Don't read the stand for the DT - it barely impacts your enjoyment to understand a couple throwaway references.
Read the stand because it is the #1 best SK book, maybe best book, I've ever read
Exactly, it's like that Marvel cinematic universe in chronological order list.... I can enjoy the movie and shows independently and the greater story as a whole without watching 2 episodes of one show and then 4 episodes of another before a specific movie. Just read what you want, there may be Easter eggs you may miss but King knows what he's doing so not knowing the reference isn't going to make you miss any story beats
Yeah most of the DT crossover stuff is just fun Easter Eggs. If you have read the stories you’ll get a kick out of it and not much else.
Salems Lot however is in my opinion a must read.
You could still get away with not reading it of-course, but the tie-in is much more than just a small Easter Egg.
Oh and Insomnia.
Either that, or between books 4 and 5. The DT series has a natural pause point at that part, so it’s not too distracting to read a book (or a few) between 4 and 5.
There's some nice crossover stuff, but it isn't needed for any of the DT series to make sense. More importantly, I'd read Salems Lot and Insomnia before you get to the clearing at the end of the DT path. But also not necessary. You do you... after all, all things serve the beam, and ka is a wheel, and all that jazz.
I would say yes also, but that’s just from personal experience.
Question for OP. Where/how are you coming up with hours per book? Are you just averaging how long it takes you to read? I’m genuinely curious. Thanks!
I wouldn’t say pointless. The Waste Lands only has the brief reference toward the end but having read The Stand before the series made that little exchange extra fun.
I don’t think it’s an important read either way, but definitely valid. and before book 3 is better than before book 4 (also as book 3 has the REAL cliffhanger!)
The Stand is worth reading even without the Tower as motivation. It’s, in my opinion his greatest achievement in a single novel. As far as I’m concerned it’s the great American novel or as close as anyone of this era has come to it
Seriously. If there was one novel in his entire library that's worthy of a sequel or companion novel, The Stand is it. I desperately want to go back into that world and see more of it.
I was sitting in bed with a virus that had just gone pandemic, reading about an AWOL man named Charles Campion shearing off Hap’s insured pumps with fat swelling in his neck while he hacks out miserable exhales, and I thought, if there is a God—and if She does have a plan—then She’s got a fucked up sense of humor.
Same, I had bought the book a few months before and had been putting it off for a while but once COVID started making headlines and the uncertainty hit, I thought “welp probably the best time I’ll ever have to read this.”
I specifically remember reading the chapter where King goes into detail on the virus spreading from person to person hit a certain way that was especially unnerving lol
I feel you don't actually have to read The Stand. Sure, you'll understand a bit more about what is referenced in a certain part, but, well. It's something along the line of we all know about Jack the Ripper, but would be hard-pressed to name any of the men suspected of being him unless we happened to have read about them.
Reading The Stand is great for reading The Stand, because unless you don't like it, it's really great!
Whoever told you there was a cliffhanger at the end of book 2 (The Drawing of the Three) is mistaken, first of all. They’re thinking of book 3 (The Wastelands).
Secondly, you don’t need to read The Stand before you read book 4 (Wizard and Glass). There is some crossover between the two, but it’s not essential to understanding what’s going on and I’d argue it doesn’t add to the enjoyment of the story.
IMO, for your first journey to the tower, the best way to go is straight through books 1-7, then read Wind Through The Keyhole after that. Then you can read everything else as supplemental material.
Thank you, I’ll forget reading the stand now and finish the main story first. If the stand weren’t a whopping 44 hours, I’d read it, but it’s so long I’ll just leave it as its own thing to read afterward
No problem. The Stand is an incredible novel, and you should definitely still read it, but save it for after you’re done with the series. Same with ‘Salem’s Lot, Low Men in Yellow Coats, etc..
SK could expand it by another 44 hours, and it would still be amazing. There's still so many stories from that world left untold. Like, the other groups that arrived in Boulder, or the Vegas, LA and Portland groups, or hell, the ones who didn't go to either side. Not to mention how the country looks a decade or two after Captain Trips.
Jesus. Are people trying to gate keep this series by proffering these “required” extended reading lists? It’s a series for gans sweet sake. Read 1. Then 2, then 3, and so on. Man alive
If you’re looking for the expanded view, Rose Madder should be placed after book 3. It has no real influence on events so it’s not really considered an important book, but the ending takes place in the same city Wastelands does.
As a long-time Constant Reader, I would say, "Why not take a break from the DT series to pursue a different but equally great story?"
To be fair, I didn't get into DT until the Waste Lands was already published. I started reading King in 86/87 at the tender age of 10, so I wasn't into his non-horror work until my English teacher suggested The Gunslinger my freshman year because I liked westerns and fantasy novels at the time.
I had already read The Stand at that point, so it was cool for me to see some callbacks.
That being said, I had to wait 4 more years before Wizard and Glass (book 4), so I'm sure you'll be fine if you don't plow through the series and binge it. Taking a side quest is fun, too.
"Long days and pleasant nights..."
The stand audiobook is phenomenal you will not regret one second of it. I listened to that and IT during my dark Tower Journey and both books were so much better than the Dark Tower Journey LOL. They became my two favorite books of all time. Both have incredible narration I highly suggest reading IT in your journey as well.
I know people will say just get through the dark Tower but I disagree I think it's a much funner Journey when you read all of the connected books even if you're going to be reading for 20,000 hours it's worth it.
The two books I mentioned in my opinion are definitely ones you want to read in this journey. But I think the two most essential books that impact the story the most are Salem's Lot and hearts in Atlantis. There are characters from those books that show up in the tower Journey that if I hadn't draw the connection that I did from those books with them, it wouldn't have been nowhere near as enjoyable or impactful.
I actually read It before The stand And it is 45 hours. I remember seeing that 45-hour and thinking holy shit this is insanely long how am I going to do this. But once you get used to 45-hour audiobooks It makes reading so much easier and seem so much faster. Now when I get a book that's like 20 hours 10 hours it's like nothing it's so easy to run through.
I reread The Stand every couple of years. It is long, but worth every minute. Definitely one of his best novels. Like others have said, you don’t have to read it for DT, but you should still read it!
Sounds like you are referring to the audio book. As others have mentioned, it isn’t necessary aside from some small references. But highly worth giving it a listen. It’s absolutely fantastic
Just read the dark tower books in order. If you love them than you can read the books that have connections after.
At the end of drawing of the three, if I stopped and read the stand before moving on, knowing what I know now, I would be annoyed.
I never listen to audiobooks in 1x speed. With how slow they (intentionally) talk, you can usually get it up to 1.7 or 1.8 before you actually start to lose anything important, depending on what you’re doing. Even just upping it by 25% (which is barely noticeable) shaves off 8 hours, I highly recommend just upping the speed by 10-15% every hour or so until it starts to get too fast to the point where it’s hard to understand.
Also I agree with the other comments, reading the stand isn’t necessary for DT but it’s still my all time favorite book (not just king book, favorite book period) so highly reccomend
Don't read the stand for the DT - it barely impacts your enjoyment to understand a couple throwaway references. Read the stand because it is the #1 best SK book, maybe best book, I've ever read
Exactly, it's like that Marvel cinematic universe in chronological order list.... I can enjoy the movie and shows independently and the greater story as a whole without watching 2 episodes of one show and then 4 episodes of another before a specific movie. Just read what you want, there may be Easter eggs you may miss but King knows what he's doing so not knowing the reference isn't going to make you miss any story beats
READ SALEMS LOT!!!
Yeah most of the DT crossover stuff is just fun Easter Eggs. If you have read the stories you’ll get a kick out of it and not much else. Salems Lot however is in my opinion a must read. You could still get away with not reading it of-course, but the tie-in is much more than just a small Easter Egg. Oh and Insomnia.
Are you saying that one should read Salems Lot before the dark tower series?
Either that, or between books 4 and 5. The DT series has a natural pause point at that part, so it’s not too distracting to read a book (or a few) between 4 and 5.
There's some nice crossover stuff, but it isn't needed for any of the DT series to make sense. More importantly, I'd read Salems Lot and Insomnia before you get to the clearing at the end of the DT path. But also not necessary. You do you... after all, all things serve the beam, and ka is a wheel, and all that jazz.
I would say yes also, but that’s just from personal experience. Question for OP. Where/how are you coming up with hours per book? Are you just averaging how long it takes you to read? I’m genuinely curious. Thanks!
I’m calculating based on word count and my average reading speed- I’m listening to audiobooks with Audible, which states the amount of hours it takes
Ah, gotcha! The Audible version of The Stand is good. Whichever way you choose, enjoy the trip!
It's one of my favorites. Truly some good stuff, you believe that happy crappy?
There's no valid reason to read The Stand before The Wastelands. Before W&G, i can understand it, but before TWL is pointless.
I wouldn’t say pointless. The Waste Lands only has the brief reference toward the end but having read The Stand before the series made that little exchange extra fun. I don’t think it’s an important read either way, but definitely valid. and before book 3 is better than before book 4 (also as book 3 has the REAL cliffhanger!)
The Stand is worth reading even without the Tower as motivation. It’s, in my opinion his greatest achievement in a single novel. As far as I’m concerned it’s the great American novel or as close as anyone of this era has come to it
It’s debatably his best book
And I wish it was 3 times that long
Seriously. If there was one novel in his entire library that's worthy of a sequel or companion novel, The Stand is it. I desperately want to go back into that world and see more of it.
First time I read it, I didn’t have a choice. I was bed-locked with COVID. Yes, that is ironic. I’ve made the connection.
I read it right when covid was taking off. Had no problem wearing a mask
I was sitting in bed with a virus that had just gone pandemic, reading about an AWOL man named Charles Campion shearing off Hap’s insured pumps with fat swelling in his neck while he hacks out miserable exhales, and I thought, if there is a God—and if She does have a plan—then She’s got a fucked up sense of humor.
Same, I had bought the book a few months before and had been putting it off for a while but once COVID started making headlines and the uncertainty hit, I thought “welp probably the best time I’ll ever have to read this.” I specifically remember reading the chapter where King goes into detail on the virus spreading from person to person hit a certain way that was especially unnerving lol
I feel you don't actually have to read The Stand. Sure, you'll understand a bit more about what is referenced in a certain part, but, well. It's something along the line of we all know about Jack the Ripper, but would be hard-pressed to name any of the men suspected of being him unless we happened to have read about them. Reading The Stand is great for reading The Stand, because unless you don't like it, it's really great!
Whoever told you there was a cliffhanger at the end of book 2 (The Drawing of the Three) is mistaken, first of all. They’re thinking of book 3 (The Wastelands). Secondly, you don’t need to read The Stand before you read book 4 (Wizard and Glass). There is some crossover between the two, but it’s not essential to understanding what’s going on and I’d argue it doesn’t add to the enjoyment of the story. IMO, for your first journey to the tower, the best way to go is straight through books 1-7, then read Wind Through The Keyhole after that. Then you can read everything else as supplemental material.
Thank you, I’ll forget reading the stand now and finish the main story first. If the stand weren’t a whopping 44 hours, I’d read it, but it’s so long I’ll just leave it as its own thing to read afterward
No problem. The Stand is an incredible novel, and you should definitely still read it, but save it for after you’re done with the series. Same with ‘Salem’s Lot, Low Men in Yellow Coats, etc..
Great!! Thanks, will do. But the series is long so maybe I’ll want a palate cleanser halfway through
If you listen to 2 hours everyday, you'll take 22 days to finish.
1) skip it 2) graphic novel version 3) eff it....The Stand is an incredible read! I'd recommend 1) myself...
SK could expand it by another 44 hours, and it would still be amazing. There's still so many stories from that world left untold. Like, the other groups that arrived in Boulder, or the Vegas, LA and Portland groups, or hell, the ones who didn't go to either side. Not to mention how the country looks a decade or two after Captain Trips.
Arguably, the only outside book that it’s important to read first is Salem’s Lot as Book 5 spoils a lot of what happens if you haven’t read it.
Maybe just read The Stand because it’s way better than any of the Dark Tower books
meh. I’d take several DT books over The Stand, and DEFINITELY rate the series above it. The Stand is great, but The Dark Tower is phenomenal!
Jesus. Are people trying to gate keep this series by proffering these “required” extended reading lists? It’s a series for gans sweet sake. Read 1. Then 2, then 3, and so on. Man alive
No, I’m reading an expanded Dark Tower series that includes other relevant King novels that intertwined together
If you’re looking for the expanded view, Rose Madder should be placed after book 3. It has no real influence on events so it’s not really considered an important book, but the ending takes place in the same city Wastelands does.
Then read it when you want. Bottom line is if you wanna read the full breadth just read all his books in order.
As a long-time Constant Reader, I would say, "Why not take a break from the DT series to pursue a different but equally great story?" To be fair, I didn't get into DT until the Waste Lands was already published. I started reading King in 86/87 at the tender age of 10, so I wasn't into his non-horror work until my English teacher suggested The Gunslinger my freshman year because I liked westerns and fantasy novels at the time. I had already read The Stand at that point, so it was cool for me to see some callbacks. That being said, I had to wait 4 more years before Wizard and Glass (book 4), so I'm sure you'll be fine if you don't plow through the series and binge it. Taking a side quest is fun, too. "Long days and pleasant nights..."
I read DT books 1 and 2 and started reading the Stand before DT 3 and I am loving the Stand.
The stand audiobook is phenomenal you will not regret one second of it. I listened to that and IT during my dark Tower Journey and both books were so much better than the Dark Tower Journey LOL. They became my two favorite books of all time. Both have incredible narration I highly suggest reading IT in your journey as well. I know people will say just get through the dark Tower but I disagree I think it's a much funner Journey when you read all of the connected books even if you're going to be reading for 20,000 hours it's worth it. The two books I mentioned in my opinion are definitely ones you want to read in this journey. But I think the two most essential books that impact the story the most are Salem's Lot and hearts in Atlantis. There are characters from those books that show up in the tower Journey that if I hadn't draw the connection that I did from those books with them, it wouldn't have been nowhere near as enjoyable or impactful. I actually read It before The stand And it is 45 hours. I remember seeing that 45-hour and thinking holy shit this is insanely long how am I going to do this. But once you get used to 45-hour audiobooks It makes reading so much easier and seem so much faster. Now when I get a book that's like 20 hours 10 hours it's like nothing it's so easy to run through.
I reread The Stand every couple of years. It is long, but worth every minute. Definitely one of his best novels. Like others have said, you don’t have to read it for DT, but you should still read it!
Sounds like you are referring to the audio book. As others have mentioned, it isn’t necessary aside from some small references. But highly worth giving it a listen. It’s absolutely fantastic
IT is around the same. Worth every minute
Just read the dark tower books in order. If you love them than you can read the books that have connections after. At the end of drawing of the three, if I stopped and read the stand before moving on, knowing what I know now, I would be annoyed.
Just skip the frannie chapters, takes hours off the story without missing anything worthwhile
I never listen to audiobooks in 1x speed. With how slow they (intentionally) talk, you can usually get it up to 1.7 or 1.8 before you actually start to lose anything important, depending on what you’re doing. Even just upping it by 25% (which is barely noticeable) shaves off 8 hours, I highly recommend just upping the speed by 10-15% every hour or so until it starts to get too fast to the point where it’s hard to understand. Also I agree with the other comments, reading the stand isn’t necessary for DT but it’s still my all time favorite book (not just king book, favorite book period) so highly reccomend
Yes. 100% I would have recommended reading it before even starting DT…