SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

I decided to sit down tonight and actually figure out how many series I'm currently in the middle of that I actually plan on finishing (there are some I have finally abandoned for good and will not go back to, like Anita Blake). Currently I'm at 10, but I have 9 first-in-series books on my to-read list for 2016. I feel ridiculous. Some of them aren't my fault...I can't make GRRM or Rothfuss publish any faster, but I do jump around an awful lot with series. This is something I never used to do. I used to almost exclusively only read completed series, and I would read them back to back from beginning to end. Now I get way too excited about new ones to wait, and I wonder if I'm missing out on smaller details by doing this.

How many series are you in the middle of? Do you prefer to read series straight through or jump around to different ones?

15 and counting. Same as you, I also have several first-in-series books to read. I don't mind actually since sometimes I got bored easily. Nonetheless, reading a complete series has its advantage when the series is just so darn good you want to bingeread them at once since you don't want to leave that world.

Shamefully, 80 and counting. I jump around but a few times I just sit and read through the entire series. My goal this year is to get some of those series and trilogies out of the way. I've been plugging away at them but other good jump out and beg me to read them.

I love it when the entire series is out already because I don't have to wait for them to be released. Better yet, if I can find them all at the library! :)

I'm currently reading a first-in-series but if my pattern is typical I won't continue.

The only series I'm currently reading as installments come out are the Ex-Heroes series (Ex-Heroes), the Lady Trent series (A Natural History of Dragons), the Demon Cycle series (The Warded Man) and the Destroyermen series (Into the Storm). There are probably another couple that I don't recall at the moment.

Other series that I intend to continue reading are the Iron Druid series (Hounded) and... and... hm.

Mostly I jump around.

I started the Demon Cycle series literally 5 minutes after posting this. *hangs head in shame* I will finish those other series...eventually...really!

Part of my problem is I go through spurts where I'll read tons of urban fantasy, and then I'll read something like Kingkiller Chronicles and just can't bring myself to go back to UF for awhile, so those series just sit on my shelf until the mood strikes me again. Or until I read something really weird and need something more comfortable. I got caught up on 3 of them after reading The Gunslinger.

@RachelvlehcaR 80! I don't think I could keep everything straight :)

I'm nowhere near the amount you guys have! I'm only in the middle of about 5, but I have the first books for another 12 or so. I jump around but come back more quickly to the ones I really enjoy.

RachelvlehcaR wrote: "Shamefully, 80 and counting."

Holy frijoles.

Amber wrote: "@RachelvlehcaR 80! I don't think I could keep everything straight :) "

I know it's bad. I normally can remember each one and a few times I will do re-reads. Right now I'm re-reading a few series to keep it fresh for the next books that have come out. I read about 300 books a year.

Does this count if someone is caught up with a series, but the series is not finished yet?

I have the bad habit of starting a series and then not finishing it. I'll read the first book or maybe the first two and then skip the rest of them. I think Harry Potter is one of the few series I read all the way through. Does anybody else do this, or am I just weird?

I'm only in the middle of four series at the moment but my next-up list has quite a few first-in-series books...

Bruce wrote: "I have the bad habit of starting a series and then not finishing it. I'll read the first book or maybe the first two and then skip the rest of them. I think Harry Potter is one of the few series I ..."

No, I abandon most series. I'd say at least 90%.

Which might not be saying much, since most books are part of a series.

Amber wrote: "How many series are you in the middle of? Do you prefer to read series straight through or jump around to different ones?"

I’m mostly a one-series-at-a-time person, for some of the same reasons you mentioned that you used to be. I’m finishing up the last book in the series I’m currently reading, and I read it from start to finish without interruption. There are a handful of series that I haven’t finished, but most of those are because the series had appeared to be complete at the time I read it and then more books were published.

I feel like I appreciate a series better when I read it from beginning to end. My investment in the characters and the story doesn’t fade between books, and my memory is fresh so I never feel like I’ve forgotten something crucial. I also enjoy catching the less-important-but-still-fun little connections that might have gone over my head if too much time had passed between books. I do have a few really large series on my list such as Discworld. If I like it once I try it, I’ll have to break it up with standalones and/or short series every few books. Not even I want to read that many books from the same series all at once.

When I reach the end of a book I really enjoyed and the next book in the series isn’t available, I’m annoyed for a brief time. I want to know what happens next and I want to know now. But since there’s nothing I can do but wait, I put it out of my mind and find new things to focus on. By the time the next book is available, I’ve lost that desperate need-to-know. I can remember that I really wanted to read the next book, but the emotion behind it is gone. So then I’m annoyed that I have to try to build that investment up all over again. I’d rather just read it all at once to keep the momentum going all the way through.

So, in my mind, the advantages of waiting until the series is complete outweigh the temporary gratification of reading the books as they’re published. There are plenty of ongoing series that I really want to read, such as Rothfuss’ series. But it’s not like there aren’t enough other books to read. I already have a lot of books I want to read that either stand alone or are either part of a completed series. If I ever reached the point where I couldn’t find anything else to read, then I would start reading on-going series, but it’s hard to imagine that day ever coming!

I’m content to be in the minority on this, though. I’m very grateful that so many people buy the books as they’re published because they’re the ones who provide the financial motivation that leads to the rest of the series getting published.

I tend to read straight through a series if I'm enjoying it. I have stopped reading after the first book or so if I don't like a series, but usually the only thing that stops my series reading is if I'm waiting on books to be published. There are a bunch of series right now that I realllly wish would hurry up and publish the next book (Broken Earth, Kate Daniels, October Daye, Kingkiller Chronicles, A Court of Thorns and Roses, Six of Crows, The Others, Hidden Legacy) but I think the only ones that I've started, not finished, and intend to finish that have books already published are Jo Walton's Thessaly trilogy and China Mieville's Bas-Lag trilogy.

I have a friend who refuses to start a series unless all the books are published, since she hates waiting for books to come out. I understand that in theory, but for me it's impossible to resist starting a series that sounds amazing, even if it means waiting a year or two for more books. There are always other books to read while I wait!

Trike wrote: "Which might not be saying much, since most books are part of a series. "

They are indeed. I hope more books like The Goblin Emperor keep on coming.

However, I kind of enjoy or even thrive under the anticipation and giddiness of reading ongoing series. I love the feeling of reading the next book right after its publication. Somehow the appetite seems to decrease when I know the series are complete and/or have lots of standalone-ish books like Discworld or Bas-Lag since I know I could read and finish them anytime I want.

Interesting. Do you not binge-watch completed TV series either? Or is it just regarding books?

Trike wrote: "Interesting. Do you not binge-watch completed TV series either? Or is it just regarding books?"

I can bingewatch completed series or wait for ongoing ones every week. All depends on how much they attract me, I guess.

Whenever I want to binge-read, I will pick interesting series that have already lots of books so when I finish them, drunk with all the awesomeness, my hangover would be the extra pleasure in knowing I can have more. Recent examples for me would be Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderling series/trilogies and The Expanse.

Zayne wrote: "I'm currently in the middle of 6: Wheel of Time, The Witcher series, the Demon Cycle series, Malazan Empire books, Chronicles of the Black Company, Forgotten Realms: Starlight and Shadows trilogy, ..."

I actually have the first books for Wheel of Time, The Witcher, Malazan Book of the Fallen, and the Black Company so I will be adding those to my list of unfinished series soon.

Now it's hard to answer definitively since authors can now return to their worlds with ebook novellas and short stories.

I've got less then a dozen, partially because I've been resisting starting new series until I get other titles out of the way. For example, The Name of the Wind sat on my Kindle for over a year before I read it.

Too many!!

Trike wrote: "Which might not be saying much, since most books are part of a series.
"

Exactly what I was going to say. I count 10 right now that I intend to finish, i.e. I own at least the next book if not the next 2-3 in the series or I am not so patiently waiting for the next book to be written. Intentions don't mean much, few series hold my interest past book 6ish so probably at least 1/2 of the 10 will be abandoned at some point.

26. It'll only go up as my bookclubs pick new series as BOTM's. :D I don't mind, because I never feel like I have nothing to read. I have a few I'm committed to making a dent in this year.

I am currently reading about 65 series. I am caught up on about half of them. Before GR I mostly read one series at a time but once I joined GR it quickly got out of control. My main goal this year is to finish as many of the finished series as I can. Group reads are killing me as most groups only read the first book in a series.

I will definitely read more:

The Broken Earth (1/3, waiting for author)
Chalion (2/3)
Discworld (7/41+)
The Dresden Files (1/many)
Oxford Time Travel (2/5)
A Song of Ice and Fire (5/7, waiting for author)
Under Heaven (1/2)
Vorkosigan Saga (last 3 to read, plus a couple of older ones)

I might read more:

Leviathan (1/3)
Magic 2.0 (1/3)

I am almost finished with the first in The Iron Druid series, and that will probably go in the first list, though not high priority. As Shawnie said, this club's reading will add to the unfinished lists.

Oh my...too many.

I used to run through a series as soon as I start one, but I have been trying to diversify my reading. By participating in BOTM readings and challenges I am not focusing on just one thing or just one series which sometimes I start a series that I can't finish right away.

Part of the reason is also that some series are not finished being written yet. In fact, I made a New year's resolution to not start any new series that haven't been completely written yet. Patience is a virtue I struggle with. I don't like having to wait to find out what happens.

According to my goodreads' shelves, I have 38 books marked as "next-in-series". Perusing the shelf, though, and probably at least half of these I'm not sure I have any impetus to get back it.

I also have a little over 300 books marked as to-read, and an alarming number of these are first in series - so the above number might grow substantially if I ever get around to starting those new series. I have been trying to finish series before starting new ones, though - barring the continuing series where I'm waiting for books to be published.

I have 31 books in my to be read list, and all are part of a series. Some are series that I am committed to completing while others are the first in their series which I may or may not commit to. Rather than read a series from beginning to end continuously I will read a book and then place it's sequel on my to be read list. I'll read the next in the series when it makes its way to the top of my TBR list.

SciFi/Fantasy series that I am currently planning on continuing:

The Parasol Protectorate
Discworld
The Dresden Files
Bas-Lag
Outlander
A Song of Ice and Fire
Sandman Slim
The Grisha
White Trash Zombie
Old Man's War
Princess; Jig the Goblin; Magic Ex Libris by Jim C. Hines
The Checquy Files
Imperial Radch
Reckoners
The Clockwork Century
Chronicles of the Pneumatic Zeppelin
Burton & Swinburne
Sookie Stackhouse


Thank goodness I haven't started more...!

Seems like a better question would be: how many series have you finished?

I don't know offhand what my number would be, but it could probably be counted on a single hand, no offhand needed.

Since I am in the "older" person category I can state I have read many series. It is how I started my book collection. I was so frustrated when the new book would come out and it had been awhile since I had read the previous one in the series.

I like to re read , or skim the last book before reading the new one of the series.

Since ebooks this has made it more difficult to keep check of when a new book in a series comes out.

If there are 20 books, one a year etc you get the picture.

I love GB it has opened up so many new books and series, I dislike GB because it has opened up so many new books and series!!!! I am overwhelmed. Just kidding.

Now I must go through my collection and get rid of some series that have lost their thrill for me. When I have time

Fiest , Koonz, I am talking to you

Hmm... series I've actually finished...

Sten. 7 books, one of the co-authors passed away.

Jack Chalker's Well of Souls series. Midnight at the Well of Souls. Also his Four Lords of the Diamond series. Lilith: A Snake in the Grass.

Asimov's Foundation series. Foundation.

The Lord of the Rings.

Octavia Butler's Patternmaster series. Wild Seed. Also her Earthseed series. Parable of the Sower.

...and that's about it.

The list of series I've given up on is long and distinguished. Dune, Pern, Harry Potter, A Song of Ice and Fire, Narnia, Oz, Discworld, Thomas Covenant, Dresden Files, Xanth, Safehold, Conan, Elric, many more.

Interesting, my list is somewhat similar to yours in both the series you've finished and the one's you 've given up on, except I've finished Harry Potter and I've read everything in A Song of Ice and Fire so far. I haven't read Midnight at the Well of Souls or Lilith.

I'm not sure I can even remember all the series I'm in the middle of, to be honest, but here goes:
the Bartimaeus trilogy,
the Longbow Saga,
Percy Jackson and the Olympians,
the Falling Kingdoms series,
the Knight and Rogue series,
the Queen's Thief series,
The Chronicles of Vrandalin,
the Sword of Truth series...
I'm not sure what the books following An Ember in the Ashes will be called, but I'm invested in that story as well.
I gave up on I Am Number Four and the Michael Vey books. They both had such good first installments, but I felt like they just went downhill from there with no end in sight :(
Actually, listing those series just gave me a burning need to know how they all end, and I just spent all my book money. The world is a very cruel place.

Trike wrote: "Seems like a better question would be: how many series have you finished?

I don't know offhand what my number would be, but it could probably be counted on a single hand, no offhand needed."

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
The Lotus War by Jay Kristoff
Earthsea Saga by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson

That's actually more than I expected, tbh. I've only recently started reading series of books. I stuck to one-off novels and non-fiction for years.

Probably 5 or 6 but I've been deliberately whittling them down & ideally I'd like to be reading one or two at a time. I made a rule last year that I wouldn't start a new series until it was finished - this is ok with trilogies/quadrilogies etc... but gets a bit problematic when dealing with long running series with no definite end.

Too many! I use the fictfact website to keep track of my series - you get updates when new books in a seriesw come out and that kind of thing

http://www.fictfact.com/list/Pezter/9...

I'm in the middle of so many series that I don't even remember them all. I usually only read book one for a series and then forget it for a long time until I go back to it and read the next part. I just don't like to read a same series book immediately after the next one, so that is why some of the series/trilogies may wait for years to be read fully.

But here's a list of some of the series I've read and will continue later:
Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss (1/?, not in a hurry with this one)
First Law (atleast the first three books) by Joe Abercrombie (1/3)
Mistborn (only the first trilogy) by Brandon Sanderson (1/3)
Gentleman Bastard series by Scott Lynch (1/?), might not read all of them.
Takeshi Kovacs by Richard K. Morgan (1/3)
A Land Fit for Heroes by Richard K. Morgan (1½/3, book two in halfway on hiatus)
Phèdre's Trilogy by Jacqualine Carey (1/3)
Foundation (original trilogy only) by Isaac Asimov (2/3)
Imperial Radch trilogy by Ann Leckie (1/3)
The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan (1/3, long ago)
Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin (2/6)
Discworld by Terry Pratchett (will only read random books here and there, atleast the Guards and Death books)

And some series that I'm not sure if I will continue:
Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer (1/3, book two loaned, but not sure if I bother with it)
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams (1/5)
Silo series by Hugh Howie (1/3)

So quite many, but those lists don't include the series I won't continue at all, even if I've read one or more books from it.

Here's my list:

Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (15/23?)
Vlad Taltos by Steven Brust (14/19?)
A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin (5/7)
Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss (2/3)
Gentleman Bastard by Scott Lynch (3/7)
Demon Cycle by Peter V. Brett (4/5)
Sword of Shadows by J.V. Jones (4/5)
Lightbringer by Brent Weeks (3/4)
Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines (5/?)
Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erickson (2/10)
Powder Mage by Brian McClellan (2/3)
Lotus War by Jay Kristoff (2/3)
Demonata by Darren Shan (8/10)
Reckoners by Brandon Sanderson (1/3)

I use FictFact too, and it has realyhelped me keep track of my series...and i have 59!

But some are more of a prioriy than others. Last year i made myself a 'next in series' challenge, and read 19 of those, so I am doing it again this year.

Series off the top of my head:

Bas-lag (2/3)
Takeshi Kovacs (1/3)
Thursday Next (2/?)
Chalion (2/3)
Southern Reach (2/3)
Nightside (7/?)
Discworld (8/?)
Vlad taltos (7/?)
Pendragon cycle (2/4)
Odd Thomas (3/?)
MaddAdam (2/3)
Kate Daniels (4/?)
Fall of Light (1/3)
Mercy Thompson (8/?)
Alpha and Omega (3/?)
Garett P.I. (11/15)

There are a lot more, and some I am caught up on!
I have over 400 i own it tbrs, so there is never a lack!

Grace wrote, "I gave up on I Am Number Four and the Michael Vey books. They both had such good first installments, but I felt like they just went downhill from there with no end in sight :( "

I'm just giving up on Michael Vey now. I read the first one and then trying the second one, but it's not nearly as good.

Yeah I'm sorry to say they don't get much better. I read through to the first few pages of book four and the dialogue had devolved into a series of cliches... It's pretty sad because I really loved the first book :(

I never heard of ficfact before so that was very helpful to discover!

Only the one that I am currently reading (book 2 of 3 in the Humanity's Fire trilogy). All other series are either complete (to date) OR abandoned for being written badly or horrid story lines.

Thank you for posting about FicFact! I found that I have double the series I thought I had. :)

I knew I was in the middle of many series but using FicFact (@Paul, thank you for posting the link by the way) brought some clarity to the situation. It was dire. Looking through all 74 of them I realized something had to be done. Like cleaning out a messy garage or closet into piles To Keep, To Donate and To Throw Away I made lists - Active Series, On Hold Series and Abandoned Series. Abandoning a series (or book) is hard for me. I like to finish what I started, but I realize I only have so much time and my TBR list is bordering on behemoth.

So I am actively in the middle of 38 series but it will be 37 tomorrow after I finish Pierce Brown's Morning Star tonight and put the Red Rising Trilogy on the Finished Series list.

about to finish the CoDominium series. i am halfway through the culture series and just started the frontlines series by marko kloos.

How many series have I finished? The same number as the authors I have outlived....somewhat of a cynical answer (and not entirely true)

I used FictFact to track my series progress. I can be a little misleading since some series reference books not yet published. Some of them also include related shorts, which I may or may not include in my reading (let's face it, some related shorts are little more than the search for more money/awareness). There is also not a way as of yet to flag a series for which I do not intend to pursue further.

As of right now, this is what FictFact tells me:
Total Series: 250
Series Current/Complete: 26

Add to that what I know of these:
Additional series up-to-date except for shorts: 25
Series that I don't intend to continue: 37
Series that include future books: 10

So, my final adjusted totals are:
Total Series: 250
Abandoned Series: 37
Current/Complete Series: 51
Mid-Series: 152

I'm currently in the middle of at least 9 series' that I plan on finishing. Plus I'm planning on starting more. So it always grows lol!

I have so many that I have forgotten what series I have started! Last week I finally made a shelf to start putting series I am actively reading as I either remember them or as I finish a book in the series.