Book Blog Hop ~ November 12-15
The Book Blogger Hop, a weekly event hosted by Jen at Crazy For Books, is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word!
Post about the Hop on your blog. Spread the word about the book party! The Hop lasts Friday through Monday. If you don’t have time to Hop today, come back later and join the fun! Each week there is a new discussion question for your post. This week’s question is:
“If you find a book that looks interesting but is part of a series, do you always start with the first title?”
I like to start with the first book in a series but I don’t always do it. If it’s a recurring character but the stories are not connected I will try a book out of order.
I recently read my first Reacher thriller, 61 Hours, by Lee Child. This is the 14th book in the series and I’m sure I missed a lot of background and previous character development, but the story did stand alone and I was able to enjoy it. I also jumped into Sue Grafton’s alphabet murder books half way through the alphabet at L is for Lawless. I loved the book and proceeded to go back and start with the first book, A is for Alibi.
If the story itself is a series I absolutely must read the books from the beginning. I recently had the opportunity to review an ARC of Antiphon by Ken Scholes, book three of a five book science fiction/fantasy epic. Books one and two went to the top of my list and I read them first. Good thing, too. I would have been lost without the background.
Under My Apple Tree 
Great answer…I sort of do the same things.
Check out my answer at: http://silversolara.blogspot.com
Have fun blog hopping.
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Hi there…stopping by via the hop. I try to always start at the beginning and it’s only on rare occasion that I don’t. My full answer can be found here.
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I usually start with whatever particular book I find — so I guess the order doesn’t matter that much, although the author would probably tell me that it should 🙂
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I like to start with the first book, too, but sometimes I just don’t have the time to go back and read that many books. I’ve found it is possible to jump in the middle of a series, if it’s well written.
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Good point. I notice in the well written series the author reminds you of the key facts and background info from previous books in the series. And since I read a lot, I need those reminders even if I’ve already read the earlier books.
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Leslie, as you now know I have posted about your blog in my Hop post! I look forward to visiting your blog often. Have a wonderful weekend.
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Yes… and thank you for choosing me!
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I am right there with you…I did the same thing with Sue Graftons books but I don’t think I ever went back. Nice blog.
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Nice answer!
Have a great weekend!
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Me too 🙂 I prefer to start at the beginning, but I won’t skip reading something that looks awesome because there was a book before it.
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I can dive right into the middle of a book series if the series’ story
doesn’t run chronologically.
That is to say, if each novel in a series is a stand-alone story (like Lee
Child’s Reacher novels) then I don’t feel the need to start with book one.
On the other hand, a series of books (like Richard Hatch’s Battlestar
Galactica novels) can’t be read out of sequence since each new book builds
upon the story of the previous entry in the series.
Happy Book Blogger Hop Friday!
Howard Sherman
http://www.howardsherman.net
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I feel the same way. Some series really should be read from the beginning. But others, like the Reacher book by Lee Childs that you read, don’t have to be read from the beginning. Series comprised of double digit books can sometimes be difficult or inconveninet to read from the very beginning, particularly if you discover the series at book #35, for instance! Whereas a trilogy, such as Stieg Larsson’s books are easy to read from the beginning & if possible, I’d recommend it.
~ Amy
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I am definitely planning on reading The Millennium trilogy. If find a trilogy when the second book is released I often wait for the third one and then read them all at once.
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Hi,
Just hopping by. I agree it depends on the type of series. Mysteries can generally be read out of order because each book concentrates more on the plot than on the characters.
shelleyrae @ http://www.bookdout.wordpress.com
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Just stopping by from the book blogger hop to wish you a fantastic weekend!!!!
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