Question: Do You Re-read Your Favorite Long-Running Series Before the Last Book Comes Out?

Posted August 28, 2014 by Jessica in Question / 44 Comments

WeeklyQuestion

In a word . . . YES. I do.

I have yet to get in on the ground floor of a long-running series. It was just a few weeks ago that I discovered I’ve only been reading UF for around seven years, so maybe in another ten years . . . I’ll still have the same answer. *snickers*

description

I can’t help it. I’m a detailed oriented person, and after a year (or LESS), the details begin to fade. I used to reread a series every time a new installment came out—series that only put out one new book per year, anyway. But I don’t have time to do that anymore. Now, unless I get a wild hair and just want to reread a series, b/c it’s been awhile, I typically don’t until it’s about to end . . . but right before that final installment . . . you’d better believe it.

There is a queen of rereads . . . and I am that queen.

Don’t get mad, you can be queen too. B/c I said so, that’s why.

Anyway, I know that I’m a minority. Not in the wanting a refresh, but in the actually doing it. Like right now with The Hollows. There’s no way I could keep track of all the people who have told me they wish they had time for a reread before The Witch With No Name comes out (in TWO WEEKS!!).

The difference is I make time. It’s like a compulsion.

I make time, or I don’t read it. I still haven’t read the last book in Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series. And I won’t until I can reread the previous books. *shrugs* That’s just how I roll.

But what about you?

Do You Re-read Your Favorite Long-Running Series Before the Last Book Comes Out?

SIDE NOTE: Again, I’ve been absent for the last few days, and I’ll continue to be absent until Tuesday, b/c Tabitha from Not Yet Read and I are going to DRAGON CON. I can’t wait to tell you all about it when I get back!

Jessica Signature

My name is Jessica and I live in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I’m trying my hand at writing, but mostly I read. My favorite genres are Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, and the YA versions of those genres, but if there is a book of a different color getting lots of buzz, I’ll read it too, just to be informed. If I’m not reading or writing, I’m probably on Goodreads or Pinterest or baking blueberry pies because I love them.

Twitter    

Related Posts

Tags:

44 responses to “Question: Do You Re-read Your Favorite Long-Running Series Before the Last Book Comes Out?”

  1. Melanie Simmons  

    I do relistens mostly and I don’t always wait until the last book comes out. I did a relisten to Merry Gentry this year, since it had been so long since the previous book. Last year was my year for listening to books that I had read. I had started a relisten to the entire series of Women of the Otherworld, and plan to finish it, but I’m backed up with review books right now. I’m stuck on Haunted, which isn’t my favorite book, so that isn’t helping matters. I wanted to do a relisten to The Hollows, but since they moved the date up, it snuck up on me and I just ran out of time. I will do a complete relisten at some point thought. You can bet on that. 🙂
    Melanie Simmons recently posted…Passion Untamed Audiobook By Pamela Palmer (Review)

  4. Danya  

    I’m not usually a big series re-reader, but when Tamora Pierce wrote a new book in her Circle Opens universe a couple years ago I re-read every book that she’d written in that universe. Because I agree: the details matter! And I always get characters from that universe confused with people from Tortall, so I gotta be proactive or I’ll miss out on those little nuggets of awesomeness where Pierce tips her hat to the fans (ME!!!!) who’ve read every single one of her books. Seeing old faces, alluding to major events in previous novels; it all makes a Pierce re-read worth it.

    In other news, DRAGON CON! Have a wonderful time; I hope you and Tabitha packed sensible shoes. I’ve made that mistake before and it wasn’t pretty.
    Danya recently posted…Tough Traveling: Towers

  5. Cassidie Jhones  

    I don’t. I would love to, but there are just so many books and so little time… This last happened when City of Heavenly Fire came out and I totally dreaded that I’d forgotten everything. Especially regarding the fact that the whole Mortal Instruments series is super intricate. But in the end, it turned out that I didn’t forget almost anything and I enjoyed CoHF, so happy end. Of course, if once I happen to have a lot of spare time for just one particular series, I’ll definitely re-read it.
    Cassidie Jhones recently posted…ARC Review: The Winter People by Rebekah L. Purdy

  6. Sarah from Smitten over Books  

    I’m not a big rereader. I want to but I just don’t have the time. I have the memory of a fish so I usually have forgotten about everything before the new installment comes out, but I’d just roll with it and would depend on the book to help me remember. The only series I have ever reread is Harry Potter and it’s a yearly tradition so it’s really an exception to the rule. Have fun on DragonCon, Jessica! (:
    Sarah recently posted…Review: The Case of the Stolen Sixpence by Holly Webb, Marion Lindsay

  7. Nathan ( from reviewbarn)  

    Appreciate the sentiment but you can keep the queen crown, I don’t want it.

    But to answer your question I used to. Before blogging added nine million books to the pile, and especially if the book was two or three years out from the last one.
    Nathan ( recently posted…Tough Travels – Towers

  8. kindlemom1  

    I do if it has been a long time since the last book (like a year), if I feel I can remember enough then I don’t. I use to reread them all the time but with getting some many ARCs lately I haven’t been able to, which is my own fault and the price I pay for being tempted by that download button.

    Have an amazing time at DragonCon!!
    kindlemom1 recently posted…Review: The Dolls by Kiki Sullivan

  9. Amanda from On a Book  

    I don’t reread, but… I’m starting to get the urge to (which is huge) and at the rate I’ve been reading lately, rereading won’t slow me down much. Which means it’s going to start happening soon.

    Sometimes (especially with romances where the couples change), I reread the previous book where they were introduced before jumping into the new one. Been thinking about doing that for Kristen Callihan’s Evernight….
    Amanda recently posted…Small Town Trouble by Jean Erhardt {Jenna’s Review}

  10. julie from m5monkeys  

    I admit that I don’t reread a series before another book comes out. I should but I usually don’t have the time or reading pile to do it. Yes I love to reread but a part of thinks that if i do reread it then I will hate the series and never pick it up again.
    julie recently posted…Undead with Benefits

  11. Kelsey  

    I’ve done it a few times, mostly when the last book comes out and I can’t remember a single thing that happened in the first two! Then again I re-read Throne of Glass before the second one came out just because I loved it so much hehe. I guess it depends on how long it’s been since the first part of a series and how much detail there was to remember. A lot of authors summarize pretty well these days too.
    Kelsey recently posted…Cat Thursday-Hide and Seek

  12. Bookworm Brandee  

    Hail the Queen! Ooh, I can be queen, too?!? 🙂 I would really love to re-read The Hollows before The Witch with No Name releases but I don’t know if I’ll have the time. Well, at least not so that I’m caught up by release date. I enjoyed your reviews of them because it refreshed my memory. But there are SO many details that I probably should re-read prior to reading the last one. Guess I better get on it if I want to be queen. 😉

  13. Jenny from Supernatural Snark  

    I’m a huge re-reader too Jessica, but I don’t usually re-read the previous books in a series unless it’s been years and years between books. *cough* BURNED *cough* ICED I will be re-reading before BURNED comes out, but otherwise I just dive in and hope that some of the details from previous stories come back to me. Fail.

  15. Lea Krnjeta  

    Mostly I dont re-read the whole series, just a few last books but for The Hollows I will go from the beginning, starting tomorrow. I remember most of it but I want to experience it once more before it ends. I did re-read the whole Soul screamers series before With all my soul and I re-read Charley Davidson series every few months because I miss the characters 🙂
    Lea Krnjeta recently posted…Release Day Launch for GUARDIAN by Courtney Cole (Excerpt and giveaway)

  16. Maja (The Nocturnal Library)  

    I don’t do it before a new installment comes out. I simply don’t have time for it. But I reread my favorites all the time. It’s like comfort food or a favorite blanket. Sometimes rereading gets me out of a reading slump. Sometimes it even gets me out of depression. But it always works. It’s a magical cure for everything.

  18. Mogsy from BiblioSanctum  

    Nope, I just don’t have the time for that! I think your question is more geared towards UF readers though, which is a genre that makes up a part of my reading diet, but really, the big bulk of it is epic fantasy. With most books running around 500-1000 pages each, I wouldn’t get any new reading done if I reread every time a new book came out 😛 Though one of these days I’d love to reread the whole ASoIaF series, maybe when George R.R. Martin gets around to releasing book 6 😛
    Mogsy recently posted…Tough Traveling: Towers

  19. Lily  

    While your the queen of rereading i’m the queen of saying I will and than not finding the time too *sigh*! Rereading is just so hard, especially when your a blogger because you have to find time in between having a life and reading ARCS to binge read two or three books in a series before the last one. THATS A LOT OF TIME I DON’T HAVE!
    Lily recently posted…Our Next Read {7}

  21. Mariya  

    I definitely do. Sometimes I re-read series for every new release if the series is awesome. Like the fever series. I totally have a group re-read scheduled for that series. Mainly I do it for my all-time favorite epic series. =)))

  25. Heidi

    No… I wish I could but as a busy blogger with commitments I don’t have time to go back and reread. Luckily most of the series I am hooked on are ones I picked up in the last couple of years so it isn’t a biggie. I didn’t start The Hollows until late 2010 so it is pretty fresh in my head. I am reading Witch With No Name right now and I will say that Harrison does a good job with refreshing.
    Heidi recently posted…Review: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

  27. Pili  

    You are indeed the queen of re-reads and I admire you so much for it, Jessica!
    Before I joined Goodreads which multiplied my TBR list exponentially and I became a blogger, I also used to re-read all books before the next one in a series came out, but as of late… I have so many books asking for my attention that I actually feel guilty for re-reading something when I could be reading something new from my overwhelming TBR pile!! Not to mention the ARCs and work’s schedule and maybe an unexpected order for cupcakes? Gods, I’m just stressing myself just thinking of it all! But I think at some point it’d be really nice and healthy to say sod it! and re-read books that I’ve loved from a series I love before the next one comes out! Maybe I’ll make that my next year resolution!
    Pili recently posted…First Chapter, First Paragraph #9: Linked by Imogen Howson!!

  28. Karen  

    I used to but I have so many books to read that I don’t anymore. I literally used to read books 1-4 of the Sookie Stackhouse series weekly. jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series was another frequent re-read series for me.

    The other reason is that I have given up on so many series that I don’t care but the time the last book rolls around anymore.

    That’s one of my goals this year though. I NEED to go back and revisit my favorites.

  29. Jennifer from The Book Nympho  

    I’ve reread the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost a couple of times before a new release. I’ve also reread the Fever series before ICED was released and I plan on doing a reread before BURNED comes out.

    I’m wanting to do a reread of the Elemental Assassin series by Jennifer Estep too. I’m not sure if I can squeeze it in before BLACK WIDOW but I want to do it soon.

    And if Staica Kane ever releases another Downside Ghost series I’ll do a reread of that series to get ready for a new book.
    Jennifer recently posted…5 Tips For Getting Your Man To Take Control In The Bedroom by Katie Porter

  32. Livia from Butterfly-o-Meter Books  

    Depends on a few things… with how sucky my reading time has been, I’m lucky to get to read the series for the first time by the time the last one comes out *grumbles*… most likely I’m reading it after the last one is published, and in a binge-reading spree, so I’m unlikely to re-read them unless there’s a hardcore love and no OCD-binge-ing on some other series… sigh.
    Like right now my Hollows reading is stuck at #5 because deadline of doom for September on a translation, and I’m SOOOOO behind, I’m like freaking out 😐 Sucks. *sniffles~sniffle*
    Livia recently posted…Love Legends: A Fantasy Romance Boxed Set & Giveaway

  33. roro  

    I want to and try to but it’s such a commitment . I better read new books. Gimme the old books in audio format and I’m all in . I can do other things while listening.

    Lovely post , Jessica
    roro recently posted…WOW #12

  40. Kristina D

    Have fun at Dragon Con. The series you mentioned is one I probably need to reread before finishing it but may not get to it. I find I will reread a favorite series when I’m in a reading slump. When nothing is grabbing my attention I go with something I know I enjoy.
    Kristina D recently posted…Some Thursday Randomness

  42. Inge

    Yes, I do. I have to, especially if it’s been a while since I’ve read the books, because my memory is horrible. I won’t remember anything. It’s a positive thing, sometimes, because it means I can be surprised over and over again :o) I also really like re-reading books that I used to love, because it allows me to experience the magic all over again.
    Inge recently posted…Review: Under Zenith by Shannen Crane Camp

  43. Berls from Fantasy is More  

    I used to in the BB days (Before Blogging). But now I just don’t have the time – not that I couldn’t make the time like you do, but when I balance all the books I still want to read for the first time with the books I would like to reread, it’s not worth it to me. I read lots of reviews of the earlier books – read my notes (bc I’m a massive note taker) and cross my fingers that the author manages to recap enough (w/o getting exhaustive). I wish I had the time for both, but I don’t 🙁 I’m thankful for those like you, though, that make the time because then I get to read really great reviews that are like rereading 🙂
    Berls recently posted…“The Gathering” S1:E4 | Outlander Thoughts