Discworld reading order

A plan for the whole series

41 volumes, 14,552 pages, about 265 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 12 months.

• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 9, “Eric” (by 58%).
• Readers scored volume 5, “Sourcery”, below its predecessor (7.7 after 8.3). If you slow down there, that is on the book, not on you. From volume 8 the form returns.

Stages

17 stages, with 16 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around January 1, 2028, about 10 weeks later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 119 habout 4 weeksby November 24, 2026

   • 1. The Colour of Magic1983 · 240 pages · 4 h
   • 2. The Light Fantastic1986 · 256 pages · 5 h
   • 3. Equal Rites1987 · 264 pages · 5 h
   • 4. Mort1987 · 300 pages · 6 h
2. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by December 3, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 219 habout 4 weeksby December 28, 2026

   • 5. Sourcery1988 · 320 pages · 6 h
   • 6. Wyrd Sisters1988 · 324 pages · 6 h
   • 7. Pyramids1989 · 368 pages · 7 h
4. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by January 1, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 317 habout 3 weeksby January 23, 2027

   • 8. Guards! Guards!1989 · 378 pages · 7 h
   • 9. Eric1990 · 160 pages · 3 h
   • 10. Moving Pictures1990 · 368 pages · 7 h
6. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by January 27, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 418 habout 3 weeksby February 20, 2027

   • 11. Reaper Man1991 · 313 pages · 6 h
   • 12. Witches Abroad1991 · 320 pages · 6 h
   • 13. Small Gods1992 · 352 pages · 6 h
8. Short breakTo Be Taught, If Fortunate · Becky Chambers · 153 pp. · score 8.33 h, by February 25, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 514 h18 daysby March 15, 2027

   • 14. Lords and Ladies1992 · 377 pages · 7 h
   • 15. Men at Arms1993 · 377 pages · 7 h
10. Short breakA Room of One's Own · Virginia Woolf · 144 pp. · score 8.23 h, by March 20, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
11. 6
    Stage 620 habout 4 weeksby April 16, 2027

    • 16. Soul Music1994 · 384 pages · 7 h
    • 17. Interesting Times1994 · 352 pages · 6 h
    • 18. Maskerade1995 · 368 pages · 7 h
12. BreakI'm Glad My Mom Died · Jennette McCurdy · 320 pp. · score 8.96 h, by April 26, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
13. 7
    Stage 714 h19 daysby May 14, 2027

    • 19. Feet of Clay1996 · 382 pages · 7 h
    • 20. Hogfather1996 · 384 pages · 7 h
14. Short breakThe Prophet · Kahlil Gibran · 116 pp. · score 8.22 h, by May 18, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
15. 8
    Stage 815 h20 daysby June 7, 2027

    • 21. Jingo1997 · 416 pages · 8 h
    • 22. The Last Continent1998 · 412 pages · 8 h
16. Short breakThe Screwtape letters · C. S. Lewis · 106 pp. · score 8.22 h, by June 11, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
17. 9
    Stage 915 h19 daysby June 30, 2027

    • 23. Carpe Jugulum1998 · 379 pages · 7 h
    • 24. The Fifth Elephant1999 · 415 pages · 8 h
18. Short breakSmall Things Like These · Claire Keegan · 112 pp. · score 8.12 h, by July 4, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
19. 10
    Stage 1017 habout 3 weeksby July 27, 2027

    • 25. The Truth2000 · 392 pages · 7 h
    • 26. Thief of Time2001 · 384 pages · 7 h
    • 27. The Last Hero2001 · 174 pages · 3 h
20. Short breakNumber the Stars · Lois Lowry · 149 pp. · score 8.13 h, by August 1, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
21. 11
    Stage 1118 habout 3 weeksby August 25, 2027

    • 28. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents2001 · 272 pages · 5 h
    • 29. Night Watch2002 · 400 pages · 7 h
    • 30. The Wee Free Men2003 · 317 pages · 6 h
22. Short breakRoadside Picnic · Arkady Strugatsky · 179 pp. · score 8.13 h, by August 31, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
23. 12
    Stage 1214 h19 daysby September 18, 2027

    • 31. Monstrous Regiment2003 · 413 pages · 8 h
    • 32. A Hat Full of Sky2004 · 351 pages · 6 h
24. Short breakThe Richest Man in Babylon · George Samuel Clason · 124 pp. · score 8.02 h, by September 22, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
25. 13
    Stage 1315 h20 daysby October 12, 2027

    • 33. Going Postal2004 · 416 pages · 8 h
    • 34. Thud!2005 · 398 pages · 7 h
26. Short breakHamlet · William Shakespeare · 178 pp. · score 8.03 h, by October 18, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
27. 14
    Stage 1414 h19 daysby November 5, 2027

    • 35. Wintersmith2006 · 368 pages · 7 h
    • 36. Making Money2007 · 400 pages · 7 h
28. Short breakSiddhartha · Hermann Hesse · 142 pp. · score 8.03 h, by November 10, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
29. 15
    Stage 1515 h20 daysby November 30, 2027

    • 37. Unseen Academicals2009 · 464 pages · 9 h
    • 38. I Shall Wear Midnight2010 · 353 pages · 6 h
30. Short breakany short book from outside the series, up to 180 pagesBy December 1, 2027. A different shelf than the series, so you come back to it hungry.
31. 16
    Stage 1617 habout 3 weeksby December 23, 2027

    • 39. Snuff2011 · 476 pages · 9 h
    • 40. Raising Steam2013 · 432 pages · 8 h
32. Short breakany short book from outside the series, up to 180 pagesBy December 24, 2027. A different shelf than the series, so you come back to it hungry.
33. 17
    Stage 176 h8 daysby January 1, 2028

    • 41. The Shepherd's Crown2015 · 333 pages · 6 h
34. The end of the series

    January 1, 2028

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: it gets better. Readers scored the opening (8.0) below the ending (8.3). After the first volume you do not yet know how good this series is.

Best volume: Night Watch (8.8, 634 ratings). Weakest: Eric (7.4). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 8 and 9: 58%. The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (8.3) scores close to the series average or above it.