. There aren't many series that I'm completely caught up on, and the idea of being about to draw a (temporary) (mental) line through a series fills me with pleasure. (I also take great pleasure in using up all the ink in a pen. Does this make me wierd?)Anyway, it got me to wondering- Do most people read an entire series at once? Do you feel compelled to finish the series before starting something else? What if you don't like the series? Can you ever offically quit it? What series have you officially given up on? What are your favorites? Do you have some that languish in the TBR until you get around to them? Also, do you consider a trilogy to be a series? For me there has to be more than three books to be considered a series.
I think right now my top series would be:
- Patricia Briggs's Mercedes Thompson
- Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse
- Jim Butcher's Dresden Files
- JD Robb's In Death Series
- Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville
- J. D. Rowling's Harry Potter
Of those, I'm current on the Briggs and Harry Potter. I'm one behind on Harris, 5 behind on Butcher, and 4 or 5 behind on Robb. They are consistently strong entries (except maybe JD Robb's.) They have well defined main characters and a highly developed world and background. What are your favorite series?
As you may be able to tell from this list, I don't read a lot of series that don't have a paranormal/futuristic element to them. I do read Janet Evanovich's and I'm all caught up except for Finger Lickin' Fifteen
As for giving up- I officially quite Anita Blake after Obsidian Butterfly 
There are so many new series that I'd love to give a chance, but I keep thinking that I can't even keep up with the ones I know I like! And yet, I'm still asking you to give me more. It's ok, my TBR can take it.
Lots of questions. :) I usually have several series going at once. Also, I seldom get to read them in order. I'll grab a book to read only to find that it is the 5th or 6th or something. Finding the early ones locally is impossible. Then, I have to remember to order them, which I usually don't.
ReplyDeleteI gave up on Sue Grafton, too. There were a couple other series (can't remember authors or heroines) that I quit. The "girls" were just too brash, too immoral, mean and heartless.
Some good questions, thought I'd pop on in and give my answers!!
ReplyDeleteFirst, I don't necessarily want to finish a series all at once, but I like to have all the books in a series in my possession BEFORE I even read book 1 ... don't ask me why.
I haven't officially given up on any series yet ... however, I am in no rush to continue on with Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta series ... plus I've already decided that if there's a 9th book in James Patterson's Women's Murder Club series I'm not going to rush to it after being disappointed in 6 and 7 and somewhat in 8.
Packrat, I can't stand to read out of order! The only exception are books that "go" together but aren't really a series.
ReplyDeletetalesofabookaddict, I also gave up on Scarpetta. I loved the first 6 or so, but then she started being all angsty and introspective and I missed the actual forensics.
I love Patricia Briggs. Her other series has a new book coming out in August that I am looking forward to.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big reader of series (currently somewhere in over 40 of them). Mostly mystery and crime fiction type books. I do read many other series though.
ReplyDeleteI've found that my limit for back to back series reading is 3. I don't even like to do that anymore. I'm too much of a genre jumper and need the variety. I'm happy to be in the middle of lots of series because it gives me lots of variety. I don't feel compelled to finish or keep current, but I am totally obsessed with not reading out of order.
Some series I only do audio (Miss Julia, #1 Ladies Detective Agency, Amelia Peabody).
I have abandoned series - I gave up on Sue Grafton because Kinsey was stuck in the mid-80's, I've stopped reading the next Stephanie Plum right away and am now happy to wait to listen to the audios on a road trip.
I've made a conscious effort this year to make progress on the many series I've started and am enjoying becoming reacquainted with some of my favorite characters.
I don't read a lot of series either. We FINALLY saw Harry Potter last night and I loved it. Scott was kind "eh" over it, but I can't remember the last movie we saw in the theater that he did like. I keep telling him he needs to stop being so picky! :)
ReplyDeleteThe only other series I can think of that I have on the shelf is the Evanovich one, but I haven't read a single book yet. I've kind of been collecting them in hardcover over the years, so I have 6-12 (my stepmom has 13-15 that she'll give me). Kind of silly to collect them when it is very possible I might not even like them!
And then I have books that are related, like the Fannie Flagg and Anita Shreve books, but I wouldn't consider these series since they can also stand alone.
I like to read series in order, but not back to back. I like to stretch them out a little bit so I don't get tired of them.
ReplyDeleteSee what I get for hitting that "mark as read" button on Google Reader? I miss great posts like this!
ReplyDeleteI keep a running list of all the series I have started and am reading and those I have yet to read that I own books for that I need to read. My lists are very outdated as of right now. If ever I get the time, I need to update them.
I don't usually read an entire series at once. I've gone on reading binges where I read several books in the series back to back, but that doesn't happen very often. If at all possible, I prefer to read the first three books in a series close to each other to help with my memory. I've discovered that I tend to remember the side characters and overreaching story threads better that way--if I have to wait for that next book to come out a year or so later.
There are plenty of series I have started and decided they weren't for me after the first or second book. It's rare that I quit a series I've been following for years, but it's happened. Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series is a prime example. And if Keith Ablow writes another book for his series, I won't be reading it. I have no regrets about saying goodbye to either the series. It was more than time.
I do consider a trilogy a series.
Some of my favorites:
Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Southern Vampire series by Sookie Stackhouse
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Kinsey Milhone series by Sue Grafton
Annie Seymour series by Karen E. Olson
The Black Jewel series by Anne Bishop
And that's just for starters. :-)
I'm behind on most of my series now and unless I can get a book at a really good discount, I don't buy the book in hardback.
I am greedy when it comes to reading a series; once I am in the world that the author has created, I like to gorge myself! I started the Harry Potter series when only three books were published, and the wait for the rest of the books was excruciating. I actually BOUGHT those books so I wouldn't have to wait in the library queue (those are the only novels that I've purchased in 10 years, if that tells you anything).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I've finished the Harry Potter series and the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants trilogy. Lori Wick, the Christian romance author, tends to create a town and then write three or four books about the residents; I've read five of those series.
After my Harry Potter experience, I try not to start a cliffhanger-type series if the full series isn't available at my library. This is where reviews come in handy. I like it when a reviewer tells me if the series wraps up neatly or if a lot of issues are left unresolved. That lets me know whether I want to wait for the full series to be published.
I generally don't read the never-ending series like the ones that seem to be prevalent with mystery and crime writers. I may pick up one or two of the books, but I'm not compelled to read all of them or even read them in order.