Musing: Series Books, FTW!

Musing Mondays are hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading.

I haven't done one of these before, but I saw it on MizB's blog and I liked the question for today, so I thought I'd give it a try. :) So, here are this week's musing questions:

- Do you read books that are part of a series?

- Do you collect all the books in the series before starting? What if the series is brand new, and the only book that’s been published so far is Book one? As subsequent books in the series are published, do you go back and re-read the preceding books?

To answer the first part: Yes, absolutely! I love series books. I love being able to fully submerge myself in the story, and usually one book isn't enough to do that... or it is, but it leaves me wanting more!

Regarding the second part: It really depends on the series.

There are some, like the Dark Tower series, that I didn't read until all of the books were out. That makes it really nice, because I can just fall into that world and see it through all the way to the end. I just let myself get caught up in the story and the characters and everything and enjoy the ride without interruptions. It's a wonderful thing to be able to read an amazing series from start to finish.

But others, like Harry Potter, I found while new books were still being released, and that was frustrating. It was great, in a way, because I was able to think about the story and theorize about the direction it would take and what would happen to the characters I love (and the characters I hate) and how things would play out. But the waiting to see what the official story will be was torturous. And for Harry Potter, I only had to wait for 2 book releases after I was hooked. Waiting for 5 or 6 of them would have been awful! I did re-read the previous books in the series with each release. I adored revisiting Harry's world, and then at the end seeing more of it was a treat that I anticipated highly.

I will read series books before the rest of them are released, but it's always a tough decision to make that commitment. George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series is a big commitment, but one I'm glad I made, because the books are fantastic. But there's no telling when books 6 & 7 will be released. Another example is Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings. It was A-MAZ-ING. I absolutely loved it... but now I have to wait for the next book. And the next. And the next... and so on. For another NINE books.O_O

But I can't really complain, because the stories are already so fantastic that reading them again is no chore... it's a labor of love.

Well, actually I CAN complain... WHY AREN'T THEY OUT YET???! *whine* ;)

Good series books make me a happy, happy girl. ♥!