# Book series you race through - then hate to see end **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 30, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887 "2005-07-30T15:14:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rexnervous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@rexnervous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rexnervous)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/1 "2005-07-30T15:14:08Z")
So about two weeks ago I picked up **Lee Child’s** [Persuader](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0440241006/qid=1122736085/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/002-5270504-5544814?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) and really enjoyed it. I had read his first book in the Jack Reacher series a few years ago, then forgot about it. So I went and got all the rest. And read them in two weeks. And now, having finished them, I’m wishing there were more. Anyone else tend to do that? I did the same thing with **Dennis Lehane** - read _Mystic River_, then went back and read his first book in the Patrick Kenzie/Angela Gennaro series. Then, in about 3 weeks, read the rest of them. Ditto **Steve Hamilton’s** Alex McKnight and **Donald Harstad’s** Carl Houseman and many more. Now I’m sad. I need a new fix. Any recommendations? ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/2 "2005-07-30T15:45:13Z")
I’m getting ready to read _Blue at the Mizzen_ and thereby finish Patrick O’Brian’s magnificent 20 book Aubrey and Maturin series. I don’t want it to end. ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/3 "2005-07-30T16:15:33Z")
If you like historical fiction, I’ve really enjoyed Bernard Cornwell’s [Sharpe](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140294295/qid=1122740203/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_ur_2_2/103-7602005-0655806) series. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/4 "2005-07-30T16:44:58Z")
Oh lord, I just did this with **Harry Potter**. 3 weeks ago I had not the slightest interest in the Harry Potter books, none whatsoever. Then, by very bizarre circumstances (I saw a test screening of the next movie and got involved in answering hundreds of questions at an HP fan site), I decided I should give the books a try. I assumed it would take me months to get through them, because non-fiction is not my thing and I figured I’d only read a couple of pages at a time. I quickly found I wanted to get through the first 3 so I could read the 4th and compare it to the movie, so I started reading more often, and faster. By the end of the 4th I was hooked bad. I ended up reading the first 4 in one weekend, and the next two within the next week. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/5 "2005-07-30T16:59:41Z")
Anything that W.E.B. Griffin writes are like salted peaunuts to me. I cannot stop. Same with Steve White, and John Ringo. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/6 "2005-07-30T17:16:37Z")
No one has mentioned Terry Pratchett yet? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/7 "2005-07-30T18:13:28Z")
Neal Stephenson’s “The Baroque Cycle”. It was like 3000 pages…wanted more. I started my Stephenson love with “Cryptonomicon” which was sort of related to the series. More! More! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/8 "2005-07-30T18:33:49Z")
I believe I read every one of Rex Stout’s **Nero Wolfe** mystery novels between the ages of 14 and 17. So I purposely didn’t read any of the novella collections (_Curtains for Three, Three at Wolfe’s Door, And Four to Go_, etc, etc), saving 'em up for later. Now I’m 44, and I _still_ haven’t read any of them. ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/9 "2005-07-30T18:58:02Z")
_Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell_. The last four hundred pages or so, I was staying up late reading under the covers for the first time since, oh, third grade. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/10 "2005-07-30T20:18:12Z")
Chris Bunch and Alan Cole had a series (actually a million word novel divided into 7 parts) called _Sten_. I did the whole thing in one big streak, then have gone back and re-read it several times since then. I do the same thing to the military series by W.E.B. Griffin. Take some time off, then when the new one comes out, re-read the whole series with the new one as the capper. Luckily I read 1000+ wpm, or I’d never get them done! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/11 "2005-07-30T22:07:34Z")
I’ve read every book in Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series, and I read the first 9 of them back to back and in order (thanks to the friend who introduced me to the series and loaned me the books). When I was all caught up and at the point where I had to wait for the next release, I had to take a few days off from reading to “readjust.” 🙂 The current books, which focus on his kids, aren’t quite the same, but I’m still readin’. I used to be excited about Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series, until I read the most recent one (_Incubus Dreams_): it was so bloody awful that I don’t think I’ll ever want to read another one in the series. ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/12 "2005-07-30T22:38:14Z")
I will admit - I have never, ever read Christian fiction before, but at the Borders outlet an hour South of home, I found a book called The Covenant in a series called “Abram’s Daughters” by Beverly Lewis. I found the first and third books in the series for cheap, and they looked interesting - it was about young Amish women in the 1940s through the 1960s. They were actually in the regular fiction section, so I didn’t realize they were actually Christian fiction. So I picked those two up and got so engrossed in the first book that I immediately went on a hunt for the final three books that I didn’t have - I picked up two in Florida that week while I was on vacation, and the last one after we returned home. They are WONDERFUL books. I enjoyed every second of them and hated to see them end. They are not preachy, they are not judgmental, they are just such gentle, sweet books - and quite well-written with an interesting story. So now I’m planning to pick up the rest of Beverly Lewis’ adult fiction - most seem based upon Amish life, and it’s been fascinating to read about it. Her characters are immensely sweet and likeable, and I’ve greatly enjoyed her writing. E. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/13 "2005-07-30T22:40:36Z")
> [@Snakescatlady](#): > > No one has mentioned Terry Pratchett yet? No, I take my time with Pratchett. It was “His Dark Materials”, by Pullman I raced through. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/14 "2005-07-30T22:59:35Z")
Like **Ukulele Ike** , I went on a Nero Wolfe binge when I was younger. Unlike **Ike** , I read all the novellas. The newer books by Robert Goldsborough are pretty good, too. I know there are hardcore Rex Stout purists who would disagree, but newly-created Nero Wolfe fiction is better than no Nero Wolfe fiction, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/15 "2005-07-30T23:01:32Z")
Oh yeah, off the subject, before I forget again, I want to thank you for what you said about defending me. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/16 "2005-07-30T23:01:46Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > The newer books by Robert Goldsborough are pretty good, too. eeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAUUUUUUUUUUGH!!! ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/17 "2005-07-30T23:05:40Z")
I’ll second O’Brian and Cornwell. I finished the Aubrey-Maturin books early this year. I was so reluctant to start that last book, and it was even worse to read the first few chapters of the unfinished book 21. I felt lost when I was done. I went through the Sharpe books next. They’re a faster read, and I was sorry to be finished with those, too. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/18 "2005-07-30T23:09:45Z")
I loved Colleen McCullogh’s _Master of Rome_ series, and I wished she would have continued into the Octavian years. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/19 "2005-07-30T23:21:15Z")
Every time I re-read Stirling’s Island in the Sea of Time series, I am very saddened that there are no more books in that universe. I’d dearly love to read something set a couple hundred years down the road from the last book in the trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887/20 "2005-07-30T23:26:57Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > The newer books by Robert Goldsborough are pretty good, too. > > > [@Ukulele Ike](#): > > > > eeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAUUUUUUUUUUGH!!! I was afraid you’d say that. I’m just a sucker for Nero Wolfe stuff, so the new books seem better than nothin’. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-you-race-through-then-hate-to-see-end/314887.md?page=2)