There are so many series that exist to read, and you can check many out at Salina Public Library with your library card! Sometimes it’s OK to just read one or two of a series, but sometimes you just have to read the whole series! Oftentimes books will end on a cliff hanger, filling the reader with anticipation to read the next book, which can be frustrating if one reads them as they are being published rather than when the series is complete. I have done both, anxiously waiting for the next volume’s release date as well as being able to read all of the books in a series as they were all published by the time I started reading them. Here’s a list of my 10 recommendations that you gotta read ‘em all!

 

First, I cannot overlook the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling as I have fond memories of reading them as they were being published and waiting outside for the mailman to arrive with a same-day publication delivery from Amazon.com of the next book, when I devoured the next volume in the series. I also will not ever forget working at the midnight release party of the final book when I worked at Hastings, which was partly a bookstore, where the excitement in the air could be felt! The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry’s conflict with Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard who intends to become immortal, overthrow the wizard governing body known as the Ministry of Magic, and subjugate all wizards and non-magical people. You gotta read ‘em all to find out if Voldemort is defeated. 

The books in the series are:

 

Another series to read all of is the classic Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. It narrates the adventures of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of the Narnian world. The books span the entire history of Narnia, from its creation to its destruction. Readers may see many comparisons to Christianity, intentional or not, as they read this series. Fans of the series often have strong opinions about the order in which the books should be read. The issue revolves around the placement of The Magician’s Nephew and The Horse and His Boy in the series. Both are set significantly earlier in the story of Narnia than their publication order and fall somewhat outside the main story arc connecting the others. Personally, I think reading them in publication order makes sense with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe published first despite The Magician’s Nephew being first chronologically as it tells about the world’s creation. But you gotta read ‘em all and decide for yourself which is best. 

The books in the series are (in publication order):

 

As a contrast to C.S. Lewis, His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman includes criticism of religion as part of its plot. But like the Chronicles of Narnia, it includes children protagonists, talking animals, and other worlds. The series follows Lyra Belacqua, a brave girl from an alternate world where every person has a visible animal soul companion called a dæmon. When children begin mysteriously disappearing, Lyra discovers a sinister plot involving a substance called Dust, which the ruling religious organization wants to suppress. Her journey takes her across worlds, where she meets allies like Will Parry, a boy from our world, who possesses a magical knife that can cut through dimensions. Together, they confront cosmic forces, uncover the truth about Dust, and play a crucial role in a rebellion against the Authority, a godlike figure ruling the multiverse. This is only a three-book series and one of my favorites, and you will definitely gotta read ‘em all as each book ends with the reader yearning to learn what happens next to Lyra and her friends.

 

Another classic trilogy is The Lord of the Rings series by J. R. R. Tolkien. You gotta read ‘em all rather than just one so you will see if the One Ring gets destroyed in the fiery depths of Mount Doom. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold. The title refers to the story’s main antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron, who in an earlier age created the One Ring, allowing him to rule the other Rings of Power given to men, dwarves, and elves, in his campaign to conquer all of Middle-earth. From homely beginnings in the Shire, a hobbit land reminiscent of the English countryside, the story ranges across Middle-earth, following the quest to destroy the One Ring, seen mainly through the eyes of the hobbits Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. Aiding the hobbits are the wizard Gandalf, the men Aragorn and Boromir, the elf Legolas, and the dwarf Gimli, who unite as the Company of the Ring in order to rally the Free Peoples of Middle-earth against Sauron’s armies and give Frodo a chance to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom. Also, if you haven’t yet, be sure to check out the Hobbit Day display with items to check out near the Information Desk, created in honor of the hobbits Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday on September 22. 

 

If you like to read horror and vampires or just suspense with a lot of action, I recommend The Strain Trilogy, a series by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. You gotta read ‘em all in the series to find out if the Master Vampire will be defeated or if he will subjugate the entire human race. I do not usually read horror but I enjoy movies directed by Guillermo del Toro, such as Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy, and The Shape of Water, which drew me to a book that was co-written by this director. This series is one of the rare series I reread the previous novels before reading the final book upon its release. A Boeing 777 arrives at John F. Kennedy International Airport and is taxiing its way across the tarmac when it suddenly stops. All window shades are closed except one, the lights are out, and communication channels have gone silent. An alert is sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Ephraim “Eph” Goodweather, head of the CDC’s Canary Project, a rapid-response team that handles biological threats, is sent to investigate. Goodweather and Dr. Nora Martinez board the plane, finding everyone except four people dead. In a pawnshop in Spanish Harlem, former history professor and Holocaust survivor Abraham Setrakian knows something terrible has happened and that an unnatural war is brewing. So begins a battle of mammoth proportions as the vampiric virus that has infected the passengers begins spilling out onto New York City’s streets. Dr. Goodweather, who is joined by Setrakian and a small band of fighters, desperately tries to stop the contagion to save the city, and also his wife and son. I especially love the beginning of the first book with the setup of a plane that has eerily gone quiet and dark. 

 

A series that you gotta read ‘em all of is the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, that there are now five novels of, consisting of a main trilogy and two prequels. I remember my anticipation as the subsequent volumes of the trilogy after the first one were published. Each book ends with the reader wanting to know what will happen next and if there will be justice or change for the people of Panem. Then the reader will want to read the prequels to see how the world came to be as well as how characters from the original trilogy developed. The Hunger Games universe is a dystopia set in Panem, a country consisting of the wealthy Capitol and 13 districts in varying states of poverty. Every year, two children, one boy and one girl, from the first 12 districts are selected via lottery to participate in a compulsory televised subjugation, disguised as a battle royale death match called “The Hunger Games”, a spectacle of brutality and survival orchestrated by the powerful to maintain their grip on the weak. 

 

A series I am currently reading and am committed to gotta read ‘em all is Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. This series is an iconic series that many fantasy writers have been inspired by. My friend, who is also my distant cousin, and I have been reading them together for the past several years, one chapter at a time sending videos to each other sharing our thoughts on what we have read as a two-person book club. This book is a 14-book series and we are now on book 12, the first book written by Brandon Sanderson after Robert Jordan died. Jordan died in 2007 while working on what was planned to be the twelfth and final volume in the series. Brandon Sanderson, a fan of the Wheel of Time series himself as the books inspired him to write fantasy novels, was asked to finish this series and he did, culminating in 14 books total as well as a prequel titled New Spring written by Robert Jordan. The story begins in the remote village of Emond’s Field, where a group of young friends is suddenly swept into a dangerous journey when strange forces descend upon their home. Guided by a mysterious traveler, they are thrust into a wider world full of ancient prophecies, political intrigue, new cultures, and a powerful, dangerous magic known as the One Power. As they travel, they discover that their fates are tied to a cosmic struggle between the forces of Light and Shadow, a battle that has been fought countless times before as history turns in cycles, like the Wheel itself. With 14 books, the series is a reading investment. After reading numerous of the books, even if some parts may be dry or characters can be frustrating to read about, the drive to completion will be there and you will want to know how the Last Battle will end and if the Dark One is finally defeated as well as how the world will change afterward. I definitely do and reading each new book feels like reuniting with old friends at this point and it is enjoyable seeing how the characters change and progress throughout the series. 

 

The Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce is a young adult series of fantasy novels published in the 1980s. Pierce drew much of her inspiration from other fantasy series such as The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. Pierce set out to not only create an epic fantasy adventure, but to have a strong female protagonist. This series follows the main character Alanna through the trials and triumphs of training as a knight. This quartet is the beginning of stories in the Tortall universe, a fictional setting shared by six book series:  Song of the Lioness; Immortals, or Wild Magic; Protector of the Small; Daughter of the Lioness, or Tricksters; and Beka Cooper (Provost’s Dog); the Numair Chronicles, as well as multiple short stories. Once you read this quartet, you may want to read them all. I certainly did as I read the Song of the Lioness quartet with a Discord server reading all of them to discuss together. In the series listed here, Noblewoman Alanna of Trebond, disguised as the boy “Alan”, exchanges places with her twin brother Thom, to go to the royal palace in the city of Corus to train for knighthood, while Thom studies magic. Throughout the four novels Alanna deals with her secretive and unusual status as an aspiring female knight, friendships, romances, physical hardship, world-changing quests and duty. She experiences such challenges as puberty, bullying and defying social convention. Alanna befriends characters of a wide background during the quartet as well. This series is great because in addition to fantasy, it includes real world issues that young women deal with. You gotta read ‘em all to see Alanna grow from a young child to an adult. 

 

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells consists of mostly novellas, which makes this is a series quick to read other than the full-length novel published. If you like stories about free will and someone discovering who they are, these are the perfect books for you, especially if you enjoy sarcasm and internal monologues about being annoyed with people around you. The series is told from the perspective of a “SecUnit” owned by a futuristic megacorporation. SecUnits include “governor” modules that enslave and punish the constructs if they take any actions not approved by the company. The self-named “Murderbot” hacked and disabled the module before the start of the series but pretends to be a normal SecUnit, staving off the boredom of security work by watching its favorite television shows. As it spends more time with a series of caring entities (both humans and artificial intelligences), it develops genuine friendships and emotional connections, which it finds inconvenient. The first book “All Systems Red” was a previous selection in the Books to New Worlds discussion that I host and anyone is welcome to any month. The book was well received among all of the attendees leading to others wanting to read them all as well. You will feel like you gotta read ‘em all to see how Murderbot develops as an individual and what choices it makes. I have read all of them except for the latest release, which I haven’t been able to get to yet despite wanting to but life with a toddler makes reading difficult at times. 

 

Last but not least, I want to recommend the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers that you gotta read ‘em all! Although this quartet takes place in the same setting, each book focuses on different characters. Some may overlap but not all of them do. They are different stories, yet all loosely connected. Therefore there isn’t a cliff hanger ending at the end of each novel but the reader, such as myself, will want to read more about other characters in the series as well as ones we have already met. Salina Public Library read “Record of a Spaceborn Few” for Salina Reads in 2023, leading others I know to also want to read them all. In addition I read “The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet” with the final discussion as part of Life’s Library Book Club, a book club on Discord that was hosted by best-selling author John Green. The series includes optimism amid turmoil and features an array of diverse characters. Humans are just one of many species in a vast interstellar community. Instead of focusing on space battles or dystopian struggles, the series explores people just trying to live their lives in a big, complicated universe. Each book centers on a new cast of characters, starship crews, travelers, settlers, and wanderers, whose lives intersect with themes of belonging, cultural understanding, identity, and chosen family. I have read them all, except for the final volume, because like I mentioned with Murderbot Diaries, keeping up with a series can be difficult with an energetic child. But I am going to make it my intention to read those two books as soon as possible when I have time to when I am not reading other novels for multiple book clubs.