Hello readers! I wanted to share with you a challenge I’ve been planning to try for a few months now. I have read a LOT of Stephen King’s books in my life.
I’ve made quite a few posts and references to How I Got Into Reading. I’ve been reading Stephen King for 20 years! That is wild to think about and say.
I actually started with a random book, being Lisey’s Story. I grabbed it because it was his most recent release at the time, and I was really getting into his movies. I’m a lifelong horror enthusiast, and I discovered his films back in middle school. Interestingly, even though horror was my gateway to reading, I don’t actually read a ton of horror.
Even though I’ve read so much by him in my lifetime, I don’t typically make a lot of content centering King or his books.
I made a Guide to Stephen King post about 5 years ago now. It centered which books to start with if you haven’t read him before based on what you currently like to read. I think I’ll be making an updated one later this year featuring some books I’ve read since I wrote that post.
I’d also like to create a new post later this year of my favorite books I’ve read from him. My boyfriend and I are also considering content about his movies as well.
He has so many books that have been adapted. Most of the ones I’ve seen from the past 5 years or so haven’t been very good. So, I’d love to talk about those.
I’ve also considered featuring him in my problematic authors series. We all know that his books feature quite a bit of problematic elements such as that scene from IT.
What I’ve Read
Here is a list of every Stephen King & Richard Bachman book and short story I’ve read in order that I read them.
- Lisey’s Story (2006)
- The Dark Half (2008)
- The Eyes of the Dragon (2010)
- Needful Things (2010)
- Full Dark, No Stars (2011)
- Bag of Bones (2012)
- 11/22/63 (2012)
- N. (Marvel comic book) (2012)
- The Gunslinger (2012)
- It (2012)
- The Green Mile 1-6 (2012)
- The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (2013)
- Guns (2013)
- Carrie (2014)
- The Dead Zone (2015)
- The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2016)
- Misery (2017)
- Pet Semetary (2017)
- Rose Madder (2017)
- Cell (2017)
- Rage (2017)
- Gwendy’s Button Box (2018)
- Secret Windows (2018)
- Cujo (2018)
- Elevation (2019)
- The Institute (2019)
- Finn (2022)
- Mr. Mercedes (2023)
- Finders Keepers (2023)
- End of Watch (2026)
What’s Next
Most people tackle Stephen King in order of publication, but honestly, that would take all the fun out of it for me. He has so many books, and there are definitely some I’m more excited to read than others.
For 2026, I’ve decided to focus on series first. I’m finishing the Bill Hodges trilogy and then plan to dive into the Holly Gibney series. There are currently four books, and I’m not sure if more will come, but I love Holly’s character and can’t wait to follow her story.
Then, I’ll be going for the Dark Tower series, the Shining duology, and the Talisman trilogy, which has a new book coming out in 2026.
- Holly Gibney
- The Outsider
- If It Bleeds
- Holly
- Never Flinch
- Gwendy’s Button Box
- Gwendy’s Magic Feather
- Gwendy’s Final Task
- The Dark Tower
- The Gunslinger (reread)
- The Drawing of Three
- The Waste Lands
- Wizard and Glass
- The Wind Through the Key Hole
- Wolves of Calla
- Song of Susannah
- The Dark Tower
- Shining
- The Shining
- Doctor Sleep
- Talisman
- The Talisman
- Black Horse
- Other World Than These
I also hope to reread my first Stephen King book that I ever read 20 years ago, Lisey’s Story. I know this is one that not many people talk about. I do remember quite a bit of it, but I’d love to give it a reread this year.
Let me know if you have ever read through an entire backlist of an author. How did you go about it? Reading in order of publication seems like the right way to do it, but it just isn’t the right way for me.
Happy blogging and bookish adventures! 📚🦒✨
This post was created by Allison Wolfe for www.allithebookgiraffe.com and is not permitted to be posted anywhere else.
Where to find me: https://linktr.ee/Allithebookgiraffe
Add this user on Goodreads for all your trigger warning needs: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/86920464-trigger-warning-database
Leave a Reply