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I like to read books in series, as I do get attached to the characters (if I do, that is - if I don't, I'll just stop reading after the first book), but I really prefer it if the author has had a clear plan for the whole series right from the start.
In other words, I don't mind trilogies that have been conceived as trilogies, and I have no problem with longer series that have been planned as such from the start - Harry Potter, with its seven books, always felt natural like that (instead of "let's write a book - ooh, it sells! I know, let's now tack on more books!"). And the same applies to my current top favourite, Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant, which has been planned as a nine book series from the start - or rather a series consisting of three trilogies, each trilogy with its own main plot line but with an overall series arc carrying through the books (each of which has its own plot, which gets resolved by the end of the book, as well).
On the other hand, there are series which seem to have no planned ending - not planned from the beginning, anyway - and that just go on and on. If they're completely self-contained books, it doesn't matter as much (except that once the author gets past the tenth or twelfth or fifteenth book, the quality can start going down as the author runs out of ideas for more stories set in that universe), but if it's the serial type of series, with each new book's story line carrying over from the previous one, and it just goes on and on and on, with no end in sight... not my favourite sort of thing. Or at least so far I haven't come across one that would have entered my favourites list.
Having to wait for the next book is one major problem of liking series, especially newer ones! Although I don't mind that much if new books are released at a somewhat decent pace, say once a year or at least no more than two years apart. I'm far more wary of series that come out at a pace of 3-4 books a year - or have 16 books out already.
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