The 19 Best Stephen King Books That Are Beautifully Written

Stephen King has written over sixty novels and penned over eleven collections. Since there are so many wonderful stories to choose from, it can be hard to decide what you should read next. In order to help, here are some of the best books Stephen King has ever written:

“Lisey’s Story. A beautiful story about grief and recovery of a woman who lost her love. All others saw the celebrity, not the human being he was. Covers mental illness, terror and fear, and pure love. Written for Tammy, fucking gorgeous book.” — godisawayonbusiness

“Carrie is my favorite. I thought the movie did it decent justice. Also really liked the sequel. Super relatable to my teenage self and feeling like an outcast. I was Carrie for Halloween, probably one of my favorite costumes to this day.” — Wolfofthesea123

“On Writing. I tell anyone who loves Stephen King to read On Writing. So many great tidbits from his past. Very inspiring for anyone with an inkling to write, but that’s definitely not a prerequisite for this book.” — brigrrrl

“The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. One of my favorites and really under-appreciated. It’s creepy because it can happen to anyone. Well, except for the implied supernatural parts, anyway.” — Carmine_Hearts

“The Dead Zone. This one is so underrated and perfect. When people say he can’t write endings, this one is proof that he can.” — stupidslut6969

“Wizard and Glass. It’s one of the only novels that’s ever brought me to tears. Three amazing books came before it in the Dark Tower series, but we’d barely learned a thing about Roland at this point, and the first major thing we learn about him is the epic, heartbreaking tale he tells in this novel. The Drawing of the Three is more iconic, but W&G was more sprawling, colorful, and unforgettable for me personally.” — mistletoe_radio

“The Long Walk. I finished The Long Walk and just sat there thinking about it for like forty-five minutes. Not a long book, but it definitely stays with you.” — Boknowscos

“The Talisman is amazing. I might have developed an obsession with alternative reality stories from reading that book in my early teens.” — [deleted]

“Misery is especially good if you’re a writer yourself. There are parts where she does things that are worse than physical pain.” — vinnymendoza09

“Salem’s Lot. That book scared the shit out of me as a teenager, but I couldn’t put it down.” — justabill71

“Pet Sematary. I love a lot of his stuff but I keep going back to this one, it’s so deliciously creepy, I sometimes have to put it down for a bit because of how creepy it is.” — ihopeyoulikeapples

“The Stand! By far my favorite of his books! And the made for TV series was also outstanding.” — mamamaus2

“Eyes of the Dragon is a powerful nostalgia one for me! So good.” — Avocado_Green28

“11/22/63. This is my favorite book of all time. The characters and atmosphere are all just so well written.” — boring_username_idea

“Insomnia. I’ve read a TON of his books, and this one remains my favorite. I love how it ties so many of his other stories together.” — LegoMySplunk

“To me Duma Key marked King’s transition from writing about middle-aged writers from New England to writing about aging. Really lovely story.” — Vega62a

“The Green Mile. It is one of the few novels I have read multiple times. It stays with me for weeks. It is the most beautifully written book I have ever read.” — crowcrow_crowcrow

“It was the first Stephen King book I ever read. I read it the summer after I turned 12, so I was pretty much the same age as the kids in that book. Ben Hanscom is almost exactly who I was at that age. Loved Ben so much, I named my son after him! Still my favorite of King’s books 26 years later.” — usagiyojimbo82

“Can I just say The Dark Tower? King himself considers it one long novel split in to 7 (now 8 and possibly more if you include the novella and comic books) parts. If I had to pick a favorite, I would probably say The Wolves of The Calla or The Wild Lands.” — lizzpop2003