Series
reading: Is it worth it to you?
Series reading can be a
wonderful thing, but sometimes it can become a pain in the butt. As we all know
most series have a huge world built and if you pick up a book in the middle of
the series you’re just out of luck at knowing what is really going on. I have
seen many readers end up hating an author and a series because of this. I feel,
as a reader, you are responsible for making the decision as to whether a book
can be read out of order. With places like Goodreads and Shelfari, there is no
excuse. Check the book out before you buy it. Heck, I have even asked my
friends on Goodreads to make sure a book can be read as a standalone before
jumping in. I’m one of those who is OCD when it comes to reading books in
order. I have to know where every character comes in and why. An author can say
that their book can be read as a standalone and I can still pick at it to death
knowing the whole time I shouldn’t have listened, and should have started at
book one. I learned my lesson about this pretty quickly. I believe that
paranormal romance series tend to focus more on world building than other
romance sub-genres, so that can be one of my downfalls.
One thing I love about reading
series is being able to get to know the characters and watching them grow
through each book. I feel like I really get to know them before they appear in
their own book. I also love it when something is not completely explained in
one book, but the next book clears everything up. Sometime you can even tell
that the author was surprised at how it all turned out.
I know some authors will write
a series as standalones, but most don’t. The reason is most of the time authors
write things that have not been completely plotted out. As a result they too
get shocked at how the story takes a life of it own and grows before their eyes
in directions they never suspected. Therefore, it becomes necessary to read
several books before something of major importance is opened up and settled. I
have seen this in several great authors’ writings, but this can be a problem to
readers because they have to keep buying in order to keep up. Odds are, if
you’re like me, you have so many series going that you can no longer keep up.
So, you end up either letting some fall by the way side or just give up on
finishing that series.
Sometime when you are reading
a series you find yourself anxiously waiting for the next book only to be
disappointed when it never arrives. Why does this happen? Usually the
explanation for this is either the author's inspiration disappears or the
publisher quits the series because of sales. I really hate it when this happens
and it is happening more and more these days. What kills me the most is some
authors will just leave you hanging and never admit what really happened. I
have never understood why they can’t just write a simple statement saying what
really happened. If the series is cut by the publisher the author has other
avenues they can pursue in order to keep writing. Sometimes they just need a
little encouragement to try non-traditional means of publishing. This is again
where a reader can promote the series like crazy before it gets the plug pulled. If the plug gets pulled, by all means email
the author and see if you can encourage them to indie publish or at least try a
smaller press. One thing I have learned is it never hurts to ask.
