Richard Wright Reading Order

121 books (2002–2025)

The Akashic Noir series encompasses 121 anthologies of crime fiction organized by geography, with each volume featuring noir stories set in a specific city or region. Beginning with San Francisco Noir in 2002 and continuing through 2025, the series remains ongoing with new entries regularly added. Read the books in publication order, starting with San Francisco Noir, as each standalone anthology captures the noir character and criminal underworld of its featured location.

Start with San Francisco Noir, the first of 121 books in the Akashic Noir series.

#	Title
1	San Francisco Noir 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Bronx Noir 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Seattle Noir 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Brooklyn Noir 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Hasidic Noir 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Brooklyn Noir 2 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Chicago Noir 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Dublin Noir 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Baltimore Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	D.C. Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	London Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Manhattan Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Miami Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Twin Cities Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Detroit Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Havana Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Los Angeles Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	New Orleans Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Wall Street Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Brooklyn Noir 3: Nothing But the Truth 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	D.C. Noir 2 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Istanbul Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	Las Vegas Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Manhattan Noir 2 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	Paris Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	Queens Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	Toronto Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	Trinidad Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	Boston Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	Delhi Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	Phoenix Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
32	Portland Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
33	Rome Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
34	San Francisco Noir 2 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
35	Copenhagen Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
36	Haiti Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
37	Indian Country Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
38	Lone Star Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
39	Los Angeles Noir 2 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
40	Mexico City Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
41	Moscow Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
42	Orange County Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
43	Philadelphia Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
44	Richmond Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
45	Barcelona Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
46	Cape Cod Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
47	New Jersey Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
48	Pittsburgh Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
49	San Diego Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
50	Boston Noir 2 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
51	Kansas City Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
52	Kingston Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
53	Long Island Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
54	Mumbai Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
55	St. Petersburg Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
56	Staten Island Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
57	Venice Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
58	Buffalo Noir 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
59	Dallas Noir 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
60	Haiti Noir 2 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
61	Manila Noir 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
62	USA Noir 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
63	Belfast Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
64	Helsinki Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
65	Prison Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
66	Rio Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
67	Singapore Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
68	Tehran Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
69	Tel Aviv Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
70	Beirut Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
71	Chicago Noir: The Classics 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
72	Marseille Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
73	Memphis Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
74	Providence Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
75	Zagreb Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
76	Brussels Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
77	Mississippi Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
78	New Orleans Noir: The Classics 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
79	Prague Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
80	San Juan Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
81	St. Louis Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
82	Stockholm Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
83	Atlanta Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
84	Buenos Aires Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
85	Montana Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
86	Montreal Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
87	New Haven Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
88	Oakland Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
89	Trinidad Noir: The Classics 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
90	Baghdad Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
91	Berlin Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
92	Hong Kong Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
93	Lagos Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
94	Marrakech Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
95	Santa Cruz Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
96	Sydney Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
97	São Paulo Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
98	Vancouver Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
99	Amsterdam Noir 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
100	Houston Noir 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
101	Milwaukee Noir 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
102	Accra Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
103	Addis Ababa Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
104	Alabama Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
105	Belgrade Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
106	Berkeley Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
107	Columbus Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
108	Miami Noir: The Classics 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
109	Nairobi Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
110	Santa Fe Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
111	Tampa Bay Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
112	Palm Springs Noir 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
113	Denver Noir 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
114	Paris Noir: The Suburbs 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
115	South Central Noir 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
116	Cleveland Noir 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
117	East Jerusalem Noir 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
118	West Jerusalem Noir 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
119	Honolulu Noir 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
120	Hamburg Noir 2025Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
121	Sacramento Noir 2025Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

10 books (1967–2017)

This complete anthology series spans fifty years with ten collections published between 1967 and 2017. The books should be read in publication order, beginning with The Best Short Stories by Black Writers. The series covers diverse themes including Black literature, American poetry, short fiction, science fiction, civil rights, and contemporary cultural topics. Each volume stands independently but together they reflect evolving perspectives on American letters and social issues across five decades.

Start with The Best Short Stories by Black Writers, the first of 10 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	The Best Short Stories by Black Writers 1967Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	I Am the Darker Brother 1968Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Growing Up in the South 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Go the Way Your Blood Beats 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	American Poetry: The Twentieth Century, Volume 2 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Best American Short Stories of the Century 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Unnatural Selection of Darwinian Nightmares 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Civil Rights Reader 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	10 Common Core Essentials 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Ask: Building Consent Culture 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (1945–1974)

Richard Wright's three-book non-fiction series spans nearly three decades, beginning with Black Boy in 1945 and concluding with Black Power in 1974. These works should be read in publication order to follow the author's evolving perspective across this period. The complete series offers Wright's unflinching examination of race, politics, and society through memoir and reportage.

Start with Black Boy and read in order.

#	Title
1	Black Boy 1945Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Color Curtain 1956Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Black Power 1974Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

28 books (1940–1994)

The Perennial Library is a 28-book anthology series published between 1940 and 1994, now complete. This collection spans mystery, thriller, and non-fiction works and should be read in publication order. The series features diverse titles ranging from classic literature and philosophical texts to practical guides on psychology, history, and contemporary issues.

Start with You Can't Go Home Again(By: Thomas Wolfe), the first of 28 books in the Perennial Library series.

2 books (1998–2018)

Richard Wright published two poetry collections between 1998 and 2018, beginning with Haiku and concluding with Seeing into Tomorrow. This complete series should be read in publication order. The collections represent Wright's later literary work, written during the final decades of his life.

Start with Haiku and read in order.

#	Title
1	Haiku 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Seeing into Tomorrow 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1993–2018)

Richard Wright's short story and novella collection spans from 1993 to 2018 with two completed volumes: Rite of Passage followed by Injustice. These mystery and thriller-focused works should be read in publication order to experience Wright's evolution across the quarter-century that separates them.

Start with Rite of Passage and read in order.

#	Title
1	Rite of Passage 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Injustice 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (1938–1958)

Richard Wright's short story collections span two decades of American literature, comprising three complete works published between 1938 and 1958. These volumes should be read in publication order, beginning with Uncle Tom's Children, followed by 12 Million Black Voices, and concluding with Eight Men. The series represents Wright's evolution as a writer across the mystery, thriller, and non-fiction genres during a transformative period in American history.

Start with Uncle Tom's Children and read in order.

#	Title
1	Uncle Tom's Children 1938Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	12 Million Black Voices 1941Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Eight Men 1958Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

7 books (1940–2021)

Richard Wright's seven novels span from 1940 to 2021, each standing as an independent work rather than part of a connected narrative. The series includes Native Son, The Outsider, Savage Holiday, The Long Dream, Lawd Today!, A Father's Law, and The Man Who Lived Underground, best read in publication order to trace the author's evolving exploration of mystery, thriller, and social themes. Though the series appears complete, these books function as individual entries and can be enjoyed in any sequence depending on reader preference.

Start with Native Son, the first of 7 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	Native Son 1940Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Outsider 1953Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Savage Holiday 1954Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Long Dream 1958Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Lawd Today! 1963Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	A Father's Law 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Man Who Lived Underground 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible