I happened upon a dilemma recently:
If I start a series in one form, can I satisfactorily complete it in another?
Let me explain.
Say there is a series I started in paperback. Then the ebook for #2 goes on sale. Do I break format to read the book? Or do I wait and finish the whole series in paperback?
I know this might sound a little crazy to some of you, but I’ve run into some serious issues here!
For example, I started a series as ebook. Got book #2 on Audible. But I hated it! Not the book, just listening to it. (It was a mostly epistolary novel and I discovered I don’t like listening to type of story. For me, the “letters” (or emails or texts, etc) need to be experienced on the page. Recently, with that same series, I found a good deal on the paperback of book #3. Ack! What’s a reader to do?
Or perhaps there’s the flip side. I’ve read a book one, and then hear that the audiobook is fabulous. Will switching formats midstream in a series muddle my “feeling” of the series?
Of course, sometimes things work out.
Late last year I listened to a book one in which I loved both the story and the narrator! But then I fell into the conundrum about books two and three. My husband and I share an Audible account, so we take turns with the monthly credit (although, truth be told, he uses most of them!). And I couldn’t find either book in audio in my library apps.
I was about to break down and get book two as an ebook, but then I got an email from Audible telling me that all my wish list titles were on sale! I didn’t get too excited at first. I’ve seen those emails before only to discover the book is discounted to $11 but I can get it for less than that in paper or ebook. But I clicked over just to be sure.
Lo, and behold, the books two & three I wanted were both on sale—under $5 each! Now I can finish Pepper Basham’s wonderful Freddie and Grace Mysteries series all in the same format. Which makes me happy.
And then sometimes, like with Gabrielle Meyer’s Timeless series, I start in paperback and know from then on I will read that format simply because I wanted the whole series on my shelf!
Of course, there are many series I’ve started in paper and finished as ebooks—and vice versa—and enjoyed the whole thing. But there is a part of me that likes to experience a series of stories in the same format.
What about you? Does format matter in a series or do you switch seamlessly in series reading from ebook to paper to audio? Inquiring minds want to know!
D’Ann, That is quite the conundrum! I’m able to switch seamlessly from paperback to e-book to complete a series. Enjoy your weekend.
Yes, that one isn’t so hard of a switch. But sometimes I regret not having a whole series on my shelf since part of it is in ebook! 🙂
I try to keep to paperback if I want them for my shelf. But if I find them for less in ebook, then I will switch. I don’t do audio books.
Paperback or e-book wouldn’t be a problem for me, but I can see how changing to audiobook midstream might be a problem. Sometimes you just might not like a narrator, or like in the book you mentioned, letters or text messages etc. might not come across well in that version.
Yep, that’s usually the reason for switching–cost. I love when I can find the next book cheaper, but then it means an incomplete series on the shelf. Sigh.
I’ve never listened to an audible, so I don’t have that third leg of the issue. I like to read my books… see the pages, see the words… I fear I’d get terribly distracted if I were just listening.
I’m overall a paperback lover first, but I also have quite a few ebooks. I get ebooks because they’re cheap or free & I can try new authors without the expense of a paperback in case I don’t care for the book. I try to get all/most of the paperbacks of my favorite authors. Sometimes I’ll buy an ebook from a fav author just to read it & see if it classifies as a favorite-enough to buy the paperback to put on my shelves. A few books I have in both paperback & ebook because I like them so much & can read them any time I want (I’m a fav-book re-reader), home or away from home.
As far as series books go, I have sets in both paperbacks & ebooks, but I want all of one series to be in the same format.
I have several books both paper and ebook, too! Sometimes an ebook is just too good to not have on my physical shelf!
What a great question! I do think it matters. Perhaps it’s just a mental thing, but I do prefer to keep reading a series in the format I started with. Not to say I haven’t successfully read a series in multiple formats, but my first choice is to continue with the same format.
I agree!