2025 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss The Drawing of the Three, the second book in the The Dark Tower series by Stephen King.


Pages: 463 pages


Length: 1 Month (February)


Participants: Trisha, Paulinka, Caro, Laura, Tianna, Alison, Amanda, Susan .


Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!


Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

When is everyone planning to start?

I can start anytime, Trisha...I may start this weekend!!

Perfect, then I’ll start this weekend too, Alison!

I've decided I'll try to fit this book into February so I've already picked up the audiobook and begun the first chapter! Looking forward to chatting with everyone again :)

Bailey, please keep sharing your thoughts as you progress. :)

Okay so I'm 66% of the way through and let me just say, this book has been a rollercoaster. The spoilers ahead discuss everything that's happened up to chapter 4, part 12 so don't click unless you've read that far or don't care about having the story spoiled! (view spoiler)[ I started out confused but fond of the airplane scenes with Eddie and Roland (btw I must admit I love/hate that SK reuses character names so often... it's complicated). Slowly learning exactly what was going on actually made this buildup really enjoyable and I also liked seeing the two characters struggle to understand each other's world. Then I started to get bored with all of Eddie's personal business or whatever you want to call it. For me it got interesting once Eddie was taken over to Roland's world and they started traveling together and we really figure out what 'the drawing of the three' means. Where I'm at now, Odetta/Detta has been pulled into Roland's world and is struggling to adjust and I can't decide if I'm liking this part or not. I hate all the what I call 'weird sex stuff' that SK sometimes adds to his novels; usually it feels totally unnecessary and potentially added for shock factor? And in this story it definitely feels unnecessary. (hide spoiler)] In all honesty, I think I liked The Gunslinger better than this book up to this point but who knows, that might change further into the story. That's not to say that this isn't good though, (view spoiler)[ I just feel like it's sort of filler-y and like the book that sets up the story rather than diving into the action that I wanted after finishing The Gunslinger. (hide spoiler)]

Going out to buy this book today. I hope this book is better than the first!

Bailey ✰ wrote: "Okay so I'm 66% of the way through and let me just say, this book has been a rollercoaster. The spoilers ahead discuss everything that's happened up to chapter 4, part 12 so don't click unless you'..."

Bailey, oh dear! You got me all scared now. I’m yet to start the book so will hold onto reading your spoilers.

Amanda wrote: "Going out to buy this book today. I hope this book is better than the first!"

Let’s hope for the best!

Just starting today!! 😊

Trisha, can I go ahead and suggest The Waste Lands for March or do I need to do that in the buddy reads folder?

I'm definitely enjoying the series as a whole and want to dive further into it!

Don’t worry about it, I’ll add that to the spreadsheet when I’m logged in through my laptop tomorrow. We need at least 1 other reader to second your suggestion so as to confirm the series - there’s a high chance that I’ll be that person but I’ll wait until I finish the book.

Any one who wants to continue with the series next month, let me know here so I can add your names officially to the spreadsheet.

Trisha and Bailey, I will join in for “Wastelands” next month 😊

I will also join for the third book, please add me in!

I think I will start the book next week. This week I want to read some things for a Bookclub so I want to read them and then enjoy the second book. Can't wait to read it.

The Dark Tower#3 has been added to the buddy reads spreadsheet and confirmed for next month. :D

Just started this! Through chapter 1. There was a section before the first chapter called the ‘Argument’ which recapitulated everything that has happened in the last book, thank God for little mercies! ;)

Trisha wrote: "Just started this! Through chapter 1. There was a section before the first chapter called the ‘Argument’ which recapitulated everything that has happened in the last book, thank God for little merc..."

did-a-chick? dad-a-chum?

Trisha wrote: "The Dark Tower#3 has been added to the buddy reads spreadsheet and confirmed for next month. :D"

Seriously though, you guys will catch up to me by the end of the 5th book or the beginning of 6th at this rate. I usually take small breaks to read other books in between series. Godspeed you guys!!!

Alekhya wrote: "did-a-chick? dad-a-chum?"

Boy, that was horrifying!

Btw, we’re reading 1 per month so that places us in May for the 5th book. Do you think we can still catch up with you?

I'll probably finish the 5th book on my own then but, I definitely will still be reading the 6th book in June. So, I'll join in for the last two books. :D

Great! 🤝

OK...I will add to the chorus: Dada-chick? Dada-chum? :D My husband is reading this along with me and comes up behind me sometimes and says that...Freaks me Out!! I am getting used to it now and somewhat immune...LOL

I have read to "The Lady of Shadows", Chapter 4 (page 310) so here are my thoughts up to that point:
(view spoiler)[ I am really enjoying this book so far! The views of Eddie on the airplane and Roland in his head/taking over his body were really interesting and I have to say I was blown away (sort of pun intended :) by the "Showdown and Shoot Out" chapter which involved the gunfight with Balazar...I thought that was well written! Then we meet Odetta/Detta and the stream of consciousness that is Detta with the weird sexual stuff was off putting. I think King intended to give us insight into how crazy Detta is but I just kind of skimmed through that part.

I enjoyed reading about how Odetta/Detta was brought to the beach...I could almost see that in a movie with her stuffing her purse, Roland taking over and making her wheel into the changing room and then disappearing when the police break in the door! I am glad that Eddie has someone to care for now...I don't think he does well on his own and maybe Odetta will stablize him BUT he better watch out for Detta!! Oh No, Roland has a fever again...he will hold on and beat it, I know, because there would not be anymore books if he didn't but I wonder how things will fall apart as he gets sick again?!

One question: I think it is the same person (Man in Black) that pushed Jake in front of the car AND pushed Odetta in front of the train/made the brick fall on her head! He seems to want to harm these people who are helping Roland...why, then, did he not harm Eddie? Was the heroin enough harm that the Man in Black felt that he didn't need to do anything extra to hurt him? Maybe I am off base here...any thoughts?
Ok, enough for now...I am glad this book is better and not as confusing as The Gunslinger! (hide spoiler)]

Alison, I’m loving this book too. And I have the exact same thoughts. Not even attempting to rewrite what you’ve already shared. (view spoiler)[ I enjoyed the first part more than the second part and if not for Detta’s constant swearing, I might have enjoyed the second section just as much but boy, she is so annoying! I can feel her screaming in my conscientiousness.

There’s one thing that I’m not satisfied with - I don’t think Odetta is schizophrenic. Her symptoms don’t look like schizophrenia, it’s more of a multiple personality disorder. There is a chance that when this book was published, we would have still been confused with these two distinct illnesses, but I’ll have to Google this to be completely sure. All I know is that it’s not schizophrenia.

I was wondering the same thing about Roland’s health. Can he die in the beginning of the series? He mentioned somewhere in the book that Eddie and Detta are as good gunslingers as him, so is there a chance that he actually dies and they pick up his quest from that point. Ohh, I’m just overthinking!

You have a very valid point about the Man in Black, that was my guess too. I still don’t understand his role - he is both guiding and hindering Roland’s journey towards the Tower? Strange! Also, did you notice that part where we are told about a scar behind Odetta’s ear - it is probably the injury that led to her mental imbalance. Could he be behind that as well? (hide spoiler)]

I haven’t read a word today - too many issues at work, but thank God, it’s Friday. Will try finishing this tonight if I’m not too tipsy.

Trisha wrote: "Alison, I’m loving this book too. And I have the exact same thoughts. Not even attempting to rewrite what you’ve already shared. I enjoyed the first part more than the second part and if not for D..."

Trisha, as someone with a social science background, (view spoiler)[ my personal opinion is also that she does not have schizophrenia. The edition of the DSM (diagnostic and statistic manual of mental disorders) that was current to the year this book was published was just barely the DSM-III-R (both published in 1987); we are currently using the DSM-5. I was able to find the DSM-III's definition and diagnostic criteria and even that would not have Odetta/Detta as meeting the requirements to be diagnosed with schizophrenia. Considering that Stephen King does not have a social science background, I'm guessing he was just throwing words around or was misusing it on purpose because that's how the characters would use it. As you said, she more likely has dissociative identity disorder (DID) which was called multiple personality disorder up until 1994 when the DSM-IV was published. As described in the book, Odetta and Detta have no knowledge of one another, she also appeared to experience some form of dissociation whenever she would switch. Something else to note is that DID can only develop during childhood (which isn't to say that , the child must experience repeated trauma that causes the brain to develop differently than that of a person who doesn't have DID. I believe the reference to this trauma in the book was likely the racial prejudice she was subjected to along with the brick incident; but the brick landing on her head would not be enough to cause DID. One more thing is the integration of Odetta and Detta to form Susannah is something that can actually happen to those with DID. So I definitely think that King was trying to represent her as having DID but without having a social science background didn't do it 100% correctly, which is understandable. Please remind me if I'm forgetting anything about her backstory though! I'm curious to see how this character develops throughout the story. (hide spoiler)]
Sorry to drag on about mental health stuff but this is what I'm studying to do and I find it so fascinating and always want to correct misinformation that I see in all types of media! :)

Bailey ✰ wrote: "Trisha wrote: "Alison, I’m loving this book too. And I have the exact same thoughts. Not even attempting to rewrite what you’ve already shared. I enjoyed the first part more than the second part an..."

Bailey, thank you for that bunch of information, very helpful indeed! :)

Tianna wrote: "I am unfortunately DNFing this book. I've tried reading it numerous times, but I ended up not enjoying the first book much, and now I just don't have any interest in this one. There are just far to..."

Life is too short to waste on books that one doesn’t like! ;) So that’s okay, Tianna!

Found a copy of The Waste Lands at a used bookstore for a good price so you know I had to buy it! It was definitely a sign that of the small collection of King books they had two of them were copies of The Waste Lands. Will hopefully be starting it soon but I need to finish Harry Potter #5 before jumping in. :)

Bailey ✰ wrote: "Found a copy of The Waste Lands at a used bookstore for a good price so you know I had to buy it! It was definitely a sign that of the small collection of King books they had two of them were copie..."

It’s definitely in the stars then! 💫