Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy discussion

When you start a new series, do you read one after another; and finish the series, or do you read other books in between?

I think I've started at least 10 different series, and now my mind is so jumbled with all the stories and characters, and plots; that I have a hard time remembering what happened in the last book.

The only reason I don't like reading an entire series back to back, is because I get so engrossed in that world, that it really sucks when the entire series is over. Or if the author keeps writing new books for that series, I'd almost rather wait till they're all out, and then start reading them.......

What do you guys do?

Read them one right after another. You have more self control than me! I have to keep reading no matter how much I want to stop.

It depends on how much of the series is available. If I can get them all then I will read them back to back, otherwise I pace myself.

I do hate waiting for new books in a series though, it makes me want to start from the beginning before I start the new book to refresh my knowledge of the characters.

It depends on the Series. If it's a series that I fall in love with I read every available book and HATE waiting.

If it's a series that I find just Ok - I will use them as a filler until something I'm waiting for is released of I find an new series to love.

It's actually really rare that I read another book in a series directly after one I've just finished. I read more than 200 books/year, so I literally have more than 30 series that are started and not finished! It does sometimes make it hard to remember which is which, but usually when I pick up another, most of it comes back to me!

i'll read up to 2 or 3 in one series before picking up another I've started. i'm great at compartmentalizing.

It depends on the series. Some of them I sit and read through from beginning to ending. Some I read as they come out. And a few authors I won't touch until the entire series is finished, since I KNOW that they have major cliffhangers (cough, cough,) Karen Marie Moning(cought, cough).

I go one after the other, until I get bored(this doesn't happen with all series). Sometimes I just need to read something else for awhile, then I'll finish the series, though I have become way more willing to totally give up a series that's gone south(Anita Blake anyone?).
I also prefer to discover/read series after they're finished, as I have ~25 authors that already watch regularly for new material.

Last year I was home sick with pneumonia. I felt pretty miserable, but not too miserable to read. I'd put off reading the Fever series, but I had the first one on my kindle. I thought I'd read that one and move on to something else.

Yeah. As if. Thank God for Amazon, because I couldn't possibly go out to the book store. By the time my fever (pun intended, ha ha) was back to almost normal I had inhaled every book in the series.

Some series are like that. If a book is available, I read them back to back. I just can't control myself.

On the other hand, there was another series I read back to back, and that was a mistake, I think. The storylines and characters were so similar that I got bored. Fun books, good light reading, but those should have been spaced out with some filler between.

Maddy, I am so jealous--I started the Fever books when only 3 were out. And can we all say ANNOYED? I hate, hate, HATE cliff-hangers. Anyway, I now refuse to buy any Moning until AFTER the entire series is finished, since she seems to be rather famous for doing that.

Usually I'll read books in between depending on how many books are in the series in the first place

Ann aka Iftcan wrote: "Maddy, I am so jealous--I started the Fever books when only 3 were out. And can we all say ANNOYED? I hate, hate, HATE cliff-hangers. Anyway, I now refuse to buy any Moning until AFTER the entire s..."

LOL. Right now I'm chewing my nails and counting down the days for Ilona Andrew's next Kate Daniels book. It's so HARD to wait!

If the series already has maybe, 4+ books published then I read it one after another. When I've finally caught up to the last book in the series and the next one would be published the next year, I usually look for new books while I wait for the other one's release.

I read one right after the other. It does suck waiting on the next book, or finishing a series, but I just pick another series and get to it! :)

I like to wait until an author is about 3 books into the series before I read the 1st one. That way, I know I can delve right into the next one.

Some I'll read back to back if I LOVE! Or if there is a cliff hanger ending! My favourite series keeps leaving me with cliff hangers and desperately waiting for Book 7 to come out now!

I think it depends on how much the books in the series lead into one another. If the series has a beginning and an end, and all the books are part of one larger plot, then I'd wait until they were all released and read them in a row. If the series is more like a soap opera and each book is a single semi-overlapping episode set in the same world, then I'd read them as they were released and would read other books in between.

I recently read an ebook that contained all 8 books of a series. Each book was about 250 pages. It started out that I really enjoyed them. However, by the time I got to the sixth book in the series, I was getting bored with the characters and the plot seemed repetitious. Maybe if I hadn't read them back to back, it might have better. Hopefully after reading other books, I will be able to go back and finish the series.

Erica wrote: "When you start a new series, do you read one after another; and finish the series, or do you read other books in between?

I think I've started at least 10 different series, and now my mind is so j..."

lol I try to finish the series but I don't always get to! :-) I'm in about 7 series right now. I make a point to get a book from one of the many series I'm reading every time I go to half-priced but they don't always have them so I definitely read other book in between.

I usually read two or three and then take a break. I find if I don't then I sort of stop appreciating the characters and the world. I like to mix it up which is why I read so many different series and genres.

I love trilogies because I can read them all in a row and am usually okay with it.

I like reading series in a row, but there are times, of course, when they're incomplete (Grrr) and I have to wait for the next to release. I don't usually go back and reread them to catch up. I'm pretty good at picking up where I left off. But I have reread series just because I liked them so much. Outlander for one, Game of Thrones, Immortal Instruments, the Iron Druid series are a few.

In general, I don't like to read series back to back and in fact, I used to preferred to give it some time in between. But I learned that sometimes I waited too long and then I forgot what happened in previous books.

That's why now I'm making an effort to read series closer together and if I feel like reading a series back to back, I do it. This past month I read the first 3 books in the Seven Realms series - the first book was on my TBR for a gazillion years but once I started, I couldn't seem to stop! I just finished book #3 yesterday but I'm stopping myself from buying the last one because I want to wait a bit. Let's see how long I last. :)

I usually read the series back to back. I like that you are able to get to know the characters so much more. If I wait to long then I forget who some of the key characters are and their stories. When a new book is released in the series sometimes I will go back and reread the series, depending on how many books are in that series. If there are too many I usually will read the descriptions of the books so I can familiarize myself with them again. I read so many books it can be hard to remember all the specifics in that series.

I read back to back until I'm update to date with the current book then move on to another series but I still keep and eye out for the next book in the series.

Depends on how much I love it. If it is okay I switch. If it is AWESOME, I will read right through until I have them all done!

I've done both ways--gobbling all at once, and sometimes reading some, then stopping. But some series have so many books that if you read them in order, back-to-back they can get exhausting and you get to the point where you don't want to ever touch another one. So I limit myself now--no more than 3 or 4 books in any series before I take a break. That way, I can stay enthused about the series.