Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barn Blind | 1980 | Jane Smiley | Buy |
| 2 | At Paradise Gate | 1981 | Jane Smiley | Buy |
| 3 | Duplicate Keys | 1984 | Jane Smiley | Buy |
| 4 | The Greenlanders | 1988 | Jane Smiley | Buy |
| 5 | A Thousand Acres | 1991 | Jane Smiley | Buy |
| 6 | Moo | 1995 | Jane Smiley | Buy |
| 7 | The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton | 1998 | Jane Smiley | Buy |
| 8 | Horse Heaven | 1999 | Jane Smiley | Buy |
| 9 | Good Faith | 2003 | Jane Smiley | Buy |
| 10 | Ten Days in the Hills | 2007 | Jane Smiley | Buy |
| 11 | Private Life | 2010 | Jane Smiley | Buy |
| 12 | Twenty Yawns | 2016 | Jane Smiley | Buy |
| 13 | Perestroika in Paris | 2020 | Jane Smiley | Buy |
| 14 | A Dangerous Business | 2022 | Jane Smiley | Buy |
| 15 | Lucky | 2024 | Jane Smiley | Buy |
Jane Smiley’s fifteen standalone novels span more than four decades, from Barn Blind in 1980 to Lucky in 2024. Because each book is independent, they can be read in any order. Her early novels from the 1980s include At Paradise Gate, Duplicate Keys, and The Greenlanders, each quite different in setting and subject.
The 1990s brought A Thousand Acres (1991) and Moo (1995), followed by The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton and Horse Heaven before the decade’s end. Through the 2000s and 2010s, Smiley continued to publish at a steady pace with titles like Good Faith, Ten Days in the Hills, and Private Life.
Her more recent novels include Perestroika in Paris (2020), A Dangerous Business (2022), and Lucky (2024). Across the full list, the titles suggest a writer who moves between different subjects and settings from book to book rather than returning to the same ground.