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Non-Fiction Books in Order
Below you'll find the complete list of Non-Fiction books in publication order. This is generally the recommended reading order for the series.
Reading order verified: March 2026
Quick Answer
What order should I read the Non-Fiction series? Start with "Signifying Rappers" (1990) and follow publication order through all 25 books.
The complete Non-Fiction reading order is listed below in publication sequence.
Publication Order

Signifying Rappers
1990

The Future of Fiction
1996

A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again
1997

McCain's Promise
2000

Up, Simba!
2000

Everything and More
2003

Consider the Lobster and Other Essays
2005

This Is Water
2009

Fate, Time, and Language
2010

Getting Away from Already Being Pretty Much Away from It All
2012

Both Flesh and Not
2012

Quack This Way
2013

On Tennis
2014

David Foster Wallace: In His Own Words
2014

Open City #5: Change or Die
1997

The Ex-Files
2000

Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus
2004

The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories
2004

The Best American Essays 2005
2005

Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction
2007

Thomas Demand: L'Esprit d'Escalier
2007

The Best American Essays 2007
2007

Conversaciones con David Foster Wallace
2012

Way More than Luck
2015

Conceptualisms
2022
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