I have said it before, but there is nothing better than curling up with a good book when the weather is rough outside, and the winter season is no exception. Usually during the winter, many people will complete a reading binge. They will try to read one book after another. If time allows, that person is me. However, I try to keep the books within a series. This way, I’m able to engulf myself in similar stories and characters for multiple books at a time. Let’s take a look at some of the best series for winter binge reading.
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
The Harry Potter book series was first published in 1997 and detailed the story of an orphaned wizard named Harry Potter. Over the next ten years, seven books followed Harry throughout his time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, meeting his friends and companions Hermione and Ron, and defeating “he who must not be named,” a.k.a. Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard who tried to kill Harry when he was a baby and wants to overthrow the Ministry of Magic. The series includes Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (also referred to as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In 2018, it was reported that over 500 million copies had sold worldwide, translated into eight languages, and is the best-selling book series in history. After all, adults, young teenagers, and children have all fallen in love with Harry Potter.
The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Starting with the novel, Little House in the Big Woods, the Little House on the Prairie series chronicles of the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder over the course of eight books. Written by Wilder herself, the books were published from 1932 to 1943. However, in 1971, the final tale The First Four Years was published posthumously and unfinished. The series describes Wilder’s childhood on the American frontier in the 1870s. Readers get invested in the Ingalls family of Laura, Ma, Pa, Mary, Carrie, and Grace. We follow the family through their move from Wisconsin to Kansas, their travels in the Dakota Territory, and Wilder’s marriage to Almanzo Wilder. For many years, the timeless tales of the Little House on the Prairie series have attracted readers of all ages and will continue for decades to come.
The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
A well-known trilogy, The Hunger Games follows young Katniss Everdeen in a young adult dystopian environment, Panem. Located in North America, Panem consists of a wealthy Capital and 12 poverty-stricken districts. Every year, children from those districts are chosen by lottery to compete in a televised “survivor, battle death match” called The Hunger Games. Heroine Katniss is only sixteen years old but decides to volunteer herself for the games in her sister’s spot. From there, Katniss battles life and death challenges where she must survive in order to win. Starter novel, The Hunger Games, was published in 2008 with Catching Fire in 2009 and Mockingjay in 2010. Since then, the books have been turned in beloved movies. One thing is for sure, that when reading the series, readers will always remember the catchphrase “May the odds be ever in your favor.”
New novels and series are published year after year. Yet, sometimes the best ones are the books that never go out of date and can be read over and over again.
