Thanks, Draelin! But what do you do when Terry Pratchett produces a new one? 
I’m a serial series reader, too. If Julian May comes out with another Galactic Milieu book (please, please – there are loose ends in the Saga of Pliocene Exile…), for example, I’d have what? – six? books to reread before I could start the new one. I’ve got the first book in the Tawny Man projected trilogy by Robin Hobb, but won’t start it because the third one isn’t out yet, and her previous trilogies simply HAD to be read straight through.
Oh, well; I may just skim “Goblet of Fire” before “Order of the Phoenix” – although no doubt I will find myself sucked into reading it cover to cover. Sigh… So many books; so little time.
I tend to agree with you on movies into books. Many years ago, I saw the movie of “The Right Stuff” and thought it was excellent; then read the book and greatly enjoyed it; then rewatched the movie and was disappointed – it was still good, but now I knew where they’d cut, compressed, altered, etc.
On the other hand, a friend I talked to today had read “Seabiscuit” just before seeing the movie, in the company of friends who hadn’t read it. He said he felt he would have had trouble following some parts of the movie had he not read the book, and that his friends were a bit lost at times. Of course, none of them are horse people (which I am) or into horse racing, so I can see how they wouldn’t get certain things, like why Pumpkin was so important to Seabiscuit.
Hmmmm… I didn’t reread “The Lord of the Rings” (starting, of course, with “The Hobbit”) before seeing either of the first two movies, but had no trouble picking out the changes and drops. Of course, given how many times I’ve read that over the years… I guess it’s just a matter of accepting that they’re two very different art forms, and trying really hard not to go berserk when the movie’s a butcher job, as with “Dune”.
Ever seen a movie that was better than the book;)