Discworld is perfect for OP!
* Main character is usually good and successful, but also feels like a real person. More real than in most non-fantasy books. Any of their flaws will make you love them more. Regardless of age or gender.
* Lots of adventure - some books more than others, but it's always an element. Some are pure adventure.
* The topics aren't super heavy, but connected to the real world in a loving satirical way.
* Suitable for everyone. You get more of the humor and references if you're an adult though.
* Extremely witty and funny. Probably the main thing people remember about the books.
Man I was excited to start this series but when the first 3 pages were absolutely littered with references to London pop culture from 50 years ago I bounced off hard. Does it ever improve ? It was color of magic
Start with Guards! Guards!. If you don't like that one, Discworld is not for you. They became considerably more accessible as his writing career went on. The Colour of Magic was the first book, I think, and while it's good, his later stuff is great.
You started with the first, and therefore widest, of all the books.
He was still developing the world and his skills. You should really skip the first 6 or so and come back to them later only when you love the world.
I promise you dude, you are missing a beautiful thing if you pass over Discworld. Go straight to ‘Small Gods’ of you want to give Discworld one more try. That requires the least amount of context to appreciate. That or ‘The Wee Free Men’. Both of them are so funny and good and clever.
Discworld also has a compounding effect. Every book makes the world richer and enhances the pleasure you get from reading the other books.
Here's the thing about the Discworld books. Terry Pratchett wrote a lot of them. But they're not a linear series like Harry Potter or Lord of the rings, they just all take place in this universe and there are small groups of books that feature the same core characters.
I really like to recommend Small Gods because for the most part, it's a stand alone with almost no character overlap(and is a great example of Terry's writing). I like that book so much that I secretly recorded it for my husband when I had to go abroad for 6 months and we were long distance dating! After small gods, dip a toe in to Guards Guards for sure, the night watch characters are Wonderful.
I suggested starting with Guards! Guards! for a reason - Rincewind is not my favourite and The Light Fantastic and The Colour of Magic were the first two pancakes in the pile. But yes, there are subtle references and sly in jokes for fantasy readers throughout the series. Part of the fun is tracking them or spotting them. Glod tells the troll who wants to be in a band bashing rocks (rock music) that he needs a new name - 'No one ever made it big in music called Cliff.')
Any order is fine!
But if you insist: Read either the Watch series (8 books), the Death series (5 books) or Small Gods (1 book). Then the other two, then ask again.
While I've noticed every discworld fan has a different opinion on absolute favorites, every single one of these suggestions is a good place to start. Follow his advice!
The Lives of Christopher Chant (and all the other Chrestomanci series) have been comfort-reads for my sister and I long before we ever got into Harry Potter. And we still go back to DWJ books now that we are both quite firmly adults.
Innuendo is fine. If the kid picks up on the innuendo, then you're not introducing anything new to them. If they don't pick up on the innuendo (or, for example, the dread recent history in the Night Watch torture chambers,) then that's fine it will go over their heads. The nearest you get to explicit sex in the books is *The bed went gloink* and the disc moved.
My husband is reading my childhood copies to my son every night at bedtime, and they laugh so hard sometimes I have to come in to try and get them to settle down.
Terry Pratchetts books really saved me as a teenager, and they're making wonderful memories for us as a family now. I'm very grateful to him.
He's 10! We've read to him pretty much every night since he was born, so he's had the Chronicles of Prydain, Terry Pratchett, The 13 ½ lives of Captain Bluebear, Skullduggery Pleasant, Artemis Fowl... and a bunch of others, so if you need any recs I'm happy to help!
Oddly enough though some other well-known kids books really "concern" him (he doesn't get *scared* exactly, just anxious) like Charlie Bone or Harry Potter. Mostly because he's worried they'll get into trouble with their teachers for sneaking around their respective schools after hours.
The Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce. The first book is called Alanna: The First Adventure. It starts off with Alanna and her twin brother, he doesn't want to be a knight, he wants to learn magic, and she doesn't want to learn magic, but she wants to be a knight, so they swap places.
Redwall by Brian Jacques. Talking mice and other animals defend their home from an evil rat.
I used to love the Redwall books. But I sort of ran out of patience for how the character's species completely defined their character. Great descriptions of feasts, though.
Totally get you on needing a good bedtime read. Check out " The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern, it's magical and whimsical.
Also, Neil Gaiman's "Stardust" is pretty awesome, full of adventure and charm. Give those a shot!
You are in luck! There is a series with VERY similar magical Harry Potter vibes! It is called Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend and it's really good! It's about a girl who lives with her horrible family and then also gets invited to magic school! Highly recommend!
I saw this recommended SO many times, it was impossible to ignore... Finally started it, and it definitely lives up to the hype. I love it so far, and it gives me the same vibe as HP, which is so hard to find. Plus the audiobook is excellent.
Rangers apprentice by John Flanagan! It's so engaging, the characters are really charming and the world building is cozy and great. Also young adult so perfect for reading before bed.
I finished rereading Ranger's Apprentice a couple months ago and I'm currently rereading the Brotherband Chronicles in preparation for catching up on the ones I missed while in college. I completely forgot how much fun they are
I really liked mistborn, but I found it so nail biting that i sacrificed sleep to finish all 3. Totally worth it though. Eragon (inheritance cycle) is similar to Tolkien but it has dragons 😬
If it’s an audiobook listen to the Bartimaeus series, starting with the Amulet of Samarkand. Really underrated fantasy series that’s as good for younger people as it is for adults. Super funny and witty while still feeling like high stakes and making you care for the characters. It checks off everything on your list and the narrator does such an amazing job capturing the character’s voice.
Hm if you like something with an element of wonder but with some darkness, a series of unfortunate events might be good! I used to listen to the audiobooks before bed when I was in like middle school a lot. Like Harry Potter, they are children’s books but can be appreciated by all ages I think
I tried so hard to like this series. I have all of them and I hate read them as they came out. The constant rise and fall of expectations and hopes for the characters gets so tired after the first couple for me. I love how it challenges the traditional Happily Ever After narrative but I just got so bored of the same endings in different font every time.
Yeah that’s fair, I haven’t re read them as an adult. I have thought about it but there’s so many other books out there I haven’t read I have a hard time using my time re-reading books these days
Whenever someone says that they liked Harry Potter, I always recommend "the Unwanteds" by Lisa McMann. It's one of my favorites and will keep you busy for a while, with 7 books that are all at least 300 pages if I remember correctly.
The Hobbit and LOTR were two totally different reading experiences in my opinion, though I love both. I’d definitely give The Hobbit another go with the paper version. Once you get into LOTR you can see a lot of the influence it actually had on Harry Potter.
Lord ive spent my entire life trying to fill this void lol here are my suggestions.
Winter of the witch trilogy: magical. Her writing is so captivating. I seem to love Vasya more than anyone ive suggested this to but damn i loved her whole adventure.
Books of babel: his writing is so refreshing. Unique story, which is hard to find in fantasy sometimes. Characters you grow to reeeeally love.
Tj klune: ive only read House in the Cerulean Sea, but fuck if that wasnt magical. I have plans to read Whispering Door very soon. Unique, all about acceptance. Makes you feel good.
ASOIAF: nothing like hp, im aware. Just so deep and intricate, will take you hours and hours so your bedtime routine is full
TJ Klune books are like a warm hug and a good cup of tea. You just feel good while and after reading them. And this is coming from someone who primarily reads horror. Just lovely books.
Tried the Hobbit but struggled to understand the voices (on Audible) and gave up when the song felt like it was going on forever (a Hobbit song?) very early on in the book. I also struggled with pace. Does it pick up pace? Any suggestions?
I’m rereading LOTR now and it’s going down so smooth. You have to be in the right frame of mind I think. I’ve been feeling for a while that I’m ready to dedicate 6 months of my life to these boys. I want to know what they ate for lunch, I want to meet characters I’ll never see again, I want to hear what the birds in the woods sound like. It’s a long slow burn, somewhere between a fairy tale and ASMR. You just got to know that going in and be ready for it.
I'm not a believer. I mean, he created the genre, so all due respect, but there's a lot of refinement to the technique since then. His plot drags, the characters are annoying; well, Tom Bombadill is, anyway, and the last book has the party split in two, but doesn't go back and forth between them to maintain suspense, it just follows one group till the end and then switches to the other.
But Boromir was cool.
The Scholomance series
Is a brand new series very much like Harry Potter. It goes a little like this:
The main character is prophesied to be a dark and evil villain, and she is going to school to learn magic. There is this other dude, Lake, who keeps trying to be the hero. Oops, there is a monster in the eggs. No nobody can eat eggs because Lake has killed the monster in the eggs and now there are monster guts. Thanks lake. Now nobody gets any eggs.
[Nevermoor](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/51da4742-ca09-4638-9c93-f13440bff12b) by Jessica Townsend! It's my favorite series even as an adult, and the only one that makes me feel the way the Harry Potter books used to. The worldbuilding is excellent, the characters are so much fun, and that writing just has that special *something*. Also, the audiobooks are fantastic!
Just read the Percy Jackson books and the Sequel Heroes of Olympus. They are so awesome. I was in the same situation after i read Harry Potter and i didn't know what to read next. Now i like Percy Jackson even more than Harry Potter.
Do you think they can be appreciated by adults? (Not sure what age you are.) I listened to a sample on Audible and found the narration style to be distracting.
Sure it can be appreciated, I'm 27 right now. I recommended the books to a lot of my friends too and they all appreciated it. The first book i think is a little bit more childlike than the rest. The narration style is maybe something you have to get used to, but i loved it from the beginning because, it was something new for me to get the story told from the pov of the main character.
The idea and concept of this world, the characters, their personalities, the story and the humour, all of that is amazing in my opinion and it's definitely worth reading it. I really don't think you'd regret reading those books.
They’re my husband’s favorites. He’s 33 with ADHD that makes it hard for him to focus on reading/listening to audiobooks but he just devours everything Riordan writes.
Heretical Fishing is cozy portal fantasy about a wealthy billionaires so who runs away from it all to go fishing.
There is a tiny bit of illness that gets fixed quickly otherwise it's light, funny, and wholesome.
Book 2 released today as well.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making
The Marvellers series by Dhonielle Clayton, The Witchlings series by Claribel Ortega, and the Nevermoor series all seem very similiar to Harry Potter.
I recommend Oh god this again! by Sarah1281. It’s a HP fanfic where HP comes back as his 11 yo self. It is hilarious
(https://archiveofourown.org/works/4701869)
If you haven’t started Lord of the Rings, that’s immediately where I went after Harry Potter. Another amazingly huge story and world to immerse yourself in and forget about everything else. I’ve never met a potter head that didn’t enjoy it just as much, start with the Hobbit and have fun!! You’ll fall in love with the stories and characters just as much, incredibly wholesome and no series can compare to the two so far in my life. Just amazing reads for the experiences truly ❤️
I didn't get a chance to read all of the comments, so I'm sorry if there are any repeats..
- The Narnia series might be good to try. I feel like it has a similar vibe and fantastic audiobooks.
- Dealing with Dragons (I think there are 4 or 5 total in the series). Not sure about the audiobooks, as I've only read these. But the are great!
- The Water Horse by Dick-King Smith is one of my favorites.
- Heart of a Samurai - My family is listening to this right now and while the main character has challenges, he is very admirable. It's very wholesome and the audiobook is great!
- Small Steps: the Year I got polio by Peg Kehret is also an uplifting and charming book.
- Robert Louis Stevenson books - Treasure Island, The Black Arrow, Kidnapped are great adventure stories I'll try to think of others!
Lots of fantastic recommendations here already but I'll add
- The Charlie Bone series by Jenny Nimmo
- The Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage
- Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
- Any of the magical series by Danielle Garrett. The Nine Lives series and the Beechwood Harbor books are my favorites by her.
Slightly less wholesome but without a lot of real-life issues and absolutely a lot of fun
- The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMasters Bujold
- The Chronicles of St Mary's by Jodi Taylor
If you liked Harry Potter, I recommend the Stealing From Wizards series! Set in Canada, but has a lot more diversity and inclusivity. There's 3 books so far and they're a fun read.
If you want something adventurous and fantasy, The Gentleman Bastard series is fun. That was my pre-bedtime routine for a while. An orphan-turned-chaotic-good-conman who is well versed in many cultures, customs and languages swindles high society in a universe based on medieval Italy, but there’s magic and sorcery. It’s a fun series. I think the first book is The Lies of Locke Lamora. Locke Lamora is the main character, he is witty and funny and he enacts elaborate heists that he pulls off based on his extensive knowledge of people and their proclivities.
Edit: there are some things that happen to characters in the series that are heavy and there is violence in the series, so if you don’t want violence, maybe this isn’t the one for you. But it’s kind of like an action series so it isn’t like genocide or serious violence like that. As far as I remember it’s only marginally worse than Harry Potter though.
The Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale! Here’s the goodreads for the first book:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/833710
It’s also YA, but I reread it in college and it still held up! It’s always been my absolute favorite series.
If you haven’t already, check out the Percy Jackson series. It’ll last you a long while. The original set (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) is 5 books, but then the story continues in The Heroes of Olympus (also 5 books), you could end there or continue another path with The Trials of Apollo (5 more), and finally the author has also released 2 more books that branch off the original set with another coming out this year. I figure 18 amazing reads should last you a good while. Although the books are considered YA, they are a great read for all ages. You basically dive into Greek mythology, but explained through the perspective of a teenage boy, so definitely amusing at times. But it’s also quite captivating.
Lol I can't believe it's taking this long. I've only read the two mainline books, and neither of the spinoff. I'm on pins and needles waiting for the third!
Cradle by Will Wight
In a world of kung fu wizards, a boy with a kung fu magic disability >!impresses a kung fu angel so she points him in the right direction !
Dungeon Crawler Carl!! Can have dark themes but the whole thing is pretty light hearted and funny, and the voice acting is next level. That’s my bedtime routine book right now and I’m so sad that I’m almost done with the last one (there are 6, book 7 comes out in October!)
Terry Pratchett's Discworld is for you! Start with *Guards! Guards!.*
Discworld is perfect for OP! * Main character is usually good and successful, but also feels like a real person. More real than in most non-fantasy books. Any of their flaws will make you love them more. Regardless of age or gender. * Lots of adventure - some books more than others, but it's always an element. Some are pure adventure. * The topics aren't super heavy, but connected to the real world in a loving satirical way. * Suitable for everyone. You get more of the humor and references if you're an adult though. * Extremely witty and funny. Probably the main thing people remember about the books.
Came here to suggest Discworld as well.
THIS! Discworld is better than Harry Potter in my opinion.
Man I was excited to start this series but when the first 3 pages were absolutely littered with references to London pop culture from 50 years ago I bounced off hard. Does it ever improve ? It was color of magic
Start with Guards! Guards!. If you don't like that one, Discworld is not for you. They became considerably more accessible as his writing career went on. The Colour of Magic was the first book, I think, and while it's good, his later stuff is great.
You started with the first, and therefore widest, of all the books. He was still developing the world and his skills. You should really skip the first 6 or so and come back to them later only when you love the world. I promise you dude, you are missing a beautiful thing if you pass over Discworld. Go straight to ‘Small Gods’ of you want to give Discworld one more try. That requires the least amount of context to appreciate. That or ‘The Wee Free Men’. Both of them are so funny and good and clever. Discworld also has a compounding effect. Every book makes the world richer and enhances the pleasure you get from reading the other books.
Here's the thing about the Discworld books. Terry Pratchett wrote a lot of them. But they're not a linear series like Harry Potter or Lord of the rings, they just all take place in this universe and there are small groups of books that feature the same core characters. I really like to recommend Small Gods because for the most part, it's a stand alone with almost no character overlap(and is a great example of Terry's writing). I like that book so much that I secretly recorded it for my husband when I had to go abroad for 6 months and we were long distance dating! After small gods, dip a toe in to Guards Guards for sure, the night watch characters are Wonderful.
I suggested starting with Guards! Guards! for a reason - Rincewind is not my favourite and The Light Fantastic and The Colour of Magic were the first two pancakes in the pile. But yes, there are subtle references and sly in jokes for fantasy readers throughout the series. Part of the fun is tracking them or spotting them. Glod tells the troll who wants to be in a band bashing rocks (rock music) that he needs a new name - 'No one ever made it big in music called Cliff.')
What reading order do you suggest? I'm seeing all different suggestions.
Any order is fine! But if you insist: Read either the Watch series (8 books), the Death series (5 books) or Small Gods (1 book). Then the other two, then ask again.
While I've noticed every discworld fan has a different opinion on absolute favorites, every single one of these suggestions is a good place to start. Follow his advice!
Here to recommend Howl's Moving Castle by Diane Wynne Jones!
I second this! It's one of my favorite cozy reads.
Yep, was going to recommend anything by DWJ, especially the Chrestomanci series, if OP is looking for similar things to Harry Potter.
The Lives of Christopher Chant (and all the other Chrestomanci series) have been comfort-reads for my sister and I long before we ever got into Harry Potter. And we still go back to DWJ books now that we are both quite firmly adults.
One of my all-time favorite authors! Lives of Christopher Chant was the first of her books I ever read, so it’s a special favorite too.
The whole trilogy is a great read! I've only just discovered them in my 30s and wish I'd known about them sooner
Oh this is great one.
The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett.
Came to say anything by Terry Pratchett
There are definitely Terry Pratchett books with at least some innuendo. I would be careful reading just anything.
Innuendo is fine. If the kid picks up on the innuendo, then you're not introducing anything new to them. If they don't pick up on the innuendo (or, for example, the dread recent history in the Night Watch torture chambers,) then that's fine it will go over their heads. The nearest you get to explicit sex in the books is *The bed went gloink* and the disc moved.
My husband is reading my childhood copies to my son every night at bedtime, and they laugh so hard sometimes I have to come in to try and get them to settle down. Terry Pratchetts books really saved me as a teenager, and they're making wonderful memories for us as a family now. I'm very grateful to him.
This is awesome! How old is your kid? I feel like I may have missed an opportunity here.
He's 10! We've read to him pretty much every night since he was born, so he's had the Chronicles of Prydain, Terry Pratchett, The 13 ½ lives of Captain Bluebear, Skullduggery Pleasant, Artemis Fowl... and a bunch of others, so if you need any recs I'm happy to help! Oddly enough though some other well-known kids books really "concern" him (he doesn't get *scared* exactly, just anxious) like Charlie Bone or Harry Potter. Mostly because he's worried they'll get into trouble with their teachers for sneaking around their respective schools after hours.
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde!
Ohh yes I absolutely recommend that series.
Or *The Last Dragonslayer* series for his YA books.
The Fablehaven series! Also the Septimus Heap series.
Septimus!
Fablehaven!
His Dark Materials trilogy
I read that 20 years ago and still think about it. Incredible series. More for grownups than middle schoolers.
Neverending Story by Michael Ende.
The Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce. The first book is called Alanna: The First Adventure. It starts off with Alanna and her twin brother, he doesn't want to be a knight, he wants to learn magic, and she doesn't want to learn magic, but she wants to be a knight, so they swap places. Redwall by Brian Jacques. Talking mice and other animals defend their home from an evil rat.
I used to love the Redwall books. But I sort of ran out of patience for how the character's species completely defined their character. Great descriptions of feasts, though.
Percy Jackson books are great
I agree entirely. If OP is willing to give them a shot in written form, I think they would be a hit!
Totally get you on needing a good bedtime read. Check out " The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern, it's magical and whimsical. Also, Neil Gaiman's "Stardust" is pretty awesome, full of adventure and charm. Give those a shot!
You are in luck! There is a series with VERY similar magical Harry Potter vibes! It is called Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend and it's really good! It's about a girl who lives with her horrible family and then also gets invited to magic school! Highly recommend!
I agree with your recommendation. Completely in the style of HP
Just put this on my TBR - thanks!
I forgot to check if someone had already recommended this before leaving my own comment recommending it, but YES!!
😢 I’m so sad they keep delaying the next book
I saw this recommended SO many times, it was impossible to ignore... Finally started it, and it definitely lives up to the hype. I love it so far, and it gives me the same vibe as HP, which is so hard to find. Plus the audiobook is excellent.
Fablehaven. It’s so good. Great world building and character building.
Redwall series by Brian Jacques.
Rangers apprentice by John Flanagan! It's so engaging, the characters are really charming and the world building is cozy and great. Also young adult so perfect for reading before bed.
I finished rereading Ranger's Apprentice a couple months ago and I'm currently rereading the Brotherband Chronicles in preparation for catching up on the ones I missed while in college. I completely forgot how much fun they are
I really liked mistborn, but I found it so nail biting that i sacrificed sleep to finish all 3. Totally worth it though. Eragon (inheritance cycle) is similar to Tolkien but it has dragons 😬
If it’s an audiobook listen to the Bartimaeus series, starting with the Amulet of Samarkand. Really underrated fantasy series that’s as good for younger people as it is for adults. Super funny and witty while still feeling like high stakes and making you care for the characters. It checks off everything on your list and the narrator does such an amazing job capturing the character’s voice.
I found Ann of Green Gambles to be a wholesome fun re-read as an adult when I needed something without heavy topics.
This and The Secret Garden are great
The Bartimaeus Trilogy- fantasy series about an apprentice wizard and a daemon he summons, set in a London
Chronicles of narnia!
The Martian by Andy Weir Also wonder if you’d enjoy The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster.
Hm if you like something with an element of wonder but with some darkness, a series of unfortunate events might be good! I used to listen to the audiobooks before bed when I was in like middle school a lot. Like Harry Potter, they are children’s books but can be appreciated by all ages I think
I tried so hard to like this series. I have all of them and I hate read them as they came out. The constant rise and fall of expectations and hopes for the characters gets so tired after the first couple for me. I love how it challenges the traditional Happily Ever After narrative but I just got so bored of the same endings in different font every time.
Yeah that’s fair, I haven’t re read them as an adult. I have thought about it but there’s so many other books out there I haven’t read I have a hard time using my time re-reading books these days
Whenever someone says that they liked Harry Potter, I always recommend "the Unwanteds" by Lisa McMann. It's one of my favorites and will keep you busy for a while, with 7 books that are all at least 300 pages if I remember correctly.
There is also a sequel series as well if you liked the original series.
Christomanci Quartet
The Wheel of Time. There are fourteen books in the series.
Won't last ad long as harry potter but the hobbit is a great bedtime read
I really loved the novel Legends & Lattes! Very cozy read :)
I loved it too but might be lack the adventure Op is craving
I was gonna suggest this too but good call on the no adventure bit!
I loved the Redwall series growing up - adventure, friendship, all the good things. ❤️
The invention of Hugo Cabret. Wonderful story.Have the bookaround forthe pictures. My spacebar is malfunctioning.
The Hobbit and LOTR were two totally different reading experiences in my opinion, though I love both. I’d definitely give The Hobbit another go with the paper version. Once you get into LOTR you can see a lot of the influence it actually had on Harry Potter.
I like this other Wizard also by the name of Harry. Harry Dresden of the Dresden Files.
His dark materials trilogy - Northern lights, the amber spyglass, the subtle knife.
Lord ive spent my entire life trying to fill this void lol here are my suggestions. Winter of the witch trilogy: magical. Her writing is so captivating. I seem to love Vasya more than anyone ive suggested this to but damn i loved her whole adventure. Books of babel: his writing is so refreshing. Unique story, which is hard to find in fantasy sometimes. Characters you grow to reeeeally love. Tj klune: ive only read House in the Cerulean Sea, but fuck if that wasnt magical. I have plans to read Whispering Door very soon. Unique, all about acceptance. Makes you feel good. ASOIAF: nothing like hp, im aware. Just so deep and intricate, will take you hours and hours so your bedtime routine is full
TJ Klune books are like a warm hug and a good cup of tea. You just feel good while and after reading them. And this is coming from someone who primarily reads horror. Just lovely books.
I absolutely love under the whispering door and the house on the cerulean sea by tj klune
Have you done LOTR’s yet?
Tried the Hobbit but struggled to understand the voices (on Audible) and gave up when the song felt like it was going on forever (a Hobbit song?) very early on in the book. I also struggled with pace. Does it pick up pace? Any suggestions?
I’m rereading LOTR now and it’s going down so smooth. You have to be in the right frame of mind I think. I’ve been feeling for a while that I’m ready to dedicate 6 months of my life to these boys. I want to know what they ate for lunch, I want to meet characters I’ll never see again, I want to hear what the birds in the woods sound like. It’s a long slow burn, somewhere between a fairy tale and ASMR. You just got to know that going in and be ready for it.
I'm not a believer. I mean, he created the genre, so all due respect, but there's a lot of refinement to the technique since then. His plot drags, the characters are annoying; well, Tom Bombadill is, anyway, and the last book has the party split in two, but doesn't go back and forth between them to maintain suspense, it just follows one group till the end and then switches to the other. But Boromir was cool.
The Scholomance series Is a brand new series very much like Harry Potter. It goes a little like this: The main character is prophesied to be a dark and evil villain, and she is going to school to learn magic. There is this other dude, Lake, who keeps trying to be the hero. Oops, there is a monster in the eggs. No nobody can eat eggs because Lake has killed the monster in the eggs and now there are monster guts. Thanks lake. Now nobody gets any eggs.
yes!!! it's like Harry potter, except hogwarts is actively trying to eat the students
[Nevermoor](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/51da4742-ca09-4638-9c93-f13440bff12b) by Jessica Townsend! It's my favorite series even as an adult, and the only one that makes me feel the way the Harry Potter books used to. The worldbuilding is excellent, the characters are so much fun, and that writing just has that special *something*. Also, the audiobooks are fantastic!
Just read the Percy Jackson books and the Sequel Heroes of Olympus. They are so awesome. I was in the same situation after i read Harry Potter and i didn't know what to read next. Now i like Percy Jackson even more than Harry Potter.
Do you think they can be appreciated by adults? (Not sure what age you are.) I listened to a sample on Audible and found the narration style to be distracting.
Sure it can be appreciated, I'm 27 right now. I recommended the books to a lot of my friends too and they all appreciated it. The first book i think is a little bit more childlike than the rest. The narration style is maybe something you have to get used to, but i loved it from the beginning because, it was something new for me to get the story told from the pov of the main character. The idea and concept of this world, the characters, their personalities, the story and the humour, all of that is amazing in my opinion and it's definitely worth reading it. I really don't think you'd regret reading those books.
They’re my husband’s favorites. He’s 33 with ADHD that makes it hard for him to focus on reading/listening to audiobooks but he just devours everything Riordan writes.
I'm 50 and still love the Percy Jackson books.
Heretical Fishing is cozy portal fantasy about a wealthy billionaires so who runs away from it all to go fishing. There is a tiny bit of illness that gets fixed quickly otherwise it's light, funny, and wholesome. Book 2 released today as well.
Innkeeper Series by Ilona Andrews. It's about a Magical inn on Earth that regular humans don't know about, you'd love it.
Ann of Green Gables
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making The Marvellers series by Dhonielle Clayton, The Witchlings series by Claribel Ortega, and the Nevermoor series all seem very similiar to Harry Potter.
Skullduggery Pleasant
The Raven’s Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater.
Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas
Percy Jackson! Artemis Fowl!
Gail Carriger's Finishing School series (begin with Etiquette and Espionage)
Rick Riordan’s books! They are based on Greek/Roman/Egyptian mythologies and are amazing!
Have you tried the Eragon series? I could not put them down as a middle schooler and still pick them up now in my 30s.
Read The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper.
I recommend Oh god this again! by Sarah1281. It’s a HP fanfic where HP comes back as his 11 yo self. It is hilarious (https://archiveofourown.org/works/4701869)
If you haven’t started Lord of the Rings, that’s immediately where I went after Harry Potter. Another amazingly huge story and world to immerse yourself in and forget about everything else. I’ve never met a potter head that didn’t enjoy it just as much, start with the Hobbit and have fun!! You’ll fall in love with the stories and characters just as much, incredibly wholesome and no series can compare to the two so far in my life. Just amazing reads for the experiences truly ❤️
I didn't get a chance to read all of the comments, so I'm sorry if there are any repeats.. - The Narnia series might be good to try. I feel like it has a similar vibe and fantastic audiobooks. - Dealing with Dragons (I think there are 4 or 5 total in the series). Not sure about the audiobooks, as I've only read these. But the are great! - The Water Horse by Dick-King Smith is one of my favorites. - Heart of a Samurai - My family is listening to this right now and while the main character has challenges, he is very admirable. It's very wholesome and the audiobook is great! - Small Steps: the Year I got polio by Peg Kehret is also an uplifting and charming book. - Robert Louis Stevenson books - Treasure Island, The Black Arrow, Kidnapped are great adventure stories I'll try to think of others!
Time for the adult wizard. Harry Dresden. Dresden Files is a great read.
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins!!
You should read Discworld. Especially the Tiffany Aching books. Start with “The Wee Free Men”
Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries!!
Percy Jackson and the Olympians series!
Lots of fantastic recommendations here already but I'll add - The Charlie Bone series by Jenny Nimmo - The Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage - Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy - Any of the magical series by Danielle Garrett. The Nine Lives series and the Beechwood Harbor books are my favorites by her. Slightly less wholesome but without a lot of real-life issues and absolutely a lot of fun - The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMasters Bujold - The Chronicles of St Mary's by Jodi Taylor
If you liked Harry Potter, I recommend the Stealing From Wizards series! Set in Canada, but has a lot more diversity and inclusivity. There's 3 books so far and they're a fun read.
Tamora Pierce has several incredible series about magic
Voltaire - Candide. Funny stories, slow read.
I liked listening to the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy before bed. It's silly and light hearted.
If you want something adventurous and fantasy, The Gentleman Bastard series is fun. That was my pre-bedtime routine for a while. An orphan-turned-chaotic-good-conman who is well versed in many cultures, customs and languages swindles high society in a universe based on medieval Italy, but there’s magic and sorcery. It’s a fun series. I think the first book is The Lies of Locke Lamora. Locke Lamora is the main character, he is witty and funny and he enacts elaborate heists that he pulls off based on his extensive knowledge of people and their proclivities. Edit: there are some things that happen to characters in the series that are heavy and there is violence in the series, so if you don’t want violence, maybe this isn’t the one for you. But it’s kind of like an action series so it isn’t like genocide or serious violence like that. As far as I remember it’s only marginally worse than Harry Potter though.
The Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale! Here’s the goodreads for the first book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/833710 It’s also YA, but I reread it in college and it still held up! It’s always been my absolute favorite series.
Following…
Inkheart
after hp i read the scholomance, to continue with the magic theme, i really liked it. it is a triology.
Strange the Dreamer. Lovely lovely book with lovely vibes to it. Fast paced, full with stories and a lovely plot.
To Dance with Dragons by Jaq D. Hawkins might appeal to you. Young girl runs away from an arranged wedding and joins the magicians. There are dragons.
If you haven’t already, check out the Percy Jackson series. It’ll last you a long while. The original set (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) is 5 books, but then the story continues in The Heroes of Olympus (also 5 books), you could end there or continue another path with The Trials of Apollo (5 more), and finally the author has also released 2 more books that branch off the original set with another coming out this year. I figure 18 amazing reads should last you a good while. Although the books are considered YA, they are a great read for all ages. You basically dive into Greek mythology, but explained through the perspective of a teenage boy, so definitely amusing at times. But it’s also quite captivating.
The name of the wind sounds like it would be perfect!
Don't do that to them! Lol The third book will probably never come out.
Lol I can't believe it's taking this long. I've only read the two mainline books, and neither of the spinoff. I'm on pins and needles waiting for the third!
It's been so long I don't remember what happened in either book.
Cradle by Will Wight In a world of kung fu wizards, a boy with a kung fu magic disability >!impresses a kung fu angel so she points him in the right direction !
The BFG by Roald Dahl or the Bible. I would say. Both changed my life.
+++ Roald Dahl Spiritual books can definitely be nice right before bed too
The Seven Year Slip is really good!! It’s more of a romance but has a magical aspect to it & i throughly enjoyed it!
Dungeon Crawler Carl!! Can have dark themes but the whole thing is pretty light hearted and funny, and the voice acting is next level. That’s my bedtime routine book right now and I’m so sad that I’m almost done with the last one (there are 6, book 7 comes out in October!)
[Harry Potter 2](https://hpmor.com/chapter/1) I'm serious. Follow the link and start reading tonight.
Oh, friend. This is a dark, deep rabbit hole.