Susan Orlean Biographies books in order

Q: "How many books are in the Susan Orlean Biographies series?"

"There are four books in the Susan Orlean Biographies series, published between 2001 and 2025."

Q: "What is the first book in the Susan Orlean Biographies series?"

"The first book in the Susan Orlean Biographies series is The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People, published in 2001."

Q: "What is The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup about?"

"The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People (2001) collects Susan Orlean's profiles of fascinating individuals she has met over the years, from a female bullfighter to a gospel singer to a young surfing prodigy. The pieces originally appeared in The New Yorker and other publications."

Reading order

#	Title	Published	Author	Buy on Amazon
1	The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People	2001	Susan Orlean	Buy
2	My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who’s Been Everywhere	2004	Susan Orlean	Buy
3	A Gentle Reign	2016	Susan Orlean	Buy
4	Joyride	2025	Susan Orlean	Buy

Susan Orlean’s biographical works collect the profiles and travel writing she has produced over her long career. The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup (2001) gathers her portraits of people with unusual lives and passions, while My Kind of Place (2004) collects her travel writing from around the world.

A Gentle Reign (2016) is a shorter biographical work, and Joyride (2025) is her most recent collection. Across all these books, Orlean’s gift is her ability to make her subjects feel vivid and real on the page. She tends to choose people who are deeply absorbed in something specific, and her curiosity about their worlds gives the writing its energy.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Susan Orlean Biographies series?

There are four books in the Susan Orlean Biographies series, published between 2001 and 2025.

What is the first book in the Susan Orlean Biographies series?

The first book in the Susan Orlean Biographies series is The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People, published in 2001.

What is The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup about?

The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People (2001) collects Susan Orlean’s profiles of fascinating individuals she has met over the years, from a female bullfighter to a gospel singer to a young surfing prodigy. The pieces originally appeared in The New Yorker and other publications.

Reading order#

Frequently Asked Questions

Reading order