Bob Ross Books in Order
Bob Ross has written 60 books, published between 1972 and 2023. The first book is Muddled Meanderings in an Outhouse (1972) and the newest is Experience The Joy of Painting Volume X (2023). Publication order is the reading order below. 35 of the 60 books listed here are in the Joy of Painting series, which has its own page: Joy of Painting books in order.
- Books
- 60
- Published
- 1972–2023
- Pages on record
- 3,234 in 28 of 60 books
The Joy of Painting defines the Bob Ross catalogue, running from Volume 1 in 1984 to Experience The Joy of Painting Volume X (2023). Landscape painting, oil painting technique and colouring books make up the recorded subjects, and the Bob Ross Art and My First Bob Ross Books lines extend the run. 60 titles are listed between 1972 and 2023, at a median 76 pages. Publication peaked in the 1990s.
How many Bob Ross books are there?
Bob Ross has 60 books, released between 1972 and 2023. They include 3 series and 17 titles listed outside any series.
Bob Ross Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 60 Bob Ross books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1Muddled Meanderings in an Outhouse1972 · confirmed 1/41972–1/4
- 2Modern and Classic Woodburning Stoves and the Grass Roots Energy Revival1976 · 143 pages · confirmed 1/419761431/4
- 3Solitary confinement: Poems1977 · 59 pages · confirmed 1/41977591/4
- 41984–1/4
- 51984–1/4
- 61984–1/4
- 71985–1/4
- 81985761/4
- 91986771/4
- 101986761/4
- 111986–1/4
- 121986–1/4
- 131987841/4
- 141987761/4
- 151987761/4
- 161988–1/4
- 171988–1/4
- 18Laugh, Lead and Profit: Building Productive Workplaces With Humor1989 · confirmed 1/41989–1/4
- 191989311/4
- 201989–1/4
- 211989–1/4
- 221989–1/4
- 231990–1/4
- 241990761/4
- 251990–1/4
- 261990–1/4
- 271991751/4
- 281991751/4
- 291991–1/4
- 30That's a Good One!: Corporate Leadership with Humor1992 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/41992961/4
- 311992761/4
- 321993761/4
- 33Bob Ross' New Joy of Painting: A Collection of His FavoritesJoy of Painting #271993 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/419932561/4
- 341993–1/4
- 351993311/4
- 361994761/4
- 371994761/4
- 3819952561/4
- 3919952551/4
- 40Funny Business Solutions &: The Art Of Using Humor Constructively1998 · 200 pages · confirmed 1/419982001/4
- 411998–1/4
- 42The Warriors Reflections of a Fighter Pilot, test pilot, and Veteran of the air wars over Vietnam2002 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/420023041/4
- 4320171281/4
- 442017961/4
- 4520172081/4
- 46Lusty Little Things2018 · confirmed 1/42018–1/4
- 47Being with Benny: Inside the World of Ben Lexcen2018 · confirmed 1/42018–1/4
- 48Wingnut: Sailing Showman2018 · confirmed 1/42018–1/4
- 49The Official Bob Ross Coloring Book: The Colors of the Four SeasonsBob Ross Art #42019 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/42019961/4
- 502020–1/4
- 51Beyond a Flood and a War2020 · 80 pages · confirmed 1/42020801/4
- 52Life Lessons from Bob Ross2020 · confirmed 1/42020–1/4
- 53Billy Above the Roofs2021 · confirmed 1/42021–1/4
- 54Karla: or the Weightliftress2022 · confirmed 1/42022–1/4
- 552022–1/4
- 56Worship the Lamb of God2022 · confirmed 1/42022–1/4
- 57God's Witness in Secular Culture2022 · confirmed 1/42022–1/4
- 58My Journey Through Country Music2022 · confirmed 1/42022–1/4
- 592023–1/4
- 602023–1/4
Bob Ross series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Joy of Painting books in order 35 books
Bob Ross books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Bob Ross Art in order
5 booksMy First Bob Ross Books in order
3 booksStandalone books
17 books17 Bob Ross titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Bob Ross books in order?
You only need to read Bob Ross books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Bob Ross
Start with The Joy of Painting Volume 1 (1984), the first Joy of Painting book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Muddled Meanderings in an Outhouse (1972).
What is the newest Bob Ross book?
Experience The Joy of Painting Volume X (2023) is the newest Bob Ross book released so far.
Is there a new Bob Ross book coming?
No next Bob Ross book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Bob Ross at a glance
- Paused
- No new Bob Ross title has appeared for 3 years. The last was published in 2023.
- Release pace
- Bob Ross books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 3,234 pages across the 28 of 60 books with a recorded length, a median of 76 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Bob Ross books, 19 of 60, were published in the 1990s.
What the Bob Ross books are about
17 of the 60 Bob Ross books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: technique is tagged on 6 of 17. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Technique 6 of 17 books
- Landscape painting 5 of 17 books
- Art 2 of 17 books
- Coloring books 2 of 17 books
- Painting, technique 2 of 17 books