Also do Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy count? I think Arthur Dent is the central character.
I was so sad she passed away before writing the Z book. Interestingly, years ago I bought a bookend that was the letter Z carved out of a book (an old Reader’s Digest Condensed Book – no great loss), so I’ve used it as a bookend for my Kinsey books. I especially liked this series for its local color. I can picture the scenes in and around Santa Barbara so clearly while I’m reading the books.
Along those same lines, I enjoy Elly Griffiths’ Ruth Gillespie series. The series is set in Norfolk, which is an area I’m not familiar with, so I like learning something about it. Gillespie is an archaeologist at a local university who has been involved in murder because of her specialist knowledge. It can get a bit soapy at times, but I don’t mind that too much.
Ooooo, this sounds right up my alley!
That is indeed the first part of Post Captain. But later in the novel, they travel to France because there’s a warrant out for Jack’s arrest due to him taking improper prizes. War breaks out again, and they have to escape to Spain, with Jack dressed as a bear. They attempt to return to England from Gibraltar on the Bellone, but are captured by a privateer. They do eventually make it back, where Jack is given command of the horribly designed sloop Polychrest. After that sinks (but they capture several ships in the battle), Jack is made Post and assigned as acting Captain of the Lively. At a minimum the final half of the book takes place at sea.
Season 2 of Reacher debuts on the 15th and is based on novel #11 Bad Luck and Trouble.
I’m re-reading them now (age 71) while pedaling a stationary bike at the gym and as light entertainment they still do pretty well.
For unmentioned series I would include the Honor Harrington SF series by David Weber, the Nero Wolfe mysteries by Rex Stout (dated but still intriguing), and the Hospital Station SF series by James White, also a bit dated but with a marvelous premise well-developed,
1632 is also on my bookshelves, I’m sad theat I’ll never know how the invasion of Lebanon, the English rebellion, and the Caribbean Conflict turned out…
Carl Hiaasen - not really a series but some characters appear in multiple books. Easy reading. They are a tough critique of Florida politics, ecological destruction and humor rolled into one.
Pillars of the Earth is one of my all time favs and I recently read The Evening and the Morning. I’ll have to look into the others.
I have only read three of John Sandford’s “Prey” series with Lucas Davenport, but they were very good.
I thought of another author who has two different series that I really liked.
Charlie Huston Henry Thompson 3 book series from 2004-2006. Henry is a down on his luck bartender, and former college baseball player. Add a curmudgeon cat, the mafia and a whole lot of cash, and Henry trying to figure out what to do.
Charlie Huston Joe Pitt Casebooks, 5 novels from 2005 - 2009. Joe is an unaffiliated vampyre living in modern day New York doing small jobs for the various vampyre clans in exchange for blood and his freedom.
Do tell!
I’m not sure if Heinlein’s Lazarus Long counts, but there are multiple books with him as the main protagonist. Some are good, some not so much.
Methuselah’s Children
Time Enough For Love
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
To Sail Beyond the Sunset
I like the first two books, am ‘meh’ on the last two. He’s also in maybe half of “The Number of the Beast”.
But I wouldn’t call them a ‘series’, as the plots and styles of the books are quite different…
That book is one of the best of the series, IMO, so I hope they don’t deviate too much/fuck it up.
Dresden Files
Sime~Gen series by Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah
Mine! (But I’m biased :D)
Well, the classics you know
These are probably not exact, being back translations from books I read in spanish decades ago but for example:
“Suppose you are an idiot an also a member of congress, but I repeat myself”
“First God created idiots, that was for practice, then He created boards of education” (I adapt that one, because there are no boards of education here, things are far more top down. Sadly the first one still applies)
I’ve also called dumbass persons “Culoaznos” that being the translation of Joe Miller saying “Dumbazz”
It’s not been that long since I read most of the Culture novels and strangely enough I had much the same feelings towards those two! Some research suggests that most fans’ experience - not all! - is that “Consider Phlebas” is not the best starting point but rather the “The Player of Games” instead.
The one bit about CP is it’s one of the few stories that tells of the Culture almost entirely from an outside perspective rather than from from the inside.
That being said, they can be challenging reads, and of my personal preference I would suggest either “The Hydrogen Sonata” (what happens when a civilization ascends to another plane of existence? no-one knows but this novel is concerned with how other civilizations react to the prospect. The Ship Minds have some entertaining interactions in this one) or “Surface Detail” (some civilizations prefer a virtual afterlife for their deceased, but is it moral to condemn individuals to a digital Hell? conflict both real, virtual, and personal revenge is on full display).
“Use of Weapons” was a somewhat difficult read overall and “Matter” … had its interesting points, but more the worldbuilding and the ending than the journey for me.
I have no opinion on “Excession” or “Inversions” as it’s not currently available on Kindle as of yet…
Cheers! I’ve been repurchasing in digital as well since they became available. It feels like every year or two I end up rereading the entire series and to think I grew up with these novels and now the end is in sight, I think we have only Lyorn, Chreotha, and The Final Contract left to go. Not that I’ll object to any additional “historical romances” of Paarfi’s, should the gods look upon us favorably in that respect. 
I’ve also been reacquiring these in digital, and you might be interested to learn that some of the earlier novels have had a handful of stories added to them in the meantime … usually centering around the “Fort Freak” cops of Jokertown. I kind of suspect that has something to do with the various television adaptations they have been promising for a few years now. I wouldn’t say they’re worth repurchasing for the additions alone but were a nice little surprise to discover amongst the old favorites.
We can only wait and hope, and the above to avoid the jinx of other series upthread, where the author passes before we readers are done with the characters!
“Player of Games”, “Use of Weapons” (my favorite) or “Look To WIndward” are the best at exposition about the Culture. The biggest problem with UoW as a first book is it has a weird structure involving jumping around of time - so dealing with that plus all the new data about the Culture is difficult. But it does include Zakalwe, the best character Banks has written.
“Excessions” is excellent, but not a great starting point because there’s a ton of dialog/communication between Minds, so you need to be familiar with them to understand it.
“Inversions” is barely a Culture book - it’s about two Culture members (likely SC but never confirmed) working in 2 different countries on a pre-industrial planet. There are a few references to their life in the Culture, but 90% of it takes place on that planet.
I wouldn’t suggest “Hydrogen Sonata” as a starting point at all, for the simple reason that the ending really feels like an ending to the series. Maybe Banks knew he wasn’t long for this world when he wrote it (or Contact had already recalled him, as I prefer to think).
All IMHO of course.
I’m 75% of the way though. Love them all, and they don’t seem to have a predictable formula.
State of the Art (the novella in the eponymous collection) might be the best place to start, as it deals with the Culture in relation to modern (well, 70s) Earth. And is a sorta prequel to Use of Weapons.
The Reality Dysfunction series by Peter F. Hamilton. (really, anything by Hamilton)
The Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly. (same with Connelly)
The Jack Daniels series by J.A. Konrath.
The Lucas Davenport series by John Sandford. (also, anything by Sandford)
The Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey.
The Perilous Order of Camelot series by A.A. Attanasio.
The Firestar series by Michael Flynn.