Douglas Adams Books in Order
Douglas Adams has written 32 books, published between 1975 and 2026. The first book is The Private Life of Genghis Khan (1975) and the newest is The Time of Angels (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 32
- Published
- 1975–2026
- Confirmed
- 29 of 32 titles
- Pages on record
- 3,764 in 13 of 32 books
Douglas Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, humourist and screenwriter, born in Cambridge and died in Santa Barbara, California, of a heart attack at 49. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy began as a BBC radio comedy in 1978 and grew into a five-book trilogy that sold more than 14 million copies during Adams's lifetime, with a 1981 television series, a 1984 video game and a 2005 feature film. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979), The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980), Life, the Universe and Everything (1982) and So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (1984) appear in the catalogue, as do The Meaning of Liff (1983) and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (1987).
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series follows Arthur Dent through space after Earth's destruction, with characters such as Marvin the Paranoid Android and a comedic, absurdist tone that explores existential themes.
How many Douglas Adams books are there?
Douglas Adams has 32 books, released between 1975 and 2026. They include 2 series and 2 titles listed outside any series.
Douglas Adams Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 32 Douglas Adams 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.
- 11975–3/4
- 2The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyHitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy #11979 · 285 pages · confirmed 3/419792853/4
- 3The Restaurant at the End of the UniverseHitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy #21980 · 245 pages · confirmed 3/419802453/4
- 419817323/4
- 519822323/4
- 619831223/4
- 7So Long, and Thanks for All the FishHitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy #41984 · 224 pages · confirmed 3/419842243/4
- 81984–3/4
- 91986–2/4
- 1019873063/4
- 1119883073/4
- 1219902223/4
- 1319901563/4
- 1419922773/4
- 151994–3/4
- 161997–3/4
- 172001–3/4
- 1820023363/4
- 19Mostly Harmless2009 · confirmed 1/42009–1/4
- 20And Another Thing...2009 · confirmed 1/42009–1/4
- 212012–3/4
- 222012–3/4
- 232017–3/4
- 242018–3/4
- 2520193203/4
- 262022–3/4
- 272023–3/4
- 282023–3/4
- 292023–3/4
- 302023–3/4
- 312023–3/4
- 322026–3/4
Douglas Adams series in order
Each series linked below has its own reading-order page.
Douglas Adams 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.
Doctor Who Novelizations in order
7 booksDouglas Adams Non-Fiction
5 books5 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Doctor Who: Target Collection
3 books3 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Doctor Who: Eighth Doctor Adventures in order
2 books- 47. Eater of Wasps
- 78. Shada
Douglas Adams Short Stories/Novellas
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Douglas Adams Standalone Novels
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Standalone books
2 books2 Douglas Adams titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Douglas Adams Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Douglas Adams books run from The Private Life of Genghis Khan (1975) to The Time of Angels (2026), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Douglas Adams in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Douglas Adams books in order?
You only need to read Douglas Adams books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Douglas Adams
Start with the first book of the Douglas Adams series you want to read: Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy starts with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979) and Dirk Gently starts with Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (1987). The earliest catalogued title overall is The Private Life of Genghis Khan (1975).
What is the newest Douglas Adams book?
The Time of Angels (2026) is the newest Douglas Adams book released so far.
Is there a new Douglas Adams book coming?
No next Douglas Adams book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Douglas Adams at a glance
- Still publishing
- Douglas Adams published a book as recently as 2026.
- Release pace
- Douglas Adams books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 3,764 pages across the 13 of 32 books with a recorded length, a median of 277 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Douglas Adams books, 9 of 32, were published in the 1980s.
What the Douglas Adams books are about
15 of the 32 Douglas Adams books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: science fiction is tagged on 7 of 15. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Science fiction 7 of 15 books
- English literature 3 of 15 books
- Humor 3 of 15 books
- Interplanetary voyages 3 of 15 books
- Arthur Dent (Fictitious character) 2 of 15 books
- Doctor who (fictitious character) 2 of 15 books
- English language 2 of 15 books
- English wit and humor 2 of 15 books
- Fantasy 2 of 15 books
- Ford Prefect (Fictitious character) 2 of 15 books
- Gently, dirk (fictitious character) 2 of 15 books
Other Science Fiction authors
Each link below opens a reading-order page with every book in publication order.
- Science Fiction authors and series in order
- John Scalzi books in order 75 books
- Ann Leckie books in order 15 books
- Evan Currie books in order 41 books
- Christopher Ruocchio books in order 15 books
- Cixin Liu books in order 2 books
- Douglas E. Richards books in order 38 books
- Vaughn Heppner books in order 122 books
- Ken Lozito books in order 40 books