Even if I don't particularly care for a book I need to read the sequel. Why can't I just say to myself, hey the first one wasn't that enjoyable why put your self through that again.

The other thing I do that makes me kind of annoyed is when I read a book by a hyped up author(either here or on bookcrossing) even if I don't like one of his/her book I will try another because I just didn't get what the fuss was about.

Anyone else do this?

Guilty as charged. :blush: However, I have to at least somewhat liked the first book in order to read the sequel. (Case in point: Date Me Baby, One More Time. Not thrilled with it, didn't think it was that good, but that didn't stop me from picking up the next two in the series. Go figure.)

I do the other. If I try to read an author and hate the book, I won't read any more of their work. :shrug:

The only exception to that is Marian Keyes. I tried to read Sushi for Beginners, and I HATED it. I didn't even finish it. Then years later I had someone hype her up a lot, so I tried again, but about the sisters, (Watermelon, Rachel's Holiday, etc.) And I really liked those. I've also read a few others of hers. I like the ones about the Walsh sisters better, but I've found I actually like her work.

Should I read those books in a certain order?? If so, can someone please clue me in as to the order! Thanks

I have to read a series in order. I've accidently read a book that's in a series out of order I seem to not want to read the series after that. :erm:
I do give authors a 2nd chance if it isn't a series. If they first book in the series sucked I tend to not want to read anymore of that series. :shrug:

sometimes I do the same thing.

Like with George R.R. Martin's A song of Ice and Fire series. I loved the first book, was kinda eh about the second book, and now I have to know what happens next, so I have to read the rest of the books.

I don't do either.

Then again, I'm apparently one of the few people capable of stopping at any point in a book if I decide I don't like it. If I really want to know what happens to the people and I don't like the book... I'll go read the last chapter. :blush:

A very few times I've been curious enough about how it got there to go back to where I was and read the rest, but usually I just stop.

As for the author thing... I guess it really depends on WHAT I didn't like about the book. If it was the writing, then I won't ever go back to the author, but if it was a character or something that annoyed me, I might try a different book/series by the author.

MK's books featuring the wacky Walsh family: #1 is Watermelon. Not sure about the order, but the other two are Angel (Angels?) and Rachel's Holiday. If no one here knows, you could check the pub. dates at amazon?

I think there is now a #4 book featuring the Walshs, but I'm not sure.

Watermelon had me shrieking with laughter ... I LOVE the Walsh family!

I tried Sushi for Beginners, but like NMZ, I didn't finish it.

I don't necessarily know if they need to be read in order. Perhaps NMZ will pipe up and answer since I know she's been reading them lately, but you can find the order on Fantastic Fiction. Here's Marian Keyes page: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/k/marian-keyes/

To be honest... :shrug: I guess I'm reading them out of order.

I read Watermelon and Rachel's Holiday, and I'm jumping to the new one I think its "Is anyone out there". so, not sure if that's a good thing or not. Let me see if I can find the order....

ETA: found this on Keye's web site:
For years, fans of Marian Keyes have been treated to the lives, loves, and foibles of the Walsh sisters (and their crazy mammy) in WATERMELON, RACHEL’S HOLIDAY, and LUCY SULLIVAN IS GETTING MARRIED. In ANYBODY OUT THERE?, it’s Anna’s turn to be in the spotlight…

The sisters are (in no order): Rachel, Claire, Anna, Margaret, & Helen.... and I think that Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married is there Mammy? Haven't figured that one out yet.... but I've only read two. :shrug: I haven't read Angels, so I know I'm about to start reading out of order... but I don't really think it'll matter too much, as it seams that each book is about 1 sister, sure the family comes into play, but its mainly about that one. Like Rachel's holiday was mainly about Rachel, and her sisters were mentioned a bit, but not a whole bunch... Watermelon was about Claire, and the other sisters were actually mentioned a bit more... well, when you read it you'll see why I don't want to give anything away... but from what I can tell, it shouldn't matter too much.

Then again I read the Katie MacCalister Vamp. books out of order, I read the first one last, and they all were fine to me, at the end when someone told me there was an order to them, I tried to put them in order, but it still didn't really matter all that much.

I was the same way with book 1...loved it, but the second seemed to lack something. I had to keep reading though. Book 3 made up for #2. Really kept you on edge and the ending. Oh boy!! And then we had to wait 5 or 6 years for the 4th, which again came off just so-so for me. Mainly because one of my favorite characters wasn't in it. I will be getting #5 when it comes out. He's one of the few authors I will purchase in hardback.

I really prefer to read a series in order, but I have gotten messed up on a couple. Like Kim Harrison's Hollow's series. I accidentally started with the third book. :duh: I was already about 70 pages into and liked it so I finished it then when back and read the first 2. I've also messed up with Kelly Armstrong's witch series. I read Dime Store Magic before Stolen and now I'm having trouble making myself pick up Stolen to read it cause I know what's going to happen.

I do not have trouble not finishing a book if I don't like it. I have pushed on through with some because of how far along I'd gotten before getting totally fed up and figured might as well finish it. Most of the time I'll give up after 50 - 70 pages.

I have a few reading quirks, but ya'll have made me feel much more normal! :)

I prefer to read a series in order. I'll do whatever I can to get the first book in the series. I've been known to give away books from a series that sounds interesting to me if they're not the first one and I can't easily get my hands on the first. I have accidentally started a series in the middle without realizing it was part of a series. In that case I'll start at the beginning of the series if I enjoy the "out-of-order" book.

I absolutely cannot stop a book once I start it. I don't know why I do it and I've tried to give up on several. When I try I end up reaching for it again the next day just for the sake of finishing it. I can only think of one exception to this rule. It was a non-fiction ARC. I forced myself to get to 50 pages and then I just quit. I doubt the publisher will be using any of my comments in their promotional materials.

My other odd habit is not what I read, but how I read. I always fidget with the corner of the right hand page of the book while I'm reading. I just sort of run it between my thumb and first finger as if I'm about to turn the page. I've done it since I was very young, but everyone told my parents I would outgrow it. Yea...I never did. I'm still trying to break the habit only because I think it really annoys people that are in the room with me. When I don't do it I take longer to finish the page. :shrug:

Yeah, Katie MacAlister's Vamp books don't really have to be read in order. Like the Keyes books you talked about, each one is about a different person mainly, and though some characters from previous books might (or might not) come into play, they're fairly insignificant.

Now Katie MacAlister's other series, the Aisling Grey series. Since those are always about Aisling and Drake, and kind of build on what came before, at least with the 2 I've read so far, I can see those being better read in order. But her Vamp series, not really... (I'll be reading the 3rd Aisling Grey book shortly as Pepper just took that out of the Paranormal VBB this month.)


But generally, my OCD tendencies (much slighter now that I grew out of many of them) sorta force me to read things in order. In much the same way that they force me to read every single word and letter of a book cover to cover, including the copyright page, and every single barcode! :o Though shalt leave no letter unread! :bash: It's really quite a PITA, but I get all antsy inside if I don't do it that way! :shrug:

I usually read the back cover, the first page or two of endorsements and the dedication. thanks, and or ackknowledgments. The one thing I hardly ever read is the preview of another book at the end. That kind of annoys me. I'm a little more tolarable of it if its a series but if it a completely different book by the same author or even worse a preview of another author I won't read it.

Those annoy me too. I like looking at the advertisements for other books when they have short summaries, but don't give me a chapter of a book.

Like you, I can tolerate it if it's the next book in the series (though I still don't read it), but I hate it when it's something else. I've read a few books that had the first chapter of 2 or 3 books in the back!!

:wtf:

Sometimes, I think they're just there to make the book longer so they can charge more.

Heh, the Secrets books are famous for having an extra 10-20 pages in the back... and yeah, I must read all those too! :bash: Though I do kinda read them really fast, so that I sometimes forget what I read, and since they're not relevant to the rest of the book, I'm usually okay with that. :giggle:

Unfortunately, I do have to read all the extras at the end, chapters from other books and such, even if I've already read them. :whip: Don't ask me why it's so important because at this point, I've already read the book so any antsy feeling I'd get should be able to just go away since I'm done with the book anyway. :shrug:

Which is why it also aggravates me if a BookCrossing label covers up any text on the inside front cover... :whip: It's some words I can't read!! :shedevil:

I never read the excerpts for other books. I learned my lesson about that when after reading one the author completely changed that chapter when the book was finally released. Very confusing. :wacko: I will look at advertisements for other books though.

I HATE those extra chapters. They make you think you've got more book than you really have. Extremely annoying when you're stuck in a train with no book to read. :angry2:

Oh, I just finished book #3 and wow were you right! It totally made up for book #2.

Though it could be because it spent more time on the charecters that I love most in the story :)

LOL, I don't have that problem because one of my bad habits is when starting a book I always have to go to the back to see how many pages the story has. Sometimes even when I am halfway through it and enjoying it, I still will go to the last page to calculate how many more pages I have to go!

The funny part is I get a little annoyed with myself that I do this (why does it matter how long it is or how many pages I have to go?) but I can't seem to stop!

I do the same thing d.d. :lol: I'm reading a book with 456 pages right now and I'm on page 214. That means I have 242 pages left. :rolleyes: I always calculate what page is half way too. :giggle:

Must remember that.. I'm bad about just slaping it anywhere :blush:

Yet another book habit we share. I do the exact same thing. It is too funny how similar we are about our books.

:rofl: Gawd.. I do the same thing! I'm always like.. I'm on page 80 of 432, I'll never finish this dang thing.

There was one book I read, "Couplehood" by Paul Riser I think, and he started numbering at like page 143 or something, and said that way when someone asks what page your on you can tell them 153 and it sounds and feels like you've read a lot, when only its like 10 pages. :giggle:

Oh, and if its a long ass book.... forget it. I won't read it.

I'm a page calculator, too. Always!

I'm on page 152 ... this book is 310 pages long, so 1/2 way thru is 160 ... in 8 more pages I'll be 1/2 way thru ... :wacko:

Here I thought that I was the only one to do that. LOL

Oh definitely not... I do it as well. :) I at least calculate the halfway point. And if we're dealing in round numbers, the 1/4 and 3/4 points as well.

I calc the pages too. :blush: But I also calc the chapters. Even if the halfway chapter point doesn't match up with the halfway page point, I still say I'm halfway through the book. :lol:

I do this page calculation because I'm anxious to get to the next book. I suspect that's why we all do it. :P

I do it too. It's very sad to be wishing one book away to read the next, it has to detract from the pleasure, it does detract from the pleasure.

Knowing how many pages are in the book is no good when you look at where your bookmark is & think you've got 50 pages to go only to find the end of the book in 10 with 40 mins of your trip to go.

I'm another page counter...

LOL, this is too funny. I think we should have named ourselves "PageObsessed" instead of BookObsessed! :rofl:

Glad to hear this b/c I'm going to give her another try as well. I also hated Sushi for beginners and I didn't know if it was b/c I just wasn't in a good place in my life (too much detail to go into) and that affected my reading or if it was really that bad.

I have several of hers so that I can try it again..the other one's sounded good.

I do this too..I don't know why I'm calculating it..b/c I never think..ok..I am going to read this many pages today and can pick up this book w/this many pages tomorrow. I am a "moody" reader. It depends on my mood if I want to read light stuff, a cozy, sick shit, etc..

I will stop mid sentence to see how many more pages I have to go. Haven't got a clue as why though.

Oh Pepper..I can quit a book too..I just did after page 36. It wasn't what I liked..it was confusing me (not like that's a hard thing so I really don't want a book to do it.) So if I'm not truly vested in it..I toss it aside and pray someone else might take it off my hands.

I do know someone who wanted a book of mine just journaled it and she couldn't take it either..and a lot of people here didn't like it..so I kind of like it when I know I give up on bad books..not just wasn't my cup of tea books. Of course, if they're not my cup of tea..I don't fret about moving on.

I can quit a book at ANY point. Seriously. I've read 300 plus pages of a book and then decided I didn't want to read anymore and so... I didn't. :lol:

I am getting much better at quitting books that don't intrigue me. I am trying to quit by page 50 if I'm not into it. There has only been one book that I had to push myself to read that had been worth it, it was The last time they met by Anita Shreeve.

Me three :lol: I do the same thing I guess it's just the idea that I want to read the next book.
I also have a habit not all the time though, when I'm reading and I decide to stop sometimes I need to stop on a page that's side by side that ends the sentence not continued on the next page. Quirky I know :lol:

And I also don't like the chapter excerpts. It takes away from the next book somehow.

I'm not pushing myself to read or anything. The last book I quit on page 300 or so was Passage by Connie Willis. I loved it... loved it... loved it... loved it... didn't care. And so I put it down one day and never picked it back up. :lol: