The longest book series, ranked by reading time

Reading a whole series is a commitment — but how big, exactly? We ranked the 100 longest series on the site by total reading time, measured from the recorded page counts of each book's editions. At a typical adult pace, the #1 spot is roughly 573 hours of reading — about 23.9 days without sleep.

#SeriesBooks measured PagesEst. hours
1 The Hardy Boys Franklin W. Dixon · 1936–2025 186 of 197 31,248 573
2 Sweet Valley High Kate William · 1984–2015 156 28,801 528
3 Fear Street Various authors · 1990–2022 154 of 158 27,295 500
4 Star Trek (Pocket Books) Various authors · 1981–2020 93 of 99 27,034 496
5 Longarm Tabor Evans · 1979–2015 138 of 152 26,562 487
6 One Piece Eiichiro Oda · 1997–2026 114 24,155 443
7 In Death J. D. Robb · 1995–2025 60 of 75 23,109 424
8 The Baby-Sitters Club Ann M. Martin · 1987–2020 151 of 159 22,973 421
9 Star Trek: The Next Generation Various authors · 1988–2024 81 of 106 22,961 421
10 The Gunsmith J. R. Roberts · 1982–2015 107 of 135 21,413 393
11 The Nancy Drew Files Carolyn Keene · 1989–2015 127 of 132 20,329 373
12 The Hardy Boys Casefiles Franklin W. Dixon · 1987–2019 126 of 129 19,739 362
13 The Boxcar Children Various authors · 1992–2025 155 of 166 19,101 350
14 Sweet Valley Twins Various authors · 1986–2022 140 of 141 18,828 345
15 Warriors Erin Hunter · 2003–2024 61 of 64 18,192 334
16 Discworld Terry Pratchett · 1990–2025 49 of 59 17,155 315
17 Ryanverse Various authors · 1984–2018 22 of 28 16,614 305
18 Alex Delaware Jonathan Kellerman · 1986–2024 37 of 42 15,789 289
19 Stone Barrington Stuart Woods · 1991–2025 46 15,391 282
20 Main line mysteries Various authors · 1940–1993 67 14,903 273
21 James Bond Various authors · 1953–2025 45 of 53 14,296 262
22 Xanth Piers Anthony · 1987–2023 43 of 47 13,724 252
23 Alex Cross James Patterson · 2007–2025 33 of 36 13,367 245
24 Honor Harrington David Weber · 1997–2025 24 of 26 13,366 245
25 The Morland Dynasty Cynthia Harrod-Eagles · 1980–2024 29 of 31 13,316 244
26 The Legend of Drizzt R. A. Salvatore · 1988–2025 35 of 39 13,168 241
27 Jack Reacher Lee Child · 2000–2026 31 of 33 13,069 240
28 Sweet Valley University Laurie John · 1993–2000 55 of 56 12,996 238
29 Dirk Pitt Clive Cussler · 2004–2024 25 12,880 236
30 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Various authors · 1997–2018 47 of 48 12,793 235
31 Argeneau Lynsay Sands · 2003–2025 34 of 37 12,760 234
32 Makers of History Jacob Abbott · 1848–1904 42 12,581 231
33 Waverley Novels Sir Walter Scott · 1800–2022 29 of 31 12,575 231
34 The Wheel of Time Robert Jordan · 1990–2023 16 12,536 230
35 Kay Scarpetta Patricia Cornwell · 2008–2025 27 of 30 12,460 228
36 House of Winslow Gilbert Morris · 1986–2007 40 12,346 226
37 Voyages Extraordinaires Jules Verne · 1873–2024 46 of 61 12,248 225
38 Prey John Sandford · 1989–2025 30 of 32 11,968 219
39 Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Faye Kellerman · 1986–2022 28 11,915 218
40 Krewe of hunters Heather Graham · 2011–2022 32 of 33 11,807 216
41 Left Behind Jerry B. Jenkins · 1997–2011 47 of 49 11,684 214
42 The Executioner Don Pendleton · 1976–2003 54 of 62 11,491 211
43 Saga of Recluce L. E. Modesitt, Jr. · 1991–2025 21 11,491 211
44 Dark Carpathians Christine Feehan · 1999–2018 27 of 31 11,244 206
45 Tor Conan Series Various authors · 1986–2011 43 of 44 11,238 206
46 Darkover series Marion Zimmer Bradley · 1961–2016 35 of 43 11,144 204
47 Stephanie Plum Janet Evanovich · 1999–2025 33 of 34 11,103 204
48 Perry Mason Erle Stanley Gardner · 1933–2015 46 11,063 203
49 Cynster Stephanie Laurens · 1998–2020 26 of 30 11,043 202
50 Camfield Barbara Cartland · 1984–2021 64 of 68 10,997 202
51 Dragonriders of Pern Various authors · 1985–2025 28 10,997 202
52 Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter Laurell K. Hamilton · 1998–2023 25 of 31 10,802 198
53 Shannara Terry Brooks · 1982–2015 22 of 29 10,802 198
54 Gor John Norman · 1966–2002 25 10,779 198
55 Oxford handbooks Timothy Insoll · 2009–2021 12 of 16 10,695 196
56 Inspector Lynley Elizabeth George · 1988–2025 19 of 21 10,655 195
57 Outlander series Diana Gabaldon · 1993–2022 10 10,607 194
58 Hercule Poirot Agatha Christie · 1938–2025 42 10,579 194
59 Harry Bosch Michael Connelly · 2001–2024 26 of 29 10,562 194
60 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Various authors · 1993–2014 36 of 47 10,554 193
61 87th Precinct Ed McBain · 1956–2016 42 of 54 10,397 191
62 Gabriel Allon Daniel Silva · 2000–2025 25 10,353 190
63 Oz Various authors · 1904–2024 45 of 53 10,160 186
64 Maigret Georges Simenon · 1931–2025 59 of 66 10,153 186
65 The Saint Various authors · 1928–2021 41 of 54 10,071 185
66 Dark-Hunter Sherrilyn Kenyon · 2002–2018 26 9,898 181
67 Sisterhood series Fern Michaels · 2004–2024 31 of 32 9,816 180
68 Animorphs K. A. Applegate · 1997–2017 58 of 61 9,729 178
69 Hannah Swensen Mysteries Joanne Fluke · 2001–2025 28 of 30 9,704 178
70 Women of the Otherworld Kelley Armstrong · 2001–2016 25 of 29 9,675 177
71 Richard Bolitho Alexander Kent · 1968–2011 29 9,665 177
72 History of Cartography Various · 1987–2019 8 9,654 177
73 Inspector Rebus Ian Rankin · 1992–2023 25 of 30 9,616 176
74 Andy Carpenter David Rosenfelt · 2002–2026 28 of 33 9,610 176
75 The NUMA Files Clive Cussler · 2012–2025 20 of 21 9,559 175
76 Scot Harvath Brad Thor · 2002–2026 24 of 25 9,494 174
77 Big Nate Lincoln Peirce · 1992–2024 44 of 53 9,416 173
78 Animal Ark Ben M. Baglio · 1994–2008 62 of 64 9,245 169
79 China Bayles Susan Wittig Albert · 1992–2024 28 of 29 9,242 169
80 Berserk Kentaro Miura · 1990–2026 41 of 43 9,235 169
81 The Vorkosigan Saga Lois McMaster Bujold · 1986–2018 25 of 28 9,197 169
82 Women's Murder Club James Patterson · 2002–2026 24 of 29 9,052 166
83 Commissario Guido Brunetti Donna Leon · 1992–2024 29 of 31 8,912 163
84 Destroyer Various authors · 1972–2004 40 of 42 8,831 162
85 Yona of the Dawn Mizuho Kusanagi · 2016–2026 47 8,823 162
86 The Sword of Truth Terry Goodkind · 1994–2023 15 of 17 8,757 161
87 Les Rougon-Macquart Émile Zola · 1874–2011 23 of 27 8,737 160
88 Roderick Alleyn Ngaio Marsh · 1936–2021 33 8,681 159
89 The Last Mountain Man (Smoke Jensen) William W. Johnstone · 1984–2003 30 8,568 157
90 Gaslight Mysteries Victoria Thompson · 1999–2024 26 of 27 8,506 156
91 Myron Bolitar Harlan Coben · 1997–2024 14 of 18 8,506 156
92 Hamish Macbeth M. C. Beaton · 1989–2025 34 of 35 8,353 153
93 Tea Shop Mysteries Laura Childs · 2001–2025 25 of 27 8,257 151
94 Geronimo Stilton Geronimo Stilton · 2000–2026 73 of 85 8,210 151
95 Jack Ryan Tom Clancy · 1984–2015 11 of 12 8,185 150
96 Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Rifujin na Magonote · 2016–2025 29 8,151 149
97 Coffeehouse Mysteries Cleo Coyle · 2003–2023 20 8,146 149
98 Zodiac Academy Caroline Peckham · 2020–2025 15 8,143 149
99 Oxford Companions Various authors · 1965–2012 10 of 14 8,073 148
100 Aubrey-Maturin series Patrick O'Brian · 1969–2011 22 8,050 148

How we measured

Page counts come from Open Library's edition records: for every book we take the median count across its editions (English editions preferred, implausible values discarded). Hours assume an average 275 words per page read at 250 words per minute. Where a few books in a series have no recorded page count, the total covers only the measured books — the "books measured" column always says how many — and series with fewer than three-quarters of their books measured aren't ranked at all. Follow a series link for its full reading order.