David Foster Wallace Books in Order
25 books are credited to David Foster Wallace, published between 1987 and 2022; 11 of them appeared after David Foster Wallace's death in 2008. The first book is The Broom of the System (1987) and the newest is Something to Do with Paying Attention (2022). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 25
- Published
- 1987–2022
- Confirmed
- 1 of 25 titles
- Pages on record
- 6,190 in 17 of 25 books
- Reading time
- 103–155 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,190 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 17 of 25 titles with a page count on record.
David Foster Wallace (1962-2008) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist and professor. Infinite Jest (1996), his second novel, is the book he is best known for, and the Los Angeles Times critic David Ulin called him one of the most influential and innovative writers of the previous twenty years. Wallace grew up in Illinois and studied at Amherst College and the University of Arizona; his Amherst thesis on philosophy and modal logic became his first novel, The Broom of the System (1987). Twenty-four catalogued titles include the essay collections and the tennis writing.
How many David Foster Wallace books are there?
David Foster Wallace has 25 books, released between 1987 and 2022. 11 of them were published after David Foster Wallace's death in 2008.
David Foster Wallace Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 25 David Foster Wallace 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.
- 1The Broom of the System1987 · 467 pages · confirmed 1/419874671/4
- 2Girl With Curious Hair1989 · 373 pages · confirmed 1/419893731/4
- 3Signifying Rappers1990 · 140 pages · confirmed 1/419901401/4
- 4Infinite Jest1996 · 1079 pages · confirmed 1/4199610791/4
- 5The Future of Fiction1996 · 142 pages · confirmed 1/419961421/4
- 6Review of Contemporary Fiction1996 · 193 pages · confirmed 1/419961931/4
- 7A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again1997 · 353 pages · confirmed 1/419973531/4
- 8Brief Interviews with Hideous Men1999 · 336 pages · confirmed 1/419993361/4
- 9McCain's Promise2000 · 124 pages · confirmed 1/420001241/4
- 10Up, Simba!2000 · confirmed 1/42000–1/4
- 11Everything and More2003 · 344 pages · confirmed 1/420033441/4
- 12Oblivion2004 · 336 pages · confirmed 1/420043361/4
- 13Consider the Lobster and Other Essays2005 · 343 pages · confirmed 1/420053431/4
- 14Forever Overhead2008 · confirmed 1/42008–1/4
- 15This Is Water2009 · 137 pages · confirmed 1/420091371/4
- 16Fate, Time, and Language2010 · confirmed 1/42010–1/4
- 17The Pale King2011 · 550 pages · confirmed 1/420115501/4
- 18Getting Away from Already Being Pretty Much Away from It All2012 · confirmed 1/42012–1/4
- 19Both Flesh and Not2012 · confirmed 1/42012–1/4
- 20Quack This Way2013 · confirmed 1/42013–1/4
- 21String Theory2014 · 158 pages · confirmed 1/420141581/4
- 22The David Foster Wallace Reader2014 · 963 pages · confirmed 1/420149631/4
- 232014–3/4
- 24On Tennis2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 25Something to Do with Paying Attention2022 · 152 pages · confirmed 1/420221521/4
David Foster Wallace 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.
Last Interview in order
1 bookStandalone books
24 books24 David Foster Wallace titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read David Foster Wallace books in order?
No. No source lists any of the 25 David Foster Wallace books here as part of a series. The numbered table above gives them by publication date.
Where to start with David Foster Wallace
Start with The Broom of the System (1987), the earliest published title.
What is the newest David Foster Wallace book?
Something to Do with Paying Attention (2022) is the newest David Foster Wallace book released so far.
Is there a new David Foster Wallace book coming?
No next David Foster Wallace book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards David Foster Wallace has won
Wikidata records 1 award and 1 nomination for David Foster Wallace. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Whiting Awards1987Won
- Pulitzer Prize2012Shortlistedfor The Pale King
David Foster Wallace at a glance
- Died
- David Foster Wallace died in 2008, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to David Foster Wallace are still being published after David Foster Wallace's death in 2008; the newest appeared in 2022.
- Release pace
- David Foster Wallace books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 6,190 pages across the 17 of 25 books with a recorded length, a median of 336 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most David Foster Wallace books, 9 of 25, were published in the 2010s.
What the David Foster Wallace books are about
18 of the 25 David Foster Wallace books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: essays is tagged on 3 of 18. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Essays 3 of 18 books
- Short stories 3 of 18 books
- Humor 2 of 18 books
- Nonfiction 2 of 18 books
- Tennis 2 of 18 books