Danny Wallace Books in Order

Where to Start with Danny Wallace

Danny Wallace has written across multiple genres, including narrative non-fiction memoirs, contemporary fiction, and humorous children’s books. For the ultimate Danny Wallace experience, we highly recommend starting with his famous non-fiction memoirs. These books are the foundation of his career and capture his signature style of transforming bizarre real-life situations into heartwarming, comedic adventures.

The Core Memoirs (Recommended Reading Order)

While you can read Danny Wallace's memoirs in any order, they are best read in publication order. These books chart his personal growth, real-life social experiments, and how his random adventures unexpectedly snowballed into global movements.

1. Are You Dave Gorman? (2001) – Co-written with Dave Gorman. The journey begins with a drunken bet that results in a wild search across the globe to find 54 other men named Dave Gorman.
2. Join Me! (2003) – Danny starts a "cult" by accident after placing a newspaper ad asking people to send him passport photos. It quickly morphs into a global movement where members complete random acts of kindness.
3. Random Acts of Kindness: 365 Ways To Make the World A Nicer Place (2004) – A practical companion guide and spin-off of Join Me!, co-written with his "cult" followers.
4. Yes Man (2005) – The absolute crown jewel of Wallace's memoirs. After a brief encounter with a stranger on a bus, Danny spends six months saying "yes" to every single question, invitation, and offer. It was later adapted into a Hollywood film starring Jim Carrey.
5. Danny Wallace and the Centre of the Universe (2006) – Looking for another adventure, Danny sets off to find the exact geographical center of the universe, which takes him to a small town in Idaho.
6. Friends Like These (2007) – Feeling nostalgic, Danny uses the internet to track down and reconnect with his old childhood buddies to see where life took them.
7. Awkward Situations for Men / How to Be a Modern Man (2010) – A shift to smaller, observational essays where Danny catalogs the daily embarrassments and struggles of modern manhood.
8. More Awkward Situations for Men / What Not to Do (And How to Do It) (2011) – The second installment of hilarious domestic anecdotes and social discomfort.
9. I Can't Believe You Just Said That / F*** You Very Much (2016) – A deep dive into modern rudeness, studying why people are increasingly hostile to one another in everyday interactions.
10. Somebody Told Me: One Man's Unexpected Journey Down the Rabbit Hole of Lies, Trolls and Conspiracies (2024) – A blend of investigative journalism and personal narrative. Following his father's death, Danny uncovers a strange email chain and falls down the modern internet rabbit hole of disinformation and conspiracies.

Publication Order of the Hamish Children's Series

Danny Wallace made a massive splash in children's literature with his Hamish series, starring a boy who lives in a town where time randomly stops. For younger readers, the Hamish books must be read in chronological order as they build a continuous storyline:

1. Hamish and the Worldstoppers (2015)
2. Hamish and the Neverpeople (2016)
3. Hamish and the Gravity Burp (2017)
4. Hamish and the Baby BOOM! (2018)
5. Hamish and the Terrible Terrible Christmas and Other Stories (2018)
6. Hamish and the Monster Patrol (2019)

Standalone Adult Novels

If you prefer fiction, Danny has written two standalone contemporary novels that capture the same whimsical, romantic-comedy feel of his memoirs. These can be read in any order:

• Charlotte Street (2011) – A romance about a man who tracks down a mysterious woman using a discarded disposable camera.
• Who is Tom Ditto? (2014) – A quirky mystery about a man who discovers his missing girlfriend was living a secret double life.

Standalone Children's Books

In addition to the Hamish series, Danny has published several standalone comedy books for middle-grade readers:

• The Day the Screens Went Blank (2021)
• The Luckiest Kid in the World (2022)
• The Boss of Everyone (2023)
• Henry Tudor: The Incredible Diaries of Me! (August 2026) – A hilarious, diary-style middle-grade book centering on a spoiled eight-and-a-half-year-old Prince Henry (the future King Henry VIII).

Practical Reading Advice

If you want the ultimate introductory experience, grab Yes Man or Join Me! first. They are fast-paced, highly funny, and give you a sense of Wallace's unique charm. His novels and kids' books are perfect follow-ups once you're familiar with his conversational writing voice.