There are long series and then there are long series.

It’s no small feat to commit to reading such lengthy series. I have found myself drawn more and more lately to longer series because I’ve been really enjoying spending lots of time with characters and exploring a world.

Having set up my master spreadsheet for tracking my reading, I know some fun stats! Over 17% of the series I own have 5 or more books in them (*gulp*) and just shy of 10% are series with 4 books. The majority is made up of duologies (32%) and trilogies (41%), and it amounts to over 300 series unfinished on my shelves.

Yes, I have a lot of books.

But that’s what makes it so satisfying to set goals and tackle some meaty and epic challenges, such as making progress (or finishing?!) these series in 2023.

These three really take it to the next level – and they’re probably not what you were expecting.

Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Series length: 24 books

I first encountered how long the Tarzan books were when I stumbled across an omnibus of the first three books. I’d never really thought about where the Tarzan stories had come from before.

Tarzan is my favourite Disney movie and so I was instantly intrigued about reading the original story.

It’s very different and even more intriguing than I had anticipated. The story is both darker and more romantic than the Disney version – and much closer to the 2016 film The Legend of Tarzan.

This is made of 24 books, which is insane, and so far I’ve still only read the first. I’m really fascinated that Edgar Rice Burroughs managed to write so much about this world – and I have to say my modern mind has its interest piqued to see how Africa will be represented throughout the course of this series that was first published in 1912.

The Famous Five by Enid Blyton

Series length: 21 books

I never liked reading as a child.

That may come as a surprise to some of you, but up until I was a teen, I was loathe to touch a book. Once I found my love of reading, however, I was unstoppable.

But that has left a few large gaps in my reading history that I’m eager to amend. The Famous Five is one of those absolute classics of a children’s series – and naturally, I’ve not read it.

Last year, I found the full box set (21 books) on sale and decided that 2023 would be the year that I finally fixed my lack of knowledge on this series and dived into it. I’m yet to start this one, but I’m hoping to pick up book one very soon.

They are all very small books, so it won’t be quite as intimidating as it sounds.

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

Series length: 12 books

Following the trend, How to Train Your Dragon was something else I missed thanks to my aversion to reading as a child. Granted, I’m maybe a few years too old for this to have truly landed fully within my childhood – but it’s certainly something I’m enjoying reading now.

I’m powering through this series at the moment and actually hoping to have conquered it within the next few weeks! I’m reading book 10 as we speak, so only two to go.

While it took me the first three books to truly get into this (it is honestly quite young, but it matures as it goes through), I’m now utterly invested.

This is a fantastic adventure and so easy to lose yourself in. The further I’ve got with the series, the harder it has become to put the book down, and even harder to not simply pick up the next instalment immediately (which is exactly why I’m simply reading them all back to back now!)

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There are a few other long series like these on my shelves that I’m reading as well. But I think that will do for today – and I’m feeling very confident that I will see all of these series through to the end.

So, what’s the longest series you’re currently trying to conquer?