Conversations: Reading Book Series - yay or nay?
First things first: what is the plural of book series? Seriei? Serii? Serieses? Just 'series'? I DON'T KNOW. #bookstruggles
I'm gonna go with 'series' - thank you Twitter people!
Anyway, the topic for this week is...
Reading book series: yay or nay?
YAY! Book Series Are The BEST!
1. You only need to read the first book to orient yourself to the universe - This is particularly true with fantasy/sci-fi book series. One thing I dislike about reading a new book (gasp!) is the amount of time it takes for me to jump into the universe and learn about the characters. With book series, this issue is reduced. I can just read the first book, and then I'm set for the next few books!
2. You get more of your favourites - I was so happy to read Vampire Academy, and then subsequently find out it was a series...I was elated. It meant more sassy Rose, more of the Moroi/Strigoi universe, and more flails.
3. Easy birthday/Christmas shopping- I always find it easy to buy books for my friends if I know they like a book series. For example, James, a friend of mine in high school, bought me Fall of Five, in the Lorien Legacies, for my birthday because he knew I loved that series. It's just easy to buy presents, because you can buy the next book in the book series for your friend - that way they are guaranteed to love the present!
4. Bookstagram goals - With complete book series, you can take photos of them, show it off on bookstagram, and be like a proud mama! Look at how I boasted of my Skulduggery Pleasant collection!
4. Bookstagram goals - With complete book series, you can take photos of them, show it off on bookstagram, and be like a proud mama! Look at how I boasted of my Skulduggery Pleasant collection!
Nay - I say give me a stand-alone any day!
2. You could be reading another book - so many books, too little time right? Shouldn't we be sharing the love with other books, other characters as well?
3. Different editions are painful - One of my biggest pet peeves is when books of the same series don't align up perfectly in a bookshelf because they're from different editions. I'll be honest, it's not a hugeee deal-breaker. But sometimes, I'll be staring at my bookshelves, annoyed by how I've got different book editions of books in a series, because I bought them at a different time. The best example is The Infernal Devices. I bought the first two from Book Depository because they had already come out, and they were a small, cute A6-ish size. But then Clockwork Princess came out, and I HAD to have it - but they only had the large A5-ish edition...needless to say, I cringe whenever I see those books on the bookshelf
After writing this post, I think for me, it's safe to say that I love book series if I can bingeread them. This means I have to like the first book at least!
For example, I love book series when it comes to ones like Vampire Academy, Anna and the French Kiss, the Shadowhunter universe, etc. because I can binge read them.
But I don't like A Song of Fire and Ice, because I never got into the first book. Whilst I liked it - I didn't love it, and it's been too long since I last read Game of Thrones for me to go on with A Clash of Kings.
What do you guys think? Do you always like/dislike book series? If so, give me reasons to like/dislike book series! Or like me, does it depend on the scenario? If so - what does it depend on? Let me know in the comments below! As always, if you've written a post for Conversations this week...don't be shy, link up here! I want to hear what you think! :)
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