Henrik Carlsson's Blog

All things me.

Which books should I include in my The Dark Tower reading?

posted this note on and tagged it with Reading The Dark Tower

I just finished the first book – The Gunslinger – in Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series and I immediately started reading the second one – The Drawing of the Three. As those of you who have read the series knows, this is quite a long series but it can be even longer depending on which books I would chose to include.

So that is my question to all of you, which books should I read as part of my The Dark Tower reading?

Of course I will read the seven main books, but then there’s the eight ”The Wind Through the Keyhole” that takes place between number four and five. Should I read this one after ”Wizard and Glass” and before ”Wolves of the Calla” or should I consider it more like bonus material after I’ve finished the main books?

How about other King novels that tie into The Dark Tower, like ”The Stand”, should I intersperse it in the reading of the main series or should it also be considered something extra to read afterward?

Two things to note if you have suggestions for me:

  1. The Gunslinger is the first King novel (or short-story) that I’ve ever read.
  2. I’m currently reading the series in Swedish and I will try to keep it that way. While King is a successful writer in Sweden as well, he is less successful here than he is in the English speaking world. That means not all his books are available in Swedish, so it’s possible that I really like your suggestion but still chose not to read it because it’s not available in Swedish.

Replies and comments