolightly

Well-Known Member
Sep 6, 2013
9,660
74,320
54
Heart of the South
Just to hijack this a bit and go off topic (sort of): How do ya'll choose a book? I usually read the cover, then I read the first few lines, then I open it to a random place and read a couple of lines. If I'm interested in what's going on at the point, I'll buy the book. Here's the thing about King, though: I never chose not to buy the book. Usually his first line grabs you. @Yodan - let us know what she chooses. I'm curious what I would chose now since there's so much available. I started reading him in 1987.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
1568609-844503-sewing-craft-string-fiber-thread-doll-toy-people.jpg
Mr. King, if you happen to see thread

..."I see thread people"....
 

KRamirez9294

Active Member
Jan 7, 2014
44
180
31
You know I just finished Hearts in Atlantis last summer and I have never read the Dark Tower Series but I do know it does have some references to the Dark Tower. So I guess she could start reading the Dark Tower before she start Hearts in Atlantis. I don't think it really matters honestly I mean in most of his books they pretty much will reference something from a previous book. Like Per Semetary mentions Cujo and IT mentions Dick Hallorann from The Shining. It doesn't really matter just let her choose for herself if theirs one she might be curious about!
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Hello all. I've been a fan of SK since the first book of his I read over 20 years ago (It). Since then, I've been a big fan and Constant Reader, and I continue to enlarge my collection of his books. One question I've never been able to find a good answer to is the one I asked above - where should a Stephen King virgin start reading his books? My girlfriend has decided to come to the dark side, and asked me where she should start. Obviously, I want her to read the Dark Tower series, but I feel like she should read the other novels related to it and the characters in it first, so that as she meets the characters throughout the series, she'll know who they are. Many of his books aren't related to the Dark Tower series, and while they are related to other books (Rose Madder and Gerald's Game, for instance) they could be read any time. What are your thoughts on this? Would you suggest she read the other books first (Salem's Lot, Hearts in Atlantis, The Stand, etc) or should she dive right into Roland's world? The best idea I've been able to come up with is that she read his books related to the Dark Tower story or characters in chronological order of when they were published, leaving the actual series for the end, and then continuing on with reading anything else by him she likes. Mr. King, if you happen to see thread, would you be so kind as to offer your opinion? Thanks in advance.
Welcome Yodan from one Canuck to another
 

weezergirl

Well-Known Member
May 13, 2011
96
187
I don't guess there is a right or wrong answer to this one, but I wouldn't think anyone should START with the Dark Tower Series. It's too much...I think you gotta get them to fall in love with his writing, worlds and characters first. When I was a kid I started with the short stories cuz the covers creeped me out so much I HAD to know what sort of stories could be inside. The first novel was The Tommyknockers. Converting my mom started with 11/22/63, Joyland and now Bag of Bones in that order.
 

Lisey Landon

Well-Known Member
May 20, 2009
754
3,966
Germany
Hi Yodan, welcome. I personally would not recomend that anyone start with the dark towers. However, nor would I really recomend chronological order. If you have a collection, ask your girlfriend to read the synopsis on the back of your books, and just go with whatever she likes the sound of best, or a particular film/TV adaptation she might like. This is how I started with IT - it was a favourite film of mine, and even though I had never read a book outside of school (over a decade before I read IT), I just wanted to try the novel. The last King book I read was Dr Sleep (2013), but I have never read 'Salems Lot (1975) - I'm just not into vampires, if I had to read this second, I may not have have read as many as I have. I would say let her get 4 or 5 books under her belt - including one big one (IT, stand, UTD, 11/22/63 etc), then start the DT's.
This is very good advice, let her look at your collection and choose for herself.
And, welcome! :)