2 Answers2026-07-25 18:48:34
The integrated orders are great, but they often have you pausing a novel's climax to read a short story about a minor character's tea-making habits. It kills momentum. For page-turning pleasure, just mainline the novels. The short stories are perfect palate cleansers between big books.
4 Answers2026-07-25 16:21:24
I love that this question pops up every few months. It means new people are discovering Jodi Taylor! The community always rallies with helpful lists and gentle guidance. It's one of the nicest fandoms because we all remember that initial confusion and subsequent obsession. Welcome, new reader! Grab 'Just One Damned Thing After Another' and clear your schedule.
4 Answers2026-07-25 07:42:41
The order is explicitly listed in the front of the newer editions, I think. But if not: 1. The Nothing Girl (novel). 2. Little Donkey (novella). 3. Christmas Pie (short novel). 4. The Something Girl (novel). 5. And the Rest is History (short story collection). There's also the short 'A Perfect Storm', which occurs between 'Little Donkey' and 'Christmas Pie'. Following this gives you the complete, uninterrupted narrative of Jenny's life at the farm.
3 Answers2026-07-25 11:32:27
The order gets fuzzy because of all the supplemental material. My library only had the main novels, so I read those straight through and loved it. Later, I bought the short story compilations.
It was fine! The novels reference big historical jumps, and the short stories often show you those exact jumps in more detail. It was fun to read a novel mention a trip to Ancient Rome, then later read the short story that depicted that whole chaotic event.
4 Answers2026-07-25 17:53:51
Jodi Taylor's writing style is so bingeable that I blasted through the novels without stopping for the shorts. I don't feel like I missed out on critical plot, just some extra character moments. The core story is all in the novels. The extras are exactly that—extra. Wonderful, but not essential for understanding the saga of Max and her disastrous historical field trips.
3 Answers2026-07-25 16:38:11
The audiobook route simplifies this a bit. Many of the short story collections are narrated by the same sublime narrator, Zara Ramm, and are produced as full audiobooks. Listeners can just slot the audio collection in where it falls in the series order. It feels very seamless that way. Sometimes a short story provides crucial comic relief or a quieter moment between the often chaotic main novels. I wouldn't say any contain information critical to the main plot's resolution, but they absolutely enhance character development. For Max and Leon especially, some of their best moments are in the shorts, showing sides of their relationship the fast-paced novels sometimes skate over.
4 Answers2026-07-25 12:50:02
The short story collections are key if you want the full picture. 'The Long and Short of It' and 'What Could Possibly Go Wrong?' contain many of the bridging stories. Publishers really should include a recommended reading order in the front of each book; it would save new readers so much confusion.
Until they do, we have to rely on fan knowledge. My advice is to get those two collections and slot the stories in as per the author's website list. It's extra effort, but the short stories are often hilarious and heartfelt, adding depth to both series. They're not throwaways.
7 Answers2026-07-25 13:31:05
I borrowed 'Doing Time' from a friend who never mentioned St. Mary's. I read it, loved it, and only later discovered it was a spin-off. I then read all of St. Mary's and had a blast spotting the connections. It was like a fun prequel series. So, my lived experience says starting with Time Police worked just fine. It was a cool way to do it, actually—seeing the 'future' of the world first, then learning its past.
4 Answers2026-07-25 23:21:38
My two cents: don't overlook her early standalones like 'The Tender Texan' or 'To Kiss a Texan'. They're not part of a series, but they give you a great feel for her style. Reading order only becomes a 'problem' with her three main series: Harmony, Ransom Canyon, and Whispering Mountain.
For those, internal order matters for character development. For everything else, read whatever you can get your hands on. Her writing is consistently warm and focused on community, so you can't go wrong. I stumbled into her work through a random paperback of 'Twisted Creek' and have been hooked ever since.
7 Answers2026-07-25 22:50:48
The juxtaposition is genius. St. Mary's historians observe; the Time Police intervene. One series is about preserving history by witnessing it, the other is about preserving history by controlling it. The conflict between these philosophies is the heart of the universe. So, the 'complete' order is philosophical. Read a few St. Mary's books, then jump to 'Doing Time' to see the other side. It enriches both. Reading them isolated means you only get half the argument.