“Writing for me is a kind of compulsion, so I don’t think anyone could have made me do it, or prevented me from doing it,” says J.K Rowling, author of Harry Potter—one of the best book series that made history.
Harry Potter became an important part of our childhood. To date, there are millions of fans of the orphaned wizard. With time the Harry Potter book series has only grown in terms of success.
Writing a book series that continuously grabs the attention of readers while also giving rise to fandom is rare. When you write a book, subconsciously you want that book to be an instant hit and become the bestsellers of all time. And when you start writing a series, it is not just the first installment that needs to be a hit, the series as a whole must have the readers gripped. Writing a best-selling book is difficult but an excellent book series is even more difficult.
But, few legends managed to deliver just what the readers would expect. We might be familiar with J.K Rowling but the sea of best-selling book series is even wider than we have explored.
Here are the top 10 listed best book series that broke all records, we have skipped the introduction as who does not know the plot of the story—instead.
We have listed few interesting lesser-known facts about the best book series.
1. The Chronicles of Narnia
Author: C. S. Lewis
Copies Sold: 120 million
Originally written in: English
Number of installments: 7
The author of “The Chronicles of Narnia,” Lewis, was close friends with J.R.R. Tolkien, who authored the Lord of the Rings series.
Lewis took 8 years to complete the book series, however, spent only three months of that time writing the first book, ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.’
This one of the best book series was highly influenced by Lewis’s childhood in Northern Ireland. This reasons Lucy’s vast imagination and ability to find make-believe worlds in empty rooms came from the games Lewis and his brother played as children and the loss of his mother paralleled that of Prince Caspian and his son.
Movie Adaptation:
Among the seven books, only three were adapted into a movie, namely The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Prince Caspian (2008), and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010), which collectively grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide.
2. Twilight
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Copies sold: 120 million
Originally written in: English
Number of instalments: 5 + 1 novella + 1 guide
Stephenie Meyer got the idea for the book in a dream. When the author started writing the series, she did not have the names for the main characters so she just called them “he” and “she”. The author originally titled Twilight after the actual town most of the story is set in: Forks.
Movie Adaptation:
The popular Suspense-filled book series was later adapted into a movie with the same name. The Twilight series grossed over $3.3 billion worldwide.
3. Chicken Soup for the Soul
Author: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen
Copies sold: 130 million
Originally written in: English
Number of installments: 105
“Chicken Soup for the Soul” books are available in 100 countries and 43 languages. The book has been named as one of the five most impactful books of the past 25 years by USA Today in 2007. Chicken Soup for the Soul is also a media company. It has five weekly columns in syndication, more than 200 radio stations broadcasting to 65% of the country, and a blog that nets more than 9.5 million monthly visitors.
Movie Adaptation:
While the movie adaptation is under work, the book series was adapted into a television series from 1999-2000 and aired 4 seasons.
4. Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy
Author: E. L. James
Copies sold: 150 million
Originally written in: English
Number of installments: 3
In her initial days, E.L. James went by the name ‘Snowqueens Icedragon’, and the story was called Master of the Universe. The author had never been to Seattle or Portland and used Google Street View to visualize the setting in her books. The trilogy was initially published as e-book and print-on-demand paperbacks until the book was picked up and re-released in 2012.
Movie Adaptation:
Fifty Shades of Grey was turned into a movie adaptation and grossed US$166.2 million in the US and Canada, while US$403.5 million in other countries. The movie collectively grossed a worldwide total of US$569.7 million against a budget of US$40 million.
5. Star Wars
Author: Various authors
Copies sold: 160 million
Originally written in: English
Number of installments: Over 300
Sifo-Dyas was originally called Sido-Dyas. The typo occurred because of the close proximity of F to D on the keyboard. George Lucas decided to keep it in. The character Chewbacca was inspired by George Lucas’ old dog, which was an Alaskan malamute, a large, furry breed that weighs around 130 pounds fully grown.
You will hear the phrase “I have a bad feeling about this” is in every single Star Wars film.
Movie Adaptation:
Star Wars book series has expanded into 11 live-action movies, four series comprising 15 seasons (and counting), video games, comics, novels, and other books, virtual-reality storytelling, theme park experiences, and more. All these making Star Wars one of the best book series that is breaking records.
6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Author: Jeff Kinney
Copies sold: 200 million
Originally written in: English
Number of installments: 12
At one point, Jeff was pursuing his studies to become a federal law enforcement officer. But he became an author to one of the best book series of all time. Jeff Kinney’s brother Scott has written one of the songs in the movie, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Jeff has created a website Poptropica.com for kids.
Movie Adaptation:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid was adapted into three movies, namely Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2012), and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul. One more movie is in the works and might release in 2021.
7. Goosebumps
Author: R. L. Stine
Copies sold: 350 million
Originally written in: English
Number of installments: 62 + spin-off series
The idea of the Goosebumps series was inspired by R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series, and Stine was suggested by the editor to look direct the book at age group 7-12. He came up with the name “Goosebumps” randomly while reading a TV Guide. The book series was originally meant to be only 4 books but later expanded to 62 books.
Movie adaptation:
Goosebumps has two movie adaptions based on the popular book series. Goosebumps and Goosebumps: Haunted Halloween are the two that made it to the big screens and are equally loved by the fans.
8. Harry Potter
Author: J. K. Rowling
Copies sold: 500 million+
Originally written in: English
Number of installments: 7 + 8 supplements
Harry Potter series is the best book series of all time and in time has turned into a cultural phenomenon. The house names of famous book series were jotted down on an airplane vomit bag. Also, the magical plants describe throughout the movie are not fictional—apart from the names—these plants are available in the Muggle world’s compendium of flora.
Dolores Umbridge has been deemed one of fiction’s creepiest villains by none other than famed horror writer Stephen King.
Movie adaptation:
The Harry Potter series is adapted into 8 movies with each being a record-breaking success. Among the 8, the highest grossed movie has been ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2’ that grossed over $1.34 billion in global box office revenue.
9. Robert Langdon
Author: Dan Brown
Copies sold: 200 million
Originally written in: English
Number of installments: 5
Dan Brown initially was pursuing a musical career and has released four music CDs which gained him backers for his music, but his reclusive nature stagnated his music career. Before his famous book series, Dan Brown wrote a book under pen name Danielle Brown in 1995, co-written with his wife titled 187 Men to Avoid: A Survival Guide for the Romantically Frustrated Woman. He also co-wrote The Bald Book with his wife in 1998.
Despite all his novel being a moderate success, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code made him a top-selling novelist worldwide.
Movie Adaptation:
Dan Brown’s novels have all been adapted into movies, however, they are not in chronological order. Despite the unorderly release the movies have proven to be a success and grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide, collectively.
10. A Song of Ice and Fire
Author: George R. R. Martin
Copies sold: 90 million
Originally written in: English
Number of instalments: 7 Planned; 3 novellas + 1 guide
As a kid, George R.R. Martin would keep the turtles in a toy castle and would often fantasize about them living as knights, lords, and kings, thus inspiring the idea of “A Song of Ice and Fire”. The first novel was published in 1996 and the book series was concluded in 2013, spanning 22 years. He was a huge fan of writer Jack Vance, who is popular for using ridiculously long words, as a tribute, the author made Grand Maester Pycelle uses long words in conversations. The “Red Wedding” was the key reason behind the popular series adaptation “Game of Thrones”.
Movie Adaptation
There is not a movie in the works, however, the book series has been adapted into a popular series called Game of Thrones. With time this book series has also turned into a cultural phenomenon. If you are new to the bibliophile community this might be an excellent to-read list for you, or if you’re Cinephilia do binge-watch the adaptations. There are many more book series out there and will be added to the blog soon. Till then do not miss out on these best book series, all are worth the hype.
Also Read:- Top 10 Books to Jump-Start Your Reading Habit
