5 Books to Read on Harry Potter's Birthday

Every year, Harry Potter fans around the world mark their calendar for July 31 so they can celebrate Harry Potter’s Birthday. For some that means binge-watching the movies and for others they’ll be revisiting the books. Many readers were introduced to a love of reading because of J.K. Rowlings’ series. If the Harry Potter series is the last set of books you read and loved, or you’re simply looking for a little bit of magic to be introduced to your bookshelf, check out the series on this list!

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

If you’d like to see what Ocean’s Eleven would be like if it were set in a magical world and taken on by a bunch of teenagers? Leigh Bardugo captured many young adult fantasy readers with her Grisha Series (another one I’d highly recommend reading), but Six of Crows takes us to a new part of this universe and introduces us to Kaz and his crew of misfits as they’re hired to take on an impossible task.

A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy) by Deborah Harkness

While the All Souls Trilogy doesn’t take place in a school for witches and wizards, it does start with Diana, an American professor visiting Oxford for research. Diana is also a witch and soon she finds herself unwilling pulling into the world of magic she has rejected--all while being led by an enigmatic vampire. 

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

This series (which has found a home onscreen)has often been called “Harry Potter but for adults.” Quentin is a depressed young genius who is obsessed with a book series called Fillory. Soon Quentin is brought into a world where magic is real—and more importantly, so is his beloved Fillory. However, with great power comes great responsibility, and even greater enemies and Quentin may be wishing magic wasn’t real, after all. 

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson series) by Rick Riordan

For many young Harry Potter readers, Rick Riordan’s reimagination of Greek Mythology was the next series they devoured. Riordan’s unique take sees children of Olympians—Poseidon, Zeus, and more—gathering together to go to camp (Okay, it’s an elite training camp but still camp). Camp is kind of like school, right? So you can see why those yearning for their letters from Hogwarts would love Rick Riordan’s Camp Half-Blood. 

Storm Front (Dresden Files series) by Jim Butcher 

Imagine if Harry Potter grew up and became a private detective and you have Harry Dresden. Dresden investigates many cases, but somehow they always tend to have a bizarre connection to the occult--which makes having a wizard detective not only advantageous, but completely necessary. This series is perfect for the person who has ever wondered “What would Harry Potter be like if he was a hard-boiled detective.”