In the afterword of Stephen King’s highly regarded memoir/writing guide book On Writing, the bestselling writer shared a list of 96 books that he’d read while writing the book that he’d enjoyed and had influenced him. When a 10th anniversary of On Writing was released, an updated reading list of 82 books was included.
More recently, King has taken to Twitter to share with his fans and followers some of his favourite recent reads. Since joining the social media site in December 2013, he’s recommended the following 22 books.
1. Red Moon by Benjamin Percy
Finished RED MOON, by Benjamin Percy. A werewolf epic. Can’t stop thinking about it.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) December 10, 2013
2. The Marauders by Tom Cooper
“If shit was money, poor people would be born without assholes.” Read it in Tom Cooper’s THE MARAUDERS.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) January 2, 2014
3. Dominion by C.J. Sansom 
DOMINION, by C.J. Sansom: Great alternate-history novel. The Nazis win, occupy Britain. On sale this week. Check it out. — Stephen King (@StephenKing) January 26, 2014
That book DOMINION is terrific. And no, this isn’t one of those publisher-sponsored blurbs. I just fell in love with it. Nice and long, too.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) January 27, 2014
4. The Killer Next Door by Alex Marwood 
If you read Alex Marwood’s THE WICKED GIRLS, her new one–THE KILLER NEXT DOOR–is even better. Scary as hell. Great characters. — Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 16, 2014
5. Local Souls by Allan Gurganus
Reading LOCAL SOULS, by Allan Gurganus, and came across a nice quote attributed to Joe Louis: “I did the best I could with what I had.”
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 22, 2014
6. The Secret Place by Tana French 
Read THE SECRET PLACE, by Tana French, when it comes out. You’ll understand then. Great book. — Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 26, 2014
7. The Accident by Chris Pavone
THE ACCIDENT, by Chris Pavone: if you like real nail-biters, this is the best one so far this year.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 28, 2014
8. Missing You by Harlan Coben 
The new Harlan Coben is twisty and terrific. The stuff about the cops’ wives is especially good. Beautiful observation. I’m jealous. — Stephen King (@StephenKing) April 4, 2014
9. Doing Harm by Kelly Parsons
DOING HARM, by Kelly Parsons: best damn medical thriller I’ve read in 25 years. Terrifying OR scenes, characters with real texture.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) April 15, 2014
10 – 12. The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer 
I’m loving THE SOUTHERN REACH TRILOGY, by Jeff Vandermeer. Recommended by an indie bookseller. Creepy and fascinating. — Stephen King (@StephenKing) June 1, 2014
13 & 14. Niceville and The Homecoming by Carsten Stroud
NICEVILLE and THE HOMECOMING, by Carsten Stroud: crazy-good supernatural/crime/horror epic. Blew me away.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) June 23, 2014
Really one novel. You’ve never read anything like it. Faulkner crossed with Steve King. — Stephen King (@StephenKing) June 23, 2014
15 – 20. Gone series by Michael Grant 
I made Michael Grant’s GONE series last, but finished the last one today. I am now free to leave the FAYZ, but my time there was well spent. — Stephen King (@StephenKing) July 3, 2014
21. Joyland by Emily Schultz 
Emily Schultz is my new hero. You go with your bad self, girl. — Stephen King (@StephenKing) June 24, 2014
22. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett 
STATE OF WONDER, by Ann Patchett: took me awhile to get around to it, but boy, was it worth it. Highest recommendation. — Stephen King (@StephenKing) July 9, 2014
Not only have I not been able to read a Stephen King novel since “Firestarter,” but I haven’t read any of the books, above, either. Weak stomach. LOL
My two Stephen King favorites are ” Bag of Bones” and “11/22/63”. You may like them, Sally. Both contain minimal horror, but do contain maximum storytelling. I’ve read many of his books and Mr. King is at his best when he tells stories apart from the genre for which he is so famous. I do not suggest he abandon what he loves and what pays the bills, but I have yet to find an author who not only creates good stories, but tells them so effortlessly (from a reader’s perspective). The dialogue between characters seems real and best of all, his writing is consistently good from a technical and style standpoint. Its obvious he was once a high school English teacher.
You might also consider Duma Key, a non-horror about where creativity comes from. A writer (?) or artist rents a house on Duma Key, and, well, you just gotta read it.
Figures that there’s nothing noteworthy here. No well known authors.
Perhaps that should be a bonus as opposed to a strike against the list. No author is well known before people read them. Try to be on the front of advancing literature instead of showing up only because others are talking about them, or HBO picks them up.
There’s a reason why some works of literature are well known, you know? But I guess these are just random books he tweeted, and not some definitive “I really recommend these books” list.
How can you say Harlan Cobden is unknown! And what’s wrong with unknown? I don’t want to read the same authors and stories all the time.
Nothing noteworthy because you don’t recognize the authors… (face palm) Please stick with, See Spot Run, and leave the big books to the adults.
They are books he enjoyed.. He’s trying to share that joy
I looked for what Stephen is reading as I enjoyed many of his books and when I am writing I look for inspiration from other works and maybe other writers do that to. And yes I guess Stephen is sharing his enjoyment.
The publisher sent me The Accident to review prior to release. I tried twice to get through the first chapter. No go.
These are mostly well-known writers, or should be, Tana French, Chris Pavone, Alex Marwood, Harlan Coben.
I’ve purchased many books off his recommended list before,and was never disappointed. “The Widow” by Fiona Barton is an excellent starter.
Just because it’s not on Oprah’s Book Club reading list doesn’t mean it’s not good reading.