Skipping Around and Back to Back - Gena Showalter and others

With the amount of series out there, whether they are paranormal, contemporary, or whatever, it's easy to get behind. I don't mean too, it's just that I tend to read such a variety, it can be easy to accumulate a stack of books, especially with the amount of talented authors out there.

 

I don't normally read books by the same author within the same week or even back to back . Especially if they are in the same series. They can tend to run together and start sounding the same. Gena Showalter is one of those authors I've made an exception for. Her writing voice is crisp and engaging enough that even reading her books so closely together, I'm not bored or on overload.
 
I have to admit that, I'm behind, okay- way behind,  on Ms. Showalter's books. All of them. But I decided to pick up and get caught  up with the Alien Huntress Series. That's because she has a new series offshoot of these books coming out at the end of the year that has really caught my ATTENTION (gorgeous, I mean a GORGEOUS cover and it sounds so good that I wish I had it in my hands right now to read, but then I'd be contradicting myself-see below).  Last weekend I  read Savor Me Slowly (book #3). I LOVED IT.  The first two in this series (I only read book #1) were written in 1st Person and starting with book #3, they shifted to 3rd Person and became more romantic. I knew I wanted to quickly read book #4 (pictured above) Seduce The Darkness , which contains Devyn's story(sigh). Plus I have her new anthology with P.C. Cast (also talented- love her) that I plan to read on Halloween.
 
 
My BFF(check out her blog - Romancing the Readers) and I have had many conversations about reading books in a series. She is faithful and dedicated about reading them in order and not skipping around. I agree with her opinion that books in any given series should be read in order. It not only enriches the reader's experience, but it can also be down right confusing because many authors develop such a complex world and to die for characters it's easy to feel left out (so to speak) if you jump around.
 
Let me tell you, from personal experience, this can SUCK. Who wants to start a series from the start if there are 6, 10, or even 20 books already written OR if you've fallen behind (more than 5 or 6 books) but really want to read something the author's just put out in that series?
 
I think some authors, in writing their series, try to allow it so you can read books out of order without missing too much. But again, no matter how well they try to include you, it's still not the same.   
 
Now I wasn't writing all of this with Ms. Showalter in mind. Besides, she does a pretty good job of bringing you up to speed as she did in the Alien Huntress series.  
 
So, what I'm wondering: IS SKIPPING AROUND or  BACK TO BACK okay with you??   
 
 




 




Comments

  1. I don't skip. Unless I have to for a review. I don't read back to back either. When I do I see how the author uses the same sayings, or words all the time. I will read the same author with a few books in between.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment