Read the first book in a fiction series — Readings Books

Cover image for Tales of the City (Tales of the City, Book 1)

Tales of the City (Tales of the City, Book 1)

Armistead Maupin

The first novel in the beloved Tales of the City series, Armistead Maupin's best-selling San Francisco saga, is an uproariously moving novel and an indelible portrait of cultural change from…

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Cover image for The Bone Season (Bone Season, Book 1)

The Bone Season (Bone Season, Book 1)

Samantha Shannon

A lavishly reimagined tenth anniversary edition of the first novel in the sensational Bone Season series, by the Sunday Times and New York Times-bestselling author of The Priory of…

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Cover image for Dawn (Lilith's Brood, Book 1)

Dawn (Lilith’s Brood, Book 1)

Octavia E. Butler

LILITH’S BROOD 1: one woman is called upon to reconstruct humanity in this hopeful, thought-provoking novel.

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Cover image for Autumn (Seasonal Quartet, Book 1)

Autumn (Seasonal Quartet, Book 1)

Ali Smith

Fusing Keatsian mists and mellow fruitfulness with the vitality, the immediacy, and the color hit of pop art, Autumn is [an] … excavation of the present by the past. The…

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Cover image for A Discovery of Witches (All Souls, Book 1)

A Discovery of Witches (All Souls, Book 1)

Deborah Harkness

Fall under the spell of Diana and Matthew in the stunning first volume of the No.1 internationally bestsellling All Souls trilogy.

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Cover image for City on Fire (The City, Book 1)

City on Fire (The City, Book 1)

Don Winslow

From the #1 internationally bestselling author of the Cartel Trilogy, The Force, and Broken comes the first novel in an epic crime saga about the Irish and Italian crime…

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Cover image for Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse Book 1)

Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse Book 1)

James S. A. Corey

The first book of the Expanse series - a fast-paced and thoroughly gripping space adventure.

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Cover image for The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, Book 1)

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, Book 1)

Becky Chambers

the most hopeful, charming and cosy novel to curl up with.

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Cover image for The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next, Book 1)

The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next, Book 1)

Jasper Fforde

The Eyre Affair is Jasper Fforde’s first novel, and the debut of a fresh and delightfully original new voice.

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Cover image for In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad Book 1)

In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad Book 1)

Tana French

A stunningly accomplished psychological mystery which will take you on a thrilling journey through a tangled web of evil and beyond - to the inexplicable.

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Cover image for Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Book 1)

Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Book 1)

Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Geoffrey Trousselot (trans.)

A beautiful, moving story about a small Japanese cafe that offers its visitors the chance to travel back in time, to find an answer to the question: what would you…

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Cover image for The Silence of the Girls (Women of Troy, Book 1)

The Silence of the Girls (Women of Troy, Book 1)

Pat Barker

The Iliad, as experienced by the captured women living in the Greek camp in the final weeks of the Trojan War –

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Cover image for Fourth Wing (The Empryean, Book 1)

Fourth Wing (The Empryean, Book 1)

Rebecca Yarros

Dragons, war and Hunger Games-esque trials. Fourth Wing is a high-stakes, enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Sarah J Maas and dark academia.

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Cover image for Oryx and Crake (Maddaddam, Book1)

Oryx and Crake (Maddaddam, Book1)

Margaret Atwood

The outrageous imagination of Margaret Atwood has never been better. Dark, witty, scary and very credible, this is a mystery, an adventure story, a page-turner and a brilliant novel. Shortlisted…

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Cover image for The Thursday Murder Club (The Thursday Murder Club, Book 1)

The Thursday Murder Club (The Thursday Murder Club, Book 1)

Richard Osman

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club –

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Cover image for Black Leopard, Red Wolf (Dark Star Trilogy, Book 1)

Black Leopard, Red Wolf (Dark Star Trilogy, Book 1)

Marlon James

Drawing from vivid African history and mythology, Marlon James weaves a saga of breathtaking adventure and powerful intrigue - a mesmerizing, unique meditation on the nature of truth and power.

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Cover image for Killing Floor (Jack Reacher, Book 1)

Killing Floor (Jack Reacher, Book 1)

Lee Child

The very first book by number one bestseller Lee Child, which introduces his iconic hero Jack Reacher. .

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Cover image for House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City, Book 1)

House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City, Book 1)

Sarah J. Maas

The first instalment of the EPIC Crescent City series from multi-million and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas

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Cover image for The Colour of Magic (Discworld, Book 1)

The Colour of Magic (Discworld, Book 1)

Terry Pratchett

Twoflower was a tourist, the first ever seen on the Discworld. Its very existence is about to be threatened by a strange new blight: the arrival of the first tourist…

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Cover image for The Dawnhounds (Endsong, Book 1)

The Dawnhounds (Endsong, Book 1)

Sascha Stronach

A queer fantasy debut about a police officer who is murdered, brought back to life with a mysterious new power, and tasked with preventing an attack on her city.

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Cover image for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Book 1)

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Book 1)

Douglas Adams

A special 42nd anniversary edition of Douglas Adams’s mega-selling cult classic, with additional material from the Adams archives.

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Cover image for A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, Book 1)

A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, Book 1)

Ursula Le Guin

A boy grows to manhood while attempting to subdue the evil he unleashed on the world as an apprentice to the Master Wizard.

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Cover image for Outlander: (Outlander, Book 1)

Outlander: (Outlander, Book 1)

Diana Gabaldon

1946, and Claire Randall goes to the Scottish Highlands with her husband Frank. It’s a second honeymoon, a chance to learn how war has changed them and to re-establish their…

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Cover image for Rivers of London (Rivers of London, Book 1)

Rivers of London (Rivers of London, Book 1)

Ben Aaronovitch

The first of the Sunday Times Bestselling Peter Grant series

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Cover image for Gilead (Gilead, Book 1)

Gilead (Gilead, Book 1)

Marilynne Robinson

From the author of Housekeeping, Gilead is the long-hoped-for second novel by one of America’s finest writers.

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Cover image for The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Book 1)

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Book 1)

Alexander McCall Smith

A ‘detective’ story with unique setting and characters.

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Cover image for A Winter's Promise (The Mirror Visitor, Book 1)

A Winter’s Promise (The Mirror Visitor, Book 1)

Christelle Dabos, Hildegarde Serle (trans.)

The absorbing first instalment in the bestselling French fantasy series The Mirror Visitor Quartet

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Cover image for The Atlas Six (The Atlas Six, Book 1)

The Atlas Six (The Atlas Six, Book 1)

Olivie Blake

Six young magicians are chosen for greatness. But as they study to become the best among rivals, the stakes are higher than they know.

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Cover image for Wild Seed (Patternist, Book 1)

Wild Seed (Patternist, Book 1)

Octavia E. Butler

Patternist, Book 1: It begins when two immortals meet in an African forest. Together they will change the world.

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Cover image for The Crow Trap (Vera Stanhope, Book 1)

The Crow Trap (Vera Stanhope, Book 1)

Ann Cleeves

The Crow Trap is the first book in the Vera Stanhope series, from Ann Cleeves, the number one bestselling author.

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Cover image for The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, Book 1)

The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, Book 1)

N. K. Jemisin

This is the stunning first instalment in a fantasy trilogy set in a world of volcanoes and earthquakes, where the power to control the earth is the most dangerous of…

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Cover image for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millenium, Book 1)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millenium, Book 1)

Stieg Larsson, Reg Keeland (trans.)

Meet Lisbeth Salander - the iconic character who has captivated 100 million readers worldwide.

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Cover image for Bad Debts (Jack Irish, Book 1)

Bad Debts (Jack Irish, Book 1)

Peter Temple

Meet Jack Irish, criminal lawyer, debt collector, football lover, turf watcher, trainee cabinetmaker, and one of the best crime characters ever created.

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Cover image for Ithaca (Songs of Penelope, Book 1)

Ithaca (Songs of Penelope, Book 1)

Claire North

From the multi award-winning and award-nominated Claire North comes a gorgeous and fiercely feminist retelling of the classic Greek myth of Penelope. It’s time for the women of Ithaca to…

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Cover image for Annihilation (Southern Reach, Book 1)

Annihilation (Southern Reach, Book 1)

Jeff VanderMeer

The first volume of the extraordinary Southern Reach trilogy.

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Cover image for Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, Book 1)

Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, Book 1)

Kevin Kwan

Thwarted love, scheming snobs, obscene wealth and haute couture - it’s all here in a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazily rich…

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Cover image for Ordinary Monsters (Talents, Book 1)

Ordinary Monsters (Talents, Book 1)

J M Miro

The first in a captivating new historical fantasy series, Ordinary Monsters introduces the Talents with a catastrophic vision of the Victorian world, and the gifted, broken children who must save…

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Cover image for Swann's Way (In Search of Lost Time, Book 1)

Swann’s Way (In Search of Lost Time, Book 1)

Marcel Proust

The definitive translation of one of the greatest French novels of the twentieth centuryIn the opening volume of Proust’s great novel, the narrator travels backwards in time in order to…

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Cover image for Shadow and Bone (Shadow and Bone, Book 1)

Shadow and Bone (Shadow and Bone, Book 1)

Leigh Bardugo

Enter the Grishaverse with book one of the Shadow and Bone Trilogy by number one New York Times-bestselling author, Leigh Bardugo. Perfect for fans of Laini Taylor and Sarah J…

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Cover image for The Diviners (The Diviners, Book 1)

The Diviners (The Diviners, Book 1)

Libba Bray

Cassandra Clare meets Kerry Greenwood meets Patricia Cornwell in this first book in a blockbuster series set in 1920s New York about a teen psychic and her similarly gifted friends…

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Cover image for Tomorrow, When the War Began (The Tomorrow Series, Book 1)

Tomorrow, When the War Began (The Tomorrow Series, Book 1)

John Marsden

Somewhere out there Ellie and her friends are hiding. The first book in the bestselling the Tomorrow series.

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Cover image for My Name Is Lucy Barton (Amgash, Book 1)

My Name Is Lucy Barton (Amgash, Book 1)

Elizabeth Strout

From Lucy’s hospital bed, we are drawn ever more deeply into the emotional complexity of family life, the inescapable power of the past, and the memories - however painful -…

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Cover image for The Pillars of the Earth (The Pillars of the Earth, Book 1)

The Pillars of the Earth (The Pillars of the Earth, Book 1)

Ken Follett

Spellbinding and mesmerizing, Ken Follett's classic masterpiece is beloved throughout the world. In medieval England a resourceful monk strives to build the world's greatest Gothic cathedral.

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Cover image for The Shape of Water (Inspector Montalbano, Book 1)

The Shape of Water (Inspector Montalbano, Book 1)

Andrea Camilleri

Inspector Montalbano makes his first appearance in this bestselling, award-winning series.

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Cover image for Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell, Book 1)

Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell, Book 1)

Hilary Mantel

The first book in Hilary Mantel’s award-winning Wolf Hall trilogy, with a new cover design to celebrate the publication of the much anticipated The Mirror and the Light.

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Cover image for Red Queen (Red Queen, Book 1)

Red Queen (Red Queen, Book 1)

Juan Gomez-Jurado, Nick Caistor (trans.)

You’ve never met anyone like her …

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Cover image for The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, Book 1)

The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, Book 1)

Robert Jordan

A stunning new look for the first novel in the Wheel of Time series - one of the most influential and popular fantasy epics ever published.

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Cover image for Dune (Dune, Book 1)

Dune (Dune, Book 1)

Frank Herbert

The bestselling science fiction novel of all time, with nearly ten million copies in print.

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