Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarana
A really good series novel doesn't require you to read the rest of the series in order to enjoy it. That is why many authors remain popular and vibrant. You can pick up book #22 and read it, having never read a thing before by that author, and enjoy it! Of course the disadvantage is if you picked up book #18 and it was one of the more disappointing books in the series, you aren't likely to pick up another one for that series. But, that's how it goes.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
I don't think that's true, Jon. There are many detective series that one can happily read the books in any order. You may get slightly more from them if you do read them in publication order in terms of ongoing character development, but not everybody has the luxury (or the desire) of doing that. If you borrow books from a library, for example, you'll just borrow what happens to be there at the time.
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While what you say is undoubtedly true for some, maybe even the majority, of people, some of us just can't do it. I can't get my head around what I'm "missing" and enjoy a book to the fullest if I know there are others in the series that came before it. Sometimes you're really missing nothing, but whenever I know I'm reading a book from a series that I know has previous entries I find myself incapable of really enjoying it. Shrug, different strokes...