10 Book Series for Ultimate Escapism and Travel Inspiration
UPDATED: 2/5/2023
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Let’s face it: sometimes the best form of travel is an engaging, never-ending series of books that pick up your mind and plop it into another world. Particularly in these times where travel has been placed on indefinite stand-by, this is a great chance to explore some wonderful book series that just may inspire your next trip once travel again becomes possible.
As always, we only review or recommend books that we have read ourselves (in this case, we have read at least significant chunks of these series) and because we don’t have limitless time, I’m sure we’re missing some other wonderful book series in our list. And that’s okay because it would be sad to think we had no more wonderful series to discover still! If you have a favorite series not included below, we would love to hear from you in the comments. Maybe you can help us find our next favorite world!
This list is a completely eccentric grouping of books - from high-brow literature to crime thrillers and historical fiction, there’s something for every reader.
In alphabetical order by author . . .
MaddAddam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood
The stats: approximately 1230 pages; published 2003-2013
Travel inspiration: New England (United States) in the dystopian future
What’s to love: The dysfunction and horror . . . and familiarity. If the man-as-god and corporate greed of the modern world leave you discomfited about the future, you’re not alone. Atwood’s trilogy delves down the path to imagine a future that combines some of the riskiest real human behavior (for example, over-engineered food products) with the emptiness people feel in the modern world that lead them in a quest for connection. Sprinkle in a dose of global pandemic and conspiracies too far fetched to be real . . . or are they? . . . and you have a riveting, unique, and disturbing trilogy from the mind of Atwood, who is one of my favorite authors.
The books in the series:
(1) Oryx and Crake; (2) The Year of the Flood; (3) MaddAddam
2. Earth’s Children series by Jean M. Auel
The stats: About 4500 pages; published 1980-2011
Travel inspiration: This series takes place across present-day Europe as it existed during the Upper Paleolithic era (about 30,000 years ago) in a world that feels both recognizable and foreign and includes characters that are both early human and Neanderthals.
What’s to love: While Auel must use significant imagination to create a world about which so little is known, she also performed extensive research to write her series as historically accurate as possible. For those who have an interest in herbal medicines, there is a plethora of information about the flora of this earlier world. This series brought the world of early humans to life for me in a way that nothing else has - recognizing, of course, that there is literary license embedded in them. The main characters, Ayla and Jondalar, are endearing as they struggle to survive and thrive in a difficult world of hunters and gatherers. For those who like controversial books, this series has made the American Library Association’s list of the 100 most challenged books during the 1990s due to the depiction of sexual practices (it ranked as #19 on the list).
The books in the series:
(1) The Clan of the Cave Bear; (2) The Valley of Horses; (3) The Mammoth Hunters; (4) The Plains of Passage; (5) The Shelters of Stone; (6) The Land of Painted Caves
3. Prairie Trilogy by Willa Cather
The stats: about 712 pages; published 1913-1918
Travel inspiration: America’s Great Plains States - these books are set in Nebraska and Colorado around the late 1800s or turn of the century.
What’s to love: Absent a few haunting photos from the 1930s Great Depression and Dust Bowl era, the Great Plains states in the US are generally ignored and unloved, but they were also home to endless caravans of settlers seeking to make a new life after immigrating to the country. Cather brings to life this time period and hard-scrabble existence. The three books can be read independently of each other, and I have actually only read O Pioneers! and My Antonia (pronounced Anne-tone-ee-uh), both of which are set in Nebraska (The Song of the Lark is set in Colorado). Cather adds an important voice to America’s tradition of female writers.
The books in the series:
(1) O Pioneers!; (2) The Song of the Lark; (3) My Antonia
4. The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The stats: approximately 1400 pages; published from the 1880s until his death in 1930
Travel inspiration: England - set around the turn of the 20th century
On film: There have been endless captures of Doyle’s works onto film. The most recent version is Sherlock, a modern-day spin on Sherlock Holmes that was released from 2010 to 2017 in four “seasons” which have relatively few episodes that are movie-length (about 90 minutes).
What’s to love: There is no better way to get engrossed in a story than to spend your time trying to suss “whodunit”. The books are a collection of short stories and so it is very easy to read each one as a stand-alone in whatever order you want. This series is very forgiving of readers who don’t have a lot of time to spend reading at any one time. Sherlock is known for his skilled observations finding clues that go completely over or under the heads of the regular police detectives and make for some interesting twists and turns. There is also something quintessentially British about Sherlock and the settings both in London and outside of it (such as on the moors in The Hound of the Baskervilles).
The books in the series: Our version of the series is divided into two volumes, but they can also be purchased in one volume or in many smaller versions.
5. Kingsbridge Series by Ken Follett
The stats: approximately 4000 pages; published 1989-2020
Travel inspiration: England - The series is set in the same town at various points in history to bring England’s (and much of Europe’s) history alive.
On film and in Video Game: The Pillars of the Earth was turned into a mini-series and more recently (2017) was turned into a video/computer game under the same name. World Without End was also adapted to television in the UK.
What’s to love: English history brought to life through colorful characters. Follett tells the story of (select periods of time in) England through the lens of one small town that grows and changes along with the times and follows the decedents of the initial characters through the generations. The Pillars of the Earth is set in the 12th century’s rampant anarchy and centers around the building of the town’s cathedral. For anyone who has visited just about any old city in Europe and has seen magnificent cathedrals, this novel really brings to life the huge effort undertaken in that endeavor. World Without End is set in the 14th century and covers the Black Death and 100 Years’ War. While I haven’t yet read A Column of Fire, it is set in Elizabethan England. Follett is set to release a fourth book in the series in September 2020.
The books in the series:
(1) The Pillars of the Earth; (2) World Without End; (3) A Column of Fire; (4) The Evening and the Morning (a prequel to The Pillars of the Earth and set in 97 CE)
6. Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon
The stats: 7500+ pages and counting; published starting in 1991 with the next book currently in progress
Travel inspiration: Scotland and America - with time travel between the 18th and 20th centuries in both countries
On film: Outlander began in 2014 and is currently (as of April 2020) on season 5.
What’s to love: Time travel, romance, and history collide in this riveting series. I began reading this series in the late 1990s when I was in high school and was immediately hooked. At that time, only 4 of the books were out (now 8 are available), and I had to wait years until the 5th book came out in 2001. I remember because it was torture! So, I think I count as a relatively early adopter of this series long before it gained notoriety for the popular show.
As a lover of history, I have enjoyed the portrayals of Scotland in the 18th century where the book’s main characters (Jamie and Claire) take part in some important historic events related to the Jacobite uprising. The series eventually sees the characters across the ocean to early colonial America and again brings that world to life and conveniently places the characters in the midst of important history unfolding. Gabaldon is a terrific storyteller in both plot and character development and makes readers fall in love with her characters. It was this series that first made me curious to learn more about Scotland and led me to read some additional non-fiction accounts of its history. It definitely deserves some credit in spurring our trip through the Scottish highlands in the summer of 2019. If you want to read more about our time in Scotland, check out those posts here.
The titles of the books in the series:
(1) Outlander (published as Cross Stitch in the UK); (2) Dragonfly in Amber; (3) Voyager; (4) Drums of Autumn; (5) The Fiery Cross; (6) A Breath of Snow and Ashes; (7) An Echo in the Bone; (8) Written in My Own Heart's Blood; and (9) Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone .
And if you haven't gotten your fill with the main series books, there are several novellas and off-shoot books that I've read and enjoyed: (in no particular order) The Space Between, A Plague of Zombies, The Custom of the Army, A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows, and Virgins.
7. Southern Vampire (renamed True Blood) series by Charlaine Harris
The stats: over 4000 pages; published 2001-2013
Travel inspiration: Louisiana and to a lesser extent other spots throughout the American south - set in contemporary time (well, an alternative universe that is contemporary)
On film: The show True Blood, which had 7 seasons that ran from 2008-2014, is based on this series. I read the books before the show was out (at least those books already published) and thought that was the right order but think even those who have watched the series would enjoy reading the books.
What’s to love: Vampires, mystery, mysticism, and the small town southern way of life. This series is not high-brow literature by any stretch of the imagination but is entertaining, engaging, well-written, and filled with interesting characters that feel very real to the reader. Main character Sookie Stackhouse works as a restaurant in her small fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, where everything is normal until it isn’t. It turns out that she is half fairy, and her fairy blood makes her delectable to vampire. It just so happens one lives in town and thus introduces the reader to Bill Compton, who helps Sookie adapt to a new world that has been hidden right in front of her the entire time. The series has just the right amount of hokeyness (as you’ll see with the book titles below) without overdoing it. I have read the first ten books in the series and didn’t realize until now that three more were released later on.
The books in the series:
(1) Dead Until Dark; (2) Living Dead in Dallas; (3) Club Dead; (4) Dead to the World; (5) Dead as a Doornail; (6) Definitely Dead; (7) All Together Dead; (8) From Dead to Worse; (9) Dead and Gone; (10) Dead in the Family; (11) Dead Reckoning; (12) Deadlocked; (13) Dead Ever After
8. Millennium Series by Stieg Larsson and David Lagercrantz
The stats: over 3200 pages; published 2005-2019
Travel inspiration: Sweden - set in the early years of the 21st century
On film: The first three books in the series have been made into films in Sweden. In the US, the first and fourth books have been made into movies.
What’s to love: The darkness of the setting (far north in Scandinavia) and content (crimes against women - from the blatant sadism to the patriarchy). I enjoyed reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, described as a psychological and criminal thriller, but it was also a very difficult book to read given the content (graphically written sadistic sexual abuse). While I own the next two books in the series, I have not yet felt ready to tackle them given the content, but I know I will eventually.
The titles of the books in the series:
Stieg Larsson had plans for a 10-book series and had written the first three novels before passing away suddenly of a heart attack in 2004 at the age of 50. His three novels were published posthumously. His publisher then enlisted David Lagercrantz to pick up where Larsson had left off, and he wrote the next three novels.
9. Anne of Green Gables Series by L. M. Montgomery
The stats: 497 pages; published 1908 to 1921
Travel inspiration: Prince Edward Island, Canada (Eastern Canada off of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) - set in the 1870s and 1880s
On film: This beloved classic has been turned into various film versions over the years, the latest of which was Anne with an E, a Netflix original show that ran over three seasons from 2017-2019.
What’s to love: A fiery red-headed orphan with a zest for life that can overcome any obstacle, who is enamored with fanciful language and has an imagination that knows no bounds. For a small island community in the late 1800s, Anne was not the proper lady that society expected her to be, a constant source of strife. This series follows Anne from her first meeting with her soon-to-be adoptive parents (siblings Matthew and Marilla) who were expecting a boy to join them to work on their farm through her school years, first crush, and early years teaching. Not to give too much of the plot away but eventually the series begins following Anne’s children on their own adventures. While this series is deemed a children’s series - supposedly aimed at 8-12 year olds - and that’s around the age when I read it, this is a series that can be enjoyed by all ages.
The titles of the books in the series:
(1) Anne of Green Gables; (2) Anne of Avonlea; (3) Anne of the Island; (4) Anne of Windy Poplars; (5) Anne's House of Dreams; (6) Anne of Ingleside; (7) Rainbow Valley; (8) Rilla of Ingleside
10. In Search of Lost Time (also translated as ‘Remembrance of Things Past’) by Marcel Proust (translated by C.K. Scott Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin)
The stats: approximately 3400 pages; published 1922
Travel inspiration: France - set in the late 19th and early 20th century
What’s to love: Beautiful, thought-provoking writing that tugs at the heart-strings of what it is to live. The tale is told over the course of 7 volumes but is really one continuous book so this might be a bit of a stretch to call it a series. At present, I am in the midst of reading volume 3. This is the type of book that is truly an undertaking but - in my view - worth it. Sentences can go on for line after line and paragraphs for multiple pages.
The tale is told from the vantage point of the main character, reflecting back over his life from childhood onward - from early forays outside to childhood crushes and dysfunctional adult relationships/obsessions. The inner world of the narrator is intense and has a hand-wringing quality that can at times be a bit intense. But at its core, it is a search for the lost time of the narrator’s youth and past - where did it go, what did it mean? - which is a truly universal question.
The volumes in the series:
(1) Swann's Way; (2) Within A Budding Grove; (3) The Guermantes Way; (4) Cities of the Plain; (5) The Captive; (6) The Sweet Cheat Gone; (7) Time Regained
Discuss: We would love to hear from you! Have you read and enjoyed any of these book series? Do you have others you’d recommend we check out?
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