Romance Lovers for the Challenge-Impaired discussion
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Series Reading - the good, the bad, the ugly
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I'll be honest and say, if it has been that long between books, I usually give up on a series. However, I have been known to re-read the whole series, when I know a new book from a favorite series is finally coming out. Case in point: Earth's Children.
Eagerly anticipating it, I took the time to re-read this entire series before reading #5-The Shelters of Stone... only to have the author spend the majority of the book retelling me all the stories from the first four books! WTH? I didn't waste my money on #6, or even bother getting it from the library. I was way too disappointed.
It depends .Sometimes I just start the new one and hope to remember everything .Other times I re-read or leaf through the last book to remember the key points. LK is right ,with some books going through the last book is a waste of time because some authors rehash everything in their latest installment !
Yeah, I hate the rehashing. I know some is needed for new readers who start in the middle of a series, but maybe there should be a separate section or chapter for that that can be read or skipped.
A preface or introduction would work well, I would think. In some of Jayne Castle's later Harmony books (futuristic PNR), she uses a prologue to set up the world of Harmony for any new reader. It almost makes her books stand alones.
That sounds like a good way around it, Sandra J. I like it.
I keep a Book Journal, so I usually jump right in where I left off. I do have to go over my notes though, and remind myself of what happened in the previous novel before I start the new one.
Margaret wrote: "I keep a Book Journal, so I usually jump right in where I left off. I do have to go over my notes though, and remind myself of what happened in the previous novel before I start the new one."You're so organized, I usually end up reading reviews or important parts of the previous book.
It's been three or four years, I think, since the last book in this series came out, but finally, Gabaldon's newest is out. So my question is: Do you re-read the last book of a series before starting the latest one when they are years apart, or do you just jump in and hope you brain has retained all the info needed to keep the plot/sub-plots/characters straight?