Wait for It

Author Anne Frasier just announced that Pretty Dead , her third novel in the Elise Sandburgh series, will be released September 1st. This book was #1 on my summer reading list but I don't mind waiting a couple of extra months for it. Some authors are worth the wait, and the first two books in the series were among my favorite reads of 2014.

Sometimes I lose track of long series that follow a chronology of events, which frustrates me. I was doing okay with Rachel Caine's vampire novels until I stopped at the fifth, sixth or seventh book and then lent the series to someone who never returned them (which also aggravates me, but I know better, so that's my fault.) I can't remember who I gave the books to or where I left off. I'm going to start over with that one by checking out the first books from the library and read them again until I can figure out which book I need to pick up next.

There are a lot of series that are readable from any point because there is very little chronology or no timeline at all, and/or the protagonists and support crew seldom undergo any big changes. Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series is a prime example of this; same thing with Lee Child's Jack Reacher -- in ten or so books I think the only things that have changed about Reacher is how he banks his money and that he broke his nose. I'm not especially faithful to cookie cutter series, but I do think many readers like them simply because they can miss a book or two and not really miss anything important happening.

As for the other series I'm currently following, I might start making up and maintaining lists of the books I've already read. How do you guys track the series you read? Share some tips in comments.