I’ve written previously about my willingness to quit a book if I’m not enjoying it. I apply this approach to series as well. While I know many avid readers who absolutely cannot leave a series unfinished, if I finish a book and don’t care what happens next, I’m not going to seek out the next in the series.

I consider all these series to be worth the time to get through them!

1. Harry Potter by JK Rowling  

I’m going to get this one out of the way first because it’s the most obvious. (I almost didn’t include it because it’s such a no brainer!) Each book gets a little darker than the previous, and in that way we grow along with Harry and his friends as they encounter more and more darkness in their worlds. What I appreciate most about this series is how it has changed the world of reading for kids. I was in my early 20s when I started the series, so I can’t quite imagine a reading life shaped by the Harry Potter world!

2. Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris  

This series is the basis for True Blood, which aired on HBO for seven seasons. When the show ended, I was bummed. The finale sucked and I missed the characters. I flew through these books and never got bored or tired of them. The books are quite a bit different from the series so it was like being with the same characters I liked, all over again for new adventures. I especially appreciate that the books are narrated by Sookie. On the show, she often comes across as ditzy, but knowing her internal motivation changed that and I liked her a lot more!

3. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares  

I’m truly envious that I didn’t get to read these books as an adolescent. They’re a modern Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret? Even reading them as a 30-something woman, I appreciate the genuineness of what it’s like to be a young girl with friends you love, yet you’re all changing at different paces. The writing is lovely, addressing topics such as sex, heartbreak, and illness, with just the right amount of honesty. The final book is an adult novel set a decade after the last Traveling Pants book, and it’s exactly what I needed for closure!

4. The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice  

I first read this series in my teens, and consider these books to have shaped my adult reading habits. Anne Rice was my introduction to adult writing (along with my mom’s Danielle Steel and Sidney Sheldon novels which are a whole different world!) I re-read the first in the series (Interview with the vampire) earlier this year and it was as wonderful as I remembered!

5. Cormoron Strike by Robert Galbraith  (pseudonym for J.K. Rowling)

I was utterly disappointed with Rowling’s first foray into adult fiction, The Casual Vacancy, so I was hesitant to read The Cuckoo’s Calling when it came out to rave reviews. A bookish friend who knows my reading preferences well finally convinced me to give it a try and I was blown away by how great it was. The two that followed were even better (The Silkworm is my favorite of the three released so far.)

6. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

This is one of the few Young Adult series I didn’t bail on. Even though there were a couple plot twists that made me just about give up, I never did because I liked and cared about the characters, and I wanted to see the story through. I also find Clare’s writing to be a bit more evolved than most YA books I’ve read.

7. YOU by Caroline Kepnes  

When I finished YOU, I couldn’t get my hands on the sequel fast enough. It’s such a disturbing story, and Joe is an absolutely terrible human being, yet I needed to know what happened next!

8. Mindfulness Essentials by Thich Nhat Hahn  

I suppose there aren’t many non-fiction series, and while I thought this one would get redundant, it didn’t. Very simple concepts are applied to being mindful and present during basic tasks in our lives, such as sitting and eating in this short little books.

What do you think of my list? Are there any series you would remove or add?!