Book sequel ?

[Mirela]

I am curious to see how others view book sequels. When there are sequels in books out, do you buy all the books at once or do you wait to read each book before moving on to the next? And when you read a book that you didn't think was that great, do you read the next book to see if it might improve or do you move on to something else?

This has been on my mind for a while now, since I am the type of person that will buy all the books even when I don't know if I will end up liking them. This happened with the Fallen series by Lauren Kate. They ended up improving, but I know that's not always the case! :)

What do you think?

[Cris]

I buy one at a time. But thats cause im too cheap to buy them all together lol.... I usually dont buy the second in a series if the first one sucked...

[Betsy]

I usually buy one at a time, but that is often because I buy them as they are published. I always read the first before buying any additional books in a series, but if I really like the first and there are others out, I will frequently buy all or several after that. It depends a lot on the book and the genre and the author.

[SubterraneanCatalyst]

I tend to buy one at a time unless it's offered as a bundle/discounted. Typically my highest preference, due to my impatience, is to read book series already completed or near completion :). One of the main reasons I purchase book by book is that I've abandoned book series if a book sours me and drops the overall quality of the storyline.
For example if you read paranormal romances there is a series that is highly recommended often called the Carpathian series and I read a few and decided NO I don't want to read twenty more of these LOL (for various reasons, they weren't horrible, just didn't want to do it).

Very occasionally if the series is very short- say around three books vs 5-15. I'll buy it outright. Especially if it's an author I consistently love. I don't do this often because, again, even with a beloved author, they can be inconsistent.

[Mirela]

LOL Thank you guys for your opinions. I do agree it is a lot smarter to buy just one book at a time! ;) I need to learn more patience and self-control!

[Jen]

I'll buy the first book to see if I like it, and if I do, I'll get whatever sequels are available after that, because if I like a series, I hate waiting to see how it turns out.

That often doesn't work out well, as most of the series that I enjoy are in the fantasy genre, and there's a huge tendency for those authors to nosedive after the first few books. If I've gone 5-6 books into a series I'll often finish it out of stubbornness rather than real enjoyment.

[Clare K. R.]

I buy series one at a time. If I like the first book a lot I'll go for the next, and so on from there. I won't bother reading the next book in a series if I thought the first was only okay. There are too many good books out there for me to waste time reading okay ones!

[Helen]

I buy as they come out and read together when the last part is out. Although, GRRM was supposed to be a trilogy originally so I read the forst three of them and am now stuck waiting. Similarly, I've ended up reading books that I didn't know would be a series - annoying as I forget what happens then.

[stormhawk]

Depends on the series and how far along it is when I start reading.

For a long series I don't usually have the cash in hand to buy them all at once. For the few of those I've gotten into I've scoured used bookstores until I'm at least up to date and decide on further entries book by book. I really have only done this with Pern and Darkover, and the Bond books (real Ian Fleming only, please) and the Quiller series of spy novels.

I prefer standalone books, or at least ones that don't completely rely on your having read all of the others not to be lost in the storyline.

[Jen]

Someone else likes Darkover :-)