Vaginal Fantasy Book Club discussion
Feb2014 Girl's Guide to Vampires
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Pressure to pick the first in a series
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I'd much rather read a good book than a first book
Speaking of picking books... is it the VF fans turn to pick the books for March? If so, can someone start a thread to do this? I also wanted to verify that VF is this Tuesday, Feb 25th at 8 PST.Thanks!!
Caitlin wrote: "I'd much rather read a good book than a first book"Me too.
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According to the last hangout, February 25th at 8pm PST is correct.
Not sure about the fans turn to pick, I don't recall hearing anything about it on the hangout. Did I miss it?
I'm for skipping to the book the host likes. If people enjoy it they can go back as well as forward.It's not that fun to keep hearing people slam the books month after month. (Unless they are damn funny in doing so.) I know I really hated one book and droned on about it -- I mean a killing dances "which was gods will", ugh. But I've tried not to keep doing that. Bitch-fests aren't all that fun.
Frakki wrote: "I'm for skipping to the book the host likes. If people enjoy it they can go back as well as forward.It's not that fun to keep hearing people slam the books month after month. (Unless they are dam..."
My solution for this is, if I don't think the book is going to appeal to me at all, I just enjoy the ladies at the end of the month and spend that time reading a book I do want to read. If I do make a mistake and end up reading a baddie/snoozer with the group, I don't post in the forums unless I have something that will REALLY add to the discussion, no need to repeat when I get to rate and review the book anyway.
@Amy: I do this as well. I knew that I wouldn't enjoy these two book series at all, whether it's the first of the series or the author's favorite book of the series so instead I read a bunch of other books this month including: The Golem and the Jinni, Poison Princess, The Winter Witch, The Well of Ascension and Her Own Devices. Not bad for a month of reading if I do say so myself. ^_^
Keidy wrote: "
"I loved that book! Fantasy, magic, romance, history, multiple cultures, multiple POVs, multiple time streams... gorgeous cover art that matches the tone of the book... sigh...
@PointyEars42: YUP! It was a lovely book. Too bad it's not vaginal fantasy material. It's an incredibly well-written book. <3 Maybe Sword & Laser will pick it up.
Picking the best/favourite book in a series as the main and the 1st book as the alt, as long as the books are relatively stand-alone?Announcing the 1st book in the series between hangouts as "research" and then the best in the series gets announced during the hangout as the actual main so people have time to read both?
Forget the sequential order of the books altogether? I used to be compulsive about reading a series in order but VF picks have pretty much cured me of that. Slowly. Painfully. (Gabriel's Ghost)vs Hope's Folly? Night & day. Hosts should definitely go with the one they prefer.)
I actually don't mind that they continue to pick the first book in a series. Best or not, it'll give me a good idea if I even like the story, characters or world enough to keep on going. I totally understand the first book of a series is not often the best but I'd rather not dive into the middle if it's a world that I'd rather not read about at all. Plus, I like seeing the progress made and how the author evolves from book to book. Buuutttt... that's just me I guess. ^_^;
I do like to start with the first in the series as I feel lost otherwise (although there are some good series where the books standalone - i think they are rare)But yes if the first in the series isn't good, I won't continue no matter how great the others are.
I usually prefer to start at the beginning, but if the first book or two kind of stink I'd rather be told that up front and have the best one chosen. Then I can choose whether or not I want to read the first ones on my own or find a wiki summary before I start on the club pick.
I think it really depends on the type of story it is. For those series where each successive book is really more about each successive couple - i.e. Tom and Mary in book 1, Mary's best friend Sarah and Steve in book two, etc. - then I don't mind jumping into the series for the couple that the host liked best. Very rarely in those cases are you as a reader missing much about the world, and often the character of the couple makes a huge difference to my enjoyment of the book.For those series where there is less of a focus on the romance and more on the plot, or where you are following the same couple all the way through, I do think they would need to start with the first book.
For me to read a book out of series order, I would prefer that the out of series order book to be an ALT choice. I would like to know the brief and unspoiled opinions of “The Four” (along with a few acolytes chosen by “The FOUR”) who have read the series at least a few books beyond the chosen selection number. I admit that I have been let down by my own choice of book. When a book has failed my expectations or I have not been able to finish reading a particular book, I get left feeling sad and fragile (yes like high school). Proofreading my comment make me think that I should keep my reading to nonfiction theme.
Jillian wrote: "But yes if the first in the series isn't good, I won't continue no matter how great the others are.'How great the others allegedly are :)
That's the problem for me too - I know I might miss out on something enjoyable, but if I disliked the 1st book I usually can't bring myself to read even more of the series waiting for it to improve. Ditto for when other readers react to the specifics of said dislike by saying that if you read the whole series issue x will be resolved or improved. I don't have that much of a masochistic streak and there are just too many good books out there to waste time on something you’re already (usually justifiably) prejudiced against.
I agree with Philippa. It really depends on what kind of series it is. Most series make it possible to jump in at any time in the overall story, but in some cases it is just better to start with the first book. It very much depends on the quality and appeal of the overall story. And then there are some series that just can't be read out of order, because you would be missing information. Like The Lord of the Rings :)
If the author is doing his/her job, however, anyone should be able to pick up any book in a series and have an enjoyable read, whether or not a few questions pop up that we assume are back story.
Yeah, didn't Kiala pick a non-first book with The Other Boleyn Girl? That worked fine.
I totally would rather read a good entry in the series than a first and not-good book. True, I'm a fan of being spoiled so that problem doesn't apply; still, reading a book that doesn't work, well, doesn't work.
Serendi wrote: "I totally would rather read a good entry in the series than a first and not-good book. True, I'm a fan of being spoiled so that problem doesn't apply; still, reading a book that doesn't work, well,..."I HATE spoilers but I agree. I didn't like A Girl's Guide to Vampires. I had to stop reading it. I would have rather tried the better, later book and missed a few things.
I'm too OCD to start in the middle of the series. I prefer the first book to see if I like the world enough to move on. Also, what is with all this Gabriel's Ghost hate? I really enjoyed it. =X
I prefer starting at the beginning of a series, but if the first is blah and the next can be read as a standalone its not a big deal. That said, I'd rather not start a new series several books in, unless there is a good reason to skip the earlier books (like the threat of book rage due to obnoxious MCs).
Vaginal Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Gabriel's Ghost (other topics)Hope's Folly (other topics)
The Golem and the Jinni (other topics)
The Golem and the Jinni (other topics)
Poison Princess (other topics)
More...
The books tended to be ill received by the forums: Gabriel's Ghost, Guilty Pleasures, and now, I think it's safe to say, A Girl's Guide to Vampires.
I have found most romance series lend themselves to be read out of order - following a new couple in each book.
I hope that in the future our hostesses can feel free to pull rank and choose the book they most enjoyed, rather than appealing to our love of sequential reading.
If there is any essential world-building established in a previous book that is not rehashed later, perhaps someone could start a thread detailing the bare bones of what we need to know.
What do the other VagFan members think?
Should we sacrifice the main goal of the book club - to find great romance novels whose story could stand alone without the humpity bumpity - simply to fill the need of starting at the beginning??