Book Buying Addicts Anonymous discussion

Hey everyone,
My problem lately with my TBR pile and deciding what to read is the fact that a lot of my to-read books are in series. For examples I have the last three books in the Dresden Files and also a couple books in the Game of Thrones series. I adore both series. My problem is sometimes I just need a break from certain books or characters and I want to read something new after I finish a series book. Plus, I hate waiting for the next book in a series I'm into to be released so I try to space them out.
What's everyone opinion? Do you devour a series you love one book after another or take a break before picking up the next installment?

If the series is so good I absolutely have to know what happens next, I'll read the next book. Otherwise, I'll hold on and get around to it in favour of other books (possibly books from other series) that I want to read first.

I very rarely read series books one after another. I do read them in order, but I space series books out by reading other books in between each one. I choose my next book based on what mood I am in, and more often than not, I'm in the mood for change...

I usually stagger them.

Mostly I can take forever to read a series (if I ever finish it), especially if there are more than 2 books. I can go a year or more between books.
Like I have all the Dresden books, got them when they came out, but I've only read the first 5...

I have about six series that I have at least read the first book and about six more that I've read further into the series. I think my problem is when I'm enjoying a series I don't want it to end so I put off reading the next book.

Usually when I read a series the next book has not been released yet so I have to read something else while waiting. But even if the complete series has been released I rarely read it back to back as no matter how much I love the series I sometimes get a little bored and need to read something else for a time.

Shauna wrote: "Hey everyone,
My problem lately with my TBR pile and deciding what to read is the fact that a lot of my to-read books are in series. For examples I have the last three books in the Dresden Files a..."

I've made the mistake in the past of reading books of one series back to back, and then I just ended up disappointed or burned out on the characters/ story. Now, I space the books out a little bit.

I usually read series' books as they come out or as I get hold of them from the library, so I'm often reading multiple series at one time.

I always take a break and give my brain a real break from the series. Right now reading the Hunger Games series, and reading Les Miserables in between because it is on my TBR list. :)

I like to read them both ways. It can be very frustrating to wait for a series, but that also prolongs the pleasure. :)

I have occasionally held up reading a series until they are all published, but that is very rare. I find reading them back to back can really intensify the experience. I read the first 5 Harry Potter books back to back, and it was incredible! I was truly dreaming about them! This kind of reading experience, if I am enjoying the series, can truly make me sick with anticipation. The time between books off cools me off and doesn't make me so crazy-involved, but it does last longer.

Mostly, as I just read 'em as I can get them. However, when I fall in love with a series that is new to me, I will do anything in my power to get all of them, immediately.

If I find a series that really grabs and holds my interest, I generally make a marathon run without any deviations. The Kent Family Chronicles by John Jakes is a good example of this; his North and South Trilogy follows suit. I read the Outlander series without a break but had to temper The Bronze Horseman Trilogy by Paullina Simons with a couple of other books.

It depends entirely on the series. I devoured Sookie Stackhouse back-to-back but the Dresden Files are too intense for me to do that with.

I read them in order. I very much enjoyed the series about "The Talented Mr. Ripley." In fact today, I will polish my furniture with lavender scented beeswax, like Tom Ripley bought for his maid. I don't have plans to murder anyone though.

I love to read a series, but I don't want to read them back to back. There are so many books in the world to read and I want to read them all. :)

hear hear! :-)

I like to read other books in between. I've read three of the books in the Song of Ice and Fire series and am about ready for Book 4. I don't think I could read these back to back, they are so intense.

The only series I've read back to back was Stephen King's, The Dark Tower Series. That series just grabbed my interest and got me hooked as well as the Harry Potter series..I couldn't put them down!

I've been reading Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series back to back. Some of her tomes are a bit daunting so the way I do it is unabridged audiobooks. I have a long commute...it still has taken awhile to get through them. I'm done with #6 now and debating whether to go on to #7 or wait for the publication of #8 (the final) and sprint through them both.
BTW, I do read other physical books when I'm not in the car, so I don't feel like I'm missing out.

I've started interlacing two series, one fantasy and one SF.

Currently reading Robert Silverberg's Majipoor Chronicles (fantasy) and Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots & Aliens (SF).

This keeps any one series from getting stale while at the same time making it possible for me to actually read a whole series in less than the decade it might take me otherwise.

I tend to read five books at once, and one is a series.

Series on deck: The extended Dune series, Saberhangen's Berserker series, Iain Banks's Culture novels, maybe the Gor books, maybe Perry Rhodan ... always looking for good fantasy series recommends!

I wrote about this at Grasping for the Wind:

http://www.graspingforthewind.com/201...

Hi Philip,
How do you keep all of the story lines clear? I sometimes read two books simultaneously but even then it takes a few pages before I remember what had happened previously. I suppose that is the reason I generally read series together...... it helps with the flow.

Depends how many in the series & how much I like them but I almost always take a break after 2 or 3.

I always read one series at the time. I could read a short novel in between or even during books. But not a series.

So, I have really, really been thinking about this since reading the original post. At first I was like, nope I drown myself in a series: one right after the other, come up and breath, and then do it all over again. And for the most part that is exactly what I do with a trilogy. I drown myself in them. I devour them and read them as close together as possible. But, once they hit book four in the series I lose steam and interest. I tend to slow down and want to read other books in between. I did that with the Uglies series - devoured books 1 through 3 and then book 4 took almost twice as long to read. I have done that with the House of Night series. I haven't read book 3 of the Eragon series because I found out that it wasn't the last in the series (book 4 comes out in November). The other thing I do is I stop reading with just a few chapters left because I am afraid of how they are going to resolve the issues left in the the series on the last one in the book. Will they really resolve the issues? Will one of my favorite characters make it through the end? Or will the just put an end in the book (I feel this is what happened with the third book of the Hunger Games trilogy) that resolves the book, but doesn't really give a satisfying ending?

So, basically straight through until book 4 and then it becomes harder to keep me going!

This post has got me wondering what to do about Mark Billigham's 'Thorne' series now. I've spent a while buying all the books, but now that I have them, I don't know whether to read them all at once or spaced out, lol. I think I'm leaning towards reading them all one after the other, though.

A bit of both. Sometimes I will read the series in one go (if the books are available easily). Other times I have a break in between. It depends on how long the series is - more than 3 books and I would definitely have a break.

No, because I read such a variety of books. There are several authors and series I read, but I usually didn't start at the beginning anyway. If I read a mystery, I'll grab a non-fiction next or something else.

The most I'll read is 2 books in a row. Generally by then I want to take a short break-it's like visiting a close friend, I like to spread it out a bit.

IT all depends, Sometimes I do sometimes I don't.

I usually try my best to read a series' books back to back so that i won't forget the characters "voices" and what they looked like to me in my mind and also i can remember what happened in the book before easier that way. But, when the next book in the series hasn't come out yet I usually just read it whenever it comes out.

It depends... I read the 3 books in the Fallen series back to back, and the same when I read Twilight series. One of the series' I'm in the middle of at the moment is Morganville Vampires, I read the first 3 back to back, then I've been reading other books in between. I actually haven't read one since June/July...

I don't read series back to back as it gets a bit much- have to mix it up- I beat back the urge and soo get emersed in another book.

the only book where I read two of the series back to back was Book 2 and 3 of tHe Hunger series

I tend to coincidently start a xseries when they have been around for a while and when I get to the end II am impatient for the next in the series

I have read
The Hunger games
Harry potter
twilight
Smokey barrat

I am reading
Jack reacher-lee child
Ghost walkers-christine feehan
sookie stackhouse- charlaine harris
alex cross-james patterson
Michael bennet-James Patterson
alex delaware- jonathan Kellerman
Pete decker & rina Lazarus- Faye Kellerman
Skinner - Quintin Jardine
thorne-Mark Billingham
Anna Travis- lynda La Plante
maggie o'dell- Alex Kava


I have the following series to start
Harry Bosh- Michael Connolley

The last series I read was the Twilight saga. Other than that, I tend not to read each book of a series one after the other, even if it's a riveting series. I guess it's because I am so eager to read a different book with a new plot.

My biggest problem with reading series is that I don't always know a book is part of one until it's too late. For example, William Gibson's Bridge Trilogy. I read the 1st book, Virutal Light, and it's one of my favorites ever. Then I picked up All Tomorrow's Parties not knowing it was the 3rd.
Also, the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn. I read the 3rd or 4th book first, on accident, and I've read about half the series in no order whatsoever.

But if I do get lucky and pick up a series to read in order, I plow through them. I read all of the available Mercy Thompson books within a week of discovering the series.
The only series I've completed is the Harry Potter series (a couple other young adult ones come to mind but I can't really remember), but I'm liking the ones I mentioned above, and I plan on finishing them someday.

It depends. The series has to keep me interested enough that I REALLY want to know what happens. Otherwise I'll usually set it down and read something else, then come back later.

Typically, I read a book in a series then move to another series and alternate back and forth.

Philip wrote: "I've started interlacing two series, one fantasy and one SF.

Currently reading Robert Silverberg's Majipoor Chronicles (fantasy) and Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots & Aliens (SF).

This keeps an..."

I read your post and just had to laugh. It was describing me almost perfectly. :D

i also have several dresdain files books to read and the game of thrones series stacked up. In between Iam reading the strain trilogy..

Julie wrote: "I read them straight through one after another, with barely a moment to come up for air."

LOL, what she said. :)

I hate waiting for the next installment to be released so I often opt not to read series books. But I allow myself to enjoy some of the good ones. And given the fact that I have no patience in waiting, I read one book after the other, which gives me all the more problems since some of the series on my shelf are the newer ones, meaning that some of them will only be available next year...

It really depends. I generally have 2-3 books going at any given time, so continuing a series doesn't necessarily mean I'll be reading from it every day.

If I've jumped into a series that has a new book coming out, and I'd like to be caught up, I might be more diligent about going straight through, but usually they're a little more spaced out.

Shauna wrote: "What's everyone opinion? Do you devour a series you love one book after another or take a break before picking up the next installment?"

For me, it really depends on the book series. If I already have the entire trilogy on my shelf (like I will with Michael J. Sullivan's The Riyria Revelations at the end of the month), then chances are I will read it straight. I used to read a lot of books in between books in a series because I didn't have the full set on hand.

But then yeah, there are some book series where you just need that break between books. I can't think of a particular series in mind where this has happened in my case but I have a tendency of taking breaks between genres (i.e. after reading how many books straight of serious novels set in WW2, I switched over to reading some of Pratchett's or Heyer's books for some light fun).

If I get into the series then I will read them back to back but I normally read something else in between to break it up so I don't get bored of the series altogether

I read the Outlander series back to back. Also The Bronze Horseman series....that one made me fall into an exhausted heap at the end and I couldn't read anything else for awhile. If I'm really emotionally invested in a series, I can't wait.

I have a problem with series books. I tend to avoid them more often than not, as I see so many series books that don't know when to end and pull their threads for all they're worth. But when I do touch a series (and it is usually a short one, with two--four books), I read the series as a whole.

I like to start with the first and read the series. I especially enjoy trilogies for romances. For cozy mysteries, I like series but don't want to read them out of order.

It depends on how many books are in the series, if there is only 3 or 4 I will read them back to back if more I will read a book inbetween.

When I find a new-to-me author and enjoy the book, I look to see what else she's (or he's) written.

If it's a series, I start at the beginning and read them in order. Some, like Janet Evanovich, quickly become the same story over and over, but they're funny so I tend to read them with big gaps in between. Others, like Ridley Pearson where I'm drawn in by the characters' depth, I'll read several books in a row.

I love series but there are so many nowadays. I try not to start new ones. If one serendipitously enters my life and is enthralling (and all are out), I read straight through. One of my favorite things is rereading a favorite series straight through. Lovely when all the books in a series are available.

It depends on where the book I am reading falls in the series. If it is the first one that I come across then i seek out the others. If it is in the middle somewhere and it interests me I will try to locate the books before the one I am reading before moving forward in the series.