Stephen King Recommends Reading Challenge

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How about a King-themed reading challenge?? Feel like being kept up all night?  Feel like experiencing the best in horror fiction?  Feel like reading the books that inspire King to be the horrifying, writing rockstar that he is?  

I confess I haven't read a lot of these books - I definitely read mostly King in the horror genre because I love his character-driven style.  But that's why I thought it would be fun to read (and keep track of my reading) books he recommends - at least you know that they will be of good quality.  Also, with his recommendations from On Writing we might pick up some creative writing skills of our own ("If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write." - Stephen King).

Stephen King wrote 2 non-fiction books: Danse Macabre and On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.  Both are 5 star books that I enjoyed reading!  Imagine the chance to take a glimpse at what it would be like to be in one of King's courses at the University of Maine.  Danse Macabre is an ode to the horror genre and On Writing is about writing in general.  In both books he gives a list of books he recommends.  These lists are compiled below.  I have also made a 3rd list of King's books - because what good is a King reading challenge without any books by the king? :)

No time-frame for this challenge as it is a massive amount of books!  Just another couple hundred to add to your TBR ;)

The 110 Books Recommended in Danse Macabre
(These books are in alphabetical order and the asterisks were placed by King to represent books he felt were important to the genre)
  1. The Plague Dogs - Richard Adams 
  2. Watership Down* - Richard Adams (read this as a kid, but not counting it because I want to re-read)
  3. Cold Hand in Mine - Robert Aickman
  4. Painted Devils - Robert Aickman
  5. The Walker through Walls - Marcel Ayme
  6. Harriet Said - Beryl Bainbridge
  7. Concrete Island* - J.G. Ballard
  8. High Rise - J.G. Ballard
  9. Hunger* - Charles Beaumont
  10. The Magic Man - Charles Beaumont
  11. Pleasant Dreams* - Robert Bloch
  12. Psycho* - Robert Bloch
  13. Dandelion Wine - Ray Bradbury
  14. Something Wicked This Way Comes* - Ray Bradbury - Read July 2020
  15. The October Country - Ray Bradbury
  16. The Shapes of Midnight* - Joseph Payne Brennan
  17. Nightmares and Geezenstacks* - Frederic Brown
  18. Among the Dead - Edward Bryant.
  19. The Loch - Janet Caird
  20. Demons By Daylight - Ramsey Campbell
  21. The Doll Who Ate His Mother* - Ramsey Campbell
  22. The Parasite* - Ramsey Campbell
  23. The Vampire Tapestry - Suzy McKee Charnas
  24. The End of the Game and Other Stories - Julio Cortazar
  25. A Feast of Snakes - Harry Crews
  26. Kiss Kiss* - Roald Dahl
  27. Someone Like You* - Roald Dahl
  28. The Black Castle - Les Daniels
  29. The Thomas Covenant Trilogy (3 vols.)* - Stephen R. Donaldson
  30. Don't Look Now - Daphne Du Maurier
  31. Deathbird Stories* - Harlan Ellison
  32. Strange Wine* - Harlan Ellison
  33. All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By - John Farris
  34. The Ghosts of Manacle - Charles G. Finney
  35. The Body Snatchers* - Jack Finney
  36. I Love Galesburg in the Springtime - Jack Finney
  37. The Third Level* - Jack Finney
  38. Time and Again* - Jack Finney
  39. Lord of the Flies* - William Golding - Read 2005 **
  40. Amphigorey - Edward Gorey
  41. Amphigorey Too - Edward Gorey
  42. The Hour of the Oxrun Dead - Charles L. Grant
  43. The Sound of Midnight* - Charles L. Grant
  44. Twelve Tales of Horror* - Davis Grubb
  45. The Keeper of the Children - William H. Hallahan
  46. The Search for Joseph Tully - William H. Hallahan
  47. The Fog - James Herbert
  48. The Spear* - James Herbert
  49. The Survivor - James Herbert.
  50. Falling Angel* - William Hjortsberg
  51. The Haunting of Hill House* - Shirley Jackson
  52. The Lottery and Others* - Shirley Jackson
  53. The Sundial - Shirley Jackson
  54. Men Without Bones* - Gerald Kersh
  55. The Princess of All Lands - Russell Kirk
  56. Tomato Caine - Nigel Kneale
  57. Dr. Rat* - William Kotzwinkle
  58. The Painted Bird* - Jerry Kozinski
  59. Our Lady of Darkness* - Fritz Leiber
  60. The Lathe of Heaven* - Ursula LeGuin
  61. Orsinian Tales - Ursula LeGuin
  62. Rosemary's Baby* - Ira Levin
  63. The Stepford Wives - Ira Levin
  64. The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything - John D. MacDonald
  65. The Magic Barrel* - Bernard Malamud
  66. The Natural - Bernard Malamud
  67. Burnt Offerings* - Robert Marasco
  68. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Maria Marquez
  69. Hell House - Richard Matheson
  70. I Am Legend* - Richard Matheson
  71. Shock II - Richard Matheson
  72. The Shrinking Man* - Richard Matheson
  73. A Stir of Echoes - Richard Matheson
  74. The Amulet* - Michael McDowell
  75. Cold Moon Over Babylon* - Michael McDowell.
  76. The Cement Garden - Ian McEwen
  77. The Feasting Dead - John Metcalf
  78. The Unicorn - Iris Murdoch
  79. Nightside* - Joyce Carol Oates
  80. A Good Man Is Hard to Find* - Flannery O'Connor
  81. The Gormenghast Trilogy (3 volumes) - Mervyn Peake
  82. V.* - Thomas Pynchon
  83. Tales of Mystery and Imagination - Edogawa Rampo
  84. Ghouls in My Grave - Jean Ray
  85. Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice
  86. The Breast - Philip Roth
  87. Sardonicus* - Ray Russell
  88. The Auctioneer* - Joan Samson
  89. The Collected Stories of William Sansom - William Sansom
  90. Ringstones - Sarban
  91. The Sound of His Horn* - Sarban
  92. The House Next Door* - Anne Rivers Siddons
  93. The Seance and Other Stories* - Isaac Bashevis Singer
  94. Nightwing - Martin Cruz Smith
  95. Ghost Story* - Peter Straub
  96. If You Could See Me Now - Peter Straub
  97. Julia - Peter Straub
  98. Shadowland* - Peter Straub
  99. Caviar - Theodore Sturgeon. 
  100. The Dreaming Jewels - Theodore Sturgeon 
  101. Some of Your Blood* - Theodore Sturgeon
  102. The Nightwalker - Thomas Tessier
  103. The Black House - Paul Theroux
  104. The Other* - Thomas Tryon
  105. Progeny of the Adder* - Les Whitten
  106. Tsuga's Children* - Thomas Williams
  107. I Paint What I See - Gahan Wilson
  108. Strange Seed* - T. M. Wright
  109. The Chrysalids - John Wyndham
  110. The Day of the Triffids* - John Wyndham

The Books Recommended in On Writing
(In alphabetical order)
  1. A Perfect Crime - Peter Abrahams
  2. Pressure Drop - Peter Abrahams
  3. Revolution #9 - Peter Abrahams
  4. Lights Out - Peter Abrahams
  5. A Death in the Family - James Agee
  6. Lives of the Monster Dogs - Kirsten Bakis
  7. The Eye in the Door - Pat Barker
  8. The Ghost Road - Pat Barker
  9. Regeneration - Pat Barker
  10. In the Night Season - Richard Bausch
  11. The Intruder - Peter Blauner
  12. The Sheltering Sky - Paul Bowles
  13. The Tortilla Curtain - T. Coraghessan Boyle
  14. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering American on the Appalachian Trail - Bill Bryson
  15. Thank You for Smoking - Christopher Buckley
  16. Where I'm Calling From - Raymond Carver
  17. Werewolves in their Youth - Michael Chabon
  18. Latitude Zero - Windsor Chorlton
  19. The Poet - Michael Connelly
  20. Family Values - K.C. Constantine
  21. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
  22. Underworld - Don DeLillo
  23. Gold Coast - Nelson DeMille
  24. Cathedral - Nelson DeMille
  25. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens - Read April 2019 **
  26. Common Carnage - Stephen Dobyns
  27. The Church of Dead Girls - Stephen Dobyns
  28. The Woman Who Walked Into Doors - Roddy Doyle
  29. The Dick Gibson Show - Stanley Elkin
  30. As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner
  31. The Beach - Alex Garland
  32. Deception on His Mind - Elizabeth George
  33. Gravity - Tess Gerritsen
  34. Lord of the Flies - William Golding - Read 2005 **
  35. Furnace - Muriel Gray
  36. A Gun For Sale - Graham Greene
  37. Our Man in Havana - Graham Greene
  38. Why Sinatra Matters - Pete Hamill
  39. The Fifties - David Halberstam
  40. Smilla's Sense of Snow - Peter Hoeg
  41. Hannibal - Thomas Harris
  42. Plainsong - Kent Haruf
  43. Dirty White Boys - Stephen Hunter
  44. A Firing Offense - David Ignatius
  45. A Widow for One Year - John Irving
  46. The Tooth Fairy - Graham Joyce
  47. The Devil's Own Work - Alan Judd
  48. Good Enough to Dream - Roger Kahn
  49. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster - Jon Kakauer
  50. The Liars' Club - Mary Karr
  51. Right to Life - Jack Ketchum
  52. Survivor - Tabitha King
  53. The Sky in the Water - Tabitha King
  54. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver - Read 2018
  55. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee - Read 2005 **
  56. Our Guys: The Glen Ridge Rape and the Secret Life of the Perfect Suburb - Bernard Lefkowitz
  57. The Ignored - Bentley Little
  58. A River Runs Through It - Norman Maclean
  59. The Moon and Sixpense - W. Somerset Maugham
  60. Cities of the Plain - Cormac McCarthy
  61. The Crossing - Cormac McCarthy
  62. Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
  63. Charming Billy - Alice McDermott
  64. Ancient Shores - Jack McDevitt
  65. Enduring Love - Ian McEwan
  66. The Cement Garden - Ian McEwan
  67. Dead Man's Walk - Larry McMurtry
  68. Zeke and Ned - Larry McMurtry
  69. A Canticle for Leibowitze - Walter M. Miller Jr.
  70. Zombie - Joyce Carol Oates
  71. In the Lake of the Woods  - Tim O'Brien
  72. The Speed Queen - Stewart O'Nan
  73. The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje
  74. No Safe Place - Richard North Patterson
  75. Freedomland - Richard Price
  76. The Shipping News - Annie Proulx
  77. Close Range - Annie Proulx
  78. One True Thing - Anna Quindlen
  79. A Sight for Sore Eyes - Ruth Rendell
  80. Waiting - Frank M. Robinson
  81. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling - Read multiple times
  82. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling - Read multiple times
  83. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone - J.K. Rowling - Read multiple times
  84. Mohawk - Richard Russo
  85. Reservation Road - John Burnham Schwartz
  86. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
  87. The Young Lions - Irwin Shaw
  88. The Crater - Richard Slotkin
  89. The Illusionist - Dinitia Smith
  90. Men in Black - Scott Spencer
  91. Joe Hill - Wallace Stegner
  92. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
  93. A Patchwork Planet - Anne Tyler
  94. Hocus Pocus - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
  95. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
  96. The Ax - Donald E. Westlake


All titles are by Stephen King (or his pseudonym Richard Bachman).  I have tried to go in order of publishing except for grouping The Dark Tower series together, forgive me if something is out of order.


  1. Carrie - Read multiple times
  2. Salem's Lot
  3. The Shining - Read multiple times, most recently July 2018
  4. Rage
  5. Night Shift
  6. The Stand - Read Nov 2019
  7. The Long Walk
  8. The Body
  9. The Dead Zone - Read Aug 2019
  10. Firestarter
  11. Roadwork
  12. Danse Macabre - Read July 2020
  13. Cujo
  14. The Running Man
  15. The Dark Tower Series (8 books)
  16. Different Seasons
  17. Pet Sematary - Read July 2020
  18. Christine
  19. The Talisman
  20. Thinner
  21. Skeleton Crew
  22. Cycle of the Werewolf
  23. IT - Read Nov 2019
  24. The Eyes of the Dragon
  25. Misery - Read July 2018
  26. The Tommyknockers
  27. The Dark Half - Read Aug 2019
  28. Four Past Midnight - Read multiple times (Secret Garden, Secret Window is amazing)
  29. Needful Things - Read June 2019
  30. Gerald's Game
  31. Dolores Claiborne - Read June 2019
  32. Nightmares & Dreamscapes
  33. Insomnia
  34. Rose Madder - Read Nov 2019
  35. Desperation
  36. The Regulators
  37. The Green Mile
  38. Bag of Bones
  39. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon - Read Aug 2019
  40. Hearts in Atlantis
  41. Storm of the Century
  42. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft - Read April 2017
  43. Dreamcatcher
  44. Black House (with Peter Straub)
  45. Everything's Eventual
  46. From A Buick 8
  47. The Colorado Kid
  48. Cell
  49. Lisey's Story - Read Sept 2019
  50. Blaze
  51. Duma Key
  52. Just After Sunset
  53. Under the Dome
  54. Blockade Billy
  55. Full Dark No Stars - Read July 2018 
  56. 11/22/63 - Read April 2017
  57. The Dark Man
  58. Doctor Sleep - Read Feb 2019
  59. Joyland
  60. Mr. Mercedes - Read July 2018
  61. Revival
  62. Finders Keepers
  63. Gwendy's Button Box & Gwendy's Final Task
  64. The Bazaar of Bad Dreams
  65. End of Watch
  66. Charlie the Choo-Choo (pseudonym: Beryl Evans, children's book)
  67. Sleeping Beauties (with Owen King)
  68. The Outsider
  69. Elevation
  70. The Institute
  71. If It Bleeds
  72. Fairy Tale
  73. Later
  74. Holly
  75. You Like It Darker


No doubt King will write books faster than we can get through this list!  So I'll add them as he goes :)

How about you - which books have you read?  Do you aspire to write?  To write horror fiction?  Feel like joining me in the "challenge" and reading some/all of these books?  Which ones are you excited to read?? Let me know in the comments! 

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Red = Read (no link means no review... need to update some of these with reviews)
Purple = Also Qualifies for Classics Club Challenge (put purple ** by books I've read that also are considered classics)
This may be over complicating things, but quite honestly its mostly for my own reference 😆

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