Reading book series: yay or nay? | Conversations

Conversations is a fortnightly discussion meme hosted by Geraldine @ Corralling Books and Joan @ Fiddler Blue where the aim is to get to know other bloggers and to generate conversations, as the name of the meme suggests! It’s been a while since I joined the fun (because LIFE) but I’m digging this week’s, topic: Reading series: yay or nay!

First off, I’ve realized that I love fantasy series (that’s all I read, let’s be real), but I’m not a fan of contemporary series: I tried To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han last year and disliked it, but I have one exception, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, like many readers out there. So I think book series actually work better for certain genres.

I love reading series, I think it’s a more interesting format, because the author has so much more time to develop a world, her characters and create intricate dynamics and plotlines. I’m looking at my shelves at the moment and I almost only see series, if I’m being honest, so I’ll probably be biased.

Perks of book series

1) You can binge read said series (when all the books are already published).

Reading complete series can be great, because it means M.A.R.A.T.H.O.N.I.N.G. and it’s such a great feeling. For Christmas 2014, I got two entire trilogies: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor and The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken, guess how I spent Christmas break? I read all of these books in a matter of days, I got completely engrossed in these worlds and fell in love with the characters. However, it’s so hard when you turn the last page of the last book in the series, crying because you feel you should have taken your time with it. I’m in denial every time.

I have the fondest feeling of binge-reading Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard. I feel like I’m talking about it every time, but it’s the last series I actually marathoned, I want to get physical copies because I read them on my e-reader, so it’ll sit nicely next to Truthwitch and I love it, okay? I want to reread it forever because it got my heart and my soul.

Five days of awesomeness, forgetting about school work, loving Daniel and Eleanor because OTP and sobbing at the end. I still think about it when I read it in October 2015 and we’re in July, that’s how obsessed I am.

2) You get to die wait for the sequel to come out and feel all the excitement.

I’m digging new releases because they’re shiny and new (obviously) and because of that, I’m waiting for sequels All. The. Time. I might be a masochist, because it means I’m dying every time, but series mean excitement! It means getting all the fan merchandise, reading all the fanfictions and fangirling over all the fanarts while waiting for the sequel to be released. Meaning: I need help since I finished A Court of Mist and Fury. Because Rhysand and the Inner Circle. <3

3) You can stay longer in this world.

When I start a new series, I’m being so engrossed and amazed by the world I’m discovering and when I’m done with said book, I just want to get back into it. Like many readers, I love to travel somewhere else, to travel like I read, and it’s such a good opportunity when you read book series.

You can even reread the previous books in the series before you get to the sequel, so you’ll be able to stay longer in this world. That’s what I did back in February when I reread A Darker Shade of Magic, before jumping almost straight back into this world made of different Londons with A Gathering of Shadows.

4) You get attached to the characters so much that they feel like family and you love to see them again.

When you read book series, you spend so much time with the characters that you care for them so much, they’re your precious cinnamon rolls and babies. You go through so much with them (um, I mean, they go through so much), which involves a lot of tears and feels, but it’s so worth it.

I’m so involved with the characters of The Infernal Devices; I struggle so much to pick up a favourite secondary character. For example, I love Jessamine Lovelace so much, she’s my precious baby, but so many people disliked her. I also love Charlotte, because she’s such a strong woman. And Henri and his explosions. And Sophie. And Cecily. And Gideon. And Gabriel. Look I’m dying there, because I love them so, so damn much.

Also, how can you keep a steady relationship with your book boyfriend if you’re reading a standalone?? *winks*

Disadvantages of series

1) Sometimes, I read the first book, wait forever to read the sequel and either forget everything or lose interest about it.

I’m great at reading a first book in a series and then forgetting about it altogether. I read Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger last month and I loved it (gave it 4.5 stars), but I have yet to continue with the series, when I own the next three books on my e-reader. I’m being ridiculous, I know.

Since the beginning of the year, I’ve read many first books in series – especially debuts – but does it mean I will wait to the sequel next year? Not for all of them, because I’ll have forgotten all about most of them. Sometimes, I even dropped series in the middle: I know I’ll never read The Death Cure and I still have to work the courage to continue the Air Awakens series.

2) You can be overwhelmed by the number of books you have to read until you reach the end.

I have a few completed series on my TBR at the moment and I’ve noticed that I’m less excited about those than other series. It’s just that I can start the books anytime, and I won’t have to wait forever and a day to get the sequel, so where’s the rush?

It’s almost as if I have these books on my TBR so I’m not scared I will always have something to read (because at the end of 2015, I had nothing left to read and I freaked out!). Like many people, I’m also way more attracted to shiny new releases and forget about backlist titles… Which means series are complete and I still haven’t read them. Oops.

For example, if I wasn’t buddy reading the Healer trilogy with Geraldine (hi there! ;)), I know it would have taken me so much more time to get to it eventually.

3) Reading standalones 100% helps your TBR. 

As you know, there are so many books out there, just waiting to be read! When you complete a standalone book, don’t you feel relief because you don’t have to add the sequel to your TBR, which is already enormous? Because I DO. You also have this feeling of closure, because this story is over.

Overall, I’m #teamseries. It’s true, sometimes I’m giving up on them, or forget what happened in some books and need recaps. But I love spending more time in different worlds and with my favourite characters.

Do you prefer book series or standalones? How often do you give up on series?