I'm curious...

[gtriever]

When you folks read a series, do you binge read the entire series (e.g. Jack Whyte's 9-book Camulod series), or do you break it up between volumes with a totally different book? I've done both in the past. As the post title indicates, I'm just curious.

[Quoth]

No, because it may not all be written, or may I not have it all.

I DO "binge read" if re-reading a series that has an overall story arc, or the characters develop. Not Floating Time Line nor a series where the stories are very much stand-alone.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

No, because it may not all be written, or may I not have it all.

I DO "binge read" if re-reading a series that has an overall story arc, or the characters develop. Not Floating Time Line nor a series where the stories are very much stand-alone.

Can you come up with an example of a series with standalone books? And can you prove they really are standalone?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by gtriever

When you folks read a series, do you binge read the entire series (e.g. Jack Whyte's 9-book Camulod series), or do you break it up between volumes with a totally different book? I've done both in the past. As the post title indicates, I'm just curious.

I don't usually binge a series as I have a lot of books to read.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by gtriever

When you folks read a series, do you binge read the entire series (e.g. Jack Whyte's 9-book Camulod series), or do you break it up between volumes with a totally different book?

Mostly the latter, but sometimes the former, if I'm enjoying the series very much.

[Deskisamess]

It depends on the type of series. I've read several lite fiction romance type series, and I do tend to read through the whole series. But these are usually 200-230 page very easy reads. I like reading them all through because they are usually written with cross-over characters and circumstances, but are finished books by themselves.

But novel series, like The Good Earth 3 book series is too much to read straight through. And they can be read as stand-a-lone books.

I admit to not reading much "fantasy" like LOTR. I've not read it, not for lack of trying.

Backs quietly out of the room...

[theducks]

Used bookstores used to be my Binge Series (paperback reading) bane.
I would try book 1, and rush back and grab whatever other in that series (and go home and read them )
Even finding a goodly stocked Used Bookstore is difficult. Saved.

Then some fool invented the Boxed Set (EPUB)

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by gtriever

When you folks read a series, do you binge read the entire series (e.g. Jack Whyte's 9-book Camulod series), or do you break it up between volumes with a totally different book? I've done both in the past. As the post title indicates, I'm just curious.

When a new book in a series I've enjoyed comes out, I tend to binge read the series before starting the new book when the series runs to 9 or fewer books. For longer series, I might re-read a few books before the new book (examples would be the 1632/Ring of Fire or In Death series.

Then there have been the times when I have discovered a new author and binge read their output whether it be series or standalone. I used to do that even when most of my purchases were in paper. One example is one day when I dropped by the local Chapters and having some time to kill started browsing through their SF & F shelves. I ran into David Edding's Castle of Wizardry (book 4 in the Belgariad series) and decided to kill a few minutes though the only book of his that I had previously read (High Hunt) had struck me as cold pancakes and no honey. A half hour or so later, I left Chapters the proud owner of the first 4 books in the Belgariad.

[ps67]

I try to read the whole series without breaking it when it is possible. May be sometime I read something completely different at the same time, a non fiction book, while I read a series of fantasy or sci-fi.

[Uncle Robin]

I tend to read up to about 6-9 of a series before needing a palate cleanser. I only managed 6 of Cherryh's Foreigner series before taking a break, so the next 6 (two 3-book arcs) are high on my TBR. It's similar with detective/crime series - half a dozen is enough at one time, generally.

[maddz]

Depends.

If I purchased the series as they were published, I'd re-read the earlier volumes before starting the new one to refresh my mind on the story arc.

If it's a completed series, then I usually get the lot and read at least the first book. Some I will leave it at that and not worry because I have got the complete series for the price of a single volume. Others I'll read some more into the series, and not be in any hurry to complete it, and others I'll finish the lot.

These days I'm usually picking up titles at 99p in various Kindle Deals (usually the monthly deal), and I am prepared to wait until I have the series completed before starting it.

[Ripplinger]

I'll binge read through them all if it's a series I really like, and it doesn't matter if it's 3 books or 33 books in the series. I might stop to read another book in between when there's a new release of a series I've already read to stay current, but only when it's a series I really love. Otherwise I'll wait until I finish the entire series I'm on for a new release in another series.

[issybird]

I let a lot of time go between the books of a series. Much time elapses when it’s a series I love so I can stretch it out; a lot of time will also elapse for the obvious reason when I don’t much care for it but it provides a mindless read when I’m in the mood. Middle ground is for series that are good enough, not great, not meh. But even so, reading one book after another would bore me and definitely lessen my appreciation for the series as a whole, no matter where on my personal spectrum it fell.

I never try to get back up to speed by rereading series books when a new one comes out. I admit that most series I read are done, but not quite all. What happened in earlier books comes back to mind well enough once I start a book; in any case, it doesn’t much matter.

[hobnail]

There can be a problem with having too much time go by between books in a series when there are connections and dependencies and various characters; it can be hard to remember who is who and what they did in the previous books. This happened to me with the last book that was just released in the Queen's Thief series.

So in that sense I'd rather read them all straight through, but I tend to read a book or two between the books in the series.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Can you come up with an example of a series with standalone books? And can you prove they really are standalone?

Do you read SF&F?
It is common for writers to maintain a unified universe were a bunch of books are standalones scattered along a single timelone, usually with different protagonists for different eras.
Heinlein, Niven, Pournelle, Zimmer-Bradley, Asimov, Drake, Bujold, are just a few.

In older historical fiction there's the Aubrey-Maturin and Hornblower series, though those do feature the same protagonists. Each is a standalone episode.

The way you can tell is that the books can be read in any order or even individually without reading any "earlier" book in the timeline. Each book has a distinct focus with a beginning, middle, and end.

Bujold's Vorkossigan saga is a good example where the book publishing order is not the series' chronological order.

Zimmer-Bradley's Darkover is another example, where the earliest written books (from the early 60's) take place near the end of the timeline, the earliest in the late 70's, and the last published ones take place fairly early. None requires reading the others. It helps but that's a reader choice.

Even older book series were built off totally standalone stories. Perry Mason, Tarzan, Ed McBain's 87th Precinct, etc.

The advantage is that readers can jump in at any point in the timeline with no need to dig up earlier books. This was a lot more valuable in the olden days when most books received only one print run or went out of print for years on end.

Today, with ebooks and POD enabling an "eternal" backlist it isn't mandatory but it's still useful. It isn't uncommon for a successful series to spawn independent prequels, sequels, and side-quels.

David Weber's HONORVERSE series has spawned collateral series that can be read independently but do contribute to the main series narrative and two fully independent prequel trilogies that don't.

Similarly, the shared universe 163x/Grantville Saga includes multiple parallel sub-series that share the same setting but can be read independently of rsch other. You don't have to read the stories set in Rusdia to enjoy the stories of the BARBIE CONSORTIUM or the MISSION TO THE MUGHALS.

Finally, readers have a choice.
They can read the series in publishing order to see how the author's skill evolves, in internal chronology order, or only the favorites.

Rereaders can do all three.