When I was a little kid, it was hard press to get me to pick up a book. I couldn’t spell or understand most of the words even though I liked the concept of books. This for the longest time turned me off from books, so I can’t say any books when I was younger had any real impact on me. Though that all changed roughly in sixth or seventh grade when I found a series I couldn’t put down. Since that time period, there have been numerous books that I read without ever wanting to put the books down. So, I thought I would write about some of those series especially the ones that I’ve read countless times.
The Shadowhunters Chronicles
If you’ve been reading my blog for the last year or so, this one should come at no surprise. I’m obsessed with this world. I’ve read each of the series numerous times and just got the newest book, which I have not read yet. Those series being: The Mortal Instruments, The Dark Artifices, and The Infernal Devices. The new series is The Last Hours, which only has one book released so far.
It’s a world of Nephilim (half human, half angel) that fight demons, and deal with other supernatural beings. Though the main enemy never ends up being supernatural, it’s usually always another Nephilim or human. There’s a bit of romance mixed in with it as well, while I’m normally not a romance book lover… I’d be lying to say that’s not one of my favorite parts of the series.
Harry Potter
“After all this time? Always.”
Who doesn’t love the Harry Potter series, it’s a comforting world of magic. However, I would be lying to say I grew up reading these books. I didn’t; my sister did. I didn’t actually read the series until my senor year of high school the summer before going off to college. I struggled to get through the first two books on an interest level, but forced myself through it. By the third book, I couldn’t put them down then finished the rest of the series within a week of that. Up until that point, I didn’t find the books entertaining and thought they dragged on a bit.
Maybe it’s because I’m a Ravenclaw, and Harry’s lack of wonder and quest for knowledge rubbed me the wrong way. I mean the kid had Hermione do all of his assignments for years. Not to mention, there are plenty of clues that I would’ve thought Harry would pick up on or surely Hermione, but nope they didn’t put the dots together until the end of the school year.
Don’t get me wrong, I love it. I could re-read these books over and over again. Still it’s just something I can’t help but notice/comment on.
The Hunger Games
Who doesn’t love a book with a strong female protagonist in a dystopian society? If you’ve somehow missed this, The Hunger Games is a trilogy where children are forced to fight to the death on a televised series every year put on by the government as a reminder not to rebel. Katniss Everdeen volunteers in her sister’s place, and finds herself the face of a revolution.
Twilight
I don’t read this series anymore, but I would be lying to say I didn’t binge read this entire series during my middle school years. Hell it’s where my pen name comes from. One of my favorite supernatural being is vampires, so yeah… to say I didn’t read this and pour over every detail as a teen would be a lie. I never really cared much about the romance part of the novels, it was just the background for me (which is weird considering that’s the main plot of the entire series).
Divergent
Another series that takes place in a dystopian society where individuals are placed into one of five factions: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the intellectual). These groups are individual’s main characteristic and tendencies, anyone that doesn’t fit in is factionless (homeless with no status or privilege). The main character is one of the individuals that doesn’t fit in as she technically has an affinity towards multiple factions, but has to hid this fact in order to survive. It’s mainly written in the POV of Tris Prior, until the final book when it starts to switch between two characters.
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Lastly, the series that sparked my love in reading: A Series of Unfortunate Events. This series follows the Baudelaire siblings (Violet, Klaus, and Sunny) after their parents pass away in a fire. They are sent to live with a distant relative, Count Olaf, who wants his hands on their fortune. The series follows the siblings as they bounce between homes trying to escape Count Olaf and learn the truth of what happened to their parents.
WHAT BOOK SERIES DO YOU FIND YOURSELF RETURNING TIME AND TIME AGAIN?
These are just a few of the series that I love and returned to multiple times (some a dozen or more times). But there are others that I also couldn’t put down while I was reading them, but never re-read those as of this current point in time. I might make a post on that in the future if you guys are interested.
Love ya,
Mae Polzine
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Some great series in this post! I always come back to the Harry Potter series, I can’t count the amount of times I’ve read this book. I enjoyed TMI and TID but I still haven’t read TDA – but they’re on my tbr for this year! I have the first and third book sat on my shelf ready to read! Great post!!
Author
Thank you! Harry Potter is one of the books you can re-read and always find something new, making it a great experience every time.
ā„ Mae
It is! It’s a great series to dive back into again and again!
Ohhh! Series is my thing, I love a standalone novel, but something about being able to read about the same characters and universes for several whole books is just great! I’ve read all of these except for the Shadowhunter books, but I have the first one at home, and I haven’t finished the Lemony Snicket books yet! I loved all the others and this reminds me that I’m going to need to reread them! What a great post Mae! ā¤
Author
Thank you! Yes, I love series and seeing where characters go/develop that sometimes standalone books just don’t get in depth about. Some do, but not all.
ā„ Mae
Yes absolutely!!
Great post! It’s made me think about what series I might want to read again.
I don’t reread series very often but the ones that I do like to reread are The Hunger Games, Modern Faeries Tales and All For the Game. I have read the Mortal Instruments a few times but I’ve not read the series in years.
Author
I have not heard of All for the Game, whatās that one about?
It’s a trilogy about a sport called exy (that the author created) and how Neil wants to play it while hiding from his father and the mafia. It’s kind of crazy but it’s a good series. Here’s the link to the 1st book if you want to read the blurb: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17259690-the-foxhole-court
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Author
Oh that sounds interesting! Thanks for the recommendation.
ā„ Mae
TBH I haven’t reread a series in sooooo long! But i used to reread my manga all the time back in the day!
I like to read series but I don’t usually reread them. If I really like a book I will sometimes listen to the audiobook to get a different perspective on the book. Fun article! š
Author
Thank you, glad you enjoyed!
ā„ Mae
I go back to Harry Potter, The Magicians series, Shifters series and Uglies trilogy a lot.
When I was a kid I wouldn’t read series in order, I’d just read whichever was at the library and sounded the best. Due to this I only read random books in the series of unfortunate events so I really want to go back and reread them all to get the ones I missed.
Author
I know that feeling. I remember doing that with other series as a kid like The Boxcar Children, then getting confused on what I missed with the books that weren’t available yet at the library.
ā„ Mae
Or the babysitters club? I also remember doing it with the among the hidden series š
I always go back to Harry Potter and the Percy Jackson Series. I never read Shadow Hunters, I think I missed it somehow growing up. Great post!
Author
I missed it growing up too, I learned about it this last year after seeing the show (fan made videos) appear on my YouTube recommended.
ā„ Mae
I love this post! I’m a huge fan of series. Some of the characters feel like family after a couple of books. My favorites are The Bedwyn Saga, by Mary Balogh, and The Wallflowers, by Lisa Kleypas.
Author
Totally agree with you there!
ā„ Mae
TMI is one of my all-time favorite series! I haven’t read any of the author series, but I’ve always thought about it.
Author
They all are related, so the other series expand on TMI with various tie-ins to that series.
ā„ Mae
This post made me so emotional! While I didn’t grew up with Harry Potter books as well and read them when I was 15, all these books shaped my teenage years. They don’t make books like these any more, don’t they? š in addition to this one I also return to The Maze Runner and Hush Hush saga, even when I didn’t love the latter.
Author
I never read the Maze Runner; I somehow missed that one in my teenage years. Totally agree, they haven’t made a series that’s as standout as these ones in a long time.
ā„ Mae
Some great choices here, especially Harry Potter! I used to love rereading the Twilight books too. With A Series of Unfortunate Events, I loved the first 5/6 books but found them quite repetitive and never ended up finishing the series, need to at some point thought! My faves to revisit are Harry Potter, The Hobbit, LOTR and the Demonata series by Darren Shan š
Author
Yeah A Series of Unfortunate Events can be quite repetitive at times, the siblings go live somewhere new and surprise Count Olaf appears. I need to actually read Hobbit/LOTR, I’ve seen the movies multiple times but have never read the books.
ā„ Mae
The books are amazing, would 100% recommend!