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How do you get back into a series after a break?
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Melissa
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Jun 09, 2014 10:40AM
I am curious how everyone else gets back into a series when it has been months since reading the last book? I am thinking right now about Skin Game, but would apply to any other books. I want to read Skin Game right now but feel like I should review the end of Cold Days first (which I don't have on hand)since my memory isn't that great and it has been months, many books and series since then. I think authors should provide a chapter of summary you can read at the beginning of new books with the relevant info from the previous book, which you can skip if you don't have to wait months in between. Thoughts?
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I have the same problem, Melissa. I've often thought that someone should create a website, as an adjunct to www.fictfact.com (which tracks book series), with a full plot summary of each book in the series. If I ever retire, maybe I'll start one :).
Most of the series I read, the authors do include a bit of backstory to jog your memory. Some authors have really good series on their websites. Ilona Andrews is one that's good. Also Meljean Brooks Iron Seas page is pretty amazing.In some cases I just re-read, but rarely have to. At the same time, I've always had a good memory for books and stories, so YMMV.
I would think the book would jog your memory. It usually does for me if it's written well. Also, I bet reading the previous book blurbs on Amazon would help too.
I find that most authors recap just enough in the new book to jog my memory. Other times, I just go back and re-read maybe the last chapter of the previous book.
That's one reason why I always try and write reviews which recap the story and flag the whole thing as a spoiler. That way I can always check back before reading the next book.Some people seem to get really fed up of reviews which go over the story - they don't seem to realise that not everyone has a great memory!
Good idea, Charlotte, maybe I need to go read your reviews!I am not a writer, so even summarizing a book is complicated work for me!
Neither am I, but I have to have a reminder.
What i am doing : i read all the books before the new one. I Know it sounds a little absurd, but i Even did that for the true blood series. When i feel like i dont remember whats important, thats an excellent. Otherwise it is really time consuming. I do not have any other way
Sometimes I'll reread the previous book or listen to the audio book to refresh my memory. With Dresden I actually plan to do a full series reread or relisten. It's my favorite. :-)
I love to listen to his books, James Marsden is a great narrator!
oops, knew I got that wrong, Marsters :)
I usually just plunge in and hope enough comes back to me that I can make sense of what's happening. Sometimes it works better than others!It used to be common in epic fantasy to include a synopsis of the previous book(s) at the beginning, but I never see that any more. I always read them, even if I'd only just finished the previous book, because it was interesting to see what the author thought were the important points to remember about the novel before. It was handy because sometimes things that I sped past in my reading because they seemed minor turned out to be major!
Deborah wrote: "I have the same problem, Melissa. I've often thought that someone should create a website, as an adjunct to www.fictfact.com (which tracks book series), with a full plot summary of each book in th..."Sounds like a plan!
If there is any way I can get the time, I start back at the beginning. Some books I just give an "Evelyn Wood" read of, others I remember how much I enjoyed them and read the whole thing again. Rereads are the best for me!
Melissa wrote: "oops, knew I got that wrong, Marsters :)"Oh, absolutely! I love audio books - the best readers pull you out of yourself and into the world of the characters. Awesome.....
Marsters does such a great job! When I read the books now I can hear his voice in my head. :-D
Lisa wrote: "Marsters does such a great job! When I read the books now I can hear his voice in my head. :-D"Renee Raudman with the Kate Daniels
Will Patton with James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux series
Gabra Zackman with the marvelous Joanne Walker series
Marc Vietor with the incredible Simon R. Green's Nightside
There are some really wonderful narrators out there, and they can make the book a wondrous experience. Of course, a really bad narrator can destroy a book, which is really sad when the book is actually quite good, but the narrator ruins the experience.
I have a terrible memory, and like Charlotte, the original purpose of my reviews is so I can remember what I read.But folks like Jim Butcher IMO, don't expect the reader to remember everything from past books; there are reminders.
Deborah wrote: "I have the same problem, Melissa. I've often thought that someone should create a website, as an adjunct to www.fictfact.com (which tracks book series), with a full plot summary of each book in th..."YES X 100! i keep wishing someone would come up with the super short plot summary plus the key twist moments so i could remember just those little crucial details before a reread.
Wicked Scribes has summary and character guides for some of the bigger series. YOu might want to try those. Though if it's been year and years I usually do a reread if the books are good. Otherwise writing reviews usually job my memory.
I always try to speed read/skim books before the next one in the series comes out. My biggest problem is that the gap between books sometimes leads to me not caring about the characters anymore. I have a long list of series (usually with just one book left) that I haven't finished simply because I don't care anymore. Is that bad?
No. That's why I usually read book 1, and then some years later--or many books released later--go back and pick up the series again.
I just read the the whole series again because I love re reading books. If you want to read the next book than you must have liked the books before so why not.
Oh and also I have a horrible memory so I retread the book a little update for my last comment
The summary would be wonderful--someone needs to do that. If it's been awhile and it's popular I will go on youtube & watch a review real quick of that book-easier that way. But if no reviews then I try to review the last chapter & try to remember. Sometimes it ends up me losing interested in the series all together if too big of a gap. By then I am usually reading something else.
For me it depends on how long it's been. Usually if it's been a year or more then I reread all of the books. I did that with the Harry Potter series. But for the most part I had no problem in getting into the vibe with the new book.
If I'm at all worried I'll feel lost, I reread the previous books. My memory sucks and even writing reviews doesn't seem to help that much so if it's more than a few months I will most likely reread. That said if it's a super long series (like the Dark-Hunters) I'll often let a couple of books pile up unread before trying to reread the older books.
I like series, where each book is quite standalone in its own right... so it doesn't matter as much. But this problem happens to me a lot because there are periods when I can't read (I'm a writer and I can't read when I write - I have to keep my own voice), so on first draft there are several months when I'm not reading at all. Then I return to a series and have forgotten everything vital! If I love the series, I reread from the beginning... but the problem is if it's not good enough, you often leave the series. I guess that's the test of the series!
