How to use Mrs Books in Order
This site exists to answer one question well: in what order should I read the books?
For any author or series we cover, we try to give you a single page that is calm, accurate, and faster to skim than a publisher's backlist. Below is a quick guide to what each kind of page covers and what the ordering terms on them actually mean — so you can jump straight to whatever brought you here.
What you'll find here
Series pages
A series page is the strongest page we publish. It covers one specific series end-to-end: every book in it, how many there are, the recommended reading order, the chronological order (when it differs), release dates, and a "where to start" recommendation. If you already know the name of the series, this is where to land.
Browse every series we cover on the all series index.
Author pages
An author page is a complete bibliography: every book a writer has published, grouped by series with any standalones listed separately, sorted by release date. If you know the author's name but aren't sure which series of theirs to start with, the author page is the right jumping-off point — it links out to each of their series pages.
Browse every author we cover on the all authors index.
Book pages
A book page covers a single title: its release date, where it sits in the parent series (if any), its place in publication and chronological order, and the previous and next book in the series so you can flip back and forth. Book pages are useful when you already have the title in hand and just need to double-check its number in the series, the release year, or grab a clean reference link.
Browse every book we cover on the all books index.
The four ordering terms we use
A well-built series can often be read in more than one order. Where that is true we lay out every useful option so you can pick the one that suits how you like to read. Four phrases come up over and over across the site — here is what each one means.
Publication order
Publication order is the sequence in which the books were actually released — the order the author originally intended readers to encounter the series. For standalone novels and linear trilogies, this is usually the only order that matters. The Hunger Games, for example, reads exactly the way it was written.
For most series, publication order is the safest default and the one we recommend if you're not sure which view to use.
Chronological order
Chronological order is the sequence of events inside the story — when each book's events take place within the fictional timeline. This only diverges from publication order when an author later writes a prequel, an interquel (a book that fits between two existing ones), or a non-linear series that hops around in time.
The classic example is C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew was written sixth but is set first. Reading chronologically means starting with The Magician's Nephew; reading by publication order means starting with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Both are defensible — they produce quite different first impressions of the series, and longtime fans tend to feel strongly about which is better.
When a series has a meaningfully different chronological order, we show it on its own table. When publication and chronological order are identical, we skip the second table rather than repeat the first.
Best reading order
"Best reading order" is our editorial recommendation. Sometimes it matches publication order. Sometimes it matches chronological order. And sometimes it is a custom path that the community has settled on over time — Terry Pratchett's Discworld is the canonical example, since reading it in pure publication order is fine but most readers prefer one of the established thematic tracks (the City Watch books, the Witches books, and so on).
When we recommend a non-publication order, we say why. When we don't think there is a meaningful case for one, we tell you to read in publication order and move on.
Where to start
"Where to start" is a single, specific book recommendation for readers who are new to a series and just want to know which one to pick up first. It is not always book #1. A few reasons it might not be:
- Anthologies or companion books sometimes sit at the front of a series in catalogues but were never meant as entry points.
- Slower openers. A handful of well-known series have first books that suffer in comparison to what comes after; a new reader often has an easier time starting a book or two in.
- Reboots and continuities. Some long-running series have a natural "jumping-on" point decades into the run. Where one exists, we flag it.
If a series has a non-obvious starting point, we call it out directly on the series page so you don't have to guess.
A note on accuracy
Publication schedules slip. Books get retitled. Authors quietly reorder a series years later. We work to keep every page on this site accurate, but if you spot something that looks wrong — a date, a missing book, a broken link — please tell us. Corrections from readers are how this site stays honest.
Didn't find what you were looking for?
If you spot an error, want to suggest a series we haven't covered yet, or just want to say hello, the contact page is the right place. You can also browse all series, authors, or books directly.