# Have you ever read the serial before reading the book? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2018, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-read-the-serial-before-reading-the-book/809776 "2018-02-28T20:41:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2018, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-read-the-serial-before-reading-the-book/809776/21 "2018-03-01T17:17:10Z")
A number of times, all of them in _Analog_. My other regular s-f fix, _Fantasy and Science Fiction_ rarely prints serials and I recall none coming out in book form later. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2018, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-read-the-serial-before-reading-the-book/809776/22 "2018-03-01T18:45:04Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I read Tom Wolfe’s “Bonfire of the Vanities” as a serial in “Rolling Stone,” and later as a novel. > > But the novel was quite different from the serial, as it turned out. This is what I was going to mention. I didn’t read the whole thing in serial form, just a few chapters here and there, but eventually read the entire novel when it came out. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-read-the-serial-before-reading-the-book/809776/23 "2018-03-01T19:09:22Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I’ve only ever read the serialized versions of _The Stars My Destination_ and _Wolfbane_ I read The Stars My Destination in a Boucher anthology, but I read _The Demolished Man_ in Galaxy. I’ve read lots of serials back when I was more caught up on my magazines. I seldom reread the book when I get it because I’ve got too many books I haven’t read yet in the queue. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2018, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-read-the-serial-before-reading-the-book/809776/24 "2018-03-01T19:25:58Z")
_The Martian._ ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2018, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-read-the-serial-before-reading-the-book/809776/25 "2018-03-03T06:14:27Z")
Not sure whether this counts, but I regularly read Manga in serial form and in book form. Mix and match, usually. Though I expect to buy the book version of Hunter X Hunter when it comes out, even though it will be a re-read. The serial form is a little difficult to follow, not least of all because of the slow release schedule. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2018, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-read-the-serial-before-reading-the-book/809776/26 "2018-03-03T17:32:22Z")
_The Overlook_ by Michael Connelly was serialised in the _New York Times Magazine_ around ten years ago. Even with sixteen installments, it felt stripped down and a bit light. Or maybe that was just the effect caused by reading it in dribs and drabs, once a week. Connelly added a bunch of stuff and released it as a novel the following year. It was better than the serials, imo. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-read-the-serial-before-reading-the-book/809776.md?page=1)