I love the ambiguity of: "Do i have to read IT?" "IT ties in...it ties in."

0:36 I like how he points out the page count of "It" but doesn't react to the mention of The Stand just a few seconds ago.

This is the same energy as stopping stormlight to read mistborn so you can have the whole experience then finding out there’s also elantris and white sand and also there’s a SECOND Mistborn trilogy?? oh and the novellas. Can’t forget the novellas

At least he didn't give you the super extended reading list. "Before reading Christine, I'd suggest an automotive repair book." "But it's just a possessed car." "Yeah, but you'll get more out of it if you understand how cars work." "Then I can move on to the Stand?" "No. The Stand has a lot of biblical themes, so I recommend reading the Bible first." "The Bible? That's over 1000 pages and was not written by Stephen King." "Yeah, but you'll understand the Stand better if you read it first. I also have various folklore books about shapeshifting monsters before you read *It."*

I'd guess 'Salem's Lot is really the only important-ish one because it has a main character's plot before his introduction in Wolves. But then I haven't gotten around to that one yet. The rest are kind of like reading all the lore in the Dark Souls games. The nuggets add up to a more coherent world all together, but individually you just find out that 'this magic kid is like that other magic kid', or 'oh so that's the same kind of dimensional tear'. Wonderful? Yes. Worth it? Yes. Essential? No.

As someone who's not read a single King book _outside_ of the Dark Tower series, I can say that you don't need to read anything else to understand the story. There are a few moments where you can sense that there's more going on, but nothing vital.

My wife is a library assistant and when I mentioned I was starting the Dark Tower she had to take a moment to complain about how much of a pain the Dark Tower books are to shelve.

It was so much fun being a teen and finding the Dark Tower. I didn’t know about Kings universe of connection (outside of a Pennywise inclusion in Dreamcatcher), and so I was loving the little bits (and big bits) that started to tie his stories together. Salems Lot was one the first King books I read, and to see a familiar face pop into Dark Tower was so thrilling. It was a lot of fun being surprised by the connections

I’m personally almost finished with my nearly 2 year long listen of every Stephen King book in publication order. It’s not necessary, but reading them like that and slowly seeing all the connections, from overlapping characters and places to Dark Tower references and plot, it all weaves together really beautifully and I’d highly recommend it.

I lol'ed at "if you want to live".

I did most of these for the dark tower, and honestly, they're mostly tangential and unnecessary. Yes, even IT and the The Stand, and also Insomnia, Talisman, and Salems Lot (can't be fucked to explain exactly). That's their brilliant design by King, you just don't need to read them - but ofcourse I recommend them as separate entities! That being said, I'm glad I read them. Even Insomnia. There is a lot to say on this topic, but, from what I've read and learned, I'll be succinct and I say this: The King books outside the Dark Tower series build the King reality and lore, but the main series' plot will not be found outside books labelled Dark Tower. Personally, I feel I could have read The Dark Tower and have understood the plot and the world without reading any other King books. But, I am the better for having read them since I feel privy to secrets that no one in the Tower universe knows, but me, King and other 'Constant Readers'. Side note: I haven't read Black House. This may have been vital, and It could invalid my point. I apologise if it does. Jesus, I didn't want to say this much. Edit: Even Wind Through The Key Hole isn't necessary, and it's a Dark Tower Book (written after the series im sure you know). And, It felt, to me, like a speed bump - Just power through the main ones! Another Edit: a commenter named Gustavo L hits the nail on the head. Find that if you can. Good Video.

"do i have to read insomnia" LMAOOOOO the mustache chaos energy we needed at the end of 2020

I did it. I saw this video years ago, fascinated by not fully understanding what it was about. A long list of books whose reading would lead me to the epic conclusion of this saga and king's world. Since then I have read many Stephen King books, followed the list you described and even expanded it with other readings recommended by others who like you were preparing for the journey to the tower. I've ready Salem's lot, the gunslinger, call of the three, the stand, the eyes of the dragon, the talisman, the wastelands, wizard and icing, It, insomnia, the mist, bag of bones, Rose Madder, Desperation, The regulators, Everything's eventual, Hearts of Atlantis, Black House, The Wind Through the Keyhole, Wolves of the Calla, Song of Susannah, the Dark Tower and many more. It is 0:46 a.m. and I have now finished the Black Tower. Thank you for everything, long days and pleasant nights.

This insomnia dig is so mean, that was a fun book. Solid middle King material AND I don't remember being mad about the ending at all. Plus, creepy soul doctors!

This is exactly why I keep postponing the Dark Tower series

Thats pretty accurate, im reading in publication order and reevaluating my life choices before start reading the stand, that god damn 1500 pages master piece

You gotta read On Writing before Song of Susannah cause the main character of that book shows up.

I've read the Dark Tower series 3 times and have not read everything relating to it yet. Now as I go back and explore King's backlog of books, I find little nuggets of the tower and to me, that makes me enjoy those stories even more. I look at it as connecting the dots to a story I love.

I didn't even know how many of his books tie in with Dark Tower series. When I read them after a friend recommended them to me I just went ahead and read the whole series as a stand alone, and let me tell you, it still freakin blew my mind. Maybe if you are a completionist and really like reading, there's a point to reading some additional books, but for me, I was so hooked on the main plot, it would have totally threw me off if I'd have started a different book inbetween. And I could see myself eventually losing my focus/motivation to finish all of it. So, if you want just read The Dark Tower series on its own. Just whatever you do... don't. watch. the movie.

I fell for the "you wont understand if you dont read these!!" and let me tell you... there is a point, but not so much as most king fans tell you. imo, the most important are low men in yellow coats (form hearts in atlantis), insomnia, and the short story everything's eventual. The only reason you "should" read salems lot, is because, there is spoilers for the book during the series, otherwise, everything you need to know from that book is explained during the series. salems lot before book 5, the others, before book 7. and dont split books 3 and 4! ( you will understand why when you get to those). hope I could help you breaking down the essencials (thought the only essencials are those 3/4, just to get some context for some stuff)

Bro the laugh at the end had me 😂😂😂 the sheer fear and confusion of those who haven’t read it… hilarious.

Insomnia is actually my favorite king book lol it's eventually (as everything's eventual) an overlooked piece when regarding the lore of The Dark Tower. It goes into the often mentioned "levels" of the Dark Tower and is the introduction of the big bad that is The Crimson King. You could even say it was one the last moments before the Crimson King went fully mad by the end of the series, but even that is left ambiguous given the conclusion of the series

I feel like Insomnia actually improves if you're well into The Dark Tower by that point.

What’s great about Stephen King is that you can read the novels with the mindset of “its all connected” and connect the dots, or, with the mindset that everything is standalone and you can enjoy the novel on its own (besides the Dark Tower series, trilogies and sequels)

This is the order I I’m using The gunslinger Drawing of the three The stand Eye of the dragon The talisman Night shift The waste lands Wizard and glass Salem’s lot Skeleton crew It Insomnia Rose madder Desperation Regulators Needful things Everything eventful The wind through the keyhole Bag of bones Heart in Atlantis On writing Black house From buick 8 The wolves of the calla Song of susannah The dark tower

Wolves of the Calla does a good job explaining the important bits of Salems Lot as well as explaining the concept of the Low Men that appear in Hearts of Atlantis. I'd really say that the two truly important ones to read are The Stand and Insomnia, as the ending of Wizard and Glass can feel like a complete fever dream without having read The Stand first. And then well, the ending of book 7 will probably feel pretty lame without reading Insomnia. Without it, Patrick kinda just appears out of nowhere and becomes a main character for no reason. But yeah, you really only need to read Salems Lot if you want Father Callahan's backstory in full (which kinda allows you to skip a few chapters in Wolves of the Calla), and if you wanna know Ted Brautigans backstory then Hearts in Atlantis can give you that, but I wouldn't call it required reading, its just a side story, kinda like Wind through the Keyhole. Carrie and/or Firestarter are referenced, but not important. If you wanna know more about what Dandelo was, then read IT. If you're interested in why JFK was referenced so much in the Dark Tower, read 11/22/63. The Talisman goes into detail about the nature of twinners, which are mentioned in the Dark Tower but not really expanded upon. Long story short, Insomnia is the most important side novel to the point that it pretty much IS a Dark Tower novel. More important than Wind Through the Keyhole. The Stand is also helpful. The rest are just for fun and to learn more about what else was going on at the same time in the multiverse.

I used to think this video was comedy. It turns out it’s actually really sounds advice

Can't wait to read the Wastelands later this year. And Great Job by the way 👍. KZfaq seriously needs more Dark Tower videos 📚📚📚. And you're right ... Stephen King's Multiverse never truly ends😆😆😆

Dad-a-chum? Dum-a-chum? Ded-a-chek? Did-a-chick?

“IT? Isn’t that a thousand pages?” I love that if he went ahead with this recommended reading order he will have already read a couple thousand pages anyway but now he’s asking questions

That’s so awesome. It reminds me of me when I was obsessed with this series. I didn’t read the stand but I read everything else. And everything‘s eventual.

OK cool. This is the reading order I'll use when I get to the Dark Tower in 2022...😂😅

In the middle of The Gunslinger now. I'm salivating just thinking about the rest of the journey.

And the hilarious part is that these books do all tie into each other.

This is the funniest thing I've ever seen. I'm literally still laughing as I write this.

I highly recommend the Kingslingers podcast from Doof Media to both new and old readers. Fantastic dynamic of a Constant Reader and a blank slate, great with analyzing books. Reading along with them is so much fun.

“Do I have to read Insomnia?” “If you want to live” lmaoooo mood. Insomnia is awesome!

You’ve got talent!! Can’t wait to watch more!

This is completely accurate. From a Buick 8 made me go back and read all darktower related books.

Bahahahahaha omg that conversation about what else to read is so funny. And so accurate. Omg literally this is so funny.

Hahaha why do I relate to this video? Too much, in fact. Well done!

😂 So true. I was so stressed at the start of this series about getting the order right, but one thing I’m starting to realise is a lot of the connections are fun world-building like in a lot of the other books and you can enjoy the series on its own too (and potentially reading the other books later). Like apart from the Man in Black, eyes of the Dragon and the Stand ended up being cool references/setting. I realise Salem’s Lot and some other books are more important because of specific characters but still. I’d already read It, Salem’s Lot and the Stand before the Dark Tower and I’ll probably read some of the short stories before the last book too to get some of the characters.

I read the whole thing twice on a road trip and adored it. I caught a lot of tie-ins from books I had read previously like Carrie and IT, but could tell I was missing at least some context from other books. That said, no way in hell I’m reading that whole list lol.

Nice one 😆 though, I did encounter an “It” tie-in in “11-22-63”, as well as a “The Stand” tie-in in “The Night Shift”, but both were so minor and self-explanatory that I feel I could’ve understood them just the same without reading “The Stand” and “It” beforehand.

I grew up in Maine and my mom actually babysat Stephen King's kids at one point. He was also my dad's English teacher. My dad said he would read books while walking on the street.

I love the dark tower series and it is the only Stephen King books I've ever read in my life. But I do Like the little touch of reading the gun slinger again at the end

In my opinion, Salems Lot is kinda the only one that I would STRONGLY recommend reading before continuing. It depends how you want your reading experience: -Do you want to read all of the supporting books to enhance your dark tower experience? -Or do you want to still with JUST the dark tower so that the other books are enhanced

I love this video and will protect it with my life

I like how he says to read the gunslinger again at the end :D. Nice Little nod for people who have completed the series

I read the Dark Tower in order as my first King books. It was fine, I understood everything and enjoyed the adventure a lot frankly. I know I missed some easter eggs or subtle nods or whatever but the Dark Tower is written well to stand on its own 2 feet. I’m sure another 100+hours of reading would have enriched the experiences here and there but is it worth it? Maybe. Is it necessary? Absolutely not lol

I am literally reading through all of King's fiction in publication order. My friend and I are doing it together and discussing it on my channel

You can always re-read the Dark Tower series every few years. I do that. The series on itself is perfect and the tie ins that are key, are all tied in in the series itself. So that gives you the optportunity to explore other books and then come back, revisit the tower and find other tie ins. That is the beauty of it. That is the tower.

Insomnia is really good, though. I never understood the hate.

Absolutely fantastic and hilarious. Subbed.

Honestly I think it was more fun for me personally to have read most of the dark tower first (I mean I'd been reading King for a long time anyway) and then later realizing how many tie ins there are. I think a prescriptive reading order like this is unnecessary, the references and tie ins are just fun to see in other books when they pops up.

I'm living through this nightmare right now, and I was pretty well-read in King's oeuvre before starting The Gunslinger. I'm really dreading my rereads of The Talisman and Insomnia, since I couldn't stand those when I read them 15 years ago.

Making it difficult for readers to follow the plot if they haven't read all of your prior works is truly the sign of a great author!

This is how I dropped out of the Sanderverse. I was doing good on the Stormlight books until I was told I had to read through the Mistborn series before the next one. I tried the first Mistborn book, then gave up on Sanderson all together because it was too much work. Even if a story is part of a greater whole, it has to be able to stand on its own, without making me feel like I missed something, and without making me feel like the best has yet to come.

So that explains why I just understand half of everything that happens in the book series

Fortunately for me, I waited until after I'd already read everything he'd already written before starting the Dark Tower series... I don't know why it took me so long to get to it, I think it was just... I don't know... I had a hard time wrapping my head around a King fantasy/sci-fi series, but I'm so glad I eventually got there. I read that King would often ask, at his readings, "Who here has read my work?" and of course he'd see everyone's hand go up, but he'd follow up with, "Who here has read ANY of The Dark Tower series?" and surprisingly he noted that all but maybe one or two hands would go down. I guess I get it... But seriously, if you're a fan of King's work, and haven't started the Dark Tower... it is fucking awesome! I would really love to see this adapted into a series on HBO.

I know most people here have read the series but for those that haven't, this is funny but it is accurate. Having read all of his novels beforehand and going in blind, there are so many portions of the books that touch on aspects that only surface familiarity if you've read them. You might get away with not caring but it helps make the story even richer.

sent this video to my partner partly as a joke and partly to encourage him to do a little supplementary reading before he finishes the series. Great video!

Lol I actually kind of agree with reading the Gunslinger at the end hahah

I discovered this Channel with this Video. I started the Dark Tower Series only because of this Video. … I don‘t regret both :D

Honestly he provides full context in the books for everything but insomnia, I'd recommend reading insomnia before book 7 or there are gonna be some parts that feel confusing and/or lackluster. Maybe the Stand, it's not really required to understand anything but it does make some parts in book 4-7 feel a lot cooler.

I read The Stand as my first Stephen King Book, and also read It, Salem's Lot, and a few other odd classic King novels before reading the Tower. Some are better to read after, but breaking up the main series that much would just be painful. Insert a standalone novel in between here, or there, but otherwise just build on your knowledge of the universe, and let the stories be what they are. Many small stories, and some epic ones that are all interconnected in some way, whether obvious, or not. It takes years for most people to do a "proper" read of the tower by some people's standarda.

Insomnia was the first major Stephen King book I read haha, it must have hit me right because I loved it and have reread it a couple times over the years😅

Hahaha just finished the last book. I'm definitely rereading the Gunslinger after seeing this.

Meanwhile there I am, having read just the tower books as my introduction to King in general

I am soo lucky that I started as a child being obsessed with Stephen King novels. Ironically never heard of the Dark Tower. But I read all the books before touching the Gunslinger. Even Talisman, Black House, Eyes of the Dragon etc. When I started to read the Dark Tower I had no idea all of his works live in these novels. I organically discovered this and I feel lucky as most people never read The Dark Tower in that order.

The first two books read like a fever dream, honestly

I've read just about every Stephen King novel at least once, many of them twice 😂. Been reading Stephen King novels since I was a kid in the 90s. Definitely some of the best horror out there. ( Not a fan Dreamcatcher though)

i'm reading the talisman right now. please don't hurt me

This is so good, considering I am going through ALL of the DT adjacent books before taking my 5th trip to the Tower. I'm about half way through.

I read Insomnia years ago (because I was reading the Dark Tower series) and because if it (I didn't like it) I haven't read a Stephen King book since, including the rest of the Dark Tower series since published. I'm thinking of going back and reading the entire series. I'm still somewhat on the fence. Back in the day, I LOVED the first three books.

There's another dark tower book that came out years later... I think it's between books 3 and 4? Also, prequrl comics! BUT only after you've read the fourth book. .... This series is messed up.

You read every damn book just for King to pull the rug out from under you.. Life is a wheel. =]

I saw something that said “what you need to read before the Dark Tower movie”. And it was all this. Imagine reading over 10k pages for that movie.

Read Stephen King in published order. There, SOLVED

My dad and my uncle bought me the entire dark tower series without knowing about the complementary books :')

My list also includes Pet Cemetery, Cujo, The Tommyknockers, The Dark Half, Bag of Bones, The Plant, Misery, Rose Madder, Dolores Claiborne, The Colorado Kid & 11/22/63 and a few short stories to!

This is so my headspace right now. I'm at wizard and the glass but read the Talisman a while ago and like.. but.. *wait what* this video helps me understand that's how this works.

The insomnia bit is crucial 👌 Thanks for this little video!

Reading is so much fun. It doesn't feel like working at all!

Yesss! Now I can finally start reading the Dark Tower series!

"And then I'm done, right?" GENIUS. Really love your videos, sir. Ever since finding someone I've begun to appreciate them, and the other content you produce, even more. PS Thank you for note at the end, my irresponsibility has left me staring at the opening page of "Ready Player One" for the past 27 years... Wait...

Oh my gosh. SO TRUE.

I’ve read the Stand just because I have a huge list of Stephen king books to read due to me And my late father living his work. When I discovered that he not only wrote a fantasy series but that his books in general are a connected universe I had to rearrange my list in how excited I was for the book and those of which that may connect directly to each other and the dark tower series. It’s a big commitment but I actually enjoy making lists and experiencing things like this. Hopefully I’ll feel connected to my father a long the way.

I LOL'd when he laughed at him for saying "then I'll be done" 😅

Me just finishing gunslinger and reading some of his short stories all the while wanting to spend the whole week on both drawing of the three and wastelands: 👁️👄👁️

I got the Dark Tower series on audiobook and listened to it when I drove from Florida to Montana. Gunslinger was cool, and then it got weird. Very entertaining road trip material.

The Gunslinger is SK's Louis L'Amor. I love the quiet Western kickoff book.

Started with the tower series and I dont regret it. Now I just have to read all these books and reread the series!

Now I feel like a poser. I'm on Susannah and I'm just reading the dark tower in release order. Never read a single other king book. I've already seen how some books (the stand and Salem's lot specifically) line up, but none others yet... We'll see how I feel after finishing

here's a hot tip - after finishing the series, read a pre-2003 print of Gunslinger. It's much trippier, flows more like a stream-of-consciousnes and crucially plays out a little differently than the rewritten post-2003 print, and thus puts the ending of the final book in a more interesting light. As an aside, I think King lost his mojo after his 1999 accident. One way to tell (other than his post-accident books and hysterical social media presence) is how he describes the pre-2003 Gunslinger: he calls it too "dry". But anyone who's read both - as i have - i'm pretty sure would describe the original Gunslinger as more 'fluid, more flow' and the revised version as the 'dry' one, almost reading like extensive foot-notes at times, rather than the hypnotic rhythmic narrative-flow of the original. Tho' I have to mention the revised edition is more consistent with the subsequent books, hence why it should probably be read first. From all the other King works, I'd only read a few. Honestly I don't see much benefit in knowing them for Dark Tower...too much Stephen King can end up feeling like a chore anyway. But his Dark Tower series is deffo his magnum opus, easily his finest work. Worth a read at least once per lifetime. Ignore the Idris Elba film. fancy packing a 7-book, 4000-page series into a 90-minute movie? There must be other worlds than these where there's a multi-season TV-production of it.

I'm only read Carrie and I wanna read more of King, primarily the dark tower series. So I guess that reading this crazy order can help haha

Well, I read all seven books in order. Like a true psychopath.

"Kingdom hearts is too complicated! I don't even know where to start!" Stephen King: Cute.

"Do I have to read it?" "if you wan to live" "What?!" "What?" That second what was hilarious

Accurate. Insomnia it's not only important but it's actually am excelent book, my favorite by King. Just give it a try!!