A couple of days ago I wrote a post titled All About the Book Series Part 1 which detailed book series I love however, haven’t yet finished and want to re-read.
In this post I’m going through my top five series that I have read in their entirety and plan to discuss whether I’ll re-read them, as this is one of my reading goals for 2018.
The Power of Five – Anthony Horowitz
If you read my last post, you can probably tell I was a big fan of Anthony Horowitz growing up.
Matthew Freeman. Pedro. Scott and Jamie Tyler. Scarlett. Five young teenagers with their own individual powers. Their mission? To stop The Old Ones from returning and save humanity. The catch? Not only are they completely unaware of their fate, The Old Ones or their existence but they themselves live in different corners of the world. They don’t even know the others even exist.
This is not an official synopsis. I remember reading them and the questions that would arise from learning the above throughout the story.
So once again, a book series that between the years of 2005 and 2008 I was on the edge of my seat, especially after the ending of book four Necropolis. Little did I know, it would be a further four years before the final book was released.
Four Years!
Admittedly, I didn’t read this one until early 2016. The year of 2012 was the year I started working full-time after college, and it was hectic for the next three years.
What was interesting about these is that each character is introduced in a different book. For example we meet Matthew Freeman in Raven’s Gate and each of the other characters in their own book.
I didn’t read the series from the beginning before I read Oblivion, but I found that I didn’t need to do that. These characters came flying back into my memory, just waiting to pick up where they left off.
Having said that, I do want to re-read this series. I loved it growing up and while I read Oblivion recently, I haven’t read the other books in a good few years and I really want to. There are so many things about the plot that I may not have picked up when I was younger, or perhaps there’s something in there you don’t need to remember but when you re-read it all the way through it’s there – like a little easter egg treat for the keen observer.
Demonata – Darren Shan
I remember absolutely loving this series growing up, I remember how I felt reading it, I remember a very specific moment where I detested a character so much I cheered in excitement when I thought she had finally been killed off. I also remember the disappointment when I found out she survived.
Plus, I even remember the ending to this book. Vividly. Mainly because it was such a unique ending to a story I hadn’t come across it before.
But I could not tell you the plot for all ten books. In my defence we’re going back ten or eleven years. During the book we see three different characters perspectives, each introduced in different books. I also remember they each lived during different times and had to come together in order to .. save the world, essentially. Oh yes, I had a type of book growing up for sure!
I would absolutely love to re-read this series this year. I thoroughly enjoyed it growing up and I’m interested to see my perspective now as a pretty much adult.
The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
I remember I read the Hunger Games one year in Cyprus. By the time I’d heard about them all three were out, and I read them all within a matter of days (thank goodness for Kindles and cafe wi-fi).
Even though it doesn’t seem that long ago since The Hunger Games came out, Mockingjay came out in 2010. That was nearly 8 years ago, so essentially it’s been 8 years since I’ve picked up these books. I thoroughly enjoyed them and would love to read them again in 2018.
A Series of Unfortunate Events – Lemony Snicket
A Series of Unfortunate Events, I remember the frustration I felt at Count Olaf and all the other adults.
Of course, we have a TV Series now. I watched the season released in 2017 and loved it however, when it got to the fourth ‘book’ in a sense, I realised that I mostly remember the first three books (I imagine that’s in part because of the movie). I’m hoping that I can re-read this series before Season 2 comes out in 2018.
Harry Potter – J.K. Rowling
Do I even need to explain myself? It’s Harry-freaking-Potter! Is a year even a good year without re-reading these books? (that was rhetorical).
I all seriousness this was the series that got me into reading. I’ve enjoyed it on and off for years but these books unleashed my love for getting lost in a completely new world and inspired me to write myself.
Not only is this my go-to series to get me out of a reading slump, but it holds a special place in my heart. I think many can agree that, when we re-read Harry Potter it’s almost like returning home.
Further Thoughts
There are a couple of other series I could mention, for example Divergent by Veronica Roth or The Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore.
The Lorien Legacies are a serious contender this year however, I’ve only recently just finished the series so the others on the list take priority (although I did genuinely love this series).
The Divergent series, I absolutely loved the first book however, I can’t bring myself to read the second or third. I didn’t enjoy them the first time around and found myself getting more and more frustrated with the characters. Which is a real shame because I flew through Divergent while on holiday in Rome.
What do you think, can I read the first book without continuing with the trilogy?
What books would you like to re-read in 2018? Any series, new or old on your wish list? Let me know!
