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Standalone Books in Order
Below you'll find the complete list of Standalone books in publication order. This is generally the recommended reading order for the series.
Reading order verified: April 2026
Quick Answer
What order should I read the Standalone series? Start with "The Joke" (1967) and follow publication order through all 14 books.
The complete Standalone reading order is listed below in publication sequence.
Publication Order
The Joke
1967
Life is Elsewhere
1970
Farewell Waltz
1971
The Farewell Party
1972
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
1979
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
1984
Immortality
1990
Slowness
1995
Identity
1997
Masterpieces of Fiction
1997
Ignorance
2000
The Festival of Insignificance
2013
Let the Old Dead Make Room for the Young Dead
1963
Jacques and His Master
1971
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