Order of Book Series
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Jonathan Franzen Books in Order

Jonathan Franzen has written 23 books, published between 1988 and 2021. The first book is The Twenty-Seventh City (1988) and the newest is The Best American Essays 2021 (2021). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
23
Published
1988–2021
Confirmed
10 of 23 titles
Pages on record
4,861 in 11 of 23 books
See all 23 books in order Printable Jonathan Franzen checklist
Photo of Jonathan Franzen, author

Jonathan Franzen, born August 17, 1959, is an American novelist and essayist who has written for The New Yorker since 1994. The Corrections (2001) won the National Book Award and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, was a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist and made the International Dublin Literary Award shortlist. Freedom (2010) put Franzen on the cover of Time under the headline "Great American Novelist". Crossroads (2021) is the first novel of a projected trilogy. Earlier books include The Twenty-Seventh City (1988), Strong Motion (1992), How to Be Alone (2002) and The Discomfort Zone (2006).

How many Jonathan Franzen books are there?

Jonathan Franzen has 23 books, released between 1988 and 2021. They include 2 series and 11 titles listed outside any series.

Jonathan Franzen Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 23 Jonathan Franzen 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 The Twenty-Seventh City by Jonathan Franzen (1988)
  2. Cover of Strong Motion by Jonathan Franzen (1992)
  3. Cover of The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (2001)
  4. Cover of How to Be Alone by Jonathan Franzen (2002)
  5. Cover of The Discomfort Zone by Jonathan Franzen (2006)
  6. Cover of Freedom by Jonathan Franzen (2010)
  7. Cover of Farther Away by Jonathan Franzen (2012)
  8. Cover of The Kraus Project by Jonathan Franzen (2013)
  9. Cover of Purity by Jonathan Franzen (2015)
  10. Cover of The End of the End of the Earth by Jonathan Franzen (2018)
  11. Cover of Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen, book 1 of the A Key to All Mythologies series (2021)
  1. 1
    The Twenty-Seventh City1988 · 544 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1988544
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Strong Motion1992 · 528 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1992528
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Corrections2001 · 576 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2001576
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    How to Be Alone2002 · 306 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2002306
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Discomfort Zone2006 · 208 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2006208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Freedom2010 · 597 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2010597
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Best American Essays 2011Best American: Essays #12011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Best American Essays 2012Best American: Essays #22012 · confirmed 2/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Farther Away2012 · 336 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2012336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Best American Essays 2013Best American: Essays #32013 · confirmed 2/4
    2013–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Kraus Project2013 · 336 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2013336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Best American Essays 2014Best American: Essays #42014 · confirmed 2/4
    2014–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Purity2015 · 608 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2015608
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Best American Essays 2015Best American: Essays #52015 · confirmed 2/4
    2015–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Best American Essays 2016Best American: Essays #62016 · confirmed 2/4
    2016–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Best American Essays 2017Best American: Essays #72017 · confirmed 2/4
    2017–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The End of the End of the Earth2018 · 230 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2018230
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Best American Essays 2018Best American: Essays #82018 · confirmed 2/4
    2018–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Best American Essays 2019Best American: Essays #92019 · confirmed 2/4
    2019–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The Best American Essays 2020Best American: Essays #102020 · confirmed 2/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    CrossroadsA Key to All Mythologies #12021 · 592 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2021592
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    The Best American Essays 2021Best American: Essays #112021 · confirmed 2/4
    2021–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Test– · confirmed 2/4
    ––
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Jonathan Franzen 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.

Best American: Essays in order

11 books
  1. 1. The Best American Essays 2011
  2. 2. The Best American Essays 2012
  3. 3. The Best American Essays 2013
  4. 4. The Best American Essays 2014
  5. 5. The Best American Essays 2015
  6. 6. The Best American Essays 2016
  7. 7. The Best American Essays 2017
  8. 8. The Best American Essays 2018
  9. 9. The Best American Essays 2019
  10. 10. The Best American Essays 2020
  11. 11. The Best American Essays 2021

A Key to All Mythologies in order

1 book
  1. 1. Crossroads

Standalone books

11 books

11 Jonathan Franzen titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Jonathan Franzen books in order?

You only need to read Jonathan Franzen 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 Jonathan Franzen

Start with The Twenty-Seventh City (1988), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Jonathan Franzen book?

The Best American Essays 2021 (2021) is the newest Jonathan Franzen book released so far.

Is there a new Jonathan Franzen book coming?

No next Jonathan Franzen 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 Jonathan Franzen has won

Wikidata records 4 awards for Jonathan Franzen. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize2011Won
  • James Tait Black Memorial Prize2002Won
  • National Book Award2001Wonfor The Corrections
  • National Book Award for Fiction2001Won

Jonathan Franzen at a glance

Paused
No new Jonathan Franzen title has appeared for 5 years. The last was published in 2021.
Release pace
Jonathan Franzen books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
4,861 pages across the 11 of 23 books with a recorded length, a median of 528 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Jonathan Franzen books, 14 of 23, were published in the 2010s.

What the Jonathan Franzen books are about

11 of the 23 Jonathan Franzen 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 4 of 11. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.