A Perfect Ten with Heather from Based On A True Story...

It's time for my new feature A Perfect Ten, where bloggers talk about their top ten favourite series of all time! Today I am being joined by Heather from Based On A True Story who has picked some great series for you all to salivate over. So without further ado I will hand you over to Heather.

I'd like to thank Chrissie for having me as a guest blogger. When I first started thinking about my favorite series I thought it would be hard to find ten but it wasn't. In no particular order:

1. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Of course. What else is there to say that hasn't been said a million times? I go back and reread these over and over.

2. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
These are dystopia with a strong female lead. It is The Running Man meets American Idol.

3. Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong
This starts with Bitten and there are 12 books so far. Each features a woman of one of the supernatural races - werewolf, witch, necromancer, or demon. This series progresses by introducing secondary characters in one book who will be the protagonists in the next book. By book 12 there is a complex universe that is a delight to explore.

4. The Rachel Morgan series by Kim Harrison
In an alternate history, the humans on Earth were almost killed off by a virus in genetically modified tomatoes in the 1960s. Since then vampires, werewolves, witches, and all manner of magical creatures have started to live openly since they are no longer outnumbered. Rachel Morgan is a private investigator working with supernaturals. These books are more about her life than just about the cases that she is working on.

5. Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan
I'm counting these as one since Heroes of Olympus builds on Percy's story. I heard about these first after the movie version came out. The books are so much better! Percy is a teenager who finds out that his father is a Greek god. He goes to Camp Half-Blood to learn how to deal with his powers.

6. Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva
Gabriel Allon is an Israeli spy and assassin. He was trained to be part of the team that killed the people responsible for murdering Israeli athletes at the Olympics in 1972. Since then he has lived undercover as an art restorer which lets him travel around Europe as needed. This series is similar to Robert Ludlum-type thrillers with the twist that time is passing in the books. By the later books Allon is at retirement age and trying to get out. His exploits necessarily become more cerebral than brawny.

7. The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
If I was forced to pick, I'd have to say this is my favorite series ever. The Discworld is an alternate universe where anything can and will happen. There are several subseries in this series - stories following the police, the witches, the wizard professors of Unseen University - as well as stand alone stories. On the surface these seem like silly fantasy stories and then there will be a great satirical insight. I read them over and over but I particularly love the witches. I want to be Granny Weatherwax when I grow up.

8. Marcus Didius Falco series by Lindsey Davis
Marcus Didius Falco is a down on his luck investigator in ancient Rome. This series makes Rome come alive like nothing else I've ever read. It is funny too.

9. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Harry Dresden is the only wizard in the Chicago phone book. Most people thing he is a fake but when the Chicago PD have a case that might have a supernatural element they call him in even if they don't totally believe. I've read all of these in the past year and I've totally fallen in love with Harry. The world is wonderfully detailed and complicated. You have to read these in order or you will be totally lost. Even better, listen to the incredible audio books read by James Marsters who played Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

10. Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
This is cheating because this isn't a series yet. It is the first book in a series and the series I can't wait for the author to finish writing. This is my favorite book of his because it is a completely original premise. In the distant future humans have lost the ability to see more than one color. Everything about their society from social status to careers to medicine is dictated by what color you are able to see. Kids are tested one time only for their color ability. This is the story of a group of kids in an outlying province who start to discover some disturbing things about their society on the eve of their color test.

Thanks Heather for taking the time to put together such a great list for us! I loved The Hunger Games and Women of the Otherworld, but I still haven't read the others yet! But a lot of them are already on my TBR list.

How about you guys? Anything here you've read and loved? Anything that you'll be adding to your TBR list? Let Heather and I know what you think!