Susan Orlean Reading Order

7 books (2000–2014)

Susan Orlean edited this complete series of seven anthologies published between 2000 and 2014. The collections span multiple genres including young adult and non-fiction, featuring curated selections from various writers and publications. Reading these books in publication order provides the best experience, beginning with Life Stories and concluding with Never Can Say Goodbye: Writers on Their Unshakable Love for New York. The series includes volumes focused on magazine writing, essays, food writing, and personal narratives across different themes and regions.

Start with Life Stories, the first of 7 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Life Stories 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Best American Magazine Writing 2004 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Best American Essays 2005 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Secret Ingredients 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	All That Glitters 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Cornbread Nation 7: The Best of Southern Food Writing 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Never Can Say Goodbye: Writers on Their Unshakable Love for New York 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2008–2008)

#	Title
1	Lazy Little Loafers 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

5 books (2003–2007)

The Funny Women Write from the Road series is a collection of five humorous travel memoirs featuring essays from multiple female writers, published between 2003 and 2007. These standalone anthologies should be read in publication order, beginning with Sand in My Bra and Other Misadventures and concluding with More Sand in My Bra. The series is complete and offers entertaining accounts of women's travel experiences and misadventures around the world.

Start with Sand in My Bra and Other Misadventures(By: Jennifer L. Leo,Jessica Maxwell), the first of 5 books in the Funny Women Write from the Road series.

#	Title
1	Sand in My Bra and Other Misadventures(By: Jennifer L. Leo,Jessica Maxwell) 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Whose Panties Are These?(By: Jennifer L. Leo,James O'Reilly,Larry Habegger) 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Thong Also Rises(With: Jill Conner Browne,Laurie Notaro,Jennifer L. Leo,Jennifer Cox,Ayun Halliday,Tamara Sheward,Ellen Sussman) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	What Color Is Your Jockstrap?(By: Jennifer L. Leo) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	More Sand in My Bra(By: Janna Cawrse Esarey,Julia Weiler,Jennifer L. Leo) 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (1987–1992)

Susan Orlean's History series comprises three nonfiction works published between 1987 and 1992, exploring American culture and identity through distinctive subjects and perspectives. The complete series should be read in publication order, beginning with Red Sox and Bluefish and Other Things That Make New England New England, followed by Saturday Night and concluding with The American Man at Age 10. These works showcase Orlean's characteristic approach to capturing the essence of American life through detailed observation and engaging narrative.

Start with Red Sox and Bluefish and Other Things That Make New England New England and read in order.

#	Title
1	Red Sox and Bluefish and Other Things That Make New England New England 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Saturday Night 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The American Man at Age 10 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2018–2018)

#	Title
1	The Library Book 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2025–2025)

1 book (2021–2021)

3 books (2011–2021)

Susan Orlean's three-book Animal series spans from 2011 to 2021 and appears to be complete. These works blend nonfiction storytelling with young adult appeal, exploring humanity's relationship with animals across different contexts and time periods. Reading the books in publication order—beginning with Animalish, followed by Rin Tin Tin, and concluding with On Animals—provides the intended progression through Orlean's examinations of animal-human connections.

Start with Animalish and read in order.

#	Title
1	Animalish 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Rin Tin Tin 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	On Animals 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

4 books (2001–2025)

Susan Orlean has written four biographical and travel-focused works from 2001 to 2025, with the series remaining ongoing. These nonfiction books should be read in publication order, beginning with The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People, followed by My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who's Been Everywhere, A Gentle Reign, and Joyride. Each book stands as its own entry while contributing to Orlean's broader exploration of compelling people and places throughout her career.

Start with The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People, the first of 4 books in the Susan Orlean Biographies series.

#	Title
1	The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who's Been Everywhere 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	A Gentle Reign 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Joyride 2025Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1998–2016)

Susan Orlean's two-book gardening series consists of The Orchid Thief (1998) and The Floral Ghost (2016), both of which should be read in publication order. The complete series spans nearly two decades and explores themes related to plants, gardens, and botanical obsession through Orlean's signature narrative nonfiction style.

Start with The Orchid Thief and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Orchid Thief 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Floral Ghost 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible