Thoughtful Thursday: Reading a Series from Start to Finish

Thoughtful Thursday
It is time for Thoughtful Thursday and the bookish questions that pop up while I am reading. Please share your thoughts on the bookish question of the week. I am curious to hear what you have to say! There are no wrong answers. Questions about Thoughtful Thursday or future Thoughtful Thursday posts? Check out my Thoughtful Thursday section. Alright, on to the question!


Assuming that you are late to the party with a book series (and the entire series is completed) and you want to read every piece of text within a series' universe that you can get your hands on, in what order to you read the books, short stories, and novellas within the universe? Do you read the books first and then the short stories and novellas if you want more? Do you read the books, short stories, and novellas in order (either publication or chronological)? Do you read them in some other order?

This question came at the perfect time! I am currently reading a few different series that are already completed. I am reading the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris and the Newsflesh trilogy by Mira Grant (I read Feed last year and LOVED it, but I didn't have the opportunity to read books two and three because I wanted to get my hands on the audiobooks). Both of these series have several short stories and novellas. The Sookie Stackhouse series has a whole bundle of them! After careful consideration, I have decided to read short stories and novellas after I have read all of the novels in a series, unless I am repeatedly told that I should read a short story or novella first. The reason I decided to do this was that many prequel short stories and novellas are written before a final novel is written. I am worried that I am going to read a short story or novella in the correct order chronologically speaking but that the story only makes sense if I read it later in the series. Also, I am afraid that an author is going to unintentionally spoil me for something that happens later in the series in a prequel story. 

I guess I should just read a series in publication order; however, I am not a fan of this, because I feel bogged down by switching between novels and shorter works. When I am really into a series, I usually just want to jump from novel to novel. I feel like a lot of short stories and novellas within series don't really stand on their own, so instead of enjoying them, they make me antsy for longer works.

Now it is your turn! What order do you read a series?




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