There are several authors that I really like that write series.  When I want to start an older series I tend to order the whole series at once so that I don't have to wait for a long time to find out what happens next.   I won't start reading the series until I have gotten them all.  Patience is not one of my strong suits. 

I am curious to find out how many are like me and won't start reading and older series before getting them all or do you have patience?

I usually have patience for the older series but it kills me to have to wait for the author to write the next installment.

I have started reading alot of different series.  I have been switching between series.  I  will read the first one in this series and then read the first one in another series.  I have been getting most of my books from the library and the ones the library don't have I will probably get from here.  I don't know if you have ever heard of www.fictfact.com but it is a good site that helps you keep up with a series you are reading.  I have fallen in love with this site.

When reading an old series I usually just jump in and take the first available book.  The author usually gives enough information in each book to cover previous installments. Eventually I get around to all or most of them but after a couple I try to get the first one. My wife on the other hand is different. She must have all books in a series before starting.  Takes a while for her to collect but she is persistant .  PBS is an excellent site for collecting the older ones.

I usually get the first two books in the series and have the rest ready to be ordered. I usually try to see if my library has 3 and 4 of the series and order 5 and 6 from PBS.
I never order the whole series because I might not like them.

I'm involved in reading many different series; however, I limit myself to one from each series per year. That way I can stretch them out and not get sick of any of them. I only buy the ones I can't get from the library or  by any other means.  Currently caught up in the following series:

1. A Song of Ice and Fire  by George R.R. Martin
2. Sword of Truth  by Terry Goodkind
3. Kydd sea novels  by Julian Stockwin
4. Aubrey/Maturin sea novels by Patrick O'Brian
5. The Lord Ramage sea novels by Dudley Pope
6. Berrybender Saga  by  Larry McMurtry
7. Dune Chronicles  by Frank Herbert
8. Masters of Rome  by Colleen McCullough
9. Harry Potter  by J.K. Rowling
10. Harry Bosch detective series by Michael Connelly

I don't order a whole series right off the bat.  I want to make sure I really like it first.  After I have read the first one I might order the next few.  I also don't read them one after another, I need a break in between each one.  I just started the Sookie Stackhouse books.  While I was reading the first one and decided that I liked it, I ordered the 2nd one.  Then I will slowly order the rest of them.

Yep, I tend to order/buy an entire series before I can start on it. I will even get the entire set/series before I even know if I'll like the author/series, and just go on faith from others' reviews. OY! Right now, I have several series sets waiting to be read and am in the process of finishing up a few more!

I've never tried to read more than one series at a time, but there are a few I'm really wanting to start right away so I might try it out. I normally have a few different books going at once, but only one of them is usually a series book. I worry I'd get too confused if I had more than one going at once.

I used to do that but now that my TBR is over 800, I just can't do it anymore.  Although I seem to have a knakc for finding a later book in a series at a thrift store or UBS.  But now I try to get book 1, preferably at the library, before I acquire all the others.  Although I will snag one that I'm missing up from a game or a virtual box if there's one offered.

I actually joined Booksfree.com recently to get some series fillers I need without "ownign" them. If I order them from here then I they just get added to the pile. But if I get them from booksfree then I want to read them immediately to get a faster book turn around.  Plus they have several books that I've had on WL here for years and still haven't gotten them.

I usually can't read more than 2, maybe 3 in a row of the same series before I need a break. So that helps with the not acquiring the whole set at once thing.

I have the Debbie Macomber Cedar Street Series.  EVERY BOOK.  All 12 of them, LOL.  I haven't read one yet, because I keep waiting for the series to be over to read the whole thing together. 

I sure hope I like them once I start reading them. 

Thanks everybody.  It is just interesting to see what everyone else does.  Have a great weekend.

I have to have all the books in a series before I start reading it....lol....Which means I have books from like 15 different series sitting on my TBR shelves waiting for me to complete the collection before I get to them!  This usually works out pretty well for me, theres only been a couple times that after reading the first few I just wasnt into them enough to continue with the rest, in which case I just repost them, and move on to the next in line!

I tend to collect books in a series and then feel overwhelmed that there are so many to get though, that I never start reading them (such as Christine Feehan, Sherillyn Kenyon, JD Robb, etc). What kind of warped thinking is that??  Even when I do start a series, I can only read 2 at a time back to back and then I have to read other things before picking up the series again. Even when I LOVE it - such as the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum series. I laugh my butt off and thoroughly enjoy each and every one, but I still only read one or two at a time and then put the next one off for a month or two. There are just so many good books to get to that I feel I spend too much time on one series if I keep reading them back to back.

Yes.... and no.

Sometimes I get a book at the library, get home and realize it's part of a series. I will generally read at least some to see if I like it.

But after that, I make a serious effort to read them in order. I've found that for some series, like George RR Martin and Moning's "Fever" series,  it is ESSENTIAL to read in order.

Others, not so much.

I have just started the six book series "The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel" by Michael Scott.  I am halfway through the first volume, "The Alchemyst".  I like it very much, though it is a bit hard for me to think of Dr. John Dee as a villain.  He is my favorite character in British history, Queen Elizabeth I's court astrologer and the founder, with his skryer, of Enochian Magick.  He spent a good deal of time on the continent, as a spy for the Queen and perhaps establishing Rosicrucian and proto-Masonic Lodges.  He was one of the most learned men of his age, a polymath of amazing proportions and qualities.

I am an esoterically oriented Freemason and accept Worshipful Brother Timothy Hogan's belief that Alchemy underlies our Masonic rituals, their symbolism and allegories.  I am also rereading Hogan's three books:  "The 32 Secret Paths of Solomon", "The Alchemical Keys to Masonic Ritual", and, under his esoteric name Chevalier Emerys, "Revelation of the Holy Grail".  I cannot recommend these books too highly.

I'm reading a bunch of different series now.  I generally try to mix things up and read one book from one series, then go to another series.  I also keep one book in my car, to read at lunch or whenever, and I have another book that I read when I am at home.  I usually just get the first of the series to see if I will like it.  After that, I will try to get two or three more so that I don't have to wait for them.  

I'm currently reading:
Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (currently reading book 4 Summer Knight)
Codex Alera by Jim Butcher (book 4 Captain's Fury is next)
Legacy of Drizzt by RA Salvatore (book 3 Sojourn is next)
Wild Cards edited by George RR Martin (book 2, is next)
Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock (Book 7, Avilion is on my WL)
Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks (reading book 1, Way of Shadows)
Redwall (reading book 1)

I sometimes wish I could read more than one book at a time but I just don't think I can.  When I am really into a book it will stay on my mind even in my sleep.  I think my brain would go into over load if I tried to read more than one at a time.    I admire those of you who can do it.  Btw, the series I am reading now is by Scott Westerfeld.  Uglies, Pretties, Specials and Extras.  I am on Pretties right now but I think I am going to need a break after this one. 

If I decide that I really like the first one, I try to get them all, yes.  Usually I can find most here, then I try Amazon next.  The next trick is to find out if someone else is interested in the series when I am done, I can offer the whole package of books!

I love to have the whole series at once...patience with publishing is not one of my strong points!!!!  I make sure to keep my store reciept until after I  have read the first book....this way if I absolutley hated it I can return at least the rest of the series.

Here on PBS I was able to try a few amish stories that I probably wouldn't have chosen to purchase in a store...and found that I actually enjoy them quite a bit....................so i like to order up a few of those (and most of them are three or four book series) and then wait until the whole set arrives before reading them.

I won the new book "INNOCENT" in a free book giveaway that is the sequel to Presummed Innocent...a book from about ten years ago!! Now I have to go re-read that one before I can start the new one.

I just finished reading Vision in White by Nora Roberts before I realized it was the first of a four book series........the second book was also already out and the third just happened to be published last week . So I was able to read thru those pretty quickly....on the sad side...the fourth and final book isn't due out until NOVEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Sometimes I pick up a book and read it only to find that it's in the middle of a series. Most of the series I'm currently reading, it's not ABSOLUTELY essential to read them in order. For some of them, though, it started out that way, but as you get further into the series, it's more and more important to read them in order. For some, it's absolutely essential to read them in order. I usually try to read a series in order just to save myself time and effort. Usually I find  that  after I read a few books in the series, then get the first one, I end up feeling it necessary to re-read everything in order before I start the next one. So I just usually try to read them in order in the first place. 

I start with the first in the series and then get a couple more if I like the author until I read them all.

I usually just try to get the first book from the library and go from there.  I did just recently order a series from Kim Harrison from PBS.  I saw the books advertised in the back of another book and it looked really good.  I WL and low and behold I got the first 5 and now I'm just waiting on 6-8.  I hope they are good because I usually don't order a whole series without reading the first one first.

Series are adictive. I'll say to myself to not start new series before I finish the new ones. I always give in at the end. Most of the time I'll accidently buy an installment in the series then have to read the whole thing.

I tend to be more of a in order person.

I'm in the middle of a bunch of series right now and will never start a series out of order. i usually go crazy and order more than the first few if the series has gotten great reviews. I've been pretty lucky so far in that I haven't started a series that didn't pique my interest. I do try to get some from the library, particularly  if the next few books in the series have a long wish list.