Best book series also on TV and movies
During this time at home, I’ve been managing to read a lot of books. I thought it would be good to share a compilation of the best book series to pick up in case you’re also looking for long book series to help occupy your time.
My definition of a book series: they should have more than 2 books and is related to one another (could be chronological, have the same characters, or is a prequel/sequel of each other). This list should hopefully entertain you and bring you to different worlds even if you can’t travel yet. Or, if you are out traveling, this should be a good way to help pass the time in the plane/train/car/boat.
The entertainment value and the fact these books can transport you into other worlds is amazing. In fact, binge watching the TV shows or movies is another great way to spend time with your families without annoying them to read, if they are not avid readers.
This post will be updated as soon as I finish another book series. Please feel free to leave comments about your recommended book series for me to pick up in the future! I’m always open to discover more new books.
Here’s a list of other posts I made about books:
Contents
Total Number of Books in the Series: 7 + spinoffs
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic
Good For: Young adult, Adults
Movie/TV Show: Yes. 8 movies in all with 3 movie spinoffs and a 2-part Broadway musical.
Countries/Location: Mostly UK for filming locations, but there are plenty of fictional locations.
What’s a book series without Harry Potter on it? I’ve picked up the first book when it was first published (late ’90s) and have managed to see the anticipation and fandom grow. People were lining up to get the fourth book in the bookstores, all the way up to the seventh book.
Since then, this book series has spin-offs (Fantastic Beasts, a Broadway musical, Pottermore, amongst others), a huge franchise around it, and a cult following. It made the author billions in revenue, and there’s even sections of popular theme parks dedicated to the world. I’m not sure what else I could say about the book since everyone essentially knows about Harry Potter already!
If you have been living under a rock, you will have to know that you have to read or watch the films in order to understand what’s going on. If not, you’ll probably end up lost about plot twists, character arcs, and the like.
If you get a chance to travel to England, there are places you can go to that are based on the actual places referred to in the book. I myself have been to platform 9 3/4 in Kings Cross, Leadenhall Market, Oxford, and a few other places in London when I was living there. Here’s a Wiki list in case you’re inclined to start your trip planning based on Harry Potter filming locations.
Total Number of Books in the Series: 3 + 1 prequel
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult
Good For: Young adult, Adults
Movie/TV Show: Yes, 4, with one in the works (as of 2020)
Countries/Location: Panem, fictional
In a dystopian society where the world is divided into 12 districts, each with their own trade, 2 teenagers are picked per district to partake in the Hunger Games. The games are very brutal, with only one winner coming out alive.
This book is amazingly engrossing, and I managed to finish reading the first 2 books when the third one came out. Now, you don’t have to read the books if you so wish. The 4 movies are true to the novels, with the third book divided into two movies.
A new book, a prequel, is released in 2020, and focuses more on the president of Panem’s origin story. No Katniss nor Peeta in this book since it’s way before their time, but I’m interested to see if it’s written as beautifully as the first 3 books. This book is also optioned for a movie, which should also be interesting to watch in the big screen!
I wouldn’t recommend the book series to younger readers, as this definitely needs more mature minds to read because of the subject matter.
Total Number of Books in the Series: 5 + another spinoff book series
Genre: Fantasy, Greek Mythology, Young Adult
Good For: Young adult, Adults
Movie/TV Show: Movie (1), but it was not as great as the book.
Countries/Location: USA/Fictional
Percy Jackson is a great book series to introduce your children (or yourself) to Greek mythology. It’s an adventure and history filled book written in a very casual way that is engaging. I never found myself bored reading this book. It also uses a lot of slang, so it keeps up with the times. You will need to read the series in order to get to know what’s happening in the story.
The book series also has a spin-off but I haven’t managed to pick that up yet. It features the same characters as the original Percy Jackson series and also included a few new names and faces to add to the list.
Do not bother to watch the movie – the books are way more engaging than the movie, and they didn’t even make more movies aside from the first!
Total Number of Books in the Series: 10+ a lot of spin-offs
Genre: Fantasy, Greek Mythology, Young Adult
Good For: Young adult, Adults
Movie/TV Show: None
Countries/Location: Multiple
An adventure book series with a brother and sister protagonist. The book starts off with a grandmother’s death, a will, and a series of clues that will lead the brother and sister to travel all over the world while competing with their relatives. There’s 10 books in the original series, which centers around finding ingredients for a powerful serum. After the first 10 books, there’s sequels abound! There’s too many even for me to count and pick up.
If you have a child at home, this will be a good read for them to pick up as they learn more about history and geography. Maybe they’ll pick up a love of travel as well! Adults and older children can also read the series as well, but the font is a bit too big, catering more to younger readers.
There’s actual clues and cards in the back of the books (if you buy them), which open up some games and clues that you can input on their website. There are no movies or TV series based on this book as of this writing, so the only way to get in on the adventure is through reading!
Total Number of Books in the Series: 3
Genre: Fantasy, Egyptian gods, Young Adult
Good For: Young adult, Adults
Movie/TV Show: None
Countries/Location: Egypt/Multiple
What? Another Rick Riordan series? Yes, this time, the focus is on Egyptian gods. The main characters are also relatives, and they are also teenagers, and while it may seem like another Percy Jackson series, it is still entertaining. Did I mention I learned a lot about Egyptian history reading this book? You may learn a lot with this series as well.
This book made me add Egypt to one of my places to visit, just to see all the monuments but also see some of the museums that played tribute to the Egyptian gods of before. Teens and adults will definitely like this story arcs, the adventures, and the beliefs that the ancient Egyptians had. There are a lot of gods to remember though, as some of them are minor characters in the book series.
Total Number of Books in the Series: Too many to count
Genre: Mystery
Good For: Young adult, Adults
Movie/TV Show: Multiple movies/TV shows based on the books
Countries/Location: Multiple
This classic book series has been around for almost 100 years! This book series is synonymous to fans of the Hardy Boys, but with a female heroine. Nancy, along with her friends George and Bess, have been solving mystery after mystery, and they take you through her processes on how they solved the mystery at the end of th ebook.
This is one of the first books I’ve picked up as a child and the hardback yellow cover is so iconic to me that it’s hard to resist when I see the book in used bookstores. The price of the books in the original series are not that expensive, but one has to deal with the terrible font and that there were no technology options that we enjoy today in those books.
However, there are new Nancy Drew series that’s released to be more in line with the times. While I have not yet picked up not perused the new Nancy Drew series, local libraries should have copies of them available. There’s plenty of movie adaptations, some available on streaming, but I find that they’re not as impressive as the writing in the book series.
There is no one central topic that they discuss in the books and even though they’re a series, you can easily pick one up and read out of order, whichever is available at the time.
Total Number of Books in the Series: 2
Genre: Dystopian
Good For: Adults
Movie/TV Show: Yes, TV series available to stream on Hulu
Countries/Locations: Gilead (fictional USA but mostly based in New England), Canada
Now a TV series streaming in Hulu, the Handmaid’s Tale was originally written in the 1980s by Margaret Atwood, and the premise is very interesting. Imagine a series of terrorists overtaking the USA which caused the dissolution of the government that we know it. The new regime is more religion-centric, and the population has been divided into castes, with no recourse for one to appeal.
The book is told from the point of view of a handmaid (a caste where women are picked to bear children for other people, sort of a surrogate), while the second book is told from three point of views. It’s hard to tell more about the story without spoiling it, so will leave it up to you to decide to read.
Personally have not watched the Hulu series, but from the trailer, it looks pretty interesting. It has been noted that the second book has a different ending and arc as compared to what’s happening in the TV series. You will definitely need to read the books in order, as the second book is a continuation of what happened after the first book, albeit many years later. It will also be easier to connect some of the characters based on what you know from the first book.
Total Number of Books in the Series: 8 (as of writing)
Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Scotland
Good For: Adults
Movie/TV Show: TV Series available in Starz/Netflix.
Countries/Location: Scotland (Inverness/Highlands), England (London), France, USA (Boston), Multiple
The author was inspired to write the book after a trip to Scotland, and who wouldn’t? Now this cult favorite follows the love story of Jamie and Clare, as she time-traveled from the 1950s back to the 1700s, and of their adventures through this tumultuous time. They go to other countries in the span of the book series as well.
A TV series is available on Netflix. A series that even my husband decided to watch, because of the historical components surrounding the series. In fact, the scenery, history, and costumes is enough to make you want to watch the show. The situations the characters find themselves in can get repetitive and boring (one goes to jail, one gets that person out of jail, one needs to be saved so the other one goes out on a quest to save them), so I can’t recommend binge-watching it, unless you get addicted of course.
The book series is good for readers who want something a bit more light (a love story) but want to learn more about history in the early 20th century, as well as the 18th century. And of course, the adventures that surround the characters and the fights help keep it interesting.
While I have not read all the books yet, the first book and the first season of the TV series are pretty accurate, but there are more details available in the book. I have not read the other books in the series yet, but will update this post with additional thoughts as needed.
Total Number of Books in the Series: 8
Genre: Fantasy
Good For: Adults
Movie/TV Show: Yes, TV series on Netflix
Countries/Location: Fictional book location, multiple film locations
The books propelled the series into a video game, which turned into a TV series in Netflix. Admittedly, I have not managed to read any of the books (yet), but is on the list. The TV series is amazing in Netflix, with Henry Cavill playing Geralt of Rivia (is that not enough to watch?)
If you want more reason to watch or read, the books/video games/TV show have their own share of adventure, action, fantasy, and mythological creatures. My husband is playing the video game on the XBox and the characters are the same as the TV show! I would say the TV show did bring the author’s characters to life!
Total Number of Books in the Series: 5 (as of this writing) + 2 spinoffs
Genre: Fantasy
Good For: Adults
Movie/TV Show: Yes, 8 seasons, HBO.
Countries/Location: Westeros, fictional. Film locations: multiple, including one we’ve personally been to: San Juan de Gaztelugatxe and Zumaia in Spain
This series is so ingrained in pop culture that it’s impossible not to include this in the list. People actually talked about it non-stop after an episode of the show aired on HBO! Yes, the show was just that good.
Having watched the TV series and listened to the first book, the show (until season 5) has been indeed loyal to the book. However, people who read the books first have been disappointed with the latter seasons, something I could not comment on as I have not watched seasons 4 to 8 yet!
Read this if you want to be transported to a completely different world. This book and TV series are definitely not for younger adults: it can be very violent and graphic. You may need to use a pen to write down the various characters and locations (as there are so many of them). In theory, the author could make a whole lot more books from the characters alone, but he takes his sweet time writing the books so fans have to wait.
You will need a lot of time if you want to read the books. They are really long (behemoths, as I would call them). 800+ pages or more, and more than 30 hours if listening to the audiobook. There are a few spin-off books available but I have not yet picked those up. In fact, I’m still working my way through book 2 as of this writing.
One really needs to pick the book series up in order, as you will get lost if you read them out of order. There may be more deaths or new characters introduced per book – too many deaths. This series wins as the book series with the most number of deaths I’ve ever read. Sometimes one chapter can kill off a few major characters, all in one go.
Total Number of Books in the Series: 5
Genre: Thriller, Adventure
Good For: Adults
Movie/TV Show: Yes, 3 of them!
Countries/Location: Various
The first two books in the series were highly controversial and sparked a lot of debate. It actually pulled in a lot of money from the movies as well – they star Tom Hanks and his performance has been amazing. The books are highly researched and feature actual sites from various countries, but the central topic revolving around the book may or may not be fictionalized and sensationalized.
The first time I read one of the books in the series, The Da Vinci Code, it took me only three days and I didn’t want to put the book down. They’re highly engaging and can lead the reader to stay up late nights trying to research if the places, paintings, and events could actually be true. Google will be your friend!
You don’t need to read the books in order – they can be picked up as standalone novels, but there may be some events referenced in the latter books from the previous stories.
Angels and Demons, the Da Vinci Code, and Inferno are movies available for rent online. Some scenes were filmed in location, and while there may be gory events happening in the movies, it can help pique the interest of history buffs and travel lovers worldwide.
One of the main settings in the latest book, Origin, is at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The book also used the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona as a setting. In Angels and Demons, the main setting is in Rome and Vatican City. In Da Vinci Code, London was one of the main settings – Temple Church!
Total Number of Books in the Series: 33 novels, 150 short stories
Genre: Mystery, whodunit
Good For: Adults
Movie/TV Show: Yes, TV Show: Agatha Christie’s Poirot with some series available on Amazon Prime like ABC Murders, Ordeal by Innocence and the Pale Horse. There’s also a lot of movies including Murder in the Orient Express, and Death on the Nile.
Countries/Location: Various
My husband introduced me to this book series, and these stories have been going on for almost 100 years! While some of the scenarios in the book are a bit far-fetched, they definitely give your head a spin in trying to guess whodunit.
There’s a lot of murder happening in the novels, while the short stories have murder, theft, and anything in between. Nothing that Poirot can’t solve, of course.
Plenty of other people love Poirot enough that there’s tons of TV shows and movies from his works. The author, Agatha Christie, is known for her mystery books, and while Poirot is only one of her more well-known characters, her books deserve a shout-out for those looking to get into the genre.
Total Number of Books in the Series: 4 novels, 5 short story book series
Genre: Mystery, whodunit
Good For: Adults
Movie/TV Show: Yes, TV Show: Sherlock available on Netflix. There’s also movies (starring Robert Downey Jr) and contemporary shows based on Holmes (like Elementary)
Countries/Location: Various
Now that we’re on the topic of mysteries, we can’t leave Sherlock Holmes behind! This iconic character has been immortalized in many a TV show and movie that we can’t not include him in the list.
Sherlock’s powers of observation and deduction are amazingly good, and introduces us to his mind-map method of thinking. It’s how he manages to store all that information in his brain and store it so he can readily access it whenever he needs it. His relationship with his brother, Mycroft, and his only friend, Watson, is pretty entertaining as well.
You don’t need to pick up the books in order to enjoy the stories about Sherlock Holmes. The TV series by the BBC are loosely based on some of the novels/stories, but they did add a few modern twists and changed some plotlines up. The TV show Elementary is also loosely based on the character, with many more episodes and seasons to binge on.
There are also a few series that are worthy of mention like the Babysitters Club, Sweet Valley and the Archie comic series. However, the Babysitters club and Sweet Valley books can be tougher to find now, but they are staples of any child who grew up in the ’90s.
I still read Archie Comics, and there is a show based on the characters called Riverdale (+2 spinoff series, also on Netflix). However, these are mostly graphic novels, which I will probably make my own post for when I have enough material.
If you have any other suggestions for book series that I should pick up that’s not on the list, please let me know. Oh, I did read the Twilight series but no, that book is not deserving to be on this list. The writing is terrible, but there are fans out there as well, so please don’t suggest that series.
Have also pandered on the 50 Shades series but nope, too adult for my liking, so would not also include that on the list. It also caters to a certain demographic as well, and isn’t for everyone.
Appreciate all your suggestions – if you have any, leave them in the comments below or reach us in the Contact Us page.
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My husband and I both enjoyed a 4 book series by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. The books in order are The Labyrinth of Spirits, Shadow of the Wind, The Angels Game, & The Prisoner of Heaven. They say they can be read out of order but I would t recommend it. I would loan you our set but I’ve already loaned it to a co-worker. We both read all 4 books within a month., they were well written and really grabs your attention. Hope you enjoy them if you try them. Ruth S.
Oh I've actually heard of Shadow of the Wind but didn't know that it was part of a set! Good to know, will add it to our list :)
As an update to our post above, I've finished Game of Thrones book 1, now working on the first book of the Witcher series and picked up the first book in the 'new' Nancy Drew book series. I'm actually reading a lot more during this crisis than before!