Challenge: 50 Books discussion

Ive been thinking about this lately as I am redoing my to read list. What are your opinions about reading books in a series back to back. examples are the hunger games and the Alex Cross series?? do i need to read them back to back or can I read other books in between??

Well, if you get on to a series as it's being written you have no choice but to wait. However, I love stumbling upon a good, finished series and greedily gobbling them up back-to-back.

I will point out that those of us who've been on the Game of Thrones band wagon since the beginning had to wait SEVEN YEARS for the latest installment.

On the other hand, if the author has a pretty consistent output, there are few better feelings than the anticipation and gratification when that new book is out. The wait for "Crucible of Gold" has been almost tortuous(even though I paced myself reading the existing six books), and now that I have it in my possession I'm regretting signing on for the "Oryx and Crake" group read.
Oh, the gluttony.

for me it really depends on the series. some series i just read one book after the other until i'm caught up (such as the nightside series by simon r. green). i also read the harry dresden series by jim k. butcher. for those, i like to put some space between them. i've also started the discworld series by terry pratchett and i put space between those as well. as you can see, there's no rhyme or reason to my reading habits!

discworld was the one i was wondering about mostly so thank you!

I don't think books necessarily need to be read back to back. I hate to say it, but I had to take a break after the 2nd Game of Thrones and just knock some other books out. I love the series, but it was heavy and long.
Also, I think Dark Tower fans waited about 7 years between books as well.

The problem with waiting between books is that if you wait too long, or read too much in between you may forget important details. I've read the first 5 Harry Potter books, but I didn't read the last two. Now I feel like I have to go back and re read the first five before I go on. A daunting prospect.

The problem with reading all the books back to back is that you might feel like their not fresh enough. You get to feeling stale about the characters. For instance, Lois McMaster Bujold has a long series called the Vorkosigan saga. I've read five or six of the books spread out over the last three years. Just this week I've read five more all back to back. I have two more books I have not read yet, but I just don't feel like reading them now. So I will move on to something else, and get back to it later. but hopefully not so much later that I forget details.

When I first discovered Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan saga I devoured the first 16 stories, however I haven't managed to read the rest of the series. Its not that I didn't enjoy the saga - its just that I feel I need to re-read some of the previous stories before I start again.

Favourite series so far:
* Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
* Dune by Frank Herbert
* Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold
* Charlion Series by Lois McMaster Bujold
* Ender Wiggins by Scott Orson Card
* Dragons of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
* Crystal Singer series byAnne McCaffrey
* The Talent Universe by Anne McCaffrey
* Pellinor series by Alison Croggon
* Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
* Divergent series by Veronica Roth
* John Rain series by Barry Eisler
* Jack Reacher series by Lee Childs
* The Tomorrow Series by John Marsden
* Imager's Intrigue by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
* Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelany
* His Dark Material by Philip Pullman
* The Serrano Legacy by Elizabeth Moon
* Paksenarrion series by Elizabeth Moon
* Paladin's Legacy by Elizabeth Moon
* Vatta's War by Elizabeth Moon
* Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley series by Elizabeth George
* Game of Throne Series by George R.R. Martin

These are the ones that come easily to mind. If I wait too long between stores, I do get story lines muddled.

Faye wrote: "Well, if you get on to a series as it's being written you have no choice but to wait. However, I love stumbling upon a good, finished series and greedily gobbling them up back-to-back."

I could not agree more, Faye! If the book has really sucked me in, the wait for the sequel (if it is not already out) can be torturous! If the book is already out, I almost get a desperate gluttonous anxiety trying to get it. You know it's bad when you see "2-Day Shipping" and think that's unbearably long to wait! ;)

Tayla36 wrote: "The problem with waiting between books is that if you wait too long, or read too much in between you may forget important details. I've read the first 5 Harry Potter books, but I didn't read the l..."

If I remember correctly, in the first four Harry Potter books, Rowling gives a lot of rehashing and back story (more than is strictly necessary by book four). You could probably start with book four and have your memory refreshed as to the main plot points of books 1-3.

Just a thought. Hope you're having a great reading year so far :)