Dragons & Jetpacks discussion

Ok, so I need some advice and some discussion... I started reading fiction as an adult about 3 years ago and in the past year and half I figured out that sci-fi in book form is absolutely amazing. Then I found out about Hugo and nebula awards... And then I found out about the grandmasters like Asimov, Clarke, etc. And then I started and binged the dragonriders of pern to complete series... But I end up reading like 3 sci-fi books at once and have this voracious desire to read all the "classics" ....

So here's my question: how do you deal with reading a really amazing book like Dune, and then realize that it's a whole series and would take you at minimum a few months of constant reading to finish ... Only to discover anlther amazing book (ender's game) and have the same issue?

I've tried to focus on reading specifically the Hugo and nebula awards joint winners as a good start to cover my bases on "the best" but then I end up discovering an author I really love like Card or Haldeman (forever war was amazing and I bought the omnibus edition of the trilogy and working on book 2)... Ok now I'm just ranting at 10 pm at night... But do you get my point?

How do you not spend months binging one series and not pick up other books? How do you prioritize reading the great books that were written decades ago that are absolutely worth reading? Or do you just constantly read a few books at a time and go back and forth depending on your mood? Cus thsfs the only way I've managed to read without going crazy lol. Oh and audiobook versions while driving and working help a lot.

Trick one is not to let reading become a stress, keep it as a release.
There is always another great series and another great book so try ease through them. The books will wait until you finish waht you're on.
On a side note I got to have a beer with Joe Haldeman and his wife last year at world con and he is a great guy

Agreed, Paul! Reading isn't fun when it's a chore. I had been trying to keep up with some book challenges, pushing myself to read more etc. but with work and other hobbies this became like hard work rather than enjoyable. So I've taken a step back with that, and reading is more fun again.

There are lots of exciting books and series of there - it's why I end up buying loads of new books before I've finished the many unread on my shelves. But I know I will get to them at some point.

It might depend on how well you can keep track of the details of different series, or how you feel on the day you pick your next book to read. Being more of a mood reader, having a choice on my shelves is great. I wander between them picking up books, reading the blurb and putting them back until I find one that pulls my attention most at that moment.

You might end up binging on one series for months - but that's not a problem of you're enjoying it. Happy reading and book discoveries :)

I agree with Paul and Freya.
Read what you feel like and don't let it become a chore.
What I do is I read several books at once in different formats, styles and genres. This means it might take me half a year to finish that non-fiction book... But it works for me.
I have the opposite "problem": I keep picking up new series instead of finishing the ones I'm in the middle of. This means I have *goes to check dedicated shelf* 26 (!) (Well 28, but two of them are caught up and waiting for the next) - ongoing series at the moment... At least half of them are graphic novels and children´s books, but still...
Anyway, it might seem crazy, but I'll never run out of things I want to read, and I'm pretty good at remembering general plot lines and characters' personalitites, so it works. Though I am currently working on finishing/ catch up on at least some of those series. The problem is, I always find new and shiny things (or old and interesting), and i read a lot of fantasy and some sci-fi and a lot of that is series.
So, what I'm saying is, if how you feel like reading is binging series, that might actually be a good thing :)

What graphic novel series are you working through Johanne.Coming to an end on a few and looking for my next ones to start. Nearing the end of Monstress and Runaways and recently finished Wicked And the Divine.

Caught up and waiting (just putting the first volume)

Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening
Heartstopper: Volume One

In the middle of (also just putting the first volume):

The Stonekeeper (Amulet)
Locke & Key, Volume 1: Welcome to Lovecraft
New York (Ekhö Monde Miroir)
Beware the Kitten Holy (Lumberjanes)

Aaand just added Runaways and Wicked And the Divine to my TBR :)

Loved Locke and Key. I have the new set of comics on preorder. A few for my list there. Thank you.
Have you read Y the Last Man. One of my favourite series.

Really enjoying Locke & Key as well. Haven't read Y the Last Man, but will have a look, thanks :)

No worries and cheers for the recommendations

Ahh Lumberjanes - love that series. I'm also in the middle of Fables, Sandman, Giant Days, and Rat Queens I think (off the top of my head).

Fables and Sandman I'm collecting in physical, so it will take me a while to finish the series' there :)

I literally read more than 1 book at a time so that could be a solution. Also, not all series are equal. Ender's Game for instance. The next book is way far in the future and can be read without context of the first book and can easily be it's own stand alone. Reading the blurb of each next book can help you whittle down your list.

Freya wrote: "Agreed, Paul! Reading isn't fun when it's a chore. I had been trying to keep up with some book challenges, pushing myself to read more etc. but with work and other hobbies this became like hard wor..."

I most definitely am a mood reader too lol. That's why I read multiple series at once...I think i just struggle with never actually "finishing" a series because unless it's a duet or trilogy, it's generally 10+ in the series and I feel like I'm doing them/myself a disservice? It's strange, but i'm glad to know there are other mood readers out there and i'm not just book ADD =P

Johanne wrote: "I agree with Paul and Freya.
Read what you feel like and don't let it become a chore.
What I do is I read several books at once in different formats, styles and genres. This means it might take me..."


This makes me feel a lot better hearing that you do multiple series at once. I do great with keeping track of the storylines in my head; i do the same thing with TV series... I have a hard time finishing a series because I don't want it to end and know the ending and have to find something new to watch lol.

Melanie wrote: "I literally read more than 1 book at a time so that could be a solution. Also, not all series are equal. Ender's Game for instance. The next book is way far in the future and can be read without co..."

True. I feel I have to read series in "the proper intended order" like with dragonriders of pern, you can read it in publication order or chronologically... I actually followed a guide by a fan site on what order to read and when you could read each book based on world/character context lol. The same you could do with Ender's game and read the first formic war, then the second formic war, and then ender's game ... then you could go to speaker for the dead, or do the 1.5 ender in exile that came out twenty years later... or you could forget ender (though you would miss out on the BRILLIANT xenocide book... one of my favs ever.) and go straight to bean. oh so many choices!!! :)

Oh yes, the amount of time and worry spent on figuring out reading order of those large series with subseries released in an order different from in-world chronological order... There are no easy solutions to this.

How do I cope with multiple series?

I don't :D

I have re-read the first few books of many series after starting and forgetting them, and having to re-read them before moving on to the other books. This year I decided to try and get through an entire series in one, which I've definitely gotten better at, but there are so many series I've only partly read.

Zach wrote: "Melanie wrote: "I literally read more than 1 book at a time so that could be a solution. Also, not all series are equal. Ender's Game for instance. The next book is way far in the future and can be..."

I have to read books in the publication order unless the author says they recommend a different order.

There was a lovely chart fans did for Pratchetts Discworld to pick reading order or concentrate on sub series. Was really helpful for those who like Pratchett.

Zach - was that Sariel's Guide to Pern?

Paul - yes! I like that chart, it's really nicely laid out (to my mind)

Rinn - I think for me what I remember depends on how much I enjoyed books in a series as to how well I remember where I was and what was happening. Having said that, when I was younger and had less books at my fingertips, I remembered more as there was a) less books to focus on, and b) I reread books a lot more

Just a website that my sister sent me where they do a recap of a book to help you continue the serie:

https://www.bookseriesrecaps.com/book...

It's a good idea but I didn't have to use it for now.

I may borrow that link

Fannie wrote: "Just a website that my sister sent me where they do a recap of a book to help you continue the serie:

https://www.bookseriesrecaps.com/book...

It's a good idea but I didn't have to use it fo..."

Wow, this is fantastic!! Thanks Fannie.

I usually always leave long gaps (a year or so) between books in a series; I like to mix it up a bit as I get bored very easily. I know I'll go back and read the next one if I enjoyed the first enough, and if not I feel no pressure to read the rest. Like others have said, reading should be something you enjoy, not a chore :)

There's also the Recaptains, which is run by a few friends of mine. The focus is a little more on YA stuff: https://recaptains.co.uk/

Useful! Thanks Fannie and Rinn. I've let some serious go for a good few years!

I love those recap sites, they're really useful when they have the series you want on there! I'll usually take a break between books in a series and it can be quite a while before I go back to them, even if I absolutely love them. I think if I read them all in one go the enjoyment diminishes because I get twitchy about wanting to read something else. It's also why I try to wait (most of the time) until a series is finished before I start it - then the gap between is my choice.

Something I quite often do to help with multiple series is to read them in different formats. For example, I'm working through Peter F. Hamilton's Void trilogy on Audible at the moment, have the rest of The Faithful and the Fallen waiting on my Kindle (I've read the first two so far) and have paperback sets of the first Mistborn trilogy (yes, I know, late to the party on this one!) and the Broken Earth trilogy.

I also fairly recently made a Keep note with a list of what series I'm either in the middle of or have complete sets waiting to be read. I have a lot of Keep notes...

Vinca - the amount of keep notes I have could possibly make a book!
But they are handy for the random thoughts and ideas and things to check

I never read two books from the same series back to back, sometimes i read something different in between and sometimes i read more than a few books before coming back to the series.

I could be loving the series but i found out that it's better for me to pause it a little bit and let everything i just gor from that book marinate.

Freya wrote: "Zach - was that Sariel's Guide to Pern?

Paul - yes! I like that chart, it's really nicely laid out (to my mind)

Rinn - I think for me what I remember depends on how much I enjoyed books in a seri..."

http://pern.srellim.org/readorder.htm is what I used. Def the best

Yep, that's the one - very handy

I read multiple books at once and don't worry about finishing a series, though I do need to start finishing some.

Fannie wrote: "Just a website that my sister sent me where they do a recap of a book to help you continue the serie:

https://www.bookseriesrecaps.com/book...

It's a good idea but I didn't have to use it fo..."

I love this, I'm terrible at remembering what happened in the previous books in a series so sometimes I'm lost when I start the next book in a series.

I always have more than one book at a time going. I don't feel a need and hardly ever read the next book in the series immediately following finishing the prior. I keep a tally of series I'm making my way through and as a personal goal, try to make some progress on series every year without feeling "pressure" because I am definitely a mood reader. :) Some series I never get back to because there are so many others I liked more.

Aside from what's already been said, I don't feel obligated to finish a series and don't think anyone should feel so.

For example, while I read the Dune books, I don't think any of the books past Dune are of the same quality.

I might have to create a shelf for series I want to finish... But Rick you're correct, no-one should feel obligated to finish a series or even a book!

Too many books and too little time to spend on ones we're not enjoying.