Friday, August 16, 2013

Series Challenge Friday: Guest Post
Heidi @ Bunbury in the Stacks on how she reads series


The Summer Series Challenge is happening now! 
Hosted by Heather @ The Flyleaf Review
Lauren @ Love is not a triangle
Follow #serieschallenge

Today we get to hear from Heidi who blogs at Bunbury in the Stacks.

Heidi is one of my favorite bookish people. 

I love discussing books with her, and I love how resolved she is about her reading habits. I'm so thankful that she's agreed to talk about them today!

Heidi is also one of the few blogging friends I have met in real life. She was actually the very first person I met at BEA this year. I was so thankful to run into her, because she made me feel welcome right away! I hope we get to hang out again soon.

Enough of me, let's get right to Heidi:

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In 6th grade I had a terrible (and wonderful) experience: I discovered Philip Pullman.  My beloved English teacher got me reading the Sally Lockhart books, and I devoured them with fervor before picking up his shiny new release, The Golden Compass.  But then--then I experienced a horror that was heretofore unknown to me: I had to wait.  Never in my life had I picked up a series that had yet to finish publication.  From Little House to Narnia I had been safe from that terrible thing we call delayed gratification (at least in terms of reading, I was already well acquainted with the torture of saving my allowance for months to buy a stereo).  And then there’s the fact that when you read books as they release it’s just a big conspiracy to get you to read them repeatedly.  I literally have no idea how many times I’ve read each Harry Potter book, other than that I’ve read each one at least one more time than the next one down the road.  They really expect you to remember that stuff over the year or more *glares at Patrick Rothfuss and George R.R. Martin* it takes to get your hands on the next in the series?  I don’t think so.

And so, in the intervening years I’ve decided it’s simply best if I don’t know what I’m missing.  That’s right, I’d rather not read that new start to a trilogy everyone’s talking about.  I’m much more content with waiting 3-4 years to just read the whole thing at once.  Yeah, a lot of the time that doesn’t happen *glares again at Patrick Rothfuss and George R.R. Martin*, but one can try.  It wasn’t hard before I started blogging.  Complete complacency (and college)  kept me from being aware of shiney new releases until a series was complete anyway.  Then I became engrossed in the blogosphere and completely fell for the opportunity to read so many new and upcoming releases.  Boy did I regret that.  Who else read Sarah Rees Brennan’s Unspoken?  PURE TORTURE.  Yeah.  That was just the final straw in a long list of big mistakes.  Rules needed to be self imposed.

So here we go:

No new series until they’re released unless...
  • They’re companion novels.  Companion novels are one of the greatest things to ever happen to series.  You get to keep the world/setting without having to really keep track of the details.  Favorite characters pop up, but things don’t get run into the ground.  Color me a huge fan.
  • It’s urban fantasy.  This is an exception largely because these series tend to be so long (in fact, none of the ones I read have completed yet), and they’re my light popcorn reads that I just have to have when my brain’s too fried to handle anything heavy
  • It’s a favorite author and I really can’t help it (I still try to resist, particularly if they’re known for incomplete endings).
  • It’s an author I trust. I have trust issues, but there are some authors who always try to give you a good tied up ending that makes each book work somewhat like a stand alone.  Though you still run into that whole remembering things problem here.

When I do read a series, however, I don’t just gulp it down in one long drink.  In fact, I almost never read two books in one series back to back.  My delayed gratification transfers into full blown ADD if I attempt to read an entire series together.  I get tired of characters and a world and often find myself stuck for days unable to move forward, no matter how much I love them.  I need change and variety, and so 95% of the time I’ll read at least one book in a different genre before continuing.  And then there’s the fact that I love both audiobooks and physical books--but once I’ve gone in for a format, I really have to stick with it.  I’ve gotten stuck on series for months waiting to track down the right format of a book.  Mixing it up is great for rereads, but that first time through?  I have to stay the same.

And there you have it.  We all have our bookish quirks, but mine tend to revolve around series reading (I swear I’m completely normal otherwise).  I’ve become a big fan of companion novels and stand alones as a result, but there’s really nothing like those series, worlds, and characters you fall completely in love with that will remain with you for a lifetime.  Just, you know, in their proper time.

Have you made your own series reading resolutions? 

Tell us what they are in the comments!

**NOW, go visit Heather @ The Flyleaf Review to hear what Jen from YA Romantics has to say about gaining closure when you read a series back-to-back**

(I got to meet Jen at BEA this year too, and spent lots of time running around the exhibit floor with her. She is pretty awesome as well!)

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Don't forget to link up your August reviews! The month is already half over. 







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18 comments:

  1. Heidi, SAME FORMAT? I used to think I had weird reading quirks, and then I found the blogosphere. ;)

    Anyway, I love UF and companion novels like you (and am also totally glaring at Patrick Rothfuss all the time), but I love just sitting and reading an entire series from start to finish. I ocassionally squeeze a different book in the middle of the second and third novel, only because I do get tired sometimes, but usually I'm an all-in-one-go kind of reader.

    Lovely post, Heidi! (Only 13 days till Untold!)

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    1. I'm SO SCARED OF UNTOLD. Seriously, I had major anger issues related to Unspoken. I couldn't sleep. And yeah, switching between audio and print really bugs me--totally using birthday cash to buy myself an Audible account so that I can use it to fill in some of those gaps.

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  2. I wish I could wait until the entire series comes out to read it, but I just can't. And then I'm like you, re-reading all of the books because I cannot even remember the MC's name. I read so many books that I barely remember a book that I read a couple of weeks ago (although there are obviously exceptions). So even if it's only been 6 months, I usually have to re-read a book. And with these cliffhanger endings...Gah! They're killing me and it's ridiculous to have to wait a year to find out if the person who was just stabbed lives or not. I think book writers are starting to write like it's a TV show instead of a book. Anyway...sorry for the rant. I wish I could make some sort of reading resolution, but I would just be setting myself up for failure. Great post! ~Pam

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    1. Hahaha, dude, I totally understand that rant. I've DONE that rant! I hate when books don't have a good resolution, it's one of my biggest pet peeves and major reasons I wait for a series to end.

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  3. Reading quirks, we all have them! I totally agree with what you said about having no problems holding off on starting a new series before you started blogging. Same here. But oh does it get HARD to talk yourself out of it when everyone you know online is consumed with it! I tend to give in (I'm a pushover) and pick up the book if it's something I really, really want--I don't let the fact that I'll have to wait for the next book stop me. But it does bother me when so much time elapses in between releases that I not only forget some of the books finer details, but I tend to lose enthusiasm for the book. By the way--I did hold off on reading Unspoken intentionally--I heard about that nasty cliffie so I decided not to to torture myself there! I'll wait for the series to complete, thank you very much:)

    I do love reading a series back to back though--and I absolutely agree with your thoughts on companion novels, I love them as well.

    Great guest post, Heidi!

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    1. Yes--losing enthusiasm is something I'm not sure I mentioned but is really another reason I like to read series all at once! When I have to wait, I'm just not as excited anymore.

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  4. I've had a hard time with series lately. They all seem to end in big cliffies and then we're not getting the next book for another year?!? Um, no. Thanks. I definitely agree about the urban fantasy series, though. They're good about wrapping up the story within a book but carrying on a separate story arc throughout 5-10 books...all good with me. LOVE!

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    1. Yeah, it seems like EVERYTHING in the past few years has been forced into a trilogy whether it needed to be or not, so I'm really glad to see pubs are starting to move away from that. In the meantime I'll stick to my UF thank you very much. :P

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  5. I really admire Heidi's resolution when it comes to series. I'd try to maintain similar principles if waiting for series really bothered me, but I don't think it does. I still don't go out of my way to start new series, however, so it's possible I'd feel just as frustrated as her if I did care more about starting the newest series. I will say that a benefit of book blogging is the realization that there are TONS of books we can distract ourselves with while waiting for the newest series installments.

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    1. Yes! I totally agree. Book blogging is a double edged sword sometime. It can make us more aware of what we might be missing out on, but it also shows us how much there is out there to read while we wait. =)

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  6. Heidi -- you were at BEA and I didn't meet you???

    I like trying new series, but hate waiting a year between books. Not because of the cliffhangers -- I'm getting so jaded about those -- but because I'm in the middle of so many series that I can't remember all the details of prior books. I also often lose interest in a series when I have to wait forever to read the next installment.

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    1. I was! And unfortunately, there were a few people I totally missed out on this year! I hope you're coming back next year (though hopefully I am as well for that matter). And yes, losing interest in a series is another big thing about waiting. I just don't care anymore after a while.

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  7. I agree on not having a problem holding off on reading a series prior to blogging. I admire your ability to wait until they're all released. I just can't do it! But I also love reading a series back-to-back and will often re-read previous books in a series before the new one comes out. I love that you have to read books in a series in the same format. I love finding out about others' reading quirks :)

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    1. I love finding out about others' reading quirks as well! I only really reread when I LOVE a book, otherwise I feel like it's a waste of time--those tend to be the series I just stop reading halfway through.

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  8. I remember trying to tell you to get The Bone Season and then made the mistake of telling you it's the first book in a seven-part series, ha! I used to be the same, I read series once they were out but these days I can't seem to help myself!

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    1. Oh The Bone Season is one I very well may cave on. I've been hearing such good things, and since I have a copy lying around...

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