Jane Smiley Reading Order

11 books (1990–2021)

Jane Smiley edited 10 complete anthologies published between 1990 and 2009, spanning literary fiction, essays, erotica, and memoir. The series includes collections of short stories by established and emerging writers, themed anthologies on topics like romance and horse culture, and volumes focused on writing craft. These books should be read in publication order, beginning with Great American Short Stories and concluding with Horse Girls: Recovering, Aspiring, and Devoted Riders Redefine the Iconic Bond.

Start with Great American Short Stories, the first of 10 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Great American Short Stories 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	First Fiction: An Anthology of the First Published Stories by Famous Writers 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Best American Short Stories 1995 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Body 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Good Parts 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Writers on Writing 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Best New American Voices 2006 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Best American Erotica 2005 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Mr. Wrong: Real-Life Stories about the Men We Used to Love 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Dedicated to the People of Darfur 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Horse Girls: Recovering, Aspiring, and Devoted Riders Redefine the Iconic Bond 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1987–1989)

Jane Smiley's Collections series consists of two complete works published between 1987 and 1989, both of which should be read in publication order. The series begins with The Age of Grief, followed by Ordinary Love and Good Will: Two Novellas, offering literary fiction that explores intimate human relationships and emotional complexity.

Start with The Age of Grief and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Age of Grief 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Ordinary Love and Good Will: Two Novellas 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (2018–2020)

Jane Smiley's Ellen and Ned trilogy spans from 2018 to 2020 and follows a complete story arc best experienced in publication order. The series consists of three novels: Riding Lessons, Saddles & Secrets, and Taking the Reins, each building upon the previous installment. This literary fiction series should be read sequentially beginning with Riding Lessons to fully appreciate the character development and narrative progression throughout the trilogy.

Start with Riding Lessons and read in order.

#	Title
1	Riding Lessons 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Saddles & Secrets 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Taking the Reins 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

5 books (2009–2013)

The Horses of Oak Valley Ranch is a complete five-book series by Jane Smiley published between 2009 and 2013. The books should be read in publication order, beginning with The Georges and the Jewels and continuing through Nobody's Horse, A Good Horse, Secret Horse, True Blue, Mystery Horse, Pie in the Sky, Champion Horse, and concluding with Gee Whiz and Star Horse. Each entry in this literary fiction series explores the relationships between characters and horses at Oak Valley Ranch through interconnected narratives.

Start with The Georges and the Jewels / Nobody's Horse, the first of 5 books in the Horses Of Oak Valley Ranch series.

#	Title
1	The Georges and the Jewels / Nobody's Horse 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	A Good Horse / Secret Horse 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	True Blue / Mystery Horse 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Pie in the Sky / Champion Horse 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Gee Whiz / Star Horse 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (2014–2015)

Jane Smiley's Last Hundred Years trilogy spans three generations of a single family from 1920 to 2020, offering a sweeping literary narrative across American history. The complete series consists of Some Luck, Early Warning, and Golden Age, published between 2014 and 2015. These novels should be read in publication order to follow the family's evolution through the twentieth century. This is a finished series with no additional installments planned.

Start with Some Luck and read in order.

#	Title
1	Some Luck 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Early Warning 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Golden Age 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2026–2026)

10 books (1200–2023)

Jane Smiley's non-fiction series comprises ten books published between 1200 and 2023, with the collection likely complete as of now. These works should be read in publication order, beginning with The Sagas of Icelanders and progressing through explorations of craftsmanship, literature, biography, and philosophy. The series includes solo efforts alongside collaborative works with notable writers such as Dave Eggers and Carmen Maria Machado, spanning topics from horse racing and Charles Dickens to computing history and literary interpretation.

Start with The Sagas of Icelanders, the first of 10 books in the Non-Fiction series.

#	Title
1	The Sagas of Icelanders 1200Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Catskill Crafts: Artisans of the Catskill Mountains 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Charles Dickens 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	A Year At the Races: Reflections On Horses, Humans, Love, Money And Luck 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	13 Ways of Looking at the Novel 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Man Who Invented the Computer: The Biography of John Atanasoff, Digital Pioneer 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	An Innocent Abroad: Life-Changing Trips from 35 Great Writers(With: Dave Eggers) 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	March Sisters: On Life, Death, and Little Women(With: Carmen Maria Machado,Kate Bolick,Jenny Zhang) 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Questions That Matter Most: Reading, Writing, and the Exercise of Freedom 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

32 books (1960–2011)

Penguin Lives is a complete series of 32 biographical works published between 1960 and 2011, featuring short lives of historical figures, cultural icons, and influential personalities written by prominent authors. Each book in the series is a standalone biography that can be read independently, though readers interested in the complete collection should follow publication order, beginning with Thomas Keneally's Abraham Lincoln. The series brings together diverse subjects ranging from political leaders and artists to spiritual figures and cultural revolutionaries, with each volume offering a concise yet compelling portrait by a writer well-suited to their subject.

Start with Abraham Lincoln(By: Thomas Keneally), the first of 32 books in the Penguin Lives series.

#	Title
1	Abraham Lincoln(By: Thomas Keneally) 1960Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Crazy Horse(By: Larry McMurtry) 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	James Joyce(By: Edna O'Brien) 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Mao Zedong: A Life(By: Jonathan D. Spence) 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Marcel Proust(By: Edmund White) 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Mozart: A Life(By: Peter Gay) 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Saint Augustine(By: Garry Wills) 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Herman Melville(By: Elizabeth Hardwick) 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Leonardo da Vinci: A Life(By: Sherwin B. Nuland) 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Rosa Parks(By: Douglas Brinkley) 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Virginia Woolf(By: Nigel Nicolson) 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Woodrow Wilson(By: Louis Auchincloss) 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Andy Warhol: A Biography(By: Wayne Koestenbaum) 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Buddha(By: Karen Armstrong) 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Dante(By: R.W.B. Lewis) 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Jane Austen(By: Carol Shields) 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Life(By: Marshall Frady) 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Simone Weil(By: Francine du Plessix Gray) 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Charles Dickens 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Elvis Presley(By: Bobbie Ann Mason) 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Joseph Smith(By: Robert V. Remini) 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Pope John XXIII(By: Thomas Cahill) 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	Winston Churchill: A Life(By: John Keegan) 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Robert E. Lee(By: Roy Blount Jr.) 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	Saint Therese of Lisieux(By: Kathryn Harrison) 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	Frank Lloyd Wright: A Life(By: Ada Louise Huxtable) 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	George Herbert Walker Bush(By: Tom Wicker) 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	Napoleon(By: Paul Johnson) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	Julia Child(By: Laura Shapiro) 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	Joan of Arc(By: Mary Gordon) 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	Martin Luther(By: Martin E. Marty) 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
32	Branch Rickey: A Life(By: Jimmy Breslin) 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2016–2016)

15 books (1980–2024)

Jane Smiley has written fifteen standalone literary fiction novels published between 1980 and 2024, with the series remaining ongoing. These works should be read in publication order beginning with Barn Blind, progressing through celebrated titles like A Thousand Acres and Horse Heaven, and continuing through more recent releases such as A Dangerous Business and Lucky. Each novel stands independently with its own characters and story, though they collectively showcase Smiley's range across contemporary American life, historical settings, and varied narrative perspectives.

Start with Barn Blind, the first of 15 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	Barn Blind 1980Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	At Paradise Gate 1981Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Duplicate Keys 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Greenlanders 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	A Thousand Acres 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Moo 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Horse Heaven 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Good Faith 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Ten Days in the Hills 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Private Life 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Twenty Yawns 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Perestroika in Paris 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	A Dangerous Business 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Lucky 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

7 books (2018–2018)

The Warmer Collection is a seven-book literary fiction series completed in 2018, featuring standalone novellas by different authors including Sonya Larson, Lauren Groff, Jesse Kellerman, Skip Horack, Jess Walter, and Edan Lepucki. Each book can be read independently, though they were published as a curated collection. Begin with At the Bottom of New Lake by Sonya Larson and continue in publication order through the remaining six entries to experience the complete series as originally presented.

Start with At the Bottom of New Lake(By: Sonya Larson), the first of 7 books in the Warmer Collection series.