Sandi Shilhanek | Serious About Series

Sandi Shilhanek
January 24, 2010

Comments

34 comments posted.

Re: Sandi Shilhanek | Serious About Series

I've been reading the In Death series by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) from book 1. This is one of the few long series that I've read eagerly as each book comes out. I even buy them for my ereader these days. One of the other series that I'm waiting eagerly for is a new Miles Vorkosigan book by Lois McMaster Bujold.

I read books in order and I'm not a fan of multi author series (continuity series especially). I generally read books as they come out unless I'm new to the series and I get hooked. I'll read the whole series in order and in one gulp then.
(Robin Greene 1:27am January 24, 2010)

I like both stand-alones and series. I read a lot of mysteries and still enjoy the books that Marcia Muller and Sue Grafton write and these have been going on for over 20 years. I do prefer to read in order but rarely bo back & reread.
(Pam Nolan 11:32am January 24, 2010)

Series junkie to the core!
(Karin Tillotson 11:38am January 24, 2010)

I prefer to read series books in order.
That's how I started on Robyn Carr's
Virgin River series. I found the VR
Christmas book and saw that it was
part of a larger series so I bought the
previous books and read those before
VR Christmas. It's my absolute
favorite series. I also like Lakeshore
Chronicles, Sheryl Woods Magnolia
series and a few others.
(Mary Hundley 11:48am January 24, 2010)

I love series, you get to learn so much more about the characters. So I am definitely a series junkie. I don't always read them in order, I try to but I'm not bothered by them not being in order.
(Joyce Mandle 12:12pm January 24, 2010)

I can't believe that I forgot Sherryl Woods and her Sweet Magnolias. I'm
really looking forward to the new books in that series that are releasing
this spring.

Thank you to all who took the time to come and comment.
(Sandi Shilhanek 12:24pm January 24, 2010)

OOOOH, love series. I tend to hoard them then have a reading frenzy. I loathe getting a book and discovering that it is in the middle of a series. Makes me feel compelled to go get all the previous titles so I can read them in order. Otherwise I feel as if I've missed out on details I might need or want.
(Kay Martinez 12:25pm January 24, 2010)

I love reading series and really enjoy them. Debbie Macomber has had quite a few and I have read them all. Also series by Linda Lael Miller and Robyn Carr. Sometimes it is hard to keep up with the order of the books in each series, but I do try and sometimes have to write them down. It would be easier to purchase all of them in order but sometimes that is not possibly and some are out of print. I have wrote down the titles and purchased them at used book stores online. I do prefer to read them in order, but sometimes you pick up a book that hits you and then later on you discover it is part of a series. As usual, Sandi you are a joy to read!
(Peg Fragale 12:28pm January 24, 2010)

I like reading series. When I read Susan Elizabeth Phillips' "Heaven, Texas" and Catherine Anderson's "My Sunshine", it didn't take me long to realize I was missing something. Even Mary Burton's "Dying Scream" which is highlighted today, is not the first in the series. I really liked the book but again, wish I'd known there was something before it. Of course, all that does is make me scramble to find and read all the missing pieces of the series.
(Jill Hayden 12:42pm January 24, 2010)

I love series and love to read them in order. No one has mentioned the Paranormal/Fantasy series that are so popular these days. Love Christine Feehan, Laurell K. Hamilton and of course, our on Candy!
(Katherine Ingram 1:49pm January 24, 2010)

I'm definitely serious about series. The majority of my autobuys are ongoing series (JD Robb, Janet Evanovich, Laurell K Hamilton, Robyn Carr). I have discovered a new author who has written a couple trilogies. Her name is Cara North. Her writing is sexy, but the stories are solid. She is a cross between Catherine Anderson, Rachel Gibson, and Susan E Phillips.
(Tina Sporer 1:58pm January 24, 2010)

I really like to read series books, even though I will read standalones. I prefer to read from the beginning, but have read some out of order until I could find the missing ones. I don't save them up, I read them as they come out. It's great to find a new-to-me series that already has several books, though. I kept putting off the In Death series as I considered it was futuristic and I don't like those, but when I finally read the first one? I now can't wait for the next paperback and have them in hardback! Just finished Sherryl Woods' Trinity Harbor series, gobbled down like candy. I really like mystery series and have only recently, thanks to DFW Tea group, started reading romance novels. Makes a good change.
(Sherry Moran 1:59pm January 24, 2010)

Jill, when I read Dying Scream I didn't know it was part of a series either! I
know it mentioned past histories, but I guess I was too stupid or
something, that even then I didn't put it together. It wasn't until someone
point blank told me that I learned it was part of a series. I immediately
went to the Kindle store, and bought Cold Case Cop which is a Harlequin
release and tied to Dying Scream. I wonder what the other title is. I think
she told me at the time, but now I of course don't remember.
Hmmm....time to go to Burton's website and see if I can figure it out!
(Sandi Shilhanek 2:00pm January 24, 2010)

I like reading series, but like to have a cheat sheet for the characters in the front of the book in order to keep them straight. Sometimes I read them out of order, yet like continuity.
(Alyson Widen 2:05pm January 24, 2010)

I really love series- it gives me a chance to follow characters and continue to live in a story line I really like. The longer the series the better- I like JD Robb's mysteries for that reason and love her new thing of taking the traditional 3 part series to a 4 part series now.

I am a zelot when it comes to reading them in order. In fact a family memeber and I were discussing this last night- her husband had gotten what he thought was the entire series for her as a present but missed the first so she has told him the others have to sit on her shelf unread until she get the first because you can't read them out of order.

I feel the exact same way.
(Sara Edmonds 2:07pm January 24, 2010)

I love series! I've read Robyn Carr's Virgin River series, Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, Catherine Coulter's FBI series and Beverly Barton's Protector and Griffin Powell series. ALL are grat!!!! Wouldn't miss any of them!
(JoAnn White 3:27pm January 24, 2010)

Sandi, I love reading series books. I have been reading Debbie's Cedar Cove series and anxoiusly await the next one. I have been reading the Virgin River series as well and can't wait for the one this month. I usually read them as they come out. Sometimes I have to go rto the last book to refresh my memory but not usually. I am now reading the After the Storm series that started las fall but waited to get them all before reading. I found this is a great way to read them because you don't forget what happened in the book before but with this series I don't feel it would have been necessary. I love series and standalones alike.
(Diana Smith 3:48pm January 24, 2010)

I am totally in love with series'. I do try to read them in order, but I won't put off reading a new story because I haven't read the prequels. (I like instant gratification.) For example: Nora Robert's Remember When is what got me reading her In Death series. I haven't read all of the earlier books still, but I read every new release almost immediately. I don't mind multiple author series, like Raintree trilogy by Linda Howard, Beverly Barton and Linda Winstead Jones. I love to reread my authors. My family jokes that I could start a library with my collections. I usually reread series when there is a lull in new publications by my favorite authors. (They all seem to publish within a few months of each other in the spring and fall, with lags in between. I have moved to mostly ebooks now, however. I like the fact that they are more easily stored. They take up a lot less space on my bookshelf (ha ha).
(Erin Donley 4:48pm January 24, 2010)

Yes I love series too,right now I am reading Sookie Stackhouse series, the southern vampire mystery series by Charlaine Harris and also the Carr- Virgin River Series.
(Joy Hoormann 5:07pm January 24, 2010)

Hi Sandi,
Yes I'm into series ever since I started with the In Death series by JD Robb. My next was Robyn Carr Virgin River(which is still continuing). Then Linda Lael Miller with The McKettricks western series, Deep In The Valley by Robyn Carr,Elizabeth Naughton and on and on. I guess I got really hooked on them but don't get tired of them.I will read other books in between but can still pick up on the series I'm reading.
(Nancy Alexander 5:18pm January 24, 2010)

I do love series. I always read them in order & savour every word.
(Mary Preston 5:20pm January 24, 2010)

Yes, I love series but I also like stand alones! I much prefer to read them in order and will sometimes wait until all of them are published. On the other hand, I do read as they come out. If I discover an older book I try to make sure it is not part of a series or I try to acquire the whole series so I can read them in order. Some of my favorite series: The MacGregors by Nora Roberts, the Donovan's & The MacKade's all Nora books. I also love Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove & her Blossom Street books, Catherine Anderson and Robyn Carr. I'm sure the longer I sit here the more I will remember!!
Great blog as usual Sandi.
(Donna McClure 5:29pm January 24, 2010)

I like series books too! The first series I ever read was "The Bastion Club" series by Stephanie Laurens which took several years to complete. I also read the entire "Beckets of Romney Marsh" series but waited to read the last book until I read "The Return of the Prodigal" which came before it. I also enjoyed "Diamonds Down Under" which was a multiple-author series. And I have read most of many other series too. Finally, I like stand alone books to read as well.
(Trudy Miner 7:02pm January 24, 2010)

I love series and stand alones. If I can get the books to read them in order, I will, but I won't let it stop me if I can't. I couldn't even begin to list the series I've read, though some of my favorites are Robyn Carr, Debbie Macomber, Nora Roberts, Stephanie Laurens.

I frequently will go back and get older books in a series so that I can get the back stories on some characters, but it isn't a requirement.
(Susan Frank 7:58pm January 24, 2010)

I've been a series junkie since I read my first BLACK STALLION book over 50 years ago. Not long after, I picked up the first book of Elswyth Thane's 7-book Williamsburg Series. Those began my love of reading and collecting series of novels and I haven't stopped since.
(Sigrun Schulz 9:37pm January 24, 2010)

I am definitely a series junkie. It goes back to childhood, as I would consider the Nancy Drew books as such. Or the Nick Carter ones. And, of course, there is Nora. I actually discovered series in romance thru her MacGregor series - started in the middle at book 3 - ugh. Much prefer to read in order, but that doesn't always happen. I plan on starting the new Stuart Woods that my gf pick up - its part of his Stone Barrington series (he has several others). There are far to many other favs to name - sigh.

Oh, even though I'm a series junkie, I like a stand alone just as much!
(Amanda Reeder-erdly 10:00pm January 24, 2010)

Good questions Sandi! I like both stand alones and series. I prefer a series by one author but have read a couple of continuties that were well done--the Madonna Key series is one that comes to mind. I try to read the books as they come out but I am behind on some of the series I read--JD Robb's series--which is also my favorite right now. I like the long running series the best. My favorite mystery series right now is Kathy Reichs Brennan books.
(Mary Perry 10:53pm January 24, 2010)

I like Series to be by one author. If I like an author I don't really care if the books are a series or stand alone as long as good writing is consistent.

Ray
(Ray Getzinger 11:01pm January 24, 2010)

I love series, but I prefer that they are stand alone. Its so tortuous to have to wait. I admit that I will gather 2-3 in a series before starting.
(Armenia Fox 11:15pm January 24, 2010)

I love series. I prefer them over single titles. I have to read seriels in the proper order, unless it's an older series and the books involved are hard to find, then, I will just read the series out of order as I find the books. It happens more that way than most with the older series.
(Debbie Beverley 12:33pm January 25, 2010)

I adore my series!! And I do prefere to read them order, but if I find one and read it I must go back and get the back titles and then read them in order. Now some series are written in order but ment to be read in another... Like
DragonRiders.... I have all of those, and the Tower series and the Pegus series by the same author.... The In Death... Oh, they make me sigh with delight each time a new one comes out.... All the series by Christine Feehan I snatch up.... Sigh, there are two many to count, yes, I am addicted. LOL
(Melissa Tackett 4:22am January 25, 2010)

I think I tend to read more stand alones than series. A series is more attractive to me, most of the time, if it's limited to three or four books - sometimes when they go on and on, they start to take on too many similarities.

Interesting topic and comments!
(Laurie Damron 8:37am January 25, 2010)

Troubleshooters series - Suzanne Brockmann - nuf said!
(Kelli Jo Calvert 1:43pm January 25, 2010)

I am absolutely addicted to series. Some of my favorites are Sherrilyn Kenyon, Christine Feehan, LK Hamilton, Stephanie Laurens, Lynsay Sands and JD Robb, to name a few. My mom drives me crazy because she will start a series in the middle. I'm a firm believer of starting at the first, even if I have all the other books, if I don't have the first one I'll let them sit on the shelf until I acquire the one I need. I do read stand alone books; there are just too many good books out to limit myself.
(Jill Merriott 9:29pm January 25, 2010)

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