In Order or Out of Order?

Isabel Says:

I was reading Love the Single Heiress by Jacquie D'Alessandro right. On page 52 in Chapter 4, I realized I have heard of the main character's brother, Philip and his wife Meredith. Sure enough, I looked into a bag of other D'Alessandro books my friend loaned me and found out Who Will Take This Man is Philip and Meredith's story. Damn.

Even though I'm the biggest spoiler hoe, I don't like reading out of order. It just annoys me. Some books, you can get away with reading out of order. Like Dan Brown's Angel and Demons and The Da Vinci code. The only thing they have connecting each other is the main character. Other than that, both books are stand alones. Two different stories, none having to do with the other.

However, there are some series you have to read in order. Karen Marie Moning's Highlander series. Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter Series, J. R. Ward's Brotherhood Series, Julia Quinn's Bridgerton Series (Just so you can see the younger siblings growing up).


Holly says:

Personally, I don't have to read a series in order. It doesn't bother me in the slightest to read books out of order. As a matter of fact, most of the time, it just makes me anticipate the first book all the more, because now that I know they're together, I want to find out how they got that way.

Of course, there are exceptions to this. First, when an author basically tells the entire first story in the second book. He/She makes so many references to the first book that you already know the entire story. Oh, maybe not the minute, intricate details, but enough that you don't have to go back and read the first one...the story's already been told.

Second, when the storylines are all wrapped up in each other. SK's Dark Hunter series is a perfect example of this. If you don't start at the beginning and read in order, you're completely lost.

The only time I absolutely cannot read out of order is if, like in Hannah Howell's Highland Series, the parents' stories are told first. For some reason, I can't read about the kids and then go back and read about the parents. It totally creeps me out. That's like hearing about my parents' sex life. EWWW!

So, tell us: Can you read books out of order? Or do you have to read them in order?

Dylan's Take:

I never really cared much about reading books in order, when I first started reading because I ALWAYS read out of order, it wasn't until I read KMM's books (in order that is because Izzy would have killed me if I read those books out of order) that I really started thinking to myself that maybe I should read series books in order because I really and truly appreciated the KMM books all the more after having grown so close to them from the very beginning of the series. I really enjoyed reading the books, watching each couple progress toward their happy ending, seeing them from where they started and then got their ending was so rewarding to me as a reader because I saw their journey as a whole and I really connected more with the books and the characters.

So these days, you won't see me reading ANYTHING out of order. I'll keep a book for two years, just sitting and waiting and hoping (dude I'm so totally singing that song in my head) to be read. Until I get the first book, I won't start any other book but that's just me!

I can be a spoiler hoe (although no one is a bigger spoiler hoe than our girl, Izzy!), but when it comes to books...you spoil ANYTHING for me and I will try my best to curse you! LOL.

So, what kind of series book reader are YOU?

Jazz says:

Recommend a book to me and not tell me it is in a series? You better run and hide cause I'll hunt you down. I will be beyond pissed. I am so not kidding. I just read a book by Pamala Clair called Carnal Gift, loved it, so I went on her web page to see what her other books are and found out CG is in a trilogy! It was the middle book! I was so fuming mad.
So as you see I hate to read out of order, it is a must for me. It doesn't even matter if they are connected in the smallest way, even if in one book they just say a name of a couple that happened to have their own book. I need to read that book first, just because oveously they came first.
I don't have to have all the books at once to start the series but I won't go out of order.
So now your all warned. Don't recommend a book to me unless you know for sure if it is in a series or not. And be sure to let me know.