Question about eBook Series

Bob Russell · 07-08-2005, 05:40 PM

I've noticed in the eReader free book promotion that they are giving away some great books. (Let's give them credit because we were pretty down on them when everything seemed like it would be public domain!)

Anyway, a lot of them seem to be one book in a series, whether it's a mystery series like today, or action or Star Trek, etc. They want you to get hooked, and continue to buy from that author of course, which is more than fair.

Well, after noticing that, I realized that a lot of popular fiction authors have written in a series. I get the impression that for some series, it's probably pretty important to read them in order. For other series it probably doesn't matter. Like Mary Higgens Clark has a bunch of mysteries, that I suppose doesn't matter in the order.

So my question is... How can you tell the ones that need to be read in order from the ones that can be read in any order?!

For example, there's a mystery series that goes "A is for Alibi", "B is for Burgler", ... , "R is for Ricochet". Does that just mean they are written in that order and help me remember which ones I've read, or does the sequence mean they need to be read in order?

And if order doesn't matter, I wonder if there's a simple way to tell which ones are the most popular in a series, so I can start with the best ones?

Any thoughts from the avid readers out there?!

Alexander Turcic · 07-08-2005, 06:21 PM

I usually use Amazon.com which often tells you if a book is part 'x' of a series.

Bob Russell · 07-09-2005, 10:39 AM

I can usually determine if it's in a series pretty well by Googling for info, but it doesn't seem as easy to find whether or not one book builds on the previous book enough that they should be read in order. (If order doesn't matter I'd like to first read either the ones that are highest rated, or most recent.)

But how do you determine whether or not you ought to read them in order?

For example, some TV series are better sequentially, even though you could see them in any order and still enjoy them. But you can pretty much see most movie series in any order... it doesn't matter if you watch Lethel Weapon I first or Lethal Weapon III first, or whether you start with the first James Bond film or the last one.

But, even so, you might want to start with the more recent films in that case, because they are generally the best and most modern. Then if you want more you can go to older and older ones if you really like them.

And aren't there some SciFi books that you don't want to read the sequel before the first one?

Maybe the answer is just like with a tv series... you have to know something about that particular series to know if order matters?

07-08-2005, 05:40 PM	#1
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Question about eBook Series I've noticed in the eReader free book promotion that they are giving away some great books. (Let's give them credit because we were pretty down on them when everything seemed like it would be public domain!) Anyway, a lot of them seem to be one book in a series, whether it's a mystery series like today, or action or Star Trek, etc. They want you to get hooked, and continue to buy from that author of course, which is more than fair. Well, after noticing that, I realized that a lot of popular fiction authors have written in a series. I get the impression that for some series, it's probably pretty important to read them in order. For other series it probably doesn't matter. Like Mary Higgens Clark has a bunch of mysteries, that I suppose doesn't matter in the order. So my question is... How can you tell the ones that need to be read in order from the ones that can be read in any order?! For example, there's a mystery series that goes "A is for Alibi", "B is for Burgler", ... , "R is for Ricochet". Does that just mean they are written in that order and help me remember which ones I've read, or does the sequence mean they need to be read in order? And if order doesn't matter, I wonder if there's a simple way to tell which ones are the most popular in a series, so I can start with the best ones? Any thoughts from the avid readers out there?!

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07-08-2005, 06:21 PM	#2
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,163 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	I usually use Amazon.com which often tells you if a book is part 'x' of a series.

07-09-2005, 10:39 AM	#3
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	I can usually determine if it's in a series pretty well by Googling for info, but it doesn't seem as easy to find whether or not one book builds on the previous book enough that they should be read in order. (If order doesn't matter I'd like to first read either the ones that are highest rated, or most recent.) But how do you determine whether or not you ought to read them in order? For example, some TV series are better sequentially, even though you could see them in any order and still enjoy them. But you can pretty much see most movie series in any order... it doesn't matter if you watch Lethel Weapon I first or Lethal Weapon III first, or whether you start with the first James Bond film or the last one. But, even so, you might want to start with the more recent films in that case, because they are generally the best and most modern. Then if you want more you can go to older and older ones if you really like them. And aren't there some SciFi books that you don't want to read the sequel before the first one? Maybe the answer is just like with a tv series... you have to know something about that particular series to know if order matters?

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