What comes after Harry Potter?

Published on by theorangutanlibrarian

Well, a horrible book slump, that’s what.

slumps suck

In case you didn’t know, I was doing a series of Harry Potter rereads that came to an end yesterday. Now obviously, I read the books last month, so I can tell you that I had to employ some *serious* strategies to get over the worst slump I’ve had in a while (topped only by the one I’m in now, but we’ll get to that later). I gave it some thought and came up with some recommendations of what you can read after you’ve finished reading/re-reading Harry Potter:

orangutan list

gulag archipelagoThat absolutely grim non fic book– you know, the one that you know that will depress the hell out of you- but hey, at least you know it’ll kill your HP buzz and you won’t be thinking about *those traumatic deaths* anymore.

 

 

war and peaceA very sophisticated classic– you’ll be thinking too hard to give a moment’s pause on the problem of WHY AM I NOT A WIZARD GAH!?!

 

 

 

percy jackson lightning thiefMore Middle Grade– sure it won’t compare, but it’ll give your frazzled *I’m just not over Dumbledore’s past* brain a chance to chill out.

 

 

 

the fill in bfLots and lots of contemporary filler– especially since this isn’t my favourite of the HP universe (someone once described it as a weird sexless world, and while I wouldn’t go that far, I do think that romance is the one thing HP is lacking a little, so you stock up on that romance!)

 

 

strange the dreamerThat AMAZING book you know you’ll love– preferable the one you have been saving for a special occasion- guess what? The special occasion has arrived!

 

 

Okay, that’s all I could come up with! It’s certainly not an easy question, even this long since the last book was published. So I want to ask you- what do you think comes after Harry Potter?

80 thoughts on “What comes after Harry Potter?”

  4. Snark, snark, snark.

    Oh my goodness, I wrote so much. But when you’re in a book slump, you don’t really need a smart ass answer.

    Robert, at ReadingOverTheShoulder, has been doing a re-read of Percy and I’m almost tempted to put them into my long tbr. Its been 7 years since I read them and since it’ll probably be close to another 2 before I get to them again, even if I added them right this minute, that seems like a good time between. Middlegrade really does have its place 🙂

    Whatever you choose, I hope you get out of the slump soon. They’re just not fun 😦

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      1. Me too – and I love how The Mists of Avalon tells the story from the point of view of the oft-maligned female characters in Arthurian legends and deals heavily with pagan vs. Christian ideology in those myths. Still, it’s no Harry Potter – I feel your pain!

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  9. I hope you find your reading passion soon. I usually change genres (so get why contemporary filler could work).
    I was going to suggest Hobbit but that has been suggested as well.
    I love Percy Jackson and would probably try that out as well. 🤞🍀

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  14. This applies for anything that I’ve fallen in love with reading, not just HP. Usually when I read something great I’m inclined to look for “read a-likes” after. 90% of the time they’re not as good as whatever read inspired me to seek them out and 50% of the time they’re cheap imitations, but occasionally you find a hidden gem or two.

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  15. I love your suggestions! I’d actually recommend anything by Rick Riordan whether it’s Percy, Magnus Chase, or The Kane Chronicles. I’d also go with The Oracles of Delphi Keep, by Victoria Laurie, The Great Library series, by Rachel Caine, and The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer (which the first book The Wishing Spell is being turned into a movie).😊

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      1. Colfers’s series is really sweet. I forgot to also mention the Artemis Fowl 8 Book series by Eoin Colfer. Disney is releasing the first movie from that in August 2019. So far the cast includes Ferdia Shaw as Artemis, Judi Dench, Josh Gad, Lara McDonnell, and Nonso Anozie. And it’s being directed by Kenneth Brannaugh. Can you tell I’m a little excited about this?

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  16. Oh my god the HP slumps are the worst! (But also the best, somehow?)
    I sooo need to reread them soon! And then I’ll make sure to get my hands on a contemporary! (Ahaha, I do agree that that’s the one thing the otherwise-perfect series is lacking a bit.)

    Also, I can’t wait to read Strange the Dreamer! It’s been on my shelves for too long! What am I waiting for, ahhh!

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  20. I agree a lot of contemporaries sounds like a good idea to me! I’m so excited to start my reread this year. I think I might do it during the end of the year!

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  24. Well usually after very good books (and when I am hungover) I either read some “filler” book (light, easy but quite on the bland side) either try to find my next amazing one (always difficult as everything will feel bland for some days/weeks). If you want another amazing series in Fantasy I’ll go with The Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare 😉

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  26. What a great idea to follow up your Harry Potter posts! I’m sure there’s many people who are in the same boat after deep diving into the Wizarding World.

    Personally, I found myself reaching for more of the books that I loved around the time I was reading Harry Potter (as a middle schooler). It was kind of unconscious, looking back, but I think pretty cool the way that worked out!

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  27. Ohh the dreaded after-Harry-Potter, what-comes-now reading slump. I guess this is something I should be prepared for given I want to re-read the series myself at some point this year. 🙂
    This is a great list, and for me I’d go with something like lots and lots of contemporary filler. I feel like anything middle grade (even if it’s as amazing as Percy Jackson) or fantasy (like Strange the Dreamer) would just be compared to Harry Potter so I’d need to go in a completely different direction, and that direction would be YA contemporary! 😀
    Great post. 🙂 ❤

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  28. Oh no! I always find that reading something short gets me out of a slump – you’re less likely to think “I can’t be bothered” if there’s only 20 pages left. The Yellow Wallpaper got me out of my last slump (that was your recommendation! Thanks!) so I’d say something totally different like The Stepford Wives, All My Friends Are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman, A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood, The Great Gatsby…or maybe some kind of comic/graphic novel?

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  31. More Middle Grade, but why not go for older Middle Grade? That is, ease out of the slump with some works that preceded and could have influenced Rowling. Enid Blyton, Andrew Lang’s Fairy books, the Brothers Grimm all seem like a way out of the slump.

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    1. hehe well, I actually did read that after reading HP (it’s a bit confusing cos all my reviews are a month behind lol 😉 )- but I did love it. Fair enough- I am on tenterhooks for the sequel- I have no idea where it’s going!!

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  34. Pingback: This or That Book Tag – Books of Magic

  35. I admit I’m apparently the one person who doesn’t like The Lightning Thief. But I think Nevemoor by Jessica Townsend is a great MG read for fans of HP. The main character believes she’s cursed until she’s taken away to the magical land of Nevermoor, where she must face three challenges to join the exclusive Wundrous Society. There are races with ostriches and other funny scenes.

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  36. I don’t find it hard to read other stuff after Potter. I’m not sure why, but finishing the Potter books never put me into a reading slump. However, I do get into reading slumps at other times, and one of the things that gets me out of them is reading short stories. It doesn’t matter if they’re on their own or in an anthology, but because they’re short I can feel like I’ve accomplished a lot when I reach the end of a story. My biggest issue with reading slumps seems to be related to feeling like “I can’t finish anything” so the length of the shorts helps with that.

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      1. That’s a good point. Even when I do re-read an entire series all at once, I’m almost always also reading something else. (99% of the time I have both an audio and a paper book on the go at the same time, for example.)

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  38. Haha I haven’t read most of these, but I love your justifications for them. Like a book to “out-depress” the HP deaths, and I absolutely agree we need to look elsewhere for good romances. 😉 Great post! This was really fun to read!

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  40. I am going to be starting an HP re-read via listening to the audiobooks and following along in the illustrated editions. I am going to start Sorcerer’s Stone on Harry’s birthday. 🎂 I have War and Peace as an audio, so I am well prepared for a slump. Ha ha. Great post. ☺

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  41. I actually got a book about Rape as a war tactic and the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits just to help me get over my slumps. Couldn’t think of anything more depressing.

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