Anthologies

[Namekuseijin]

purely random

sometimes I go for titles, others for author names

[AlbertaCowboy]

The only time I ever read anthologies is when a particular author has written a story with characters I already know. I'll rarely, if ever, read any of the other stories.
It's for this reason that I generally don't buy anthologies.

[jersysman]

In the paper world, I usually would buy an anthology for a particular author and start there. Then I would go back to the beginning and pick up from there. I've never bought an ebook anthology, so I do not know how I would handle that.

[Lemurion]

Begin at the beginning, go on to the end, then stop.

(I picked option 1).

[Section8]

I read a lot of anthologies and almost always read them from the beginning, all the way through. Occasionally, I may skip story I've already read, very recently. In the case of a truly huge anthology (Sense of Wonder), I read a story or two between other books. I have yet to finish one that big because Sense of Wonder is the only anthology I've ever started that big and am about 1/3 of the way through it.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Section8

I read a lot of anthologies and almost always read them from the beginning, all the way through. Occasionally, I may skip story I've already read, very recently. In the case of a truly huge anthology (Sense of Wonder), I read a story or two between other books. I have yet to finish one that big because Sense of Wonder is the only anthology I've ever started that big and am about 1/3 of the way through it.

Yep im with you exactly on that one!

[GeoffR]

I just read the good stories in an anthology and skip the fillers, but I don't really like anthologies, i'd rather buy single-author collections or individual shorts if they are available.

[piperclassique]

Yes, it was Sense of wonder that provoked me to post

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by piperclassique

Yes, it was Sense of wonder that provoked me to post

It's Huge! and yes I've skipped around it in, still don't think I've made it past the first 1/3 or so.

What I particularly like about it is the historical context that the works are presented in.

[cadele]

I read my favourites first and then read the rest. I usually read all of them but unless they are all really good they can go on the back burner for quite a while.

[BenG]

A monkey see blog post about this years collections

Infectious Collections: Stories And Poems To Convert Any Reader

[kennyc]

Thanks Ben!

[BenG]

Check out the link to npr's 2013 Book Concierge when visiting that page.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by BenG

Check out the link to npr's 2013 Book Concierge when visiting that page.

As compared to the goodreads list which most I'd not even heard of, I've got 5 of those on my TBR list (either reserved at library or already purchased) and have actually read another one (MaddAddam).

I'll usually start by reading authors that I like, then read around the stories I like (i.e. the ones that come immediately before or after, or the ones in the same section) under the assumption that they are grouped thematically or progressively. Then I'll read the author's blurbs on the remaining stories to see if there's anything else I'm interested in.

I'm very picky about what I read since I have a love-hate relationship with science fiction. I think that authors like Asimov and Sawyer are amazing, but also find a lot of SF too cynical or militaristic for my tastes.