The Sword and Laser discussion

There's been talk of a second book each month or a renegade pick but something that annoys me about this and the other Goodreads fantasy club I'm in, is that we rarely read sequels. I understand people want to mix it up but there's something to be said for the familiar as well.

So why not make the second book a sequel to something we've already read. Then its not an required read but something extra that we probably would never have gotten to as a main pick.

-Well of Ascension / Hero of Ages

-Red Seas under Red Skies

- Royal Assassin / Assassin's Quest

- Catching Fire / Mockingjay

- The many Wheel of Times and Dunes

Isn't their just as much to discuss in a developing story as a completely new one.

Part of the problem with this is that if someone has not read the first book (either they were in S&L and it didnt appeal to them or they are new to the group and have not read them) they are either excluded from the discussion or have to do a lot of catch up.

There are so many great authors out there that it is rare if ever to do the same author twice. When Pern was picked there was some discussion of the first book(s) and also some of the later books are discussed- why not go back to the discussions for the first books and just add a thread to discuss the sequels, that way everyone who wants to can participate in the discussion but the official picks can remain more varied and inclusive?

I love the idea. Especially if it's an alternate pick. I don't think it'd be as big of a deal to skip that way also. This year I made it a goal of mine to read some of the sequels of things I started last year and it's been really fun to revisit things and see where the stories go.

Yeah, I also like that idea.

Ben wrote: "Part of the problem with this is that if someone has not read the first book (either they were in S&L and it didnt appeal to them or they are new to the group and have not read them) they are eithe..."

There are two kinds of readers...well there are many kinds of readers but two for this argument. Those that jump for book to book, author to author, reading mostly stand alones. Those who would order a book sampler....if books were edible...no that doesn't...you get what I mean.

Others want to sink into a world and its characters for months. Who find the idea of only getting their feet wet in a series as a waste of time.

Yes they can read the rest on their own time, but some only read a book or two a month and if comes down to being included and reading the random book of the moment or continuing a series alone, which will they pick?

They didn't read book one of the series. Well that is a possibility. However ignoring the series doesn't resolve the problem. They still haven't read it. However if we did a sequel-series pick what we read wouldn't be a surprise. All we'd have to do is list the upcoming books and then they'd know what they'd have to catch up on if they want to participate. We could even do book 1 and book 2 together.

I would just start threads in the original book thread. A lot of people did that for Fall of Hyperion

i really like the idea of doing this as the alt book. but I think alot of people may have already gone and read the sequel and discussed them in the original book threads.

I very much like this idea. There's a lot of sequels I want to read but still want to read along with the group.

Lately, I've been skipping more of the sci-fi pics just to give me time to breathe and catch up on my own reading. However, I enjoy the experience of hearing other peoples' thoughts about a book so I try and keep up as much as I can. Book lover's plight when having limited time to read!