“All the Books of 2017” is a December reading challenge created and hosted by Ann, from @annreads on Instagram.  I’ve almost completed the challenge on my Instagram page, posting a photo for most of the prompts, but I’m waiting until the very end of the month to post the last few prompts because I’m still reading like crazy and am not finished with this reading year of 2017!

Do you love getting caught up in a series? I do, and this was a year that I wanted to read or re-read numerous series. After the election of November 2016, I felt a tremendous need to revisit my favorite series of all time: The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien.  I love the books and have lost track of how many times I’ve reread them, but I also love the movies. I just wanted to re-immerse myself in Middle Earth, and it turned out to be a very healing place for me to spend time in 2017.  The Return of the King was definitely my choice for the prompt: “Best Conclusion to a Series.”

But I am enjoying reading a number of other series this year, as well. Some I’ve completed, and others on ongoing for however long they take.

I loved reading The Green Knowe Chronicles, by L.M. Boston, this year! They’ve been on my TBR list for many years and were a real treat when I finally got to them.

I’m almost finished with Jean Craighead George’s survival series that starts with the Newbery Award winning My Side of the Mountain. It’s been a fun series to read, and I understand better now why these books were some of the popular ones in my class library when I taught 6th grade!

Other series I’ve immersed myself in this year:

• I’m just finishing the 4th book in my rereading of the Harry Potter series. I love this series even more this time around. Does it just get better and better each time you read it?
• Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire series is fun to read. I’m somewhere in the middle of the series, with lots left to read, so I know I’ll enjoy it for a long time yet. 
• New-to-me author, Nnedi Okorafor, is writing the Binti series, a very interesting and creative science fiction series. I’ve read two of them, and look forward to the third volume which comes out mid-January.
• The most powerful series I read this year was by far the March graphic novels series, by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell. It’s an especially important subject today, and beautifully done.

I’m always looking for new (or old) series to discover, new worlds to immerse myself in. If you have some suggestions of your favorites, please let me know!