Should books from a series be nominated in a category of its own?

[Savanes]

Hey guys,

As you all know a lot of nominees & winners of GCA 2012 were part of a series. For instance, is book #3 of Heroes of Olympus series AND one of the winners (great book by the way).

Do you feel that "series books" (that is books #2 to infinite of a series) should be nominated in a specific category: "Series" or is it fine as it is? Give us your thoughts...

Additional question, what about nominating a whole series instead of individual books. Would that feel more fair?

[Peter]

They should be in a group of their own. In many cases, it's a bit hard to jump into the middle of a series. The authors try hard to introduce people but the deepest series need to be read from the beginning.

I guess it depends upon the type of series. Murder mysteries, for instance, often share little more the same detective character and milieu. They can stand on their own.

But good luck making a rule that separates the two groups. Imagine watching "Star Wars" fans arguing about whether it's acceptable to start with, say, episode 5 or 6. Some would say it would be wrong on so many levels while others would claim that the movies are so good they stand on their own.

[Diana]

I agree that series should be in a category all their own. no matter how much an author tries to bring a new reader up to date the book is better if you know the characters and the events from previous books. A new reader will also miss the inside jokes or references because they don't know the back stories.

[Sarah]

One thing I noticed though is that if a series is a winner then the moderator adds the books before to the monthly reads leading up to that winning book.

[Kat]

I personally think that series should have its own category because I feel like I have to buy the whole series at once just to get to one of the nominated books. Also, some books that are not part of a series don't get the spot because they don't make the cut even if they should. I think their should be a category called "Top Series 2013" and "Top (single) Books 2013"

[Savanes]

Kaitlyn wrote: "I personally think that series should have its own category because I feel like I have to buy the whole series at once just to get to one of the nominated books. Also, some books that are not part ..."

I totally agree. :)