Want to know what gives me hives? Reading a series out of order. I’ve gotten a little better over the years, though. It doesn’t bother me when it’s more of a companion series that you mostly find in romance. They tend to focus on different characters in each book, so it isn’t that big of a deal.
However, I draw a hard line when it comes to a series that follows the same main character(s) and continues an overall storyline. Urban Fantasy is a genre that is big on this, and it makes me want to pull my hair out just thinking about not reading a series in order.
I’m the type of person who needs to know what transpired with the characters from the beginning. I like basing my assessments on the whole picture and understand where everyone is coming from. I hate reading something knowing I’m missing pertinent information and connections. Drives. Me. Nuts! If I’m ever abducted and my captors want to torture me, this is the way to do it.
Listen, I’m not trying to tell people how to read, but holy crap it’s like nails on a chalkboard when I see someone read the 6th or 7th book in a series without reading the previous ones. How do you live with yourself?! 😀 It really does suck though, when someone does this and then proceeds to talk negatively about it because they don’t understand what’s going on or understand the characters. I mean really? You don’t say.
Anyway, it’s just one of those things.
Okay, give it to me. Tell me whether you can do this or not. It will probably be painful to see some of you say it’s fine, but I can handle it. I have lots of wine ready.
I’m with you 100%, Christy! I can’t imagine reading The Hollows, Mercy Thompson or Kate Daniels out of order. That just wouldn’t do! Especially because in all these series, there were seeds planted in the first book… and maybe they didn’t grow enough to be noticed until book 8 – but having read book one first, I knew where that thing came from, you know?
And it’s a really bad idea to let people know how to best torture you, just sayin’ :p
Omg, Lexxie, I saw someone on GR once, who read like the 7th book in The Hollows w/o reading the other books and blamed the author for her not liking it. I seriously had to take several deep breaths.
I’m the same. Things have to be in order. I even prefer to only start a series after I own the whole set.
Yeah, I try to wait until there are at least a few of the books available already, but even better when the series is complete.
There are some books that I will refuse to read until I have them all in my possession which is why I have yet to read Throne of Glass or the Lunar Chronicles but I have read JD Robb’s In Death series out of order but in my defense I read the first twenty something books and was then sent book thirtysomething and I skipped ahead but it was fine!
Oh you’re in for a treat with the ToG series! Ahh, I need to start the In Death series – there’s SO MANY!
Ha I totally agree if it is a series that isn’t just a companion series. I accidently read Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad – detective books – out of order. I didn’t realize it was a series at first. I was super annoyed. But I read the Hundred Oaks series last book and was ok with it even though I haven’t read the others.
Ahh, see, The Hundred Oaks series is one that pains me when people read out of order. Yes, they’re more companion, but I love how they kind of build off of each other and then goes to the next generation. Plus, the earlier books are even better.
I’m one of those who sometimes jumps into a series midstream. I don’t EVER give a negative review because I might not know pertinent information. The fault is my own for not starting at the beginning. I do warn readers that they really should start at the beginning though. Just give them a heads up that it will be better to do so. If I really enjoy the characters, I go back and grab the other books. You should see one of my bookcases. It’s all loaded with the many series I’ve read and has two shelves for series I need to finish. And I do work on those. It’s part of a personal challenge to do so. LOL
Now I need my first glass of wine for the evening. lol.
You are right sometimes you can read romance series books out of order and be fine and I have done that several times after reading a great review. Urban Fantasy is extremely hard to do but I have to admit to doing it a few times. I don’t like it but at least I had read the first few books before either finding a later book on Net Galley or being asked by an author or someone to review a later book. Mostly it’s worked but I would never fault the author! Last time it happened I gave it 5 stars! Now that I have made you cringe, my job here is done:)
lol! And now you’re the cause of my 2nd glass of wine.
I just read a 3rd book to a series. It was a little confusing but since it’s romance, it was not so that I didn’t understand the book. I like order, too. Especially if the series consists of interconnecting stories.
*glares*
I <3 you Christy! You know this drives me batty as well and usually the only time I can even come close to doing it is with a novella in the series but only if I'm super close the next book or whatever. Even then, sometimes it gives stuff away and then I regret reading it immediately.
Oh yeah, I try to make sure I read the novellas in order, but I hate when they’re numbered 0.5 but the events happen after several books. Ugh. Why make it seem like a prequel?
Absolutely. Romance and any companion series is fine, but even those I tend to read in order. People make me cringe when they read UF out of order. Don’t even get me started on those who review Book 5 when they haven’t read the previous books.
Word. I saw someone do this with the Charley Davidson book where they’re in NY. It was painful.
I’m right there with ya, Christy! I’m even more particular about it with romance series than you are. I know that I *can* read some series out of order – and I have read only a very few that way – but I prefer to read them in order so I can get the “full” experience. This is especially true with UF. And it also drives me nuts for readers to read out of order and then knock a book. How can they really know the characters and understand the over-arching plot if they start at book 6?!? I’ll keep my fingers crossed that neither of us are ever abducted by out-of-order reading aliens!! 😀
I know, I still try to read any series in order, but sometimes I want to jump directly to a certain couple. It isn’t an easy thing to do! lol
What I abhor is when a reviewer writes a critical/negative review for a book in a long standing series when they haven’t read any of the previous books and they admit that they use other people’s reviews for background information. WHY even read and review that book? You only hurt the author!!!!! GRRRRRR…
Love your body, Larry….
I’m actually surprised by how much I see this happen. I have to take a scalding hot shower afterwards.
Yeah, I don’t know how someone can jump into a series in the middle when it’s one that focuses on the same main character the whole time. I will admit that I do jump around when it comes to those series that focuses on a new couple with every book but that’s usually because they can be read as stand alone and don’t tend to have an overall story arc.
I still try not to skip even when it’s okay to do so, but sometimes I want to skip to a certain couple.
For romance series, I don’t need to read books in order. They follow different characters with each book and most authors do a great job of filling the reader in on what they missed in the previous books so it’s not really needed.
I completely get why you’d need to read books in order for fantasy & Urban Fantasy series because it’s a continuation of the last book.
Yeah, I try not to, but I’m okay in romance as long as there isn’t too much crossover.
Yeah, I totally agree with you. I have read a few books in a romance series out of order, but that’s because each book is a standalone with a focus on a specific couple. But if it’s the same plot and same characters, I NEED ORDER!! NetGalley is horrible about NOT letting me know that a book is part of a series. I have been approved for books before that are the second or third in a series. When that happens, I know I will not be giving feedback on that ARC, at least not unless I decide to read the others in the series. I just can’t read out of order.
Oh yeah, NG needs to add a button that leads directly to Goodreads like Edelwiss does. That way you can at least easily check instead of tracking it down. But they really should provide that info ON the site.
I try not to read books out of order, but I admit to doing this a few times. Sometimes at the library I pick up a book and only realize later it is part of a longer series. I started the Chicagoland vampires series on Biting Bad (book 8) but to be fare, it was the first vampire book I ever read, and it got me hooked and I right away went for the start of the series and mean to eventually read my way to the end. Actually, knowing that things get better by Biting Bad, makes reading the other books easier, but that is kind of like cheating. However, I understand where you are coming from, and yes, it is normally best to start a series in order. I will say you just couldn’t read House of Night out of order, it would just not work at all.
Well that worked out well then. That is good when it makes you want to go back and read the rest.
I am totally with you on this! I am so OCD when it comes to series (even the companion ones though not as bad). A few weeks ago I thought I had the next book in a historical mystery series I like and as I listened to it I was like…what..when did that happen…I listened to the whole thing but kept thinking it wasn’t right, then checked and yep I read book 8 before 7!!! Made much more sense when I read #7. It drove me nuts when I realized I did this. I do try to be careful, especially when getting something off of Netgalley cause they never seem to know how to put second in series on the blurb!!!! 🙂
Oh no! That stinks. Talk about spoilers. lol. Yeah, the publisher should really add that info on NG. It’s kind of a pain trying to track the book down on GR just to see if it’s in a series.
When it comes to certain genres I could never read out of order, but when it comes to like contemporary romance or historical romance I do not really care since they often are new couples and sometimes nothing to do with previous books
Same here. I don’t read HR often, but most of the ones I have were out of order.
I apologize for all the hives I may have been giving you for reading out of order. However, you will be happy to know that I agree with you on UF. I rarely read out of order in that genre as well as fantasy. It is hard to do otherwise. I insist on reading in order in several series in that genre.
lol – All is forgiven. 😀
I’ve gotten better about reading series out of order with blogging but I still don’t really like it. Most of the genres I read – romance and mysteries don’t really need to be read in order so it’s technically not a big deal if I start with #4 but I always feel funny about it!
Yeah, I get a little bothered when I read say book 4 and the couples from the previous books play a big role in it. I want to understand those inside jokes and stuff.
It’s easier to read a series in order for sure but I seem to have a knack for starting a series mid-stream. It’s rarely on purpose, I just seem to find a book that appeals and then discover that I’ve missed some. That said, when possible I prefer to read in order, regardless of genre. Mysteries and fantasy do seem to work better when read in order while in romance it depends n the series.
It stinks when I accidentally done that. I rarely get far, though, and stop as soon as I realize.
Yeah, I can read companion novels out of order (though I like reading even these in order when I can!) but if it’s a full-on series like the Harry Potter books, reading them in order is the best way to go. How else will I know what’s happening? If people want to read out of order and review the books, that’s fine – but they really shouldn’t then complain about not understanding characters or following the story line.
-Lauren
I completely agree Christy. Especially when it comes to fantasy reads. I’ve found with contemporaries where each new book focuses on a new couple isn’t too bad, you can usually pick up the storyline and see which relationships were preexisting beforehand, but a fantasy series needs to be read from book one to understand the overall picture and reading and reviewing the fourth book without reading the first three is not only unfair, but readers are doing themselves a disservice by missing out. I struggle with fantasy at the best of times, I don’t know how readers can pull it off picking up a storyline halfway through. It’s a bit like reading only the second half of every book you pick up.
Yeah if it’s a series and I’m going to read it I gotta start at #1. None of this starting in the middle crap. Because if it’s the same characters and they’re gonna grow and stuff I need to be in on the ground floor, not playing catch up. So I guess I agree. 🙂 Especially if there’s relationships- after all if it’s a series I’m gonna compulsively need to read them all anyway, and I can’t imagine coming into a relationship in the middle or something and then going BACK to the beginning. Well I can, but it would suck. 🙂
YYYYYEEEEEESSSSSS. That gif of Squidward is literally how I feel when I see people read the 6th book in a series without reading the others and then complain about it. It is YOUR fault that you don’t know what’s going on, not the author’s. It is not their job to rehash and explain every little thing that was already explained and happened in Books 1-5. That would just be annoying to the people who read the whole series like the author intended them to do. And it’s not even fair to the author when people do this! Because they’re not getting all the information, not seeing all the character development, not getting all the backstory, and even if they still somehow manage to enjoy the book, they might’ve LOVED the book had they had all that. It’s the interconnecting details that make series so amazing! I can understand reading a later book if it’s a series that focuses on different MCs in each book, but I don’t even skip in those just because you usually still miss *some* information, even if it’s not super important to the main storyline. Also I love your comment replies about drinking wine and glaring at every who is doing this, haha.
LOl I confess that I do read out of order shame on me and well sometimes I’m quite lost but it’s not my fault it’s the fault of publishers who want to send me books where I haven’t try the series so well out of order.
I am usually really strict about reading a series in order, but when I find something like the 12th book in a series that sounds awesome and I can’t for the life of me go back 11 books to read everything, I take the plunge AND… sometimes I get lucky and it’s a self-contained book, other times it’s a travesty! But i dfinitely hear you here!
I’m totally one of those people that can read out of order Christy! That being said though, in a UF situation where we follow the same main characters, I’ve only ever skipped one book, so I at least have read the early books and am familiar with the world and characters, just not the specific events of the previous book. I’ve done that with Mercy Thompson. I still need to go back and read River Marked 😉 I’m with you though, if you do pick up a book mid-series, don’t write a review in which you tear apart the characters or world for being confusing, unless you went back and read all the previous books and were still confused.
My eye starts twitching just at the thought of reading a series out of order. Can’t handle it!
Um… got that wine ready *faint, nervous laugh* I read out of order frequently. Sometimes on accident and sometimes on purpose. I generally do alright since I read mostly in the romance genre.
But now, good news for you, I don’t tend to read UF, historical sagas, etc out of order. I do really try to read in order. And, biggie, here, I’ve never given a negative review for a book just b/c I couldn’t get into it or figure it out when it was out of order.
Hopefully you didn’t get too tipsy after that confessional. 😉
LMAO
There are series that can be read out of order or can be picked up midway… sorry! BUT I agree with you on the bashing part. It’s unfair to review a book because you felt lost when you didn’t start from the beginning.
Strangely enough before I started blogging I used to read series out of order all the time, including Harry Potter! But these days, I have to know absolutely everything about a series so I definitely have to start from the beginning.
I’m like you. I really have to read a series in order. I’ve read a few romances out of order, but even that is extremely rare (I can only think of 3 series where I’ve ever done that).
My preference is to read a series in order, but I let go of that ideal from time to time. I know it’s bad and I always feel a little guilty about it after.
I completely agree! I can’t even fathom how anyone can jump into an UF series midway, and then say the series sucks. That’s why I haven’t started a couple of series; I need to get the previous books even though I have the others. I just can’t do it. Great post!
I can read the romance novels out of order. The ones that have different main characters? But something like BDB, Kate Daniels? NO WAY!
LOL we are SO the opposite. I used to be like you but broke myself out of it. Now I read whatever whenever. More so in romance but I’ll jump around in urban fantasy as well *gasp* I did it for the Neill book recently and had no problem. Still had a good time with them 😉
Omg, you make my eye twitch. lol
I HAVE to read books in order. If I end up with a book that isn’t the first in a series I will have to buy the first book and read it.
I’ve read companion books but I always double check with the publisher or author to make sure they can be read out of order, and even though I do take thier advice I tend to check the publication date, and read them in publication date order.
I like to read books in order but sometimes when I get a book for review and it ends up being #8 in a series, I just don’t have the time to catch up. Urban Fiction really needs to be read in order but a lot of romance and mystery books are okay to skip around.
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