read between the runs

every year, each book-socialmedia creator creates their *updated* list of favorite books or series. i never felt like i had much to add to the discussion since i really had not read enough series to have a strong opinion. however, since becoming overly obsessed with reading, i’ve accumulated not just an impressive amount of series physically, but my total amount read has skyrocketed. it’s to a point where my list now would be more than all the series i had read or include ones that were just meh. via my calculations, i estimate that i’ve read the (current) entirety of 29 series and own the full set of 16 more, with others mixed in where i own only one-two books. those stats lend me to believe i have an opinion worthy of minimal attention, and so i shall proceed below. note that as i begin this, i have no plans on how many series will be included in the list, so who knows how long this all will be.

these days, i have a bit of a problem where if i think i’m going to like a series, i buy all of the books before i read them. something about having the complete set prior to enjoyment is just so… enjoying itself. i also appreciate the ability of not needing to wait to go buy another book. i can just pop it open immediately after finishing the book prior. i bring this up because it’s caused me to become the proud owner of countless series. this has often worked out in my benefit, but has also burned me a couple of times. but when it’s worked out, boy oh boy was i happy i had them all already! several of those will make appearances below.

what i tend to lean towards in a series is something where the stakes are high. it is not guaranteed that main characters will live, and i actually prefer when i know some of them will die. it can’t feel like a safe world because our real world is anything but. i want to read something where there is a lot of plot, and i can count of action peppered or littered throughout. i’m not typically someone who is moved by strong character relationships as the sole focus, but i like when they add to the narrative plotline, where the more action the better. outside of those two items, i think my favorite series tend to differ and i have no hard lines about whether i like something or not. if that sounds like you, read along below!

10. the greenbone saga- fonda lee

while i wasn’t fully in love with the series as i read it, i’ve thought about this one a decent amount after finishing and i have more appreciation for it. in no way is this a bad series, it just was not what i thought it would be before i started it. i love generational stories, and this surprised me in being one. part of my wishes had been to follow characters more closely over less time, but the forces of power and the transitions of it over time was interesting. i thought that the jade was an intriguing way to center character’s strengths, and the process of acquiring/losing jade was fun to follow. with how intimately we get to know the characters, it becomes that more devastating when characters die, especially when it isn’t in the typical battle-style that leads to deaths in other books.

9. the poppy war- r.f. kuang

probably the first real, adult trilogy that i read, and i’m not exactly sure what brought me to the poppy war before anything else, but it was a great experience. other readers had said to go in expecting devastation, and boy were they right. i enjoyed all three books in the series, but i wasn’t fully in love with the “magic” system they had after the first book. i think it could have been more fun if they had different powers lol, but the campaign and siege aspect of the plot and the high stakes kept my attention high. having this be my first fantasy series was kind of jarring at times as i learned the structure of trilogies, but now it seems everything i want to read are series. i can see this one being moved out of the top over the next few years, but the poppy war will always hold a special place in my heart for being my first.

8. unwind- neal shusterman

the only y.a. series on this list deserves it’s place regardless of the intended age of the reader. the world is fascinating, the concept intriguing, and everything that happens is intensely captivating since it needs to appeal to a younger audience. following all of the perspectives fuels the story many ways, and somehow shusterman is able to find a way to blend each of the storylines together by the end even though they seem to have such little overlap. what’s cool is how there are some small characters or events that happen early in the series that then show up again later on, which is very fulfilling. the books read quick, and i know the interest remains high throughout. the first book also has one of the most visually haunting. chapters i have ever read, and i continue to think about it regularly.

7. hyperion cantos- dan simmons

probably the most unorthodox entry on this list since i was really intrigued in parts of the story, and completely bored during others. i was really thrown off with the structure of the first book, but the payoff in the second made it worth it. the concept of time was truly distinct from everything else i’ve ever read, and honestly probably a bit too smart for me at times. i didn’t realize just how much i enjoyed the series overall until i was had tears welling in my eyes as i finished the last book. it’s hard to rate here because i liked 50%, loved 40%, and hated 10% of the series, but i just think the style and weight of this series was so great that it deserves to be read and discussed so long after it’s publishing. it truly defines the idea of the hero’s journey in such a satisfying way.

6. the alienist- caleb carr

i continue to credit caleb carr for being the author who redeveloped my love for reading back in 2019, and i stand by that. i’ve even gone so far as to say he’s my favorite author, but i need to think more about that one. but the alienist duology has been a pair of books that i have loved from the instant i picked them up. one overlooked aspect of series that i read, especially of those that appear on this list, is the difficulty of the text. i don’t give enough appreciation to books that really push your vocabulary knowledge along with providing top tier stories. reading about the fictionalized development of behavioral psychology in a truly disturbing string of crimes was an engrossing world. definitely not the story for everyone, but dang was it a great story for me. my only complaint is that there wasn’t more books published before carr died.

5. red rising- pierce brown

when i think about red rising, i think about just the first three books, which were so freaking good. i enjoyed the last three books, but not only do i remember much about them, they just didn’t carry the same weight to me as the first three did, so that’s where i’ll focus my thoughts. i read the first book and was immediately hooked. i loved the world, i loved the characters, i loved the conniving and trickery. any time a book has twists so wild and unexpected with characters you just can’t trust, i love it. and once i was nearing the end of the third book, there was one event that happened where i was SO convinced and SO pissed that i had to put the book down for a bit because i was so mad. a series has to have tremendous intrigue to hold that kind of power over a reader. i loved how the world expanded as the series continued, and i felt like i had a pretty good grasp on all of the castes pretty quickly.

4. the burning- evan winter

one of only two unfinished series on this list, and the one that first brought me into the world of fantasy. i was a relatively new reader when i experienced rage of dragons on the recommendation of every member in my book club. i picked it up and tore through it because i felt like i needed to know everything about tau’s journey. to this day, i still have yet to read a story that was so revenge driven. the hate in tau’s heart is wild to behold and experience, and that continues effortlessly into the second book. unfortunately, back in 2020 when i had read the two books available, evan winter said he was preparing to publish the book. now, six years later, there’s still been no news, and my love has diminished some just because of the incompletion. everything written is worth reading, but the wait has been incredibly disappointing. but dang tau has a lot of rage in his heart.

3. beartown- fredrik backman

easily the most surprising entry on this list. at face value, this is not something i would typically have any interest in. character driven hockey in a tiny-ahh town centered around a sexual abuse scandal is nothing that i have an innate interest in, but boy was this just such an elite experience. i cried real tears, laughed, and felt like i lived in the town myself. something about the way backman writes is so compelling and distinct from everyone else, and he writes these one-liners that just hit me right in the soul in a way i cannot describe. when it comes to recommending just a regular ole book to anyone, beartown is 100% always my first recommendation, just based on the first page alone. i know it seems like this story can’t be that great, but it really, really can be.

2. gentlemen bastards- scott lynch

this one was another surprise to me. heist stories have appealed to me for a long time, but i hadn’t found one that actually scratched that itch for me. it’s a relatively niche plot line, and i think it takes a lot of planning and thought to unfold well. not only was the first book done well, but literally all three were straight bangers. the subterfuge was everything that i wanted from a heist, and the characters were just out of this world fun to read about. i don’t particularly love when books flash back in time, but i appreciated it in this instance since it added greatly to the current-time story. i didn’t think there was a weak book, storyline, character, or anything throughout the entire three published books. it was my number one until i started the series beneath, but it was a glorious month at the top. is there a chance it takes back over at the top? sure, but the other planned books would really need to come out.

1. dungeon crawler carl- matt dinniman

i really did not want to be that guy, but i devoured this series in a way i have never done before. i thought i would slowly parse through the first seven books and enjoy them enough, but i became utterly obsessed in every sense. whenever i had a few free seconds, no matter where i was, i cracked open whatever book i was reading. it was an addiction i have seldom experienced while reading, and i am an addicted reader.

what’s difficult is that i can’t even pinpoint exactly what made me so obsessed, but it felt like everything in the storyline continued to pull me in. the humor, the absurdity, the stakes, and the loss were all so compelling that i felt like i could not stop reading. i feel super basic about my love for carl and donut, but boy was it worth every single ounce of the hype all the way through. there truly was not a weak spot throughout the series, and i loved the slow ramp up to how high the stakes were becoming. it’s probably not a series for everyone, but goddammit donut, i’ll recommend it anyway.

final thoughts

writing this out has been very fun! sometimes you don’t remember how much you liked something until you actually take the time to think about it, which i was allowed to do in order to write this. i’ve read some genuinely great series over the past five years and seeing them all ranked here brings me joy. but i am not done yet! other series that i am committing to completing this year: first law, the faithful and the fallen, the riverman, the 100, and rampart. with all these books all owned, and my high amount of interest, it’s worth the time investment. however, after writing these blurbs, i’m encountering an issue where i want to go back to some series instead of starting some new ones

but alas, it’s a good problem to have 🙂

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