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Every book Damon Lindelof recommended on podcasts
Damon Lindelof appears on The Book Review to discuss his profound literary influences, focusing extensively on the works of Stephen King. As a writer and storyteller who has crafted complex television narratives, Lindelof identifies Stephen King as a foundational creative force in his career. He singles out The Stand as the most influential book for his own writing and storytelling, mentioning that he has read it more times than any other, particularly the uncut edition. In addition to The Stand, Lindelof names The Long Walk—published under King's pseudonym Richard Bachman—as his absolute favorite work by the author, briefly describing its premise. Lindelof also engages with King's broader cultural footprint, discussing how an episode of his television series Lost featured a book club scene centered on Carrie, where a character dismissively labels the novel as mere popcorn rather than literature. Moreover, Lindelof reflects on the adaptation challenges of The Stand and explains how he and his collaborators discussed King's novel very early in the development of Lost for structural and thematic inspiration. Across the podcast appearance, Lindelof emerges as a dedicated reader and television creator whose artistic sensibilities have been profoundly shaped by decades of horror and suspense literature.
Books recommended by Damon Lindelof
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The Long Walk
The Long Walk is a dystopian thriller novel written by Stephen King under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, depicting a grueling annual walking competition where contestants face fatal consequences.
Recommended“but my favorite one the one that I love the most is actually a Bachman book and it's called The Long Walk”
Where to get it
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The Stand
The Stand by Stephen King is an epic post-apocalyptic horror novel that chronicles the devastation of human civilization by a weaponized influenza strain and the subsequent battle between survivors aligned with forces of good and evil.
Discussed“but I think that if you're adapting the stand then it's very clear that Stephen King was an influence but but we started talking about the stand very early on as it related to lost for a couple of reasons”
Where to get it
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Carrie
Carrie by Stephen King is a classic horror novel about a bullied teenage girl who discovers she possesses telekinetic powers.
Discussed“one of the other things that happens in that episode that we see this character Juliet leading a book club discussion and they're talking about the book Carrie and one guy who's clearly coded as the jerk of the group says it's not even literature it's popcorn”
Where to get it
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Looking Back at 50 Years of Stephen King | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 4 |
Other mentions (9: passing, ad reads, own books)
“and my first memory of a Stephen King book it it had to be pet cemetery which I felt very proud of myself for pointing out was misspelled on the as it would turn out quite intentionally so”
“and he gave me fire starter which was my my Stephen King's starter he said this is the least scary of Stephen King's books but I think you'll like it”
“and then the second book I said I want now I want to read pet cemetery and my dad said still too scary”
“then he gave me Salem's Lot he was like this is a good Gateway into the scary stuff and I love Salem's Lot even more than I loved fir starter”
“and then after Salem's Lot I think I finally was allowed to read pet cemetery and then I read Carrie”
“and had read everything that he'd written including on writing which is like his most personal kind of like autobiographical that and Don mob oh this is who I am and so I had a sense of the guy”
“was this a character in The Regulators like what what like how deep of a are we doing here as you rightly pointed out feel like we could talk about the Dark Tower Forever on its own podcast”
“not unlike the running man but in a in an entirely different Universe than the Running Man is basically it takes place in a not too distant totalitarian authoritarian”
“it's just hardcore Straight Up brutal violence and yet profound and beautiful and sad and weird and deeply upsetting but that's my favorite that is a great choice it's just hardcore Straight Up brutal violence and yet profound and beautiful and sad and weird and deeply upsetting with the exception of thinner there's no sort of like hint of powers”