Waiting for a series to be finished before starting, or dive right in?

[Chantal]

Do you tend to wait for a series to be completely written before starting the first book? Or do you dive into whatever's new and suffer the wait period between books?

I have done both and come across the following issues:

1) After waiting between new Wheel of Time books, I found I couldn't remember the characters or events very well and therefore, became lost. Then I was faced with the 'do I re-read 12 ginormous books before, catch up with chapter summaries (which is like reading a full-sized novel in itself), or just read the new one and pretend I know what's going on?'

2) I really want to read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, and feel like I'm missing out on all the excitement and dialogue when new books come out. But I don't know how long it'll be before the last book comes out and want to avoid the above-stated problem.

3) I'm now reading The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor because the third book in the trilogy is finished, and I can read them all seamlessly. Which I like, but again, I find I've missed out on some dialogue and excitement along the way.

[Gina]

I read everything available in a series and then wait for the new ones to come out. The wait isn't too painful because there are so many great series to read.

[Jes]

Dive! Dive! Dive!
If a book is truly well written, even with the intention of being in a series, it should stand up well on its own. (This does not apply to books that were written to be one book and were split into two/three/four to make printing and binding easier).
I've started whole series somewhere in the middle and read the rest as I can find them. Like Elminster's Daughter led to the rest of the Elminster series. And The Sharing Knife: Beguilement and Legacy totally read out of order! You'd be surprised how many of Charles de Lint books are tied together too. I started reading him 18 years ago and recently connected a children's book A Circle of Cats he wrote 11 years ago to a short story he wrote 25 years ago. I firmly believe if its good writing it will stick to you! All awesome books by the way.
It also becomes something of an exercise for your memory. I used to easily read 100 novels a year, until I started to read more non-fiction (takes waaayyy longer). I can still pick up books from a series I read 15 years ago and get the gist. The small hints in the prologue/intro should be enough to cover the 'important to this part of the story' bits.
*phew* I do recognize that others may not be able to read like this, but I often wonder if they've even tried? Tell me what you think!

[Nevada]

The ever-present conundrum. Until very recently I was on a strike against active series. The main reason for this being that the wait might not payoff. Anyone who has read the Wheel of Time series, knows that this series started in 1990, I started reading it in 1995, and the author of the series died in 2007 (I'm talking 11 books at 600-1100 pgs a pop), without finishing the series. Without finishing the series! He wrote side-projects (who cares about Conan the Barbarian?), prequels, etc., and didn't finish a project he had been working on for at least a QUARTER OF A CENTURY! I still haven't been brave enough to get invested in George Martin's A Song of Fire & Ice series again, afraid something will happen and I will be left hanging again.

But as you say, it does suck not to be able to talk about current series with your friends due to lack of knowledge and spoilers. Personally, I have decided that I am still avoiding active epic fantasy, but that YA/NA and these quick little romancy trilogies and the like are okay because the investment is not so large.

Good luck with your choice, I hope it works out for you.

[Of Butterflies & Books]

Dive in.

[Michele]

Well, The Wheel of Time series did get finished, with the help of Brandon Sanderson and a ton of notes.

I've heard GRRM has left instructions that his series is NOT to be finished by anyone else if he dies. I've stopped buying his books.

If there's say 2 books out and the third due soon, I will start a series. 1 book only and I usually wait to see how long it takes between books. 1 year is the usual break, and that's not too bad, so I will start.

I hate when I pick up a book that seems to be a standalone, get to the end, and ARRGH! no resolution!

[Hannah]

I kind of think waiting for the next book in a series is fun. The community gets so hyped up and excited and the pay off is great. I would never hold back from reading a book just because the series isn't complete. If everyone did that the books wouldn't get published at all because no one would bother picking them up. :(

[Courtney]

If the books are planned to be a trilogy, or if its a new series with around three or so books out, I'll dive in and read along. When about eight to ten of the books in a series are already out, I hesitate. The Wheel of Time incident did not effect me at the time but knowledge of it has scarred me for life and I'm afraid of a repeat scenario. I love the Game of Thrones TV show but I will not read the books until the series (on book and TV) is finished. I will not be left hanging!

This post has also reminded me of all the series I've began and never gotten around to finishing....Why isn't there enough time to read everything!?

[Lisa]

I have a hard time remembering all the details if the gaps between books are too long. I had to stop with both Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire for that reason. I would like to finish both someday, though! But that's just me and how my cluttered mind work. I think it's different for everyone. I like to wait until a series is completely finished before diving in.

[Alex]

As a child Harry Potter wasn't complete when I started reading them so had to wait between the last three books and the same with A Series of Unfortunate Events.

But as an adult, I've automatically been like 'is it complete? Okay, I'll get the first book and try it,' and then if I enjoy that book, I get the next book. Although I am slowly reading through the Disworld series and a Game of Thrones which aren't complete.

I think it depends to me whether it's a trilogy/short series (must be completed first) or an epic long ongoing series (I will slowly read through).

[Chantal]

Thanks for your input everyone, it's nice hearing how you all deal with the issues. I think I will go forward with waiting until most series' are complete if there isn't a known ending publication, but I might try and dive in if there's only one book left and I know when the last one is coming out.

Also, Michelle, I had no idea GRRM said that—that is terrifying and I will definitely not be starting those books any time soon!

Lisa, definitely finish WoT! I had some issues with Brandon Sanderson's writing for the last 3 books, but he really did a great job and the ending is superb!

Thanks for all the discussion everyone!