Alexander McCall Smith Reading Order

18 books (2005–2025)

Start with 44 Scotland Street, the first of 18 books in the 44 Scotland Street series.

#	Title
1	44 Scotland Street 2005Buy 🇺🇸
2	Espresso Tales 2005Buy 🇺🇸
3	Love Over Scotland 2006Buy 🇺🇸
4	The World According to Bertie 2007Buy 🇺🇸
5	The Unbearable Lightness Of Scones 2008Buy 🇺🇸
6	The Importance of Being Seven 2010Buy 🇺🇸
7	Bertie Plays the Blues 2011Buy 🇺🇸
8	Sunshine on Scotland Street 2012Buy 🇺🇸
9	Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers 2013Buy 🇺🇸
10	The Revolving Door of Life 2015Buy 🇺🇸
11	A Time of Love and Tartan 2017Buy 🇺🇸
12	The Bertie Project 2017Buy 🇺🇸
13	The Peppermint Tea Chronicles 2019Buy 🇺🇸
14	A Promise of Ankles 2020Buy 🇺🇸
15	Love in the Time of Bertie 2021Buy 🇺🇸
16	The Enigma of Garlic 2023Buy 🇺🇸
17	The Stellar Debut of Galactica Macfee 2024Buy 🇺🇸
18	Bertie's Theory of Ice Cream 2025Buy 🇺🇸

5 books (1992–2008)

Start with Akimbo and the Lions, the first of 5 books in the Akimbo series.

#	Title
1	Akimbo and the Lions 1992Buy 🇺🇸
2	Akimbo and the Crocodile Man 1993Buy 🇺🇸
3	Akimbo and the Elephants 2005Buy 🇺🇸
4	Akimbo and the Snakes 2006Buy 🇺🇸
5	Akimbo and the Baboons 2008Buy 🇺🇸

18 books (2000–2022)

Start with A Treasury of Five-Minute Stories, the first of 18 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	A Treasury of Five-Minute Stories 2000Buy 🇺🇸
2	A New Omnibus of Crime 2005Buy 🇺🇸
3	One City 2005Buy 🇺🇸
4	The Sunday Night Book Club 2006Buy 🇺🇸
5	The Best British Mysteries IV 2007Buy 🇺🇸
6	Crimespotting 2009Buy 🇺🇸
7	Midsummer Nights 2009Buy 🇺🇸
8	Ox-Tales 2009Buy 🇺🇸
9	Imagined Lives 2010Buy 🇺🇸
10	The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 7 2010Buy 🇺🇸
11	No Rest for the Dead 2011Buy 🇺🇸
12	The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 8 2011Buy 🇺🇸
13	What You Wish For 2011Buy 🇺🇸
14	Better Than Fiction: True Travel Tales From Great Fiction Writers 2012Buy 🇺🇸
15	How Rude! Modern Manners Defined 2012Buy 🇺🇸
16	OxCrimes: 27 Killer Stories from the Cream of Crimewriters 2014Buy 🇺🇸
17	The Lonely Planet Travel Anthology 2016Buy 🇺🇸
18	The People's City: One City Trust 2022Buy 🇺🇸

4 books (2013–2016)

Start with Sense & Sensibility(By: Joanna Trollope), the first of 4 books in the Austen Project series.

#	Title
1	Sense & Sensibility(By: Joanna Trollope) 2013Buy 🇺🇸
2	Emma 2014Buy 🇺🇸
3	Northanger Abbey(By: Val McDermid) 2014Buy 🇺🇸
4	Eligible(By: Curtis Sittenfeld) 2016Buy 🇺🇸

27 books (1980–2020)

Start with White Hippo, the first of 27 books in the Children's series.

#	Title
1	White Hippo 1980Buy 🇺🇸
2	Film Boy 1988Buy 🇺🇸
3	The Joke Machine 1990Buy 🇺🇸
4	Marzipan Max 1991Buy 🇺🇸
5	The Girl Who Changed the Weather 1991Buy 🇺🇸
6	Calculator Annie 1992Buy 🇺🇸
7	Springy Jane 1992Buy 🇺🇸
8	My Chameleon Uncle 1993Buy 🇺🇸
9	Who Invented Peanut Butter? 1993Buy 🇺🇸
10	Paddy and the Ratcatcher 1994Buy 🇺🇸
11	The Banana Machine 1994Buy 🇺🇸
12	The Doughnut Ring 1994Buy 🇺🇸
13	The Princess Trick 1994Buy 🇺🇸
14	Billy Rubbish 1995Buy 🇺🇸
15	The Bubblegum Tree 1996Buy 🇺🇸
16	The Watermelon Boys 1996Buy 🇺🇸
17	The Popcorn Pirates 1999Buy 🇺🇸
18	Monkey Boy 2000Buy 🇺🇸
19	Teacher Trouble 2000Buy 🇺🇸
20	The Spaghetti Tangle 2005Buy 🇺🇸
21	The Muscle Machine 2006Buy 🇺🇸
22	Boing Boing 2016Buy 🇺🇸
23	Hari & His Electric Feet 2017Buy 🇺🇸
24	Freddie Mole 2018Buy 🇺🇸
25	Max Champion and the Great Race Car Robbery 2018Buy 🇺🇸
26	The Great Clown Conundrum 2019Buy 🇺🇸
27	Noah Wild and the Floating Zoo 2020Buy 🇺🇸

3 books (2009–2010)

Start with Corduroy Mansions and read in order.

#	Title
1	Corduroy Mansions 2009Buy 🇺🇸
2	The Dog Who Came in from the Cold 2009Buy 🇺🇸
3	A Conspiracy of Friends 2010Buy 🇺🇸

5 books (2013–2023)

Start with Varg in Love, the first of 5 books in the Detective Varg series.

#	Title
1	Varg in Love 2013Buy 🇺🇸
2	The Department of Sensitive Crimes 2019Buy 🇺🇸
3	The Talented Mr. Varg 2020Buy 🇺🇸
4	The Man with the Silver Saab 2021Buy 🇺🇸
5	The Discreet Charm of the Big Bad Wolf 2023Buy 🇺🇸

1 book (2019–2019)

3 books (1990–1993)

Start with The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean 1990Buy 🇺🇸
2	Harriet Bean and the League of Cheats 1991Buy 🇺🇸
3	The Cowgirl Aunt of Harriet Bean 1993Buy 🇺🇸

15 books (2004–2024)

Start with The Sunday Philosophy Club, the first of 15 books in the Isabel Dalhousie series.

#	Title
1	The Sunday Philosophy Club 2004Buy 🇺🇸
2	Friends, Lovers, Chocolate 2005Buy 🇺🇸
3	The Right Attitude to Rain 2006Buy 🇺🇸
4	The Careful Use of Compliments 2007Buy 🇺🇸
5	The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday / The Comfort Of Saturdays 2008Buy 🇺🇸
6	The Lost Art of Gratitude 2009Buy 🇺🇸
7	The Charming Quirks of Others 2010Buy 🇺🇸
8	The Forgotten Affairs of Youth 2011Buy 🇺🇸
9	The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds 2012Buy 🇺🇸
10	The Novel Habits of Happiness 2015Buy 🇺🇸
11	A Distant View of Everything 2017Buy 🇺🇸
12	The Quiet Side of Passion 2018Buy 🇺🇸
13	The Geometry of Holding Hands 2020Buy 🇺🇸
14	The Sweet Remnants of Summer 2022Buy 🇺🇸
15	The Conditions of Unconditional Love 2024Buy 🇺🇸

3 books (2011–2016)

Start with The Perils of Morning Coffee and read in order.

2 books (1997–1999)

Start with Max & Maddy and the Bursting Balloons Mystery and read in order.

#	Title
1	Max & Maddy and the Bursting Balloons Mystery 1997Buy 🇺🇸
2	Max & Maddy and the Chocolate Money Mystery 1999Buy 🇺🇸

33 books (2022–2025)

Start with Alex Delaware(By: Jonathan Kellerman), the first of 33 books in the Mysterious Profiles series.

2 books (2006–2006)

Start with Dream Angus: The Celtic God of Dreams and read in order.

#	Title
1	Dream Angus: The Celtic God of Dreams 2006Buy 🇺🇸
2	The Fire Gospel(By: Michel Faber) 2006Buy 🇺🇸

27 books (1998–2026)

Start with The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, the first of 27 books in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

#	Title
1	The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency 1998Buy 🇺🇸
2	Tears of the Giraffe 2000Buy 🇺🇸
3	Morality for Beautiful Girls 2001Buy 🇺🇸
4	The Kalahari Typing School for Men 2002Buy 🇺🇸
5	The Full Cupboard of Life 2003Buy 🇺🇸
6	In the Company of Cheerful Ladies 2004Buy 🇺🇸
7	Blue Shoes and Happiness 2006Buy 🇺🇸
8	The Good Husband of Zebra Drive 2007Buy 🇺🇸
9	The Miracle at Speedy Motors 2008Buy 🇺🇸
10	Tea Time for the Traditionally Built 2009Buy 🇺🇸
11	The Double Comfort Safari Club 2010Buy 🇺🇸
12	The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party 2010Buy 🇺🇸
13	The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection 2012Buy 🇺🇸
14	The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon 2013Buy 🇺🇸
15	The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café 2014Buy 🇺🇸
16	The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine 2015Buy 🇺🇸
17	Precious and Grace 2016Buy 🇺🇸
18	The House of Unexpected Sisters 2017Buy 🇺🇸
19	The Colors of All the Cattle 2018Buy 🇺🇸
20	To the Land of Long Lost Friends 2019Buy 🇺🇸
21	How to Raise an Elephant 2020Buy 🇺🇸
22	The Joy and Light Bus Company 2021Buy 🇺🇸
23	A Song of Comfortable Chairs 2022Buy 🇺🇸
24	From a Far and Lovely Country 2023Buy 🇺🇸
25	The Great Hippopotamus Hotel 2024Buy 🇺🇸
26	In the Time of Five Pumpkins 2025Buy 🇺🇸
27	The Big Cats Dance Party 2026Buy 🇺🇸

1 book (2012–2012)

1 book (2014–2014)

#	Title
1	A Work of Beauty: Alexander McCall Smith's Edinburgh 2014Buy 🇺🇸

2 books (2017–2019)

Start with My Italian Bulldozer and read in order.

#	Title
1	My Italian Bulldozer 2017Buy 🇺🇸
2	The Second-Worst Restaurant in France 2019Buy 🇺🇸

5 books (2009–2015)

Start with The Great Cake Mystery, the first of 5 books in the Precious Ramotswe's Very First Cases series.

#	Title
1	The Great Cake Mystery 2009Buy 🇺🇸
2	Precious and the Monkeys 2010Buy 🇺🇸
3	Precious and the Mystery of Meerkat Hill 2012Buy 🇺🇸
4	Precious and the Mystery of the Missing Lion 2013Buy 🇺🇸
5	Precious and the Zebra Necklace 2015Buy 🇺🇸

6 books (2003–2026)

Start with At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances, the first of 6 books in the Professor Dr. Von Igelfeld series.

#	Title
1	At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances 2003Buy 🇺🇸
2	Portuguese Irregular Verbs 2003Buy 🇺🇸
3	The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs 2003Buy 🇺🇸
4	Unusual Uses for Olive Oil 2011Buy 🇺🇸
5	Your Inner Hedgehog 2021Buy 🇺🇸
6	The Lost Language of Oysters 2026Buy 🇺🇸

2 books (2014–2017)

Start with Good Dog Lion(With: David Dean) and read in order.

#	Title
1	Good Dog Lion(With: David Dean) 2014Buy 🇺🇸
2	Freddie Mole, Lion Tamer(With: Kate Hindley) 2017Buy 🇺🇸

14 books (1989–2023)

Start with Children of Wax: African Folk Tales, the first of 14 books in the Short Story Collections series.

#	Title
1	Children of Wax: African Folk Tales 1989Buy 🇺🇸
2	Heavenly Date and Other Flirtations 1995Buy 🇺🇸
3	"Trouble at the North Pole" and Other Stories 1996Buy 🇺🇸
4	The Perfect Hamburger and Other Delicious Stories 2001Buy 🇺🇸
5	The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa 2004Buy 🇺🇸
6	The Baboons Who Went This Way and That: Folktales from Africa 2006Buy 🇺🇸
7	The Book That Changed My Life 2006Buy 🇺🇸
8	Trains and Lovers 2012Buy 🇺🇸
9	Chance Developments 2016Buy 🇺🇸
10	Pianos and Flowers 2019Buy 🇺🇸
11	In a Time of Distance and Other Poems 2020Buy 🇺🇸
12	Marvellous Mix-ups 2020Buy 🇺🇸
13	Tiny Tales: Stories of Romance, Ambition, Kindness, and Happiness 2021Buy 🇺🇸
14	The Private Life of Spies and the Exquisite Art of Getting Even 2023Buy 🇺🇸

7 books (1989–2024)

Start with Uncle Gangster, the first of 7 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	Uncle Gangster 1989Buy 🇺🇸
2	La's Orchestra Saves the World 2008Buy 🇺🇸
3	Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party 2014Buy 🇺🇸
4	The Forever Girl 2014Buy 🇺🇸
5	The Good Pilot, Peter Woodhouse 2017Buy 🇺🇸
6	The Pavilion in the Clouds 2022Buy 🇺🇸
7	The Winds from Further West 2024Buy 🇺🇸

1 book (2020–2020)

4 books (2023–2025)

Start with A Laborer in the Vineyard of Love, the first of 4 books in the The Perfect Passion Company series.

#	Title
1	A Laborer in the Vineyard of Love 2023Buy 🇺🇸
2	Cook For Me 2023Buy 🇺🇸
3	The Perfect Passion Company 2024Buy 🇺🇸
4	Looking for You 2025Buy 🇺🇸

4 books (2015–2019)

Start with School Ship Tobermory, the first of 4 books in the The School Ship Tobermory series.

#	Title
1	School Ship Tobermory 2015Buy 🇺🇸
2	The Sands of Shark Island 2016Buy 🇺🇸
3	The Race to Kangaroo Cliff 2019Buy 🇺🇸
4	The Secret of the Dark Waterfall(With: Iain Mcintosh) 2019Buy 🇺🇸

8 books (2009–2020)

Start with Notes on Sontag(By: Phillip Lopate), the first of 8 books in the Writers on Writers series.

#	Title
1	Notes on Sontag(By: Phillip Lopate) 2009Buy 🇺🇸
2	On Whitman(By: C.K. Williams) 2010Buy 🇺🇸
3	On Conan Doyle(By: Michael Dirda) 2011Buy 🇺🇸
4	What W. H. Auden Can Do for You 2013Buy 🇺🇸
5	On Elizabeth Bishop(By: Colm Tóibín) 2015Buy 🇺🇸
6	On Empson(By: Michael Wood) 2017Buy 🇺🇸
7	On Henry Miller: Or, How to Be an Anarchist(By: John Burnside) 2018Buy 🇺🇸
8	On Seamus Heaney(By: Roy Foster) 2020Buy 🇺🇸

3 books (1988–1990)

Start with Alix and the Tigers and read in order.

#	Title
1	Alix and the Tigers 1988Buy 🇺🇸
2	Suzy Magician 1990Buy 🇺🇸
3	The Tin Dog 1990Buy 🇺🇸