Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Sox and Bluefish and Other Things That Make New England New England | 1987 | Susan Orlean | Buy |
| 2 | Saturday Night | 1990 | Susan Orlean | Buy |
| 3 | The American Man at Age 10 | 1992 | Susan Orlean | Buy |
Susan Orlean’s early books established her reputation as a writer who could find stories in everyday American life. Her first book, Red Sox and Bluefish (1987), is a collection of observations about New England culture. Saturday Night (1990) followed, a reported exploration of how people across the United States spend their Saturday evenings. Orlean traveled the country for the project, visiting bowling alleys, dance halls, and drag races.
The American Man at Age 10 (1992) started as a New Yorker profile of a ten-year-old boy named Colin Duffy and became one of Orlean’s most widely read pieces. These three books show Orlean developing the style she would later bring to The Orchid Thief and her other major works: precise observation, gentle humor, and a genuine interest in how people live.