Do you always read series books back to back?

SMW91183

I have always wondered what other people do about this. It seems like every time I start a series, no matter how good it is, another book comes up that I must read now! I always intend to finish the series back to back, but I never seem to manage that. Then when I try to go back to where I left off in the series I feel like I need to start all over again with Book 1 to refresh my memory. What do you guys do?

MrsJenE

Yes, unless the whole series isn't out yet.

mrsvedo

Almost always. The only times I haven't are when I read them through the library and the next one isn't available yet. This only applies to the HP and BDB series. With HP I could only read one a month since it was through Kindle Lending Library. With BDB, I'm reading through Free Library of Philadelphia and the books all have holds. When my name comes up I read the next one.

Otherwise, all other series I've read have been marathoned. I do this with TV too. I can't stand not knowing what happens next most of the time.

fabk

I like to read them all at once but sometimes I need a break or can't get the next one easily or want to draw the series out.

UFCasey

Yes, with a few exceptions:
- series hasn't completed yet
- individual books in the series are long (outlander)

julie37619

Almost always.  The exceptions would be if the series is incomplete or if it's a series that could work just as well as stand-alones (lots of mystery/thriller/police procedural series function fine alone)

jenndawnp

Most times yes. 

krispy83

Yes, unless the entire series has not been completed yet.

LadyMacaron

Unless its totally amazing (like Hunger Games), I usually need a break or I get burned out/bored. I try not to read the same type of book back to back in general though.

j*&p*

I usually like to put at least a few other books in between. I actually love the anticipation and having to wait for the next book in the series to come out. 

SacGeoLover

Usually not.  I get burned out easily and I like the switch up.  When I go back I'm refreshed and ready to go.

Skeezon

Yes. If I know it's a series, I make sure they're all out before I start.

ajpufky

It totally depends, I bought Hunger Games as 1 ebook and read them all back to back but really wish I would have taken a break between each so I knew when each book actually ended. I've ended up rereading each so I could remember. I actually like reading some other books in between, when I reread HP this year I actually read 2 or 3 books in between just to enjoy each book a little longer.

shellmh

Hardly ever. Even with series that are already complete I'll usually only read one at a time. I enjoy going back to the series after reading a couple other books. It's like revisiting old friends.

The only time I can remember reading two back to back was in the Vampire Academy series and it was only because both books just happened to be available at the library, and I was like halfway through the series so I already knew I was obsessed with them and read them fast.

jason&robin

I bounce around. If it's a crazy series I can't put down, I will read them in a row. I read Twilight all together because they were all available to me. If it's a series that I am enjoy but isn't addictive, I'll take a break and read whatever I can get from the library. I get a little overwhelmed if I stick with the same story for too long. I could never do Outlander in a row. Oh my goodness. It took me about a year to read all the Black Dagger Brotherhood books too. Sometimes I am just in the mood for something different.

booknerd226

It depends. Nora Roberts' trilogies/quartets I usually read back to back, but like her JD Robb In Death series I read one or two and then read other stuff and eventually read one or two again later. It's such a long series that I'll get burned out. I already know I'll have to take a break between Outlander and TBH books.

HP I always read back to back. I love it too much to pause between books. Hunger Games I read back to back because I had to know what happened. 

There are other series that aren't complete and I'll usually read them when they come out, or whenever I get around to them. They're good series, but I just get overwhelmed if I read them back to back.

Savanna111911

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. It really just depends. I often don't if I'm participating in challenges, because it is difficult to fit them in. But I prefer to so that I re,ember what happened in other books.

Jliongrrrl

LadyMacaron said:

Unless its totally amazing (like Hunger Games), I usually need a break or I get burned out/bored. I try not to read the same type of book back to back in general though.

This exactly.  I like to switch things up.

Passanie

Usually I like to spread out the goodness and read something else in between. Kind of a guarantee that there's a good book waiting for you, know what I mean? Unless I really, really have to know what happened, like with the third and fourth Game of Thrones books.

SnShne322

I make a good effort to.

Shepherdjel

Almost never! I don't read series that often but when I do, I read one then read a book or two in between then go back. Unless the series is amazing and I NEED to pick up the next then I definitely would read them back to back.

Stefibeth

I rarely read a series back-to-back.  I typically like to stretch it out and often I need a break, like with Outlander or ASOIAF.  If something was a quick read that I really loved and there was a big cliff hanger I might go on to read the next book right away.  Much more often than not I wait though.  I like to bounce around with what I read.

brittk0486

UFCasey said:

Yes, with a few exceptions:
- series hasn't completed yet
- individual books in the series are long (outlander)

Exactly this.

lab7979

Sometimes but not all of the time.  If they are pretty quick reads and really good I'll read them back to back.  Something like the Outlander series I put breaks in between because the books are so long. 

AshleyT121

If I'm loving the series and all the books are available, then yes. However there are lots of series out there that I have started but not finished that I do plan to finish eventually.

GilliC

No. Even for series that I love, I stop and take a break. I may read two books in the series back-to-back but I will never read more than that.

If I really like it, I want to make it last, and I don't want to diminish it by reading too much of the same thing at once. I find that if I read too many similar books in a row they have a tendency to blur together in my memory.

SusieBW

shellmh said:

Hardly ever. Even with series that are already complete I'll usually only read one at a time. I enjoy going back to the series after reading a couple other books. It's like revisiting old friends.

What a great way to put it!

I don't usually read a series back to back, either.  But it depends.  When I finished Divergent, I immediately found a bootleg download of the second book and proceeded to read the whole thing on my phone over a couple of days.  But mostly, I like to space a series out and enjoy it for longer.  I read one Outlander book per year, and I've been slowly working my way through Dennis Lehane's Kenzie and Gennaro series for a couple of years now, too.  I love these books so much that I want to make them last.  I like always knowing that I have another one waiting for me.

brie&drew

I try to. If I don't read them in order it's usually because the books are realy long , ie A Song of Ice and Fire. I also usually like to wait until a series is finished before starting. That way if  Ido like the books I can go through them all at once.

cnthrdlywt2bwZ

j*&p* said:

I usually like to put at least a few other books in between. I actually love the anticipation and having to wait for the next book in the series to come out. 

This. Although I'd prefer the wait time to be less long, in some cases.

ewill7911

I try to do this, if its a longer book length series I will get it on audio after my first read and listen to it to get re-caught up (if the series is not done). If I am just doing a re-read because its an epic series I usually will read the books I liked the most.

jkfranklin

My first thought was that I do read them one after the other but once I really thought about it, I actually have only done that with Twilight and Hunger Games. Sometimes its due to not having access to the next book for some reason. Other times it is because there are so many other things I want to read and if I don't LOVE the series, I feel like I'm missing out.

This post has reminded me that I need to finish The Maze Runner Series.