Series or standalone? Which would you rather read? I was having a discussion with a group of friends at our Galentine’s event, and one of them said to me, “you’re really not a series girl”, or some version of that, and I think they are both right and wrong all at the same time. How can that be? Well, I am a complex person, friends, with many layers and reading preferences.
In a series, you get to know the world, the characters, the writer, in a way you can’t with standalone books. When I start a series, it helps to narrow my TBR as I know I am most likely going to want to continue with the next book so I don’t have to make as many choices as I finish a book.
So why does my friend think I don’t like books in a series. I think the biggest drawback to a series is having to wait for the next book. I can’t even count the number of times I have read the first book or two in a series and then abandoned it, not because I didn’t enjoy it, but because I had to wait too long for the next book. As I have said numerous times before, I am not a rereader, so if I have to wait a year or more for the next book, I am likely to forget a lot of what happened. Honestly, even having read Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros in the fall and then not reading Onyx Storm until the end of January, there were so many times I had NO idea who people were…I mean, who is Llewellyn? IYKYK…or the subtle things they were mentioning from the previous books, or heck even some of the major people and events. I loved the book so much that my lack of memory didn’t bother me much, but now having to wait over a year, and likely closer to two, makes me question whether I will continue. Other than the fact that I have to, because WHAT WAS THAT ENDING?!
I also prefer a series where each book somewhat stands on its own. Like in Louise Penny’s books or in the first book of the Hunger Games series. You could have read just that book and been content with the ending, but then when you continue to book 2: Catching Fire, there is such a cliffhanger that you can’t possibly stop the series now! I feel tricked, like I read a whole book just to be left unsatisfied with the ending. Whereas the Three Pines series does not require reading books chronologically. They can stand on their own and I continue to read them because I love the characters, the setting, and the writing.
Another risk with a series if the decline in a story or writing I love. I mean, have you read A Court of Frost and Starlight. What a waste of time, so much so, that it took me more than five years to read the next book in the series and I only did that because I was told it was required to continue with the third Crescent City book. A standalone doesn’t run this risk.
So, with all that said, do I enjoy reading a series or not? Ya, I do. But it is a complex relationship that can turn sour if not done well. How about you? Series or standalone? Inquiring minds need to know!