Friday, February 16, 2018

The Trouble With Series

Authors are a tricky bunch. Especially when it comes to series. I should know. I write them.

Still…

I was all set to read the latest Lucy Kincaid (LK) story (by Allison Brennan). I love this series and #13 had just been released last month. But then I remembered she had some novellas out and a crossover book from her Max Revere (MR) series, a series I’m also reading. The problem is…

I only buy the paperbacks and MR starts out in hardback, so I’m two books behind in reading and a book behind in buying.

Now, I have nothing against buying hardbacks when I have the rest of the author’s books that way, but to switch in the middle... yeah, I don’t like that. Don’t mess with my bookcase!

I also don’t like that the novellas only came out in e-book, but there’s nothing I can do about that except maybe grumble a lot.

I do like to grumble a lot, don’t I?

So instead of reading LK #13, I’m reading MR #3, then will read the two novellas (one for LK the other for MR—they’re in the same e-book) and MR #4 (the crossover). But the paperback for #4 isn’t released until May and I don’t want to wait until May to read LK #13! So I may just have to get MR #4 at the library. Doesn’t mean I won’t buy the paperback, because I will. I still want the book.

And now you’re probably wondering why I just don’t skip over all the MR series and just read the LK series. Why would it matter? Because the crossover story focuses on a huge event that happened in Lucy Kincaid’s past. I can’t imagine it won’t be mentioned or affect Lucy in some way or form and I really don’t want to be spoiled, ya know?

I guess the good thing about all this is that I know the next 4 books to read. Sometimes it’s a struggle to decide which one to pick up next.

So… Are you as crazy as I am when it comes to reading series? Or does reading out of order not bother you? To me, reading out of order is like reading the end of the book first. I won’t do that either.

Happy Friday!

Stacy

P.S. Today is the first of my dad’s birthdays that he’s not around. He would have been 93. Even though we lived 2300 miles apart for many decades, I still miss him.

 

3 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I'm sorry your father isn't there to celebrate.
I read in order, but I've been eBook only since the first iPad came out, so it works.
However, I sometimes have to wait because I won't spend more than ten bucks on an eBook. And when the eBook is more than the print version, that really annoys me.

JeffO said...

Not to sound like Joyless Jeffo, but I don't think we ever really get over the loss of a parent. And those 'firsts' are especially hard. It does ease over time.

If I'm reading a series, I have to read in order. No skipping. But I don't usually read series all that much!

Stacy McKitrick said...

Alex - Those traditional publishers probably think making the e-book the same (or higher) price as print will save print. Instead, it only angers readers.

Jeff - I think being apart for as long as we have has made it a little easier, but today will always be his birthday, even when he's no longer here to celebrate it. :)