Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion

So, I'm reading the second All Souls novel without reading the first (insert appropriate gasp here). Anyone else baffled by the OCD habit to read books in order? Or, are you completely drawn out of a novel if you haven't read the book before it?

I tend to read my books in order. If I don't it feels like I'm cheating and I hate that skipping feeling. Most of the books I read are not stand-alones and I would get confused. If I can't get my hands on the first novel but happen to have the second or third book, I would completely ignore it.

For me, it depends on the series. If the books are almost stand-alone within the series (for instance Clive Cussler's books or the Steven Dunbar series) and the order makes no difference to understanding the story then I'll read it in what ever order I can. Things where the story follows through, I'll read in order.

::inserts the appropriate gasp::

Oh no, I have to read them in order ..... it's just wrong to do it any other way.

I agree with Claire - it depends on the series. I will read them in order 9/10 except for the occasional series, like Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, that are really more of a stand-alone with a recurring character. I'm typically too OCD, though, to do it. lol

When there are 30+ books in the series, I wasn't waiting to find it before reading one of the ones my Dad owned! :)

Normally though, I'll read them in series order, I'm picky about TV programs too, especially when watching them for the first time.

I suppose, even if they're chronological, I read them out of order without fear. If they're really good and I feel like, "Oh, I really wish I knew what that was referring to," then I go back and read the prior novel. It's the same with people spoiling books. I feel like there's so much more in 300 (average) page book than the (at most) 10 page summary that people ramble to you or another book reveals. So, there's still 290 pages of plot that I can explore.

HOWEVER, and this is strange, if I ever discover a series follows a chronological timeline outside of the book number (like,Redwall, per example, and I've decided to read the series, then I must admittedly order all the books in chronological timeline order and read them as such.

Which, in the case of Redwall, means book 13, 6, 2, 12, 8, etc.

Speaking of which, I highly recommend the series to anyone, but especially to young boys (middle grades or HS) that love reading and/or pirate themes.

Wow I can't read a series if I don't start by the first book. ::obsessively organized:: However, I did read some Agatha Christie's books randomly but I wasn't aware there was some kind of order at that point...

I accidentally read a few of the Stephanie Plum/Janet Evanovich novels out of order as I managed to pick up a few in a sale once years ago and didn't realise they were a series (you'd think it would be obvious wouldn't you?) and I was mortified when I realised I hadn't started from the beginning.
There are some series that I know it's not imperative to start from the beginning but I have a bit of an OCD obsession too that I must start a series from the start or I won't read it.

I agree with the thought that it depends which series your reading. If they are stand alone books within a series with the same characters then its ok to read which ones you want out of order, The discworld series or Dan Browns Robert Langdon books for example.

But the majority I've read, I think it would be difficult to follow the plot by reading out of order. Certain books, like A Song of Fire and Ice, would be baffling start half way through and you'd want to give up!

I read all series in order unless it is a by accident where I didn't know the book was part of a series but I check for that now. There are a few series like Virgin River where all the books are stand alones but I still must read them in order LOL. My mother on the other hand, she will find a trilogy and only read the last one LOL because she says she gets enough of a re-cap so that's all she needs...it's not enough for me LOL

Most times I try to read them in order. I have stared a few out of order because I either didn't realize it was a series or I couldn't find the next book in the series when I was ready for it. As others have said, many series are merely a group of stand alone books with the same characters.

I'm not OCD about anything, EXCEPT the order in which I read series books, whether they are stand alone or not. I get really irritated when I've read a book and then the author decides to write another book that takes place BEFORE the one I read. For example, I read Stephen King's The Talisman and then (many years later) he writes Black House. UGHHH!

I'm one of those people where I have to read a series of books in order. There are some series where it doesn't really matter, but I just have to do it. I mean when it's a detective story the case changes with every book so it's no big deal. Personal stuff is only a little bit and you can easily catch on. Still, if I miss a book I kind of freak out.