The Innocent Smiley: The Pros & Cons of Binge Reading

Friday, March 9, 2018

The Pros & Cons of Binge Reading

I'm currently in the process of reading an entire series that I read the first book of exactly 3 years ago. And this is actually pretty huge for me because I almost never, NEVER binge read or watch ANYTHING. Yet this year, I have done both of those things! Which is why I will now list out the pros and the cons of binge reading.

PROS:

1. No cliffhangers!

You get to know what happens immediately after you finish the first book. It's wonderful and there's no waiting involved.

2. Remembering what happened in the previous books.

Which means I can actually enjoy the book, because when I remember nothing, it just leads to a whole bunch of confusion.

3. A series off the TBR and into the Read pile.

No more saying that I have to read so and so series, BECAUSE I ALREADY HAVE.

CONS:

1. You can't binge read the series if all the books aren't out yet!

Which of course, is sad. Also means you'll have to wait until the whole series is out, or read them as they come out, which means cliffhangers and/or forgetting that there will be some cliffhangers, which aren't fun at all!

2. Or if you simply can't get access to all the books.

Which does happen to me all the time as I'm not overflowing with money. Hence why yesterday I was seen checking out the entire series (The Others by Anne Bishop)

3. You may need a break after a while.

You might get tired of the world, the characters, or the genre. This is initially why I never wanted to read an entire series at once, or either multiple books by the same author.

Have you ever binge read a series?
Or do you have hesitations?

Comments (20)

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Nessa · 368 weeks ago

I binge when possible bc yes

1 reply · active 367 weeks ago

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vlangloisx3 116p · 367 weeks ago

Why thank you Vanessa. Of course it's only possible when you borrow my books, I suppose.

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venosag 72p · 368 weeks ago

I like to binge read via audio. I binged HP and the Lunar Chronciles and liked it a lot. But I like to have all the books out. I don't want to half binge a series then wait for the next one.

1 reply · active 367 weeks ago

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vlangloisx3 116p · 367 weeks ago

I like to have all the books out too! But most of my favorite series aren't done yet, so it's sad. But also it's overwhelming to know there are so and so number of books in a series, especially if it's beyond 3. That's how I feel about the Lunar Chronicles right now haha.

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octopussquirrel 9p · 368 weeks ago

Tips to avoid being overdose: read something else between books! ( Works for TV show marathons as well! ) You don't avoid cliffhanger this way, but I must love to suffer because I love waiting, it's thrilling! 😂 I "forget" to read long series because although I love thinking I have unlimited time, it's limited. How am I supposed to read six-seven books every time there are new ones? 😱

1 reply · active 367 weeks ago

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vlangloisx3 116p · 367 weeks ago

Right??? I'm feeling this right now with this one series that I just have no motivation to finish because I've been burned out by the series. It's too much haha. Six/Seven books are the worst. Just wayy too overwhelming haha.

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drizzleandhurricanebooks 46p · 368 weeks ago

Oh this is such a great post, Val, I love it. I have to admit that I never, ever binge-read anything in my life haha. I never buy a book series in one go, as I am never sure whether or not I will enjoy it, I always buy the first book, then... if I loved it, I have to wait anyway for the second book to get to me, so... I can't physically binge read anything, unless I buy them as e-books and can get them instantly, but... even then, well, I wouldn't do it. I think I'm the kind of person needing a break from it every now and then, to switch up with another book, another genre, etc, to just... keep me going and avoid the slump afterwards, haha :)
Great post!! :) x

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seriesousreviews 13p · 368 weeks ago

I try to read sequels as close together as possible but I don't always succeed. Depending on the genre, I can usually binge all the books in a row (like romances because they focus on different leads in each novel) but for non-contemporary reads, I usually try to read something else in between before diving into the sequel. I find that especially with audiobook series because it can get tiring listening to the same narrator for 20+ hours when you read all the books one after another.

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delicateeternity 69p · 368 weeks ago

I binge read series all the time, haha. In fact I finished my binge read of a dulogy yesterday (though it's not as intense as there are only two books!). I really like it because of the things you said. Also, it feels so immersive to read so much of a particular world and set of characters. Whenever I finish a binge, especially a long one, I'm always left feeling a little adrift without the series. Especially if it's finished and I know there will never be new content *sob*

The con of not all the books being out yet is the only real con that gets to me. Like, I binge read The Diviners last year but then it almost made the fact that the third book wasn't the last even worse than if I had JUST read the third book. But still. I'll just binge read it again when the last book comes out cause it's my fave ;D

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divabooknerd 73p · 368 weeks ago

You could have mentioned what series, now I have to do my own stalking and check Goodreads. It's hard for perverts these days, have to do all the work ourselves. I don't binge read often but recently did with the Chaos Walking series and read them all wiithin six days I think. Which was brilliant and I loved it, except I can't review it because everything is a spoiler and I can't remember where one book ends and the next begins. I pretty much inhaled them. A most excellent binged series can send you into a massive reading slump too. Interesting reading others thoughts too, goes to show we're as individual as the books we read. Brilliant discussion Val, I think I'm a bit of a fence sitter on this one <3 <3

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shannonmiz 83p · 367 weeks ago

I used to binge a lot before blogging. But now I find I rarely have time to. But honestly, I preferred binging. Now that you mention binge reading, I wonder if that has something to do with why I like series less these days. Because maybe I am just not into them enough by the time they finally all come out? Or I forget too much. Like I am about to start Obsidio and I'm like... what even WAS Gemina?

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FoolsIngenuity 93p · 367 weeks ago

I love a good binge read but I so frequently get bogged down when I try and binge read too long a series, like I have done with Patricia Briggs books. I love there being no cliffhangers and no book amnesia though! I definitely appreciate the no book amnesia, because the struggle is real with that one. My problem is if you're waiting for the books to release is that you have to try and avoid spoilers, which is impossible!

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Helia · 366 weeks ago

I love binge reading a series, especially if it's a long one. There's just no way I can remember what happened if there are more than four books in the series, or keep on track with reading multiple series' and not knowing when the new books come out. But I know that binge reading doesn't support the authors too much, becuase waiting for a series to end means they miss out on sales and in that time the series could be cancelled because of a lack of readers. I don't see it happen often (I see it more with TV shows) so I don't know if there's a right or wrong way to go about it.

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Emma @ Miss Print · 366 weeks ago

The only series I've done this with recently is The Orphan Queen/The Mirror King which I really enjoyed. Usually I just read books as they come out because I start series as ARCs and want to support the books as they come out (to make sure the entire series gets published!). That said I periodically re-read all of Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series back to back and really enjoy that.

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Jamie @BubblyBooks · 364 weeks ago

I can so relate. It is the worst feeling EVER when you finish a book in the series and it is amazing and beautiful and then you realize that there is a horrible cliff hanger and you have to wait a whole year for the book?!? Like who do you think I am? I think you mistake me for someone with patience and someone with a memory good enough to remember what happened last year? Um.. no thanks! Great post :)

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bookishr 1p · 364 weeks ago

Totally agree with the cons. Every time I binge read, I feel like I need to go to a retreat far off in the mountains and stay away from books.

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sophiexli 4p · 364 weeks ago

Hello Valerie!
I tend to binge read when I am REALLY addicted to a book or a series, which actually doesn't always happen haha (some books have slow pacing or I'm just not into them.) So when I feel the urge to binge read, usually I listen to my heart haha :)
I do agree with your pros and cons. I think another con is that we might lose sleep or procrastinate on other things! There are times when my plans for a day are thrown off because I decided to curl up with a book :)

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jeannius88 122p · 364 weeks ago

Binge reading a series is my favourite way of getting them off my TBR and really getting immersed in it! I either binge read them for a month, or read one book each month so I can get other reads off my shelf. Great post Val!

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dvasso 64p · 357 weeks ago

I try to binge series, but usually I'll read book 2, then read a bunch of other stuff and think, "oh yeah I should get my hands on that other book!" :p

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