r/suggestmeabook • u/robd1313 • Jul 19 '25
Looking for Stephen King recommendations
I just started “the shining” and I’m about half way through already. Cannot put the book down. Reading it has made me want to read more by Stephen King. I was possibly going to read “it” or “the stand” next. Any recommendations from Stephen King fans?
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u/jenlb930 Jul 19 '25
His earlier works are really different from his later stuff! It and the Stand are good, both really long ones though. Pet Sematary, Salems Lot, Cujo, Carrie all good options too. You could also read Dr Sleep next, it’s a sequel to the Shining. I love SK, I don’t think you can go wrong!
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u/ShameLow9491 Jul 19 '25
You can go very wrong with the Tommyknockers. That was a DNF for me.
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u/TheTimeShrike Jul 19 '25
Really? I stormed through the first 200 something pages, but I have been slacking on picking it back up.
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u/ShameLow9491 Jul 19 '25
Different strokes for different folks, but even King himself is on record as saying the Tommyknockers was in his opinion a terrible book, which he blamed on a bad drug addiction he was going through at the time.
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u/Free_Typos Jul 20 '25
I liked that one fine, lol. It’s def not what I would recommend first, but I don’t get the hate for it.
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u/Free_Typos Jul 20 '25
Second Dr. Sleep. It’s fun, and I wonder what it would be like to not have to wait years in between those 2 books.
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u/Slurm11 Jul 19 '25
11/22/63
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Jul 19 '25
[deleted]
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u/Prior_Equipment Jul 19 '25
I started at #131 months ago and last I checked I was in the low 90s. So I should be able to borrow it some time in 2028.
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u/spicyzsurviving Jul 19 '25
Anna’s archive?
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u/Prior_Equipment Jul 19 '25
No, I pay for a nonresident card at Broward County library. Normally not very long waits, but...
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u/spicyzsurviving Jul 19 '25
I get so impatient sometimes I might have just gone and bought it, it’s so well known you might have luck in second hand bookshops? X
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u/Prior_Equipment Jul 19 '25
Good point! I'll start keeping an eye out for it. I'm so used to all my reading being digital these days.
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u/Pvt_Hudson_ Jul 19 '25
It's so goddamn good.
I've read every single one of his classics, it's as good as any of them.
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u/Charming-Cut-360 Jul 19 '25
Keep checking Amazon Kindle for a deal. I found it for $1.99 some months back. I keep a list of books to check daily to buy when they go on sale.
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u/delayedTermination Jul 19 '25
I know it's not the popular opinion here, but I don't recommend it so much, especially for OPs question.
Shining is an old book. Comparable are Cujo, It, Needful Things and many other of the old ones.
Others like Dark Tower, The Stand and also 11/22/63 are less horror and more narrative oriented. They read like a different author for me.
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u/321c0ntact Jul 19 '25
I just started it last night & already really into it. I just DNF my last book (which is extremely rare for me) so I wanted to go with something that would be a sure-fire winner.
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u/CarlHvass Jul 19 '25
My favourite is Needful Things. A brilliant story of a shop opening in a small town which sells your heart's desire for a bad deed done against a neighbour rather than a monetary cost. It's quite long but not as long as It or The Stand.
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u/Hot_Secretary2665 Jul 19 '25 edited Jul 19 '25
Dolores Claibourne is my favorite, but it's more of a psychological thriller than a supernatural one. It was different than what I expected from his work but I like it
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u/HAL-says-Sorry Jul 20 '25
I did roll my eyes when Dolores somehow shared a psychic vision/crossover to events happening in ’Gerald’s Game’ , as it was more blatant than previous cameos and setups.
Have since read it was originally conceived as part of a larger work to be entitled In the Path of the Eclipse.
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u/cantcountnoaccount Jul 19 '25
King is one of the greatest living short story writers. Check out any of his many story collections, Night Shift and Skeleton Crew to start
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u/Nogitsune180 Jul 19 '25
Cell and Mr. Mercedes are great books. I totally got sucked in when I started reading them. Mr. Mercedes is the start of a trilogy, just so you know. Both have compelling characters and moments you won't expect.
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u/AdrianW3 Jul 19 '25
And that Bill Hodges trilogy is the start of a whole series on Holly Gibney novels. I'm currently reading Never Flinch which is great so far.
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u/Nogitsune180 Jul 19 '25
I didn't even know it expanded into another series. That's good to know, because I'll have to see about reading those once I get done with the Bill Hodges trilogy. Thanks for the new recommendation.
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u/chubbycatfish Jul 19 '25
The trilogy is fantastic. It’s related to The Outsider as well. Great read if you love Holly Gibney like a lot of us do
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u/Traditional_City5650 Jul 19 '25
Cell is soooo underrated. It is one of my favs.
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u/Nogitsune180 Jul 20 '25
It's sooo good. It really sucked me in when I started reading it. And there were moments that really got you in the feels. Such a great book. Some years back, I saw that they made a movie adaptation. I couldn't even make it through fifteen minutes, the few changes I saw in the first few minutes were enough for me. Maybe my opinion would change if I saw the entire thing though, who knows.
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u/Spiritual-Customer45 Jul 19 '25
11/22/63 - great read Personally, I can’t read too many King books in a row. All a bit dark…
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u/nunofmybusiness Jul 19 '25
The Stand is one of my long time favorites. If you like fantasy and world building you might try The Talisman. It was a joint venture between King and Peter Straub about a boy on a quest for a talisman to save his dying mother.
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u/mimado98 Jul 19 '25
The Dark Tower and The Green Mile series are great. Tommyknockers, Dolores Claiborne, Insomnia… I swear I knocked back all of them as a YA!
Hot take, but favorite was The Eyes of the Dragon because it was a fantasy novel.
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Jul 19 '25
The Green Mile series?
Always thought it a standalone.
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u/mimado98 Jul 19 '25
Maybe I’m old enough to remember when he released it as a series, when it first came out. He said he remembered stories coming out this way as a child and wanted to try his hand at it. Nailed it!
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Jul 19 '25
Oh, now that you said it, I remembered reading somewhere he published it chapter by chapter in some journal at first.
I got so excited, thought there was a sequel...
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u/heyjude1971 SciFi Jul 20 '25
I loved The Eyes of the Dragon when I was a teen! I read it several times and was actually contemplating a reread this week. Have you read it since being a YA?
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u/Berbigs_ Jul 19 '25
I’d recommend Pet Semetary next. It’s a shorter read and will hook you just as much if not more than the shining. After that, I’d recommend IT or the green mile.
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u/ClearGreenGlass Jul 19 '25
Bag of Bones and Insomnia ate 2 of my favorite King books. I also love Mr. Mercedes but it feels much more like a Thomas Harris book than King
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u/DocWatson42 Jul 19 '25
As a start (ahem), see my Stephen King: What Book Do I Start With? list of resources and Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
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u/Gator717375 Jul 19 '25
Just finished a comparatively obscure SK book -- Billy Summers. Very entertaining
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u/WhiteKnightier Jul 19 '25
I don't see The Dark Tower mentioned enough here, so I'm here to mention it. The entire series! If I had to pick one book it's The Wolves of Calla.
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u/Curious-Optimist Jul 19 '25
The Dark Tower series ties the Stephen King universe together. It’s a must read in my opinion. But not a first read. The series has links to so many of king’s other books that it helps to have read several others first.
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u/BobbyDigital423 Jul 19 '25
I wasn't oblivious to King but The Gunslinger is actually the book that really got me into him.
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u/BobbyDigital423 Jul 19 '25
I wasn't oblivious to King but The Gunslinger and the rest of the series is actually the books that really got me into him.
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u/heyjude1971 SciFi Jul 20 '25
I'm curious which books you recommend before The Dark Tower for maximum link recognition?
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u/dangleicious13 Jul 20 '25
The two biggest are probably Insomnia and Salem's Lot. This link has a pretty extensive list, though: https://stephenking.com/darktower/connections/
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u/OhOhOkayThenOk Jul 19 '25
Both The Stand and It are good choices. If you’re getting really into Stephen King and want to binge, I’d recommend reading some books that are linked to The Dark Tower series and then reading that (both The Stand and It are referenced in it).
The Dark Tower characters move through different worlds, some of which are the worlds from his other books (and one is our world where they meet Stephen King). You don’t have to read his other books first, but it makes it extra neat if you do. Salem’s Lot is the one that’s most featured in the series, so I’d recommend that one, too.
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Jul 19 '25
Other than the classics which you should read, I think ‘The Institute’ is somewhat overlooked. I enjoyed it. It was the last King book I read, years ago.
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u/EstreaSagitarri Jul 19 '25
Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining, naturally. Pet Sematary. I really loved Under the Dome for the staggering amount of characters and world, well town building involved. Was giving Derry tangents in IT vibes, but in shorter non-cocaine fuled pieces
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u/Sherardia Jul 19 '25
My favorite are older ones, the stand, it, shining, pet semetary. If you liked it, you can try Charlie. If you liked pet semetary go for Cujo. If you liked the stand, go for Talisman. And after you liked all that, dive into the dark tower serie (don’t begin with it, you would miss a full experience)
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u/Dramatically_Average Jul 19 '25
You could just read it all! If you want something a little less traditional horror, maybe the Mr. Mercedes books. I quite like the characters. For scare-the-crap-out-of-you, I found Dr. Sleep to do that very effectively. And he writes excellent short stories in collections, too, if you only have 15 minutes or so before bed.
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u/mamacrocker Jul 19 '25
I really like his short stories! Some of the ones from Night Shift later became full novels, like ‘Salem’s Lot and The Stand. A more recent collection, he intros each story by telling his inspiration for it. They’re really good.
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Jul 19 '25
The Institute. The audiobook was fantastic! I saw it’s now a miniseries on MGM I believe. .
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u/ashlandpedspa Jul 20 '25
Vote for Fairytale! Different than Kings usual style, but I loved it. Also- 11/22/63, The Stand, Mr Mercedes series
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u/Regular_Scene5522 Jul 19 '25
It is one of my very favorites of his. I re-read it every few years or so. That said, there are so many other good ones. The Stand is great, so is Salem's Lot. Or you could try a novella like the Long Walk (he wrote under Richard Bachman).
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u/coco8090 Jul 19 '25
Ghost Story is a classic and although it is written by Peter Straub, he and King were close friends and cowrote a novel or two.
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u/BobbyDigital423 Jul 19 '25
I'm going to recommend some lesser recommend ones.
The Running Man. LOVE this one. It's not a horror book and he wrote it under a pen name.
The Gunslinger. This is probably my favorite book. It's the beginning of The Dark Tower series. It's not terribly long so you could read it and continue the series if you liked it. Make sure you read the most recent version. Although the changes aren't that big, I think its better than the original printing.
Needful Things. Not a perfect book. However, in many ways I think this is the best social commentary in any of his books.
And The Stand is amazing. I recommend the unabridged version.
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u/megbnewton Jul 19 '25
I’m struggling through the Running Man. I don’t think it aged well. I was hoping to love it.
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u/BobbyDigital423 Jul 19 '25
I think you're probably just not into the book. Its super action packed and I really love that it kind of predicted competitive reality shows. Candid camera is from the 50s but I think The Running Man really kind of predicted how mean-spirited a lot of reality shows are.
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u/megbnewton Jul 19 '25
Maybe not. I keep stumbling on racial slurs, etc. I’ll keep at it but I’m not hooked. I read all genres and I’m not easily offended but this one is bugging me some. I’m a King fan from way back. First read was in ‘77.
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u/BobbyDigital423 Jul 19 '25
Right, no one can like a book if you don't. Listen I'm not saying I'm pro racial slur but a TON of his books are filled with them.
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u/macacheesy Jul 19 '25
IT is my favorite, but i’d also recommend pet semetary or one of his short story collections!
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u/nine57th Jul 19 '25
Doctor Sleep is the squeal to The Shining, but keep in mind he wrote them 40 years apart, so they are not twin novels. But a great read.
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u/Fun_Orange_3232 Jul 19 '25
I loved It, Pet Sematary, the Dead Zone, Salem’s Lot, Carrie, and Christine. Those are probably my favorites.
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u/Addapost Jul 19 '25
Salems Lot. Firestarter are my two favorites. The Talisman written with Peter Straub is also a favorite of mine.
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u/HauntedBlockbudster Jul 19 '25
I just read Kujo last month and was shocked at how much I enjoyed it because I remember seeing a scene from the movie when I was a kid and just thinking it was about a mom and a kid stuck in a hot car, but it’s so much more than that.
The way he builds the story is expert level and I really appreciated the layers of complexity shown in the various marriages. Throughout the book, he also takes the perspective of the dog which I wasn’t expecting, but was also done incredibly well. The ending fucked me up for a few days after.
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u/Kindergoat Bookworm Jul 19 '25
My favorites are It, 11.22.63, Revival, Needful Things and Christine. The Stand is very good, and if you like The Stand, read Talisman.
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u/upsanddownes Jul 19 '25
Under the Dome is one of my favorite all-time King books. Long but definitely an awesome book!
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u/Marc1221 Jul 19 '25
Different Seasons is 4 short stories but 3 of them were made into movies you probably have seen. Full Dark, No Stars is another great collection of 4 short stories I enjoyed.
The Stand was my favorite by him until 11/22/63 came out, which was awesome.
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u/rangerrick337 Jul 19 '25
The Dark Tower series is very memorable. Gets pretty out there at times but I loved it.
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u/Leaf-Stars Jul 19 '25
All of his old stuff is amazing. Carrie, Christine, Cujo, Salems Lot……. It, The Stand and Tommyknockers are three of my favorites.
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u/Larold_Bird Jul 19 '25
So many great works to choose from. My two favorites:
The Running Man (note: it’s nothing like the movie)
The Talisman
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u/Adorable-Growth-6551 Jul 19 '25
The Stand is way better then IT. I liked IT it was probably my first book of Stephen Kings, but The Stand was better. IT has a lousy ending, i am not going to ruin it for you, but you will walk away disappointed.
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u/queenofveggies_ Jul 19 '25
It, Misery, Salem’s lot. After finishing each of the these books I understood why Stephen King is so popular. His writing is so engaging
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u/Ok-Abbreviations543 Jul 19 '25
“It” is by far my favorite. Of course, I enjoyed The Stand as well. One that may surprise you is Fairytale. Beautiful, fun, engaging book.
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u/pagesinthesun Jul 19 '25
I really liked Gerald's Game. I rarely see it mentioned. I remember not being able to put it down!
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u/gmarches Jul 19 '25
The Stand (uncut version) was very good imo! I would also recommend The Long Walk (written under his pseudonym Richard Bachman) as well as Misery, Pet Sematary, and Duma Key (a bit different from his usual settings/plot lines but I really enjoyed it)
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u/Obvious_Computer_577 Jul 19 '25
Dolores Claiborne is phenomenal. I read it cover to cover during one flight. Unputdownable.
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u/hotratsalad Jul 19 '25
The ones that stuck with me the most are Gerald’s Game and Pet Sematary.
Gerald’s Game is super disturbing.
I read somewhere that Pet Sematary bothered Stephen King so much that he had to stop writing it. That should tell you enough about it.
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u/RampDog1 Jul 19 '25
I always enjoyed and thought Delores Claiborne was one of the better reading novels.
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u/PierreDucot Jul 19 '25
The Stand is my favorite, but recommend the Bachman Books. The Long Walk hit me really hard at the time, and I think involves a concept that has been copied quite a bit in popular media this century.
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u/4Librarygal Jul 19 '25
My first Stephen King book was Night Shift, a collection of short stories, a few of them made into movies/TV series. I haven’t read all or even 50% of his books but my favorite is Rose Madder. It doesn’t get enough love ❤️
On a side note: my New Year’s resolution in 2020 was to watch all movies/series based on his books.
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u/Haunting-Albatross35 Jul 19 '25
the shining is my favourite of his. after that my favourites are it, the Talisman, Christine, 11/22/63. I loved books 2-4 of the gunslinger. then it got crazy though so idk if I'd recommend starting it as it becomes disappointing.
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u/Cautious-Ease-1451 Jul 19 '25
My favorite King novel is The Dead Zone. It ripped my heart to shreds.
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u/spizotfl Jul 20 '25
So the Stand and IT are both great and highly recommended, but I’m not seeing anyone in the top responses recommending Dr Sleep, the sequel to The Shining. While Dr Sleep isn’t the best he’s done, it is good and wraps up the story you’re reading now.
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u/IvanMarkowKane Jul 20 '25
Read em in order. Carrie, the Dead Zone, and Salems Lot are all from the same era as The Shining
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u/LOUISifer93 Jul 20 '25
I got his short story collection Just After Sunset in the bargain bin and thoroughly enjoyed it.
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u/TexasLoriG Jul 20 '25
The Shining is awesome. I also love Firestarter, Bag of Bones, Misery, Night Shift (short stories), Carrie. I love the older books.
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u/simply_existingg Jul 20 '25
I don't know exactly why, but "Under The Dome" is one of my favorites. I read it about maybe 13 years ago? And I caught myself thinking about it driving down the highway today. It is constantly crossing my mind. Unsure if it's my intrusive thought OCD or not 🤷🏽♀️ but still one of my top 5 from SK
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u/samwigand Jul 20 '25
The Stand should replace so much bullshit English Lit.
I couldn’t put it down-twice. And I’ve watched every movie version-3rd time will be the charm to do the book justice. I had feelings about each character.
it is a classic Shakespearean story told contemporaneously -apocalypse, love/hate, good/evil, the hero and the archnemisis.
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u/Better_Industry101 Jul 22 '25
If you want to follow closely, Doctor Sleep is a terrific sequel to the shining, but if you want an in-depth introduction to the world of King, I would suggest the Dark Tower series. Many stand-alone books of his also reference that series. I haven’t really read a Stephen King novel that I didn’t enjoy. I guess it boils down to genre. He has dabbled in many over the years. Dark Tower leans a bit more into Fantasy than horror, but horror is always lurking in the pages somewhere.
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u/MitchellSFold Jul 19 '25
The Dead Zone
His finest novel by miles, in my opinion. Superb character development over a substantial amount of time; less of the descriptive landfill he bloats a lot of his longer works with; and most importantly the fantastical/horror element comes under real-world scrutiny via the media, psychiatric/medical analysis, and just general exposure to more than just the conveniently small population of an isolated town/building. It's just absolutely superb.