John Updike Reading Order

31 books (1892–2012)

The American Poets Project is a 29-book literary anthology series published between 1892 and 2012 that showcases the work of significant American poets. Each volume features selected poems from individual poets or thematic collections, with introductions and editorial selections that provide context for the work. The series is complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with Walt Whitman and concluding with the final entry. This collection serves as a comprehensive survey of American poetry across multiple generations and styles.

Start with Walt Whitman(By: Walt Whitman), the first of 29 books in the American Poets Project series.

#	Title
1	Walt Whitman(By: Walt Whitman) 1892Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Edgar Allan Poe(By: Richard Wilbur) 1909Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Theodore Roethke(By: ) 1969Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	A. R. Ammons(By: David Lehman,A.R. Ammons) 1977Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	William Carlos Williams(By: William Carlos Williams) 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Edna St. Vincent Millay(By: Edna St. Vincent Millay) 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Carl Sandburg: Selected Poems(By: Carl Sandburg) 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Yvor Winters(By: Thom Gunn,Yvor Winters) 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	American Wits(By: John Hollander) 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Karl Shapiro(With: Karl Shapiro) 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Poets of World War II(By: Various,Harvey Shapiro) 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	John Berryman(By: Kevin Young,John Berryman) 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	John Greenleaf Whittier(By: John Greenleaf Whittier) 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Kenneth Fearing(By: Kenneth Fearing) 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Kenneth Fearing(By: Robert Polito,Kenneth Fearing) 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Muriel Rukeyser(By: Muriel Rukeyser) 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Edith Wharton(By: Edith Wharton) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Emma Lazarus(By: Emma Lazarus) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Poets of the Civil War(By: J.D. McClatchy) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	The Essential Gwendolyn Brooks(By: Gwendolyn Brooks,Elizabeth Alexander) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Cole Porter(By: Robert Kimball,Cole Porter) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Louis Zukofsky(By: Louis Zukofsky,Charles Bernstein) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	American Sonnets(By: David Bromwich) 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Kenneth Koch(By: Ron Padgett,Kenneth Koch) 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	James Agee(By: James Agee,Andrew Hudgins) 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	Ira Gershwin(By: Robert Kimball,Ira Gershwin) 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	Poems from the Women's Movement(By: Honor Moore) 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	Countee Cullen(By: Countee Cullen) 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	Countee Cullen(By: Major Jackson,Countee Cullen) 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	Lyrics of the First Great Popular Songs(By: Stephen Collins Foster,Ken Emerson) 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	Amy Lowell(By: Honor Moore) 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

28 books (1963–2019)

John Updike edited 28 anthologies of short stories and essays published between 1963 and 2019, spanning literary fiction, mystery, sports, and spirituality. This complete series should be read in publication order, beginning with 50 Great American Short Stories and progressing through collections like The Best American Short Stories, Deadly Sins, and First Fiction: An Anthology of the First Published Stories by Famous Writers. The anthologies curate work from renowned and emerging writers, offering readers diverse perspectives across multiple genres and time periods.

Start with 50 Great American Short Stories, the first of 28 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	50 Great American Short Stories 1963Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Ten Modern American Short Stories 1965Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Prize Stories 1970: The O. Henry Awards 1970Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Best American Short Stories 1984 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Great Baseball Stories 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Best American Short Stories 1991 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Oxford Book of American Short Stories 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Short Story: 30 Masterpieces 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Deadly Sins 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	First Fiction: An Anthology of the First Published Stories by Famous Writers 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Literary Traveller 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Listening for God, Vol. 2 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Our Mothers' Spirits: Great Writers on the Death of Mothers and the Grief of Men 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Best American Mystery Stories 1999 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	40 Short Stories: A Portable Anthology 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	The Best American Short Stories of the Century 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Wonderful Town 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	The Best American Short Stories 2001 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Writers on Writing 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Baseball: a Literary Anthology 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Classic Erotic Tales 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Common Wealth: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	The Best American Erotica 2006 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	The New Granta Book of the American Short Story 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	First Words: Earliest Writing from Favorite Contemporary Authors 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	Writers: Their Lives and Works 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	Reel Verse 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1974–1992)

John Updike's Buchanan series consists of two literary fiction works published across nearly two decades. The complete series includes Buchanan Dying (1974) and Memories of the Ford Administration (1992), which should be read in publication order. These standalone yet interconnected novels explore American history and memory through Updike's distinctive literary lens.

Start with Buchanan Dying and read in order.

#	Title
1	Buchanan Dying 1974Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Memories of the Ford Administration 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

4 books (1994–2002)

The Contemporary Literature and the Life of Faith series comprises four volumes of literary essays and fiction selections exploring themes of spirituality and faith in modern American writing. Published between 1994 and 2002, the complete series features contributions from acclaimed authors including Flannery O'Connor, Raymond Carver, Alice Walker, Annie Dillard, Anne Tyler, Tobias Wolff, Louise Erdrich, James Baldwin, and many others. Each volume pairs literary works with essays examining the intersection of faith and contemporary life. Read the volumes in publication order, beginning with the first Reader volume.

Start with Listening for God Reader, Vol. 1(By: Flannery O'Connor,Raymond Carver,Alice Walker,Garrison Keillor,Annie Dillard,Richard Rodríguez,Patricia Hampl,Peter Hawkins,Frederick Buechner,Paula J. Carlson,Peter S. Hawkins), the first of 4 books in the Contemporary Literature and the Life of Faith series.

#	Title
1	Listening for God Reader, Vol. 1(By: Flannery O'Connor,Raymond Carver,Alice Walker,Garrison Keillor,Annie Dillard,Richard Rodríguez,Patricia Hampl,Peter Hawkins,Frederick Buechner,Paula J. Carlson,Peter S. Hawkins) 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Listening for God, Vol. 2(With: Anne Tyler,Tobias Wolff,Gail Godwin,Henry Louis Gates Jr.,Kathleen Norris,Paula J. Carlson,Peter S. Hawkins,Carol Bly,Andrew Dubus) 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Listening for God, Vol. 3(By: Tillie Olsen,Wendell Berry,John Cheever,Louise Erdrich,Mary Gordon,Tess Gallagher,Reynolds Price,Oscar Hijuelos,Paula J. Carlson,Peter S. Hawkins) 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Listening For God, Vol. 4(By: Robert Olen Butler,Allegra Goodman,James Baldwin,Kent Haruf,SueMiller,Doris Betts,Paula J. Carlson,Peter S. Hawkins,MichaelMalone,Alice Elliot Dark) 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1984–2008)

John Updike's Eastwick series consists of two literary fiction novels published across nearly two and a half decades, beginning with The Witches of Eastwick in 1984 and concluding with The Widows of Eastwick in 2008. The series is complete and should be read in publication order, as the second book serves as a sequel to the first. These interconnected novels follow the same characters through different phases of their lives in the Rhode Island town of Eastwick.

Start with The Witches of Eastwick and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Witches of Eastwick 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Widows of Eastwick 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

17 books (1957–2012)

This complete series consists of 17 books published between 1957 and 2012, all illustrated by Edward Gorey. The books should be read in publication order, beginning with The Doubtful Guest. Each entry in this literary series stands as its own work, showcasing Gorey's distinctive darkly whimsical visual storytelling style across the span of more than five decades.

Start with The Doubtful Guest(By: Edward Gorey), the first of 17 books in the Edward Gorey Picture series.

#	Title
1	The Doubtful Guest(By: Edward Gorey) 1957Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Object-Lesson(By: Edward Gorey) 1958Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Fatal Lozenge(By: Edward Gorey) 1961Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Sinking Spell(By: Edward Gorey) 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Remembered Visit(By: Edward Gorey) 1965Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Utter Zoo(By: Edward Gorey) 1967Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Blue Aspic(By: Edward Gorey) 1968Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Other Statue(By: Edward Gorey) 1968Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Osbick Bird(By: Edward Gorey) 1970Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Eleventh Episode(By: Edward Gorey) 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Sopping Thursday(By: Edward Gorey) 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	The Lost Lions(By: Edward Gorey) 1973Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	The Glorious Nosebleed(By: Edward Gorey) 1974Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Twelve Terrors of Christmas 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	The Beastly Baby(By: Edward Gorey) 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	A Halloween Treat(By: Edward Gorey) 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Thoughtful Alphabets(By: Edward Gorey) 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

5 books (1960–2000)

John Updike's Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom series comprises five literary fiction novels published between 1960 and 2000, following the life of its titular protagonist across four decades. The complete series should be read in publication order: Rabbit, Run, Rabbit Redux, Rabbit Is Rich, Rabbit at Rest, and Licks of Love. These novels trace Angstrom's personal and professional journey through pivotal moments in American history, offering an intimate portrait of middle-class life in the twentieth century.

Start with Rabbit, Run, the first of 5 books in the Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom series.

#	Title
1	Rabbit, Run 1960Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Rabbit Redux 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Rabbit Is Rich 1981Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Rabbit at Rest 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Licks of Love 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (1982–1999)

John Updike's Henry Bech series consists of three literary fiction novels published between 1982 and 1999, following a complete arc. The books should be read in publication order, beginning with Bech Is Back, followed by Bech at Bay, and concluding with Bech: A Book. This finished series offers readers a self-contained exploration through its interconnected installments.

Start with Bech Is Back and read in order.

#	Title
1	Bech Is Back 1982Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Bech at Bay 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Bech: A Book 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1979–1980)

This two-book collection presents John Updike's literary fiction stories spanning 1979 to 1980. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with Too Far to Go followed by The Maples Stories, and is now complete. Updike's exploration of domestic life and relationships across these volumes showcases his characteristic blend of literary sophistication and accessible prose.

Start with Too Far to Go and read in order.

#	Title
1	Too Far to Go 1979Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Maples Stories 1980Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

14 books (1965–2020)

This fourteen-book non-fiction series by acclaimed literary writer John Updike spans from 1965 to 2020 and collects his essays, criticism, and occasional pieces across multiple decades. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with Assorted Prose and concluding with In Love with a Wanton. These volumes showcase Updike's observations on literature, art, sports, and American culture, offering insight into one of the twentieth century's most prolific and versatile writers. The series is complete.

Start with Assorted Prose, the first of 14 books in the Non-Fiction series.

#	Title
1	Assorted Prose 1965Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Picked-Up Pieces 1975Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Hugging the Shore 1983Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Just Looking 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Self-Consciousness 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Odd Jobs 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Golf Dreams 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	More Matter 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Still Looking 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Due Considerations 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Higher Gossip 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Always Looking 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	In Love with a Wanton 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1964–1994)

John Updike's Picture series consists of two literary works published across three decades, beginning with Magic Flute in 1964 and concluding with The Twelve Terrors of Christmas in 1994, a collaboration with illustrator Edward Gorey. This complete series should be read in publication order to follow the author's creative progression. The collection blends Updike's literary fiction with non-fiction elements across its two installments.

Start with Magic Flute and read in order.

#	Title
1	Magic Flute 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Twelve Terrors of Christmas(With: Edward Gorey) 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

5 books (1965–2015)

John Updike's Poetry Collections series comprises five volumes published between 1965 and 2015, following the author's evolution as a poet across fifty years. These works should be read in publication order, beginning with A Child's Calendar and concluding with Selected Poems. The series is complete and represents a significant body of poetic work from the acclaimed literary figure, offering readers a comprehensive view of his verse spanning multiple decades.

Start with A Child's Calendar, the first of 5 books in the Poetry Collections series.

#	Title
1	A Child's Calendar 1965Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Seventy Poems 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Collected Poems, 1953-1993 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	A Helpful Alphabet of Friendly Objects 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Selected Poems 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (1974–1988)

John Updike's Scarlet Letter Trilogy consists of three literary fiction novels published between 1974 and 1988 that should be read in publication order. The complete series includes A Month of Sundays, Roger's Version, and S., with each book offering a standalone yet interconnected exploration of themes central to American literature. Reading these novels sequentially provides the fullest appreciation of how Updike reimagines and recontextualizes classical American narratives across the decades.

Start with A Month of Sundays and read in order.

#	Title
1	A Month of Sundays 1974Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Roger's Version 1986Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	S. 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1961–1989)

John Updike's collected short stories span from 1961 to 1989, comprising two volumes that should be read in publication order beginning with A&P. This complete series showcases the literary fiction mastery of one of America's most acclaimed twentieth-century authors, offering carefully curated selections from his extensive work in the short story form.

Start with A&P and read in order.

#	Title
1	A&P 1961Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Alligators 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

27 books (1959–2020)

John Updike's Short Story Collections series comprises 27 volumes of literary fiction published between 1959 and 2020, now complete. These collections should be read in publication order, beginning with The Same Door and progressing through titles like Pigeon Feathers and Other Stories, Museums and Women and Other Stories, and Trust Me, spanning six decades of the author's short fiction work. The series represents Updike's sustained exploration of contemporary American life through the short story form across multiple generations.

Start with The Same Door, Short Stories, the first of 27 books in the Short Story Collections series.

#	Title
1	The Same Door, Short Stories 1959Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Pigeon Feathers and Other Stories 1961Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Telephone Poles and Other Poems 1963Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Olinger Stories 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Music School 1966Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Midpoint and Other Poems 1969Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Dance of the Solids 1969Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Museums and Women and Other Stories 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	C*nts 1974Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Tossing and Turning 1977Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Problems and Other Stories 1979Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Valentine Generation And Other Stories 1981Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	The Carpentered Hen 1982Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Facing Nature 1985Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Trust Me 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	The Afterlife and Other Stories 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Friends from Philadelphia and Other Stories 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Licks of Love 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Americana 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	The Early Stories 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Three Trips 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Endpoint and Other Poems 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	My Father's Tears and Other Stories 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Rich In Russia 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	Collected Early Stories 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	Collected Later Stories 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	Hoping for a Hoopoe 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

16 books (1958–2007)

John Updike's 16 standalone novels were published between 1958 and 2007, representing the complete body of his major fiction works. Though each novel is independent and can be read on its own, they are best experienced in publication order, beginning with The Poorhouse Fair and concluding with Terrorist. These literary works span diverse settings and themes, showcasing Updike's exploration of American life across five decades.

Start with The Poorhouse Fair, the first of 16 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	The Poorhouse Fair 1958Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Centaur 1963Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Of the Farm 1965Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Couples 1968Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Marry Me 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Coup 1978Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Your Lover Just Called 1980Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	More Stately Mansions 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Brazil 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	In the Beauty of the Lilies 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Toward the End of Time 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Gertrude and Claudius 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Seek My Face 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Villages 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Terrorist 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	The Women Who Got Away 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible