The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency reading order

A plan for the whole series

21 volumes, 5,107 pages, about 95 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 4 months.

• The series is still running; the last volume came out in 2020. You will wait for the next one anyway, so no need to rush.

Stages

6 stages, with 5 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around March 23, 2027, 20 days later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 117 habout 3 weeksby November 21, 2026

   • 1. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency1998 · 240 pages · 4 h
   • 2. Tears of the Giraffe2000 · 234 pages · 4 h
   • 3. Morality for Beautiful Girls2001 · 246 pages · 5 h
   • 4. The Kalahari Typing School for Men2002 · 208 pages · 4 h
2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 25, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 218 habout 3 weeksby December 18, 2026

   • 5. The Full Cupboard of Life2003 · 224 pages · 4 h
   • 6. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies2004 · 256 pages · 5 h
   • 7. Blue Shoes and Happiness2006 · 256 pages · 5 h
   • 8. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive2007 · 240 pages · 4 h
4. Short breakThe Emperor's Soul · Brandon Sanderson · 96 pp. · score 8.82 h, by December 22, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 318 habout 3 weeksby January 15, 2027

   • 9. The Miracle at Speedy Motors2008 · 249 pages · 5 h
   • 10. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built2009 · 250 pages · 5 h
   • 11. The Double Comfort Safari Club2010 · 240 pages · 4 h
   • 12. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party2011 · 240 pages · 4 h
6. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by January 19, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 419 habout 4 weeksby February 13, 2027

   • 13. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection2012 · 257 pages · 5 h
   • 14. The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon2013 · 242 pages · 4 h
   • 15. The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café2014 · 256 pages · 5 h
   • 16. The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine2015 · 256 pages · 5 h
8. Short breakAnimal Farm · George Orwell · 128 pp. · score 8.32 h, by February 17, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 518 habout 3 weeksby March 12, 2027

   • 17. Precious and Grace2017 · 240 pages · 4 h
   • 18. The House of Unexpected Sisters2017 · 234 pages · 4 h
   • 19. The Colours of All the Cattle2018 · ≈ 243 pages · 4 h
   • 20. To the Land of Long Lost Friends2019 · 240 pages · 4 h
10. Short breakTo Be Taught, If Fortunate · Becky Chambers · 153 pp. · score 8.33 h, by March 17, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
11. 6
    Stage 65 h6 daysby March 23, 2027

    • 21. How to Raise an Elephant2020 · 256 pages · 5 h
12. The end of the series

    March 23, 2027

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

≈ next to a page count: a volume with no page count in our data is counted at this series’s average.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: even. Volume scores differ by at most 0.3 points. You get the same level from the first page to the last.

Best volume: Morality for Beautiful Girls (7.6, 60 ratings). Weakest: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (7.3). The series is not finished; the last volume came out in 2020. The last volume (7.6) scores close to the series average or above it.