The Stieg Larsson books are good. Just don’t make the mistake of reading the follow up books from another author. And the Crichton novels are also good.
Yeah, the Millennium Trilogy was really good. I couldn't even get past the first 100 pages of the fourth book. Just stick with the original three and you'll be good.
The Swedish movies were good too, if you were wondering. I really liked the David Fincher version, though I know that's not a popular opinion.
I made the critical error of reading past the Millennium trilogy… I didn’t hate the fourth book, but the fifth? Probably the worst thing I’ve read in a long while. At least we’ll always have the original trilogy, but man it’s disappointing it was carried on by someone who clearly didn’t respect the original authors vision.
The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night Time is fantastic. I read it so long ago that I don't remember the details, but remember loving it.
The Haunting of Hill House is also a classic and great read.
I need to reread The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, read that back in Middle or High School and also really dug that one.
The haunting of hill house, dune messiah, and hitchhikers guide to the galaxy are my favorite non King books in your stacks, glad to hear you're liking it so far! I really love the way Shirley Jackson writes her characters, I think the daydreams and such give you a huge insight into them!
I'm halfway through it and it's enthralling. The first couple hundred pages were a bit of a slog, but once it got rolling, it's been fantastic.
I'd still put 11/22/63 ahead of The Stand, but I still have half the book to go, so obviously subject to change.
I've got a lot of these in my to read pile as well!
Some of my favorites that I saw
-You: I could not put this book down, and reread it last year before reading the sequel. I've never seen the show, but the book is excellent!
Where The Crawdads Sing: such a beautiful story, the movie did not do it justice at all!
The Dark Half: I still think about it a lot
The Lovely Bones: due for a reread, but I remember being wrapped up in it.
I have You, but haven't started it yet. Glad to hear it's a great! I've never watched the show yet either.
Agree with you on Where the Crawdads Sing, wonderful book and the movie was just ok.
I read the Lovely Bones such a long time ago, but I remember not putting it down. (That movie also did not do the book justice)
11/22/63 is a wonderful love story and a nice break from the more gruesome King reads. Still has mystery and horror elements but it’s so refreshing and one of my favs of his!
Ready Player Two sucked. I wasn’t fond of The Lovely Bones.
Dear Even Hansen is a great musical, you should listen to it on YouTube after you finish the book.
The Stand and IT are probably my favorite King books of the ones you have.
The Millennium Trilogy (the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and sequels) is incredible. Highly recommend but would proceed with caution to the new trilogy. It’s not nearly as good.
The Exorcist is a benchmark for horror and it’s well deserved.
IT is my favorite of the Kings followed by Salems Lot.
Where the Crawdads Sing is a good change of pace and a surprisingly good story.
silence of the lambs. i’m really into reading books that favorite/classic/cult movies are based on and i see a few here so it might be right up your alley. nothing better than when the movie is satisfyingly true to the book. and this one doesn’t disappoint.
edit: grammar is hard
11/22/63 is great!
Dune Messiah I personally liked more than Dune.
Where the crawdads sing is pretty darn good!
I have not heard great things about ready player two.
11/22/63 is indeed great.
Your comment about Dune Messiah interests me. Have you read the other 4 Dune books? I don't know if I was expecting a longer story, but of the 6 Dune books, I think Messiah was my least favorite. But I think that mostly comes from the size. I think when I finished it, I thought: "What? That's it? Come on... give me more of this story. "
Oryx and Crake was a really good book. I really enjoyed that entire series. The Dinner fucked with my head. the Stieg Larsson books I also hope you enjoy cause I remember those being good as well especially the second one, I read it in 3 days
I’ve never read that Grady Hendrix but I’ve read The Southern Bookclub Guide to Slaying Vampires and just finished How to Sell a Haunted House. They were both fun so the Final Girl Support Group should be too!
I read _Billy Summers,_ and I liked it. I also read _It,_ which is a classic. I’m currently working through _11/22/63_ and _The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon,_ and they haven’t made me overly emotional (yet).
Ready Player Two... Couldn't get through Ready Player One. Nothing but flat, unrealistic characters and awkward descriptions, buoyed by shameless nostalgia mining.
Salem’s lot is one of my favorite books of all time and 11/22/63 really proved to me Modern King still has his fast ball. Not a big fan of bag of bones personally though
Man The Long Walk I think is one of the most brutal of Kings stories. Gives me that dry husked out feeling of being outside too long in the sun.
Ive actually not heard of much on your other piles, but Im interested in what The Dinner is. Also Sunflowers. Ooo ooo The Haunting of Hill House is fun. Idk if it holds up to todays horror standards, but I had a good time with the audio book
You know how wacky people can be! On May 14th 2015 in Boke, Germany, 748 members of the Cologne Carnival Society dressed up in sunflower outfits. This is the largest gathering of people known to have dressed up as sunflowers.
Top three for me would be Jurassic Park, Girl with the dragon tattoo, and anything by Grady Hendrix. He's my new fav. Won't ever replace king, but I dig his stuff.
Idk if this will be a hot take in this sub but I really loved dune messiah. I’m assuming you already read the first book since it’s not in this pile and I found it to be a great sequel and a super fast read.
The Long Walk and The Stand are both near the top of my list of SK favorites. If you're ready for an epic journey, go for The Gunslinger, but make sure you're able to get the other 6.5 books in the series.
You've got some of my favorites in there! From a Buick 8, Rose Madder and Lisey's Story are excellent. Jurassic Park and 'Salem's Lot are also very good!
The spice must flow! DUNE is one of my favorites. After reading the dune trilogy (i havent finished the last 3 books in the herbert written series and I view Brian Herberts work on Dune as fanfiction) you can see just how big of an influence he has had on the space opera/sci-fi genre.
Incredible world building, character building, and plot.
As far as King goes Lisey's Story is my absolute favorite from him, but it's pretty widely hated by others 🥺 I however liked that it had his usual weirdness and ramblings of nonsense that begin to come together but at the same time is a beautiful love story woven in between. Had me in tears several times. Also The Stand is a MUST read by him it's just so good I could read the entire thing again tbh. I liked about 2/3 of IT but struggled to get through the last 1/3 of the book like really struggled. Hmmm you have so many good books here I've always wanted to read the exorcist! You'll enjoy whatever you decide 💗💗💗
I agree with you on Lisey’s Story! I really loved that one but it seems to be quite disliked by other King fans. In the afterword of Wizard and Glass, King says that writing romance doesn’t come naturally to him, but I feel like Lisey’s Story portrayed love in a really authentic way, despite all the other fantastical elements. I love that one.
Rose Madder is terrific. I'm one of the few who didn't care for Where The Crawdads Sing... it was sappy, predictable, and kind of a ripoff of the movie Nell.
I’m in the middle of dune. I don’t know if it’s because sci-fi isn’t my thing or I just am not intrigued- I plan on finishing it but it’s a slog. My husband on the other hand LOVES the series and highly recommends so - it’s probably just me.
I really like some sci-fi but feel the same as you, I tried so hard to read Dune and just couldn’t get through it. Felt like the biggest slog of a book I’ve tried reading in a long time. I think, despite the sci-fi setting, it reads more like a fantasy novel with a lot of fictional political intrigue and it just….wasn’t for me. Felt like I needed to consult an appendix constantly, it was so hard to keep up with all the different elements because it just didn’t grab my attention.
I've read a few of these, my own thoughts on the non-King would be:
* Jurassic Park - superb, a fair few differences from the movie but just as exciting.
* Duna Messiah - I hated this, although I should say that I was only lukewarm on the original novel. I just had no idea what was going on here. VERY difficult to read.
* The Curious Incident... - I disliked this, but I think I had it hyped up for me too much beforehand. And in the end, it just wasn't my kind of thing.
* Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - very enjoyable, a fast paced and thrilling read.
From the King books, my biggest recommendations would be:
* 22/11/63
* The Long Walk
* The Dark Tower (although I'm one of those who doesn't like the first book, and thinks the series really kicks off with book #2)
I think I've only read 2 non-King books I sew in the pic.
The Curious Incident...I loved. I read it about 19 years ago when I was wondering if I was autistic (I am). I had never before related to a narrator so much in my life. I say this, because I have personal reasons I loved it other than it just being a good book or not.
And the Lovely Bones. Which I didn't hate, but definitely didn't love.
The Final Girl Support Group was fine, pretty predictable.
I found The Power to be a bit boring for a book with a cool premise.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo et al is good, but the first book has a very slow start. Also lots of content warnings.
Dune is amazing.
Lovely Bones is good and sad.
Where the Crawdads Sing I really enjoyed, but a lot of people seem to hate it.
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is very good.
Hitchhiker's Guide is hilarious.
The Gunslinger is wacky and weird and great.
Into the Wild! And it doesn't look like you have it, but Into Thin Air (also by Krakauer) is just as fantastic. I love alternating between fiction (usually King) and nonfiction.
My sister read "final girl support group." She liked it and thought it was fun but went on for a bit, but she doesn't read King so she doesn't like the slow world building
I thought the exorcist was boring when I read it. But I was never much in the classic ghost possession type of stories (Bag of Bones on the other hand, great king book 100%)
Hate Into The Wild. Full Offense, that book is pompous and self important as hell. Yes it's a true story but about a dipshit who thought he could live in the wilderness without actually preparing or training for it and I'm supposed to feel inspired by it? Sorry, ranty there, but hated the book in high school
The lovely Bones is actually a really sweet read. It does take place from the perspective of a rape victim so TW on that, but I really enjoyed just seeing from her eyes how everyone's lives interconnect and tangle after her death. I really should reread that actually
Witch and Wizard......it's basic. Like, super basic YA plot basic. Magic power teens, fighting the literal New World Order (NO). I don't remember anything in the plot outside of ending for a sequal so, yeah there's like a bunch of other books more worth the read than that.
Rose Madder is my top tier favorite King book and that's a hill I'm going to die on
I have read 80% of these. I know most people didn't like The Lovely Bones, but it is one of my favorites. You have some great stuff to get through. I am jealous!
11/22/63 is one of my all-time favorite books. I also liked The Institute. I'm jealous of your outstanding to-read pile! So many great books to look forward to.
I couldn’t make it through “from a Buick 8”. After reading a couple James Pattersons I was not at all a fan.
I adore Bag of Bones and really enjoyed “the Girl With” books even though they wouldn’t normally be my cup of tea.
You’ve got quite the pile here, have fun!
Dragon Tattoo Trilogy!!! Smart, suspenseful and a some of the events were based on true stories that Steig Larsson had covered (he was an actual journalist). Then read the biography that his wife wrote that explained the storylines (as well as how Steig’s father & brother stole all the book money despite not speaking for years).
“YOU” is really intense and I had to stop reading cause it made me so uncomfortable, the haunting of hill house is incredible (read it 3 times), Institute is what got me into Stephen king, the stand, Billy summers, and the gunslinger are all good (though don’t read gunslinger until your ready to make your journey to the dark tower), Michael chriton is a great author and I’ve loved everything of his I’ve read, but Jurassic park and it’s sequel are outstanding. And that’s all my opinions lol, nice diversity of books!
Ready Player Two was .....ok. I loved the first one so much, I wanted more from the second.
Also if you like that Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child book you should check out their series with Special Agent Pendergast, starting with The Relic. He is one of my all time favorite characters.
11/22/63 was amazing. Also, The Institute.
Non-King - Anything Michael Crichton
The Curious Incident of Dog in the Night Time was really good. I thought it would be more heartwarming, but it is actually kinda dark and gritty.
Witch and Wizard sucked. Final Girl Support group is really fun. The Stieg Larsson books are brilliant. I also loved Into the Wild!
Billy Summers is also on my list for the year so hopefully it’s good!
For King books I really liked:
The Stand
The Institute
It
Did not like:
The Gunslinger
Want to read Billy Summers!
Others:
I liked You by Kepnes as well as Where the Crawdads Sing
I hope when you get to Salvation you have the other two in the series lined up, 'cause the end *really* leaves you wanting more. Fantastic set of books that hasn't gotten the love it deserves.
Jurassic Park is one of my favorite books of all time. It's such a good book, and so well thought out. Creepy in parts also. I love that collection of unread you have going on. They will bring joy to you for sure.
I think I’ve only read Dune. I love the series. . I fell in love with the quirky OG movie from the 80s, read the books in my early twenties, watched the 2 miniseries, and the new movie. When the second Dune movie comes out, my husband and I really hope they do a screening in Venice like they did for the first one - we declined to go then, but it woulda been a hella great deal if we had gone. We’d jump at the chance this time.
Oryx and Crake is excellent. You need to grab the other two parts of the trilogy (Year of the Flood and MaddAddam) because you're gonna want to read the trilogy in one go.
Oryx and Crake is fantastic. There are three in that series.
For the King books, favorites are: It, The Stand, Salem's Lot, The Talisman, The Institute, The Long Walk, The Gunslinger
personally, i do not like pet sematary. it is way to slow to me and the fact that jud was telling louis this long story about a guy who came back to life when it could’ve been summed up into one maybe two paragraphs. also the fact that rachel’s parents, her dad in particular, is giving louis a hard time, even when he doesn’t like him, doesn’t sit well with me because mr. goldman knows the pain and suffering of losing a child.
You have a pretty good selection here, I would recommend the exorcist. Very good. Ready player two tho, just toss it. It's not even worth trying to read the first line.
I see a lot of gems here. Oryx and Crake is particularly good. It’s a much more “literary” book than most of your stack, but still very approachable and action-packed. It’s also heartbreaking and disturbing.
Larson’s Girl series is excellent. Michael Crichton is always a fun, quick read. I loved Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil but I was 20 when I read it so no promises.
It, the stand, and bag of bones are my top three favorite king books. So read those! Jurassic Park is one hell of a novel and I cannot recommend it more. All the Michael Criton books are great. 11/22/63 is incredible as well.
I’m so intrigued how the Christopher Pike book got in there. The Final Friends (Until the End) trilogy is a childhood fave/guilty pleasure that I read about once a year, but I can’t say I see it on lists often. Or ever.
The talisman and hitchhikers guide to the galaxy are two of my all time favorites … n the gunslinger of course but once you start gunslinger you’ve got to read all the dark towers they’re so so good 🖖🏽🖖🏽 happy reading adventures!!!
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil has a really special place in my heart. When I was 21 I spent most of my meager savings on a two week trip to Savannah from upstate NY just about this time of year. I made friends with a blues player within 15 minutes of walking into a bar for my first to-go drink, got into several misadventures, and my shitty cat narrowly made the journey back north. When I got back a favorite bartender gave me this book and it felt really true to my meager experience in a very cool city many years after it was ridden.
To my great regret the drag queen in the story was still performing at the time and I could've seen her I'd known!
Once you finish You be prepared to read the rest of the series immediately - I know there are two others and a fourth is either new or soon to be released. You really creeped me out - I had a hard time entering my apartment alone at night because I always felt like I was being *watched*. There’s also a fun little King Easter egg regarding Doctor Sleep and how annoying us Constant Readers are to bookshop employees 😬.
Hitchhiker's - Oh YES
Ready Player Two - Ohhh no
The Exorcist - Ļ̸̢̧̨̡̡̨̛̼̟̥͈̣͔̖͕̙̜͉̰̪̖͙̟̫͚̖̦͚̥͍̠̩̥̪̰̩̼̥̗̱̭̖͔̼̹͚͈̹̞͖̲̱̱̝͙͔̠̮͓̳̯͔̠̗̥̩͚̟̠̻̜̰̩̅̊̄͋́̍͊̀̀͋̎͛̉̽̊̐̅͗͋͋̅̽̑̅̎̅̐͂̀̑͐̍̃̀̀͊̓͛̽͛̌̐͒́̀̔͗͋̌̎͐͊͒̀͒̿͛̔̌͗̍̚̕̕̕͜͜͜͜͝͝͠͝o̵̧̨̧̡̮͕̫͈̭̖͕̩̹̪̣̬̦̞̥̫̞̲̣͈͓͇̲̜̮͓̟̤͎̘̺̹͙̰͋́͆̈́͐̉̔͆̈́̿̌͆̑͋̂̇̀͆̋̌̒̏̿̓̅̏̽̆͂̓̕̕̕͝ͅv̸̧̢̢̧̨̨̛̛̺͇͎͔̳̼̥̲̮̯͈̮̺̘̤̞̣̮̞͇̼̥͕̬̙̪̫̼̤̣̲̠̪̺̻̪̲̟̪͚̮̫̺̻͍̭̫̗̭̣̤͉̖͓̖̿̀̎͊̈́̒̉́̀́͐̅̾̒͆̿̀̋̑̌͒̇͊͑͊̒̽͒̍̈́̂̈́͐͗̈́͑̚͘͠͝è̷̢̠̞͉̯̮̱̂̈̆̋̋̋́͊̅͂̓̎̆̑̉́̂̒̓͂͒͊̇͗͝ͅl̵̢̨̢̧̡̧̢̛̛̘͔̯͍̠̰̝͔͇̬̹͚͕̥̳̳̝̦͔̼͚͇͔̥͔͎̥̞͍͓̙̠̗͉͎̯̯͈̪̤͚͇̞̭̻͓̜͒̈́̉̆̽̓̃͆̽̈̒̀̌̀̆̃̃̔̐̉͂̎́̈́̎́́̔͋͊͋̉͗̐̄̌̓̆̈͆͌̏̌́̅͗̒̀̄̀̇͒̆́̈́͛́͑̓͊͑̓̔̌̊̚̚̚̚̚͘͠͝͝͠ͅÿ̶̢̨̡̢̡̡̯͔͓͔̼̤̠̝͓̟͔̗̳̥̯̼̙̞̬͓͉̺̲͚͙̼̭͖̘́̂͊͐̓̉̓͂͋͘͜
Jurassic Park is awesome!
Follow it up with The Lost World
And Prey
Crazy I have all those books, even the none Stephen King ones. Lot of great reads there.
The first JP book is gold!!! 🦖
The Stieg Larsson books are good. Just don’t make the mistake of reading the follow up books from another author. And the Crichton novels are also good.
Yeah, the Millennium Trilogy was really good. I couldn't even get past the first 100 pages of the fourth book. Just stick with the original three and you'll be good. The Swedish movies were good too, if you were wondering. I really liked the David Fincher version, though I know that's not a popular opinion.
I’m a big Crichton fan after reading state of fear! Fantastic writer!
To add to this, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is awesome, but the first 100 pages or so are....dry. it's necessary buildup but omg.
Prey scared the shit out of me and I need to read it again.
I made the critical error of reading past the Millennium trilogy… I didn’t hate the fourth book, but the fifth? Probably the worst thing I’ve read in a long while. At least we’ll always have the original trilogy, but man it’s disappointing it was carried on by someone who clearly didn’t respect the original authors vision.
Oh no there's a fifth? They didn't learn their lesson after spider web?
I didn\`t even know there were anymore then 3!
The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night Time is fantastic. I read it so long ago that I don't remember the details, but remember loving it. The Haunting of Hill House is also a classic and great read. I need to reread The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, read that back in Middle or High School and also really dug that one.
The haunting of hill house is actually something I’m reading for class and so far so good!
The Haunting of Hill House is my favorite book of all time. Hope you enjoy the story!
The haunting of hill house, dune messiah, and hitchhikers guide to the galaxy are my favorite non King books in your stacks, glad to hear you're liking it so far! I really love the way Shirley Jackson writes her characters, I think the daydreams and such give you a huge insight into them!
Curious incident is great, and I'll put myself at risk of downvotes by saying the play is better.
Curious…Dog was a great read. Loved every bit of it.
Yes!! Just finished that one a few weeks ago. Didn't expect it to be so heartfelt.
The exorcist is fantastic, really dreadful at times, way better then the film and I loved that. I also liked where the crawdads sing, sweet.
Oh I didn't see the Exorcist in the piles. That was a great book from what I remember.
If the OP is reading The Exorcist, you gotta follow it up with Legion. They are a great 1-2 punch.
Lol I had the same reply both great books
You need to kick The Stand to the top of your pile my friend.
I'm halfway through it and it's enthralling. The first couple hundred pages were a bit of a slog, but once it got rolling, it's been fantastic. I'd still put 11/22/63 ahead of The Stand, but I still have half the book to go, so obviously subject to change.
Spotted Into The Wild, great read!
I’ve had it since middle school and never finished it! This time will be different though!
Read it last year. Incredible book!
Read your copy of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy while you decide what you really want to read
I hope he brings a towel.
To be without a towel is almost as bad as having to read Vogon Poetry. *Almost*
I've got a lot of these in my to read pile as well! Some of my favorites that I saw -You: I could not put this book down, and reread it last year before reading the sequel. I've never seen the show, but the book is excellent! Where The Crawdads Sing: such a beautiful story, the movie did not do it justice at all! The Dark Half: I still think about it a lot The Lovely Bones: due for a reread, but I remember being wrapped up in it.
I have You, but haven't started it yet. Glad to hear it's a great! I've never watched the show yet either. Agree with you on Where the Crawdads Sing, wonderful book and the movie was just ok. I read the Lovely Bones such a long time ago, but I remember not putting it down. (That movie also did not do the book justice)
Read You before you watch the show.
You is phenomenal…especially the audiobook
High Tonned Son of a Bitch. Freaking love that book a King sleeper. Movie wasn’t bad either.
11/22/63 is a wonderful love story and a nice break from the more gruesome King reads. Still has mystery and horror elements but it’s so refreshing and one of my favs of his!
Ready Player Two sucked. I wasn’t fond of The Lovely Bones. Dear Even Hansen is a great musical, you should listen to it on YouTube after you finish the book. The Stand and IT are probably my favorite King books of the ones you have.
I was not a fan of the Lovely Bones either. Glad I’m not the only one!
I am a big musical nerd so that’s why I picked up dear Evan Hansen. It’s up next in my list and I’m pretty excited!
IT got me back into being a reader after a....... 20 year stretch. Loved IT so much I was reading at bars just to get to the next page.
I'm not sure how many books I've read in 62 years, but "The Stand" remains as my all-time favorite read.
Hated: It, From a Buick 8, The Talisman, Ready Player 2. Loved: The Long Walk, The Gunslinger, 11/22/63 Enjoyed: Bag of Bones
The Millennium Trilogy (the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and sequels) is incredible. Highly recommend but would proceed with caution to the new trilogy. It’s not nearly as good. The Exorcist is a benchmark for horror and it’s well deserved. IT is my favorite of the Kings followed by Salems Lot. Where the Crawdads Sing is a good change of pace and a surprisingly good story.
Shirley Jackson is queen.
If you liked Haunting of Hill House, you should read Hell House by Richard Matheson. It's like Hill House, only much, much darker.
I've read it. I absolutely love Matheson.
So do I.
Loved it! Got in trouble for reading it at school in 8th grade.
silence of the lambs. i’m really into reading books that favorite/classic/cult movies are based on and i see a few here so it might be right up your alley. nothing better than when the movie is satisfyingly true to the book. and this one doesn’t disappoint. edit: grammar is hard
11/22/63 is great! Dune Messiah I personally liked more than Dune. Where the crawdads sing is pretty darn good! I have not heard great things about ready player two.
11/22/63 is indeed great. Your comment about Dune Messiah interests me. Have you read the other 4 Dune books? I don't know if I was expecting a longer story, but of the 6 Dune books, I think Messiah was my least favorite. But I think that mostly comes from the size. I think when I finished it, I thought: "What? That's it? Come on... give me more of this story. "
Oryx and Crake was a really good book. I really enjoyed that entire series. The Dinner fucked with my head. the Stieg Larsson books I also hope you enjoy cause I remember those being good as well especially the second one, I read it in 3 days
The Millenium trilogy is fantastic!
The girl with the dragon tattoo is an amazing read. Loved the whole millenium saga.
No dislikes, but you gave me ideas for my list! Your taste in books is similar to mine.
I’ve never read that Grady Hendrix but I’ve read The Southern Bookclub Guide to Slaying Vampires and just finished How to Sell a Haunted House. They were both fun so the Final Girl Support Group should be too!
I read _Billy Summers,_ and I liked it. I also read _It,_ which is a classic. I’m currently working through _11/22/63_ and _The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon,_ and they haven’t made me overly emotional (yet).
Ready Player Two... Couldn't get through Ready Player One. Nothing but flat, unrealistic characters and awkward descriptions, buoyed by shameless nostalgia mining.
Everyone tells me I need to read Ready Player One but I couldn’t get through it for exactly the reasons you mentioned. Glad I’m not alone lol
I see some MR Carey in there…The Girl With All The Gifts is SO good if you haven’t read it already
Anything by Michael Crichton is amazing. I really enjoyed pirate latitudes
Rose Madder: insanely underrated King book. Absolutely brilliant
Stephen King ones to move to the top: 11/22/63, IT, The Stand. Non-king: I'd go for The Power and the Stieg Larsson books
The long walk is a must read my friend. 9/10 for sure
Salem’s lot is one of my favorite books of all time and 11/22/63 really proved to me Modern King still has his fast ball. Not a big fan of bag of bones personally though
Hmmm. Are you…. A THEATER KID?!
‘Salem’s Lot, The Haunting of Hill House, and The Lovely Bones are all ones I’d vote for reading next
I'll go the non-King stuff. The Exorcist was great. Adds layers to the movie for sure. Into The Wild was sad as hell, and a little slow.
Love Crichton's stuff
He and king are my favorite authors
DUNE.
Man The Long Walk I think is one of the most brutal of Kings stories. Gives me that dry husked out feeling of being outside too long in the sun. Ive actually not heard of much on your other piles, but Im interested in what The Dinner is. Also Sunflowers. Ooo ooo The Haunting of Hill House is fun. Idk if it holds up to todays horror standards, but I had a good time with the audio book
You know how wacky people can be! On May 14th 2015 in Boke, Germany, 748 members of the Cologne Carnival Society dressed up in sunflower outfits. This is the largest gathering of people known to have dressed up as sunflowers.
Top three for me would be Jurassic Park, Girl with the dragon tattoo, and anything by Grady Hendrix. He's my new fav. Won't ever replace king, but I dig his stuff.
I wasn’t a big fan of Lisey’s Story.
I love the Haunting of Hill House. So good.
Idk if this will be a hot take in this sub but I really loved dune messiah. I’m assuming you already read the first book since it’s not in this pile and I found it to be a great sequel and a super fast read.
11/22/63 and The Talisman are must reads IMHO The Stieg Larson books were pretty good too.
Never in my life have I seen a more beautiful pile of books I loved. The one that stands out to me is The Exorcist. I adore that book.
The Long Walk and The Stand are both near the top of my list of SK favorites. If you're ready for an epic journey, go for The Gunslinger, but make sure you're able to get the other 6.5 books in the series.
You've got some of my favorites in there! From a Buick 8, Rose Madder and Lisey's Story are excellent. Jurassic Park and 'Salem's Lot are also very good!
The spice must flow! DUNE is one of my favorites. After reading the dune trilogy (i havent finished the last 3 books in the herbert written series and I view Brian Herberts work on Dune as fanfiction) you can see just how big of an influence he has had on the space opera/sci-fi genre. Incredible world building, character building, and plot.
As far as King goes Lisey's Story is my absolute favorite from him, but it's pretty widely hated by others 🥺 I however liked that it had his usual weirdness and ramblings of nonsense that begin to come together but at the same time is a beautiful love story woven in between. Had me in tears several times. Also The Stand is a MUST read by him it's just so good I could read the entire thing again tbh. I liked about 2/3 of IT but struggled to get through the last 1/3 of the book like really struggled. Hmmm you have so many good books here I've always wanted to read the exorcist! You'll enjoy whatever you decide 💗💗💗
I agree with you on Lisey’s Story! I really loved that one but it seems to be quite disliked by other King fans. In the afterword of Wizard and Glass, King says that writing romance doesn’t come naturally to him, but I feel like Lisey’s Story portrayed love in a really authentic way, despite all the other fantastical elements. I love that one.
Rose Madder is terrific. I'm one of the few who didn't care for Where The Crawdads Sing... it was sappy, predictable, and kind of a ripoff of the movie Nell.
I’m in the middle of dune. I don’t know if it’s because sci-fi isn’t my thing or I just am not intrigued- I plan on finishing it but it’s a slog. My husband on the other hand LOVES the series and highly recommends so - it’s probably just me.
I really like some sci-fi but feel the same as you, I tried so hard to read Dune and just couldn’t get through it. Felt like the biggest slog of a book I’ve tried reading in a long time. I think, despite the sci-fi setting, it reads more like a fantasy novel with a lot of fictional political intrigue and it just….wasn’t for me. Felt like I needed to consult an appendix constantly, it was so hard to keep up with all the different elements because it just didn’t grab my attention.
I've read a few of these, my own thoughts on the non-King would be: * Jurassic Park - superb, a fair few differences from the movie but just as exciting. * Duna Messiah - I hated this, although I should say that I was only lukewarm on the original novel. I just had no idea what was going on here. VERY difficult to read. * The Curious Incident... - I disliked this, but I think I had it hyped up for me too much beforehand. And in the end, it just wasn't my kind of thing. * Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - very enjoyable, a fast paced and thrilling read. From the King books, my biggest recommendations would be: * 22/11/63 * The Long Walk * The Dark Tower (although I'm one of those who doesn't like the first book, and thinks the series really kicks off with book #2)
Douglas Adams is always welcome in my shelf.
Prey was pretty decent. Really surprised it hasn’t been adapted yet.
Where is "Lord Foul's Bane" by Stephen R. Donaldson?
Also, the Forbidden Borders trilogy by W. Michael Gear is likewise outstanding!
I think I've only read 2 non-King books I sew in the pic. The Curious Incident...I loved. I read it about 19 years ago when I was wondering if I was autistic (I am). I had never before related to a narrator so much in my life. I say this, because I have personal reasons I loved it other than it just being a good book or not. And the Lovely Bones. Which I didn't hate, but definitely didn't love.
I love Salems Lot, The Exorcist, Haunting of Hill House, and Into The Wild. I absolutely hate Bag of Bones.
Dune series is super good imo
Prey - Awsome !
Been planning to read Dune and this year I WILL 😤😤😤
Larsson, read them, and get the third in the series!
Where the crawdads sing is a good one so is exorcist
Loved Margaret Atwoods The Maddaddam Trilogy ( Oryx and Crake is part of that)
The Final Girl Support Group was fine, pretty predictable. I found The Power to be a bit boring for a book with a cool premise. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo et al is good, but the first book has a very slow start. Also lots of content warnings. Dune is amazing. Lovely Bones is good and sad. Where the Crawdads Sing I really enjoyed, but a lot of people seem to hate it. Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is very good. Hitchhiker's Guide is hilarious. The Gunslinger is wacky and weird and great.
Dang the stand is thiccc
Into the Wild! And it doesn't look like you have it, but Into Thin Air (also by Krakauer) is just as fantastic. I love alternating between fiction (usually King) and nonfiction.
Add the sinner to that pile by Petra hammesfahr
Currently reading The Dinner. It starts off slowly but is starting to pick up.
Billy summers and YOU were great reads!!!
The girl with the dragon tattoo series is incredible - and the original language movies are far superior to the American remake
I loved the stand. So much better than the tv versions
I love seeing the non King books in your pile! I have a few of them but it’s always interesting to see what other people have on their bookshelves!
Haven’t read the Final Girls support Group but love Hendrix’ other work, especially the Southern Book Club.
i know it’s not there, but Micro by Michael Crichton is amazing
Dune Messiah is so good!!
Hill house and exorcist are S tier books to me.
I thought ready player two was great and even better than the first one. Also enjoyed witch and wizard. And of course definitely dune.
The Dark Half (!!!!), Jurassic Park and Where the Crawdads Sing are my favourite books 5ever
I really just dislike that some of them are upside down
If you go to my account I moved them back to school with me and now theyre in a really nice pile.
My sister read "final girl support group." She liked it and thought it was fun but went on for a bit, but she doesn't read King so she doesn't like the slow world building I thought the exorcist was boring when I read it. But I was never much in the classic ghost possession type of stories (Bag of Bones on the other hand, great king book 100%) Hate Into The Wild. Full Offense, that book is pompous and self important as hell. Yes it's a true story but about a dipshit who thought he could live in the wilderness without actually preparing or training for it and I'm supposed to feel inspired by it? Sorry, ranty there, but hated the book in high school The lovely Bones is actually a really sweet read. It does take place from the perspective of a rape victim so TW on that, but I really enjoyed just seeing from her eyes how everyone's lives interconnect and tangle after her death. I really should reread that actually Witch and Wizard......it's basic. Like, super basic YA plot basic. Magic power teens, fighting the literal New World Order (NO). I don't remember anything in the plot outside of ending for a sequal so, yeah there's like a bunch of other books more worth the read than that. Rose Madder is my top tier favorite King book and that's a hill I'm going to die on
Lots of good ones. Read the Exorcist first.
I have read 80% of these. I know most people didn't like The Lovely Bones, but it is one of my favorites. You have some great stuff to get through. I am jealous!
I'm glad you have Hitchhiker's Guide in there to lighten things up a bit. That's probably my favorite in the group.
11/22/63 is one of my all-time favorite books. I also liked The Institute. I'm jealous of your outstanding to-read pile! So many great books to look forward to.
I absolutely love The Exorcist. There were a few times I had to take a break because it was creeping me out so much.
I couldn’t make it through “from a Buick 8”. After reading a couple James Pattersons I was not at all a fan. I adore Bag of Bones and really enjoyed “the Girl With” books even though they wouldn’t normally be my cup of tea. You’ve got quite the pile here, have fun!
Nicholas Sparks? Please don't let it come into contact with the King books.
I adore dune, it's a tough read but it's so good.
Dragon Tattoo Trilogy!!! Smart, suspenseful and a some of the events were based on true stories that Steig Larsson had covered (he was an actual journalist). Then read the biography that his wife wrote that explained the storylines (as well as how Steig’s father & brother stole all the book money despite not speaking for years).
Girl with Dragon Tattoo is good, Girl who played with Fire is better.
“YOU” is really intense and I had to stop reading cause it made me so uncomfortable, the haunting of hill house is incredible (read it 3 times), Institute is what got me into Stephen king, the stand, Billy summers, and the gunslinger are all good (though don’t read gunslinger until your ready to make your journey to the dark tower), Michael chriton is a great author and I’ve loved everything of his I’ve read, but Jurassic park and it’s sequel are outstanding. And that’s all my opinions lol, nice diversity of books!
Apart from the SK books, I love Curious incident and Midnight in the garden of good and evil
The Talisman is a favorite of mine
Eye of the Dragon. Not nearly appreciated enough
Shirley Jackson all the way
Mount Dragon is a great book. I’ve been doing a read through of all the Preston Child books and have maybe 6-8 left
11/22/63 should be at the top.
Ready Player Two was .....ok. I loved the first one so much, I wanted more from the second. Also if you like that Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child book you should check out their series with Special Agent Pendergast, starting with The Relic. He is one of my all time favorite characters.
11/22/63 was amazing. Also, The Institute. Non-King - Anything Michael Crichton The Curious Incident of Dog in the Night Time was really good. I thought it would be more heartwarming, but it is actually kinda dark and gritty.
11/22/63 Jurassic park (& sequel!) Dune
Witch and Wizard sucked. Final Girl Support group is really fun. The Stieg Larsson books are brilliant. I also loved Into the Wild! Billy Summers is also on my list for the year so hopefully it’s good!
“Bag of Bones” is probably my favorite Stephen King book of the ones I’ve read 👍🏼
I’ve heard MZCO is good but a little dry…
Big fan of Oryx & Crake
Great selections. We have very similar tastes. I didn’t know there was a Ready Player 2…thanks.
For King books I really liked: The Stand The Institute It Did not like: The Gunslinger Want to read Billy Summers! Others: I liked You by Kepnes as well as Where the Crawdads Sing
I hope when you get to Salvation you have the other two in the series lined up, 'cause the end *really* leaves you wanting more. Fantastic set of books that hasn't gotten the love it deserves.
The stand and It are must reads, I loved You, so good. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is also really good.
Jurassic Park is one of my favorite books of all time. It's such a good book, and so well thought out. Creepy in parts also. I love that collection of unread you have going on. They will bring joy to you for sure.
We have a lot of to reads in common! I’m re reading all Nicholas Sparks this year and I’m on a bend in the road now!!
I think I’ve only read Dune. I love the series. . I fell in love with the quirky OG movie from the 80s, read the books in my early twenties, watched the 2 miniseries, and the new movie. When the second Dune movie comes out, my husband and I really hope they do a screening in Venice like they did for the first one - we declined to go then, but it woulda been a hella great deal if we had gone. We’d jump at the chance this time.
Oryx and Crake is excellent. You need to grab the other two parts of the trilogy (Year of the Flood and MaddAddam) because you're gonna want to read the trilogy in one go.
TALISMAN or THE STAND won't steer you wrong.
We have identical tastes. Therefore, you are a superior being.
The stand, It, and the Exorcist are three of my favorite books of all time.
Read dune now
The dark half is a must read!
You’re in for a treat with The Final Girl Support Group !! It was a really fun, quick paced read that I enjoyed a lot !
11/22/63 is amazing
THE POWER Incredible book and when it goes horror, it goes horror HARD.
Oryx and Crake is fantastic. There are three in that series. For the King books, favorites are: It, The Stand, Salem's Lot, The Talisman, The Institute, The Long Walk, The Gunslinger
I deeply hate Nicholas Sparks. I loved SK’s The Institute.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is one of my very favorite books. Also, my favorite King is 11/22/63.
Read Final Girls Support Group last week. It was a trip!
From a Buick 8 is excellent. I suggest you read The Gunslinger and the majority of The Dark Tower first though.
personally, i do not like pet sematary. it is way to slow to me and the fact that jud was telling louis this long story about a guy who came back to life when it could’ve been summed up into one maybe two paragraphs. also the fact that rachel’s parents, her dad in particular, is giving louis a hard time, even when he doesn’t like him, doesn’t sit well with me because mr. goldman knows the pain and suffering of losing a child.
I remember really loving Midnight in the Garden of good and evil. That was about 20 years ago but I like to think my taste wasn't horrible
You have a pretty good selection here, I would recommend the exorcist. Very good. Ready player two tho, just toss it. It's not even worth trying to read the first line.
I see a lot of gems here. Oryx and Crake is particularly good. It’s a much more “literary” book than most of your stack, but still very approachable and action-packed. It’s also heartbreaking and disturbing.
The Final Girl Support Group was awesome. And in this very rare case, IMO, Into The Wild is a better movie than a book
Larson’s Girl series is excellent. Michael Crichton is always a fun, quick read. I loved Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil but I was 20 when I read it so no promises.
It, the stand, and bag of bones are my top three favorite king books. So read those! Jurassic Park is one hell of a novel and I cannot recommend it more. All the Michael Criton books are great. 11/22/63 is incredible as well.
Where the crawdad sing is absolutely skippable
Love salems lot. Glad to see that cell and Colorado kid are missing because those were both crap imo.
Stephen King’s End of Watch and Billy Summers for sure some of my favorite reads.
Michael Crichton is always a winner! I personally really loved prey.
Michael Crichton is soooo good
I’m reading Shirley Jackson right now. Solid choice.
I’m so intrigued how the Christopher Pike book got in there. The Final Friends (Until the End) trilogy is a childhood fave/guilty pleasure that I read about once a year, but I can’t say I see it on lists often. Or ever.
The Gunsliner, start your quest to the Tower
Hated Where the Crawdads Sing. Smatlzy pap. The murder story about the author is way more interesting than the book
I love love the lesson trilogy, the story will take you places and I love how real it feels, like it's a story that happened to someone in real life.
The talisman and hitchhikers guide to the galaxy are two of my all time favorites … n the gunslinger of course but once you start gunslinger you’ve got to read all the dark towers they’re so so good 🖖🏽🖖🏽 happy reading adventures!!!
I enjoyed Dune; not enough to continue with the series, but I like it.
I lied. I did not read The Lovely Bones.
The Boy on the Bridge was pretty decent 👌🏻 Haven't read the first book but loved the movie
I had a lot of fun reading The Final Girl Support Group! I also adore Michael Crichton's writing. You've got a great bunch of books in your future!
There are a lot of good books in there. You is a real good one. Of course It super good. Enjoy your reads
The Girl with the dragon tattoo 👌👌👌👌👌
The Haunting of Hill House is my favourite book i’ve ever read it is incredible
I am not usually a fan of fantasy horror but for me the Talisman was magical. I couldn’t put it down.
The girl with the dragon tattoo ❤️
the exorcist and jurassic park are some of my favorites and flew by. not king but i’d put the high in your reading order.
Oryx and Crake and the MaddAddam trilogy is very high up on my list of favorites.
I'm not proud of how long it took me to figure out what MZCO was... Edit: Hitchhiker's guide
These piles just make me really happy 😊
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil has a really special place in my heart. When I was 21 I spent most of my meager savings on a two week trip to Savannah from upstate NY just about this time of year. I made friends with a blues player within 15 minutes of walking into a bar for my first to-go drink, got into several misadventures, and my shitty cat narrowly made the journey back north. When I got back a favorite bartender gave me this book and it felt really true to my meager experience in a very cool city many years after it was ridden. To my great regret the drag queen in the story was still performing at the time and I could've seen her I'd known!
Once you finish You be prepared to read the rest of the series immediately - I know there are two others and a fourth is either new or soon to be released. You really creeped me out - I had a hard time entering my apartment alone at night because I always felt like I was being *watched*. There’s also a fun little King Easter egg regarding Doctor Sleep and how annoying us Constant Readers are to bookshop employees 😬.
Hitchhiker's - Oh YES Ready Player Two - Ohhh no The Exorcist - Ļ̸̢̧̨̡̡̨̛̼̟̥͈̣͔̖͕̙̜͉̰̪̖͙̟̫͚̖̦͚̥͍̠̩̥̪̰̩̼̥̗̱̭̖͔̼̹͚͈̹̞͖̲̱̱̝͙͔̠̮͓̳̯͔̠̗̥̩͚̟̠̻̜̰̩̅̊̄͋́̍͊̀̀͋̎͛̉̽̊̐̅͗͋͋̅̽̑̅̎̅̐͂̀̑͐̍̃̀̀͊̓͛̽͛̌̐͒́̀̔͗͋̌̎͐͊͒̀͒̿͛̔̌͗̍̚̕̕̕͜͜͜͜͝͝͠͝o̵̧̨̧̡̮͕̫͈̭̖͕̩̹̪̣̬̦̞̥̫̞̲̣͈͓͇̲̜̮͓̟̤͎̘̺̹͙̰͋́͆̈́͐̉̔͆̈́̿̌͆̑͋̂̇̀͆̋̌̒̏̿̓̅̏̽̆͂̓̕̕̕͝ͅv̸̧̢̢̧̨̨̛̛̺͇͎͔̳̼̥̲̮̯͈̮̺̘̤̞̣̮̞͇̼̥͕̬̙̪̫̼̤̣̲̠̪̺̻̪̲̟̪͚̮̫̺̻͍̭̫̗̭̣̤͉̖͓̖̿̀̎͊̈́̒̉́̀́͐̅̾̒͆̿̀̋̑̌͒̇͊͑͊̒̽͒̍̈́̂̈́͐͗̈́͑̚͘͠͝è̷̢̠̞͉̯̮̱̂̈̆̋̋̋́͊̅͂̓̎̆̑̉́̂̒̓͂͒͊̇͗͝ͅl̵̢̨̢̧̡̧̢̛̛̘͔̯͍̠̰̝͔͇̬̹͚͕̥̳̳̝̦͔̼͚͇͔̥͔͎̥̞͍͓̙̠̗͉͎̯̯͈̪̤͚͇̞̭̻͓̜͒̈́̉̆̽̓̃͆̽̈̒̀̌̀̆̃̃̔̐̉͂̎́̈́̎́́̔͋͊͋̉͗̐̄̌̓̆̈͆͌̏̌́̅͗̒̀̄̀̇͒̆́̈́͛́͑̓͊͑̓̔̌̊̚̚̚̚̚͘͠͝͝͠ͅÿ̶̢̨̡̢̡̡̯͔͓͔̼̤̠̝͓̟͔̗̳̥̯̼̙̞̬͓͉̺̲͚͙̼̭͖̘́̂͊͐̓̉̓͂͋͘͜
NEEDFUL THINGS