Lets get this show on the road. I've mentioned in the past that the book, well, series that got me back into reading was The Infernal Devices series, wonderful series that I still haven't finished (whoops?), which just so happened to be borrowed from my, at the time, school library. Notice, series and library? Good, let us continue then. I then later in life, (a few months) found myself toddling over the my most local library and seeing what they had, (aka finding and LOVING Skulduggery Pleasant), which then lead to me moving outwards and exploring other libraries close by and being made aware of just how many series the library had, that I have now read; Lunar Chronicles, Curse Workers, Percy Jackson, Kane Chronicles, Heroes of Olympus, Under the Never Sky, there's been so many series that I may never have read had I never visited the library. That's were this correlation comes in. I've done nothing but read series since visiting the libraries local to me, but why?
I think it's got something to do with the fact that they're already there. Most of the time, there'll be a collection of them, a little huddle of books, all from the same series, all lined up ready to be taken out, loved, cherished and returned and sometimes they match, sometimes they don't, but they just wait there, like a little family, and I don't know about you, but I find it really difficult to just take away one book. I feel like a home wrecker, I've split up their family, so I take more than one, maybe two or three, or sometimes the whole series, I just feel like I need to have them all there, just in case it all works out, and surprisingly, around 8 out of 10 series I've taken out of the library have been fabulous choices. I recall having around 5 or 6 Skulduggery Pleasant books out at one time, three Vampire Academy books, 4 Rick Riordan novels, I just cannot take one book out, and the only time I do is when I have no choice in the matter and it's the only one there. But I'm deviating..
If it wasn't for my libraries, I wouldn't have read as many series as I have. I've found some fabulous series with the aid of my libraries, and I know I'll only continue to find more, but I very rarely take out and read standalone novels from the library. I think I've maybe taken out 5 or 6 standalone novels that haven't been part of a series or collection by an author, it's a rare occasion that I do, and I can't exactly place why, but there's something exciting about taking three or four books from a series, bringing them home and knowing that this little secret, all the feelings your going to have, they're all yours, you haven't got to wait for someone else miles away to finish the book you want because it's there, and it's a beautiful feeling.
I've even been tempted and still am tempted by books that, a few months ago, I either hadn't heard of or taken an interest in, like Benedict Jacka's Alex Versus series, or Jay Kristoff's Stormdancer series.. even Alison Goodmans Eon Duology or Michael Grants BZRK Trilogy - all of these series have been put on my radar thanks to my libraries, series which I would never have considered, thought about or been swayed to try. I would never have been willing to try a lot of series, like Splintered of The Grisha because I couldn't avoid the price of the first book, but I could avoid the £1 to reserve it from another library. I've saved myself ache and a pain in my bank balance by taking out series that I'm glad I didn't buy, like Vampire Academy and Bloodlines, or Noughts and Crosses. My libraries have encouraged me to read more series than I ever could have imagined, and where many bloggers are becoming fed up of the constant recurrence of series in the young adult range, I'm actually really excited.
The excitement I feel when I visit my libraries after reading the first in a series, or after hearing that a book I've reserved from a series is waiting for me is too unbelievable for words, but it's the feeling of knowing that I'm experiencing something special with the series that makes me read more sometimes. Sometimes, the bigger the series, the better, like with Spooks, which I'm currently reading, and sometimes, it's the collection of stories by an author, like Tom Hoyle, that can brighten your day. I talk about my libraries a lot when I talk about books, and it's common to find that many of the books I read are from the library, but I honestly believe that there is a connection between visiting libraries and reading more series, not just for me, but for everyone, and I'd love to know whether this is true. From where I stand, I love series, they bring me excitement and allow me to stay somewhere comfortable, with characters I love in a world I adore, and while I can't turn down a nice standalone once in a while, I'm pretty happy with my claws in deep.
Do you read more series when you visit your libraries?
Do you have any actions that increase the amount of series you read, or standalones for that matter?What are you more likely to borrow, standalones or series? Let me know, I'm really intrigued at the outcome.
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