Order of Book Series
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Charles Bukowski Books in Order

75 books are credited to Charles Bukowski, published between 1962 and 2019; 36 of them appeared after Charles Bukowski's death in 1994. The first book is Run With the Hunted (1962) and the newest is On Drinking (2019). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
75
Published
1962–2019
Pages on record
16,068 in 61 of 75 books
Reading time
268–402 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 16,068 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 61 of 75 titles with a page count on record.

See all 75 books in order Printable Charles Bukowski checklist
Photo of Charles Bukowski, author

Charles Bukowski (1920-1994) was a German-American poet, novelist and short story writer whose work sits among the poor of Los Angeles. Alcohol, low-wage work, women and the act of writing are the recurring subjects. Bukowski also wrote the column Notes of a Dirty Old Man for the underground paper Open City. The catalogue holds 75 titles dated 1962 to 2019, from the poetry collection Run With the Hunted to later gatherings such as On Drinking. Poetry accounts for most of it, with the novel Post Office arriving in 1971.

How many Charles Bukowski books are there?

Charles Bukowski has 75 books, released between 1962 and 2019. 36 of them were published after Charles Bukowski's death in 1994.

Charles Bukowski Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 75 Charles Bukowski 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.

  1. Cover of Run With the Hunted by Charles Bukowski (1962)
  2. Cover of At Terror Street And Agony Way by Charles Bukowski (1968)
  3. Cover of Notes of a Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski (1969)
  4. Cover of The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills by Charles Bukowski (1969)
  5. Cover of Post Office by Charles Bukowski (1971)
  6. Cover of Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness by Charles Bukowski (1972)
  7. Cover of Mockingbird Wish Me Luck by Charles Bukowski (1972)
  8. Cover of South of No North by Charles Bukowski (1973)
  9. Cover of Poems written before jumping out of an 8 story window by Charles Bukowski (1974)
  10. Cover of Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame by Charles Bukowski (1974)
  11. Cover of Factotum by Charles Bukowski (1975)
  12. Cover of Women by Charles Bukowski (1978)
  13. Cover of Shakespeare Never Did This by Charles Bukowski (1979)
  14. Cover of Play the Piano Drunk Like a Percussion Instrument Until the Fingers Begin to Bleed a Bit by Charles Bukowski (1979)
  15. Cover of Dangling in the Tournefortia by Charles Bukowski (1981)
  16. Cover of Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski (1982)
  17. Cover of Bring Me Your Love by Charles Bukowski, book 2 of the Chap series (1983)
  18. Cover of Barfly by Charles Bukowski (1983)
  19. Cover of The Most Beautiful Woman in Town & Other Stories by Charles Bukowski (1983)
  20. Cover of Tales of Ordinary Madness by Charles Bukowski (1983)
  21. Cover of Hot Water Music by Charles Bukowski (1983)
  22. Cover of There's No Business by Charles Bukowski, book 3 of the Chap series (1984)
  23. Cover of The Bukowski/Purdy Letters by Charles Bukowski (1984)
  24. Cover of War All the Time by Charles Bukowski (1984)
  1. 1
    Run With the Hunted1962 · 497 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1962497
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    It Catches My Heart in Its Hands1963 · confirmed 1/4
    1963–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Crucifix in a Deathhand1965 · confirmed 1/4
    1965–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Cold Dogs In The Courtyard1965 · confirmed 1/4
    1965–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    All the Assholes in the World and Mine1966 · confirmed 1/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    At Terror Street And Agony Way1968 · confirmed 1/4
    1968–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Notes of a Dirty Old Man1969 · 255 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1969255
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills1969 · 204 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1969204
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Fire StationChap #11970 · confirmed 1/4
    1970–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Post Office1971 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1971160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness1972 · 478 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1972478
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Mockingbird Wish Me Luck1972 · 159 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1972159
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    South of No North1973 · 189 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1973189
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Poems written before jumping out of an 8 story window1974 · 46 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197446
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame1974 · 232 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1974232
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Factotum1975 · 205 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1975205
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Love Is a Dog from Hell1977 · 312 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1977312
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Women1978 · confirmed 1/4
    1978–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Shakespeare Never Did This1979 · 150 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1979150
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Play the Piano Drunk Like a Percussion Instrument Until the Fingers Begin to Bleed a Bit1979 · 125 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1979125
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Dangling in the Tournefortia1981 · 281 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1981281
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Ham on Rye1982 · 283 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1982283
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Bring Me Your LoveChap #21983 · 14 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198314
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Barfly1983 · confirmed 1/4
    1983–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 26
    Tales of Ordinary Madness1983 · 238 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1983238
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 27
    Hot Water Music1983 · 226 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1983226
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 28
    There's No BusinessChap #31984 · 17 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198417
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 29
    The Bukowski/Purdy Letters1984 · 117 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984117
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 30
    War All the Time1984 · 280 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984280
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Charles Bukowski 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.

Chap in order

3 books
  1. 1. Fire Station
  2. 2. Bring Me Your Love
  3. 3. There's No Business

Standalone books

72 books

72 Charles Bukowski titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Charles Bukowski books in order?

No. No source lists any of the 75 Charles Bukowski books here as part of a series. The numbered table above gives them by publication date.

Where to start with Charles Bukowski

Start with Run With the Hunted (1962), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Charles Bukowski book?

On Drinking (2019) is the newest Charles Bukowski book released so far.

Is there a new Charles Bukowski book coming?

No next Charles Bukowski book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Charles Bukowski at a glance

Died
Charles Bukowski died in 1994, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Charles Bukowski are still being published after Charles Bukowski's death in 1994; the newest appeared in 2019.
Release pace
Charles Bukowski books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
16,068 pages across the 61 of 75 books with a recorded length, a median of 256 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Charles Bukowski books, 20 of 75, were published in the 2000s.

What the Charles Bukowski books are about

63 of the 75 Charles Bukowski books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: poetry is tagged on 31 of 63. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Poetry 31 of 63 books
  • Authors 9 of 63 books
  • Bukowski, charles, 1921-1994 8 of 63 books
  • Correspondence 6 of 63 books
  • American literature 5 of 63 books
  • Alcoholics 4 of 63 books
  • Poets 4 of 63 books
  • Short stories 4 of 63 books
  • Authors, correspondence 4 of 63 books