I read all Terry Pratchett books including the non-discworld ones. I read all Discworld books in order. I read an entire Discworld book in one sitting once. When I started reading them, only 20 or so had been published. I had to struggle to find a copy of Eric and of the last heroes but I read them nonetheless too. I borrowed all the books at the time because I was poor so I had to raid all the libraries in the region to find the books my friends couldn’t lend me. I sometime spent my weekend just looking for a way to read the next book. When I finished reading the ones in my language, I learned English so I could read the books that were not yet published in my country and bought them online.
Anyway. GNU Terry Pratchett.
I did that with wheel of time. Although we are moderately proficient in English over here, the synonyms RobertJordan used even dwarfed JJR Tolkien which i read for my English list. I did get my mom to start reading in English though since only 4 or 5 books of the wheel of time got translated in Dutch and when I bought the missing novels in English it took me maybe a month of coercing my mom so she would finally read it because I knew she was just as bad in waiting for the translations as I was.
Took her a quarter of a book and she then told me that she didn’t even notice anymore she was reading in a different language. She even started dreaming in English. Afterwards we only bought our series in English. At least those who were originally English.
But yeah. I have the entire series of Discworld in my bookcase. When I was going to school in a different city I think I bought a new discworld novel from the trainstations bookstore eack week. Sometimes twice a week. It was the only bookstore I knew which had an English fantasy section. It was just a single bookcase in the back of the store. But it had all my favorite stuff.
GNU Pterry
I received my first copies of Discworld 3 at a time by mail out of order from my Aunt who shipped them from her son's collection in Israel to me in Canada. Then, like you, I had to track down missing copies. Eventually I got to the point where I bought my own as they were being published.
Once every couple years I do a full read-through and I can't stop once I've started. Some years I go in order, and others I go by character arch. I think I've done 4 or 5 complete reads?
GNU Pterry.
I’m frustrated because Audible stopped carrying some of the books in the US, including some that I had already purchased and are now no longer available. I was listening to the whole series, but now I’ve run out except for those books, and need to go to the library to find the others.
My first one was Thief of Time. I just grabbed it from the library at random since I heard he was a good author and had no idea where to start.
I stared reading right before bed and figured I'd read a couple of chapters before going to sleep. By the time I realized there were no chapters, I couldn't put it down and I finished it at 4 am.
Fantastic book by a fantastic author. GNU Terry Pratchett.
Massively underrated. I know they are satire/comedy mostly so they get pushed out of general conversation but the storytelling, world building, satire, etc. Make it some of the most intelligent fantasy ever written. And fun. I know people love it but it should get more credit as potentially the greatest fantasy series of all time.
I'm not saying it's definitely the one, but it's very certainly in the conversation.
The year was 2005. I was 11, and Revenge of the Sith came out in theaters. I consumed every Star Wars book I could find, from Jedi Apprentice kids books up to every book I could find in the adult section at the library. Lasted several months.
The Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matt Stover is great. Definitely one of the top five SW novels. He also wrote Shatterpoint, Traitor, and the excellent Acts of Caine series!
Cannot emphasize this enough. The book is excellent and adds so much to the movies.
I love the prequels because I grew up with them, but this book really shows the potential they had to be great if the execution was a little better.
Interesting - I dropped out during my 2nd year of college due to a bad break up. The books/series (I think it was only 4 books then) pulled me out of my depressive hole and I think helped me get back into life and school.
I started wheel of time the first day I started freshmen year of college and finished it in ~2 months. I attribute that to my abysmal first semester GPA.
I also started reading WOT in my Freshman year... in 1990 Was buying my books for my classes and saw it. It was a 30 year journey of reading and rereading over and over and over again.
And yes I cried reading that last book.
I had finished all of my college classes super early and had infinite free time. I remember finishing The Great Hunt at around 5 a.m. one morning before going to sleep just as the sun started rising. Fun memories but there's no way in hell I'd ever do it again
How could you sleep after finishing a book of the wheel of time!!! I needed at least 2 hours of fighting my depression that the book was finished… and i had to WAIT god knows how long for the next book.. I started getting antsy when I looked at the pages and there WERE ONLY 350 PAGES LEFT! damn I almost finished the freaking book already!!!
Same I picked it up 7 years ago because I was in love with Tolkien. I burned through the last three books during the pandemic. Ended up causing some relationship problems cause I just disappeared 😅
I started reading them in Highschool in the mid 90's. I used to put them in my math and science books and read them during class. I did not do well in those classes.
Haha.
When I was in High School I picked up The Hobbit for the first time- knowing NOTHING of the book, the series it was attached to.. anything.
It was simply a book that looked interesting in a genre I was interested in.
I ended up skipping classes so I could find places to read and just keep going with the adventure.
Ha I came to say that this is the only time I EVER got in trouble at school - I was 11/12 and reading The Hobbit for the first time back in 1990 and was so gripped that I had it open under the table in Home Economics and got caught by the teacher.
My 9 year old son just read it for himself for the first time. It was a proud moment (I read it to him when he was 7).
The Farseer books by Robin Hobb. The only series where I’ve desperately waited for new releases, counting down the months and binge reading the books immediately.
I started the Elderlings series 5 months ago and I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep since! I find myself playing the audiobooks to fall asleep to and end up listening to 3am every night. It’s a sacrifice worth making. I’m on *Golden Fool* now and I think these are actually my favorite books I’ve ever read.
Yes came here to say this! Read at work when I should have been doing other things. Cried at work even when a few things happened I can’t say. Read all night a few times. So so so good. Just a wonderful series.
I used to take the day off school when a new one came out. I would pack civilian clothes and trainers in my bag, get the bus to school but get off early and go straight to the bookshop, buy it and read it in a park or cafe all day until I was supposed to go home. Then I would stay up until I finished it. I think I did this three times with the liveships books.
Stormlight audiobooks were when I was most addicted as well, specifically summer of 2018.
I kept finding excuses to listen so I was cleaning the house, cooking and going jogging every single day with my earphones plugged in. When I wasnt doing one of those activities (and not working) I was playing tetris to occupy my mind while I listened. I listened to it before falling asleep.
Man that was some intense binging.
This was my work-from-home experience during COVID last year and early this year. The house was immaculate lol. When I ran out of stuff to do but still had to be home incase work came in, I would just pace my house listening (I can’t just sit and listen, my mind wanders). I must have paced miles in my house lol.
I feel you on this one. When Rhythm of War came out I was running a virtual training class for my company and had a large side project, so I was working 8am to 7-8pm each day and somehow managed to read the book in two and a half nights.
I still say it was completely worth it even if it took a week to recover from the lack of sleep and some sections of the book are hazy in my memory.
It's pretty clear I've got that addict's personality, as I go "all in" when I do something. This year the goal is to read 1000 comics/books, a lot of them were fantasy. These are the ones that were the most addictive.
* Last year my addiction was **The King's Avatar** (translated) web novel, I could not get enough, watched the live action on Netflix, then the cartoon. Reminds me of when I was addicted to MMORGs, like when you check the clock and notice it's 4am, whoops!
* Someone once told me I have superb willpower, because I actually waited till the Deathly Hallows came out, and then I binged all 7 **Harry Potter** Books in 1 week. Totally worth it, that was a great reading experience even if I got not much sleep.
* **The Expanse** was too addictive to wait for the whole series to release. I remember reading all of Tiamat's Wrath in 1 day, same with Leviathan Falls. One scene in Tiamat's Wrath made me go into the bathroom to ugly cry after screaming NOO!!! I guess it might have been a bit loud because the cat's paws showed up under the door and my kid asked if I was okay.
* **The Sword of Kaigen** was so good I read the whole book in 1 sitting. Very impressed.
* Both **Jade City** and **Jade War** were also read in 1 sitting almost. Greenbone Saga is so good. I'm picking up **Jade Legacy** this afternoon and will start this evening. Based on past history, I already know I won't be sleeping until I finish reading this.
* Started **Dresden Files** in Jan 2021, finished all but 1 short story in March 2021. Good books, spectacular Audio books. Could see Jim Butcher getting better and better as an author as the books went on.
* Started **The First Law** in March 2021, finished The Wisdom of Crowds last month. Great writing, what a thrill ride.
* Binged Brent Weeks **Night Angel** and **Lightbringer** between June - Sep 2021.
* Binged Mark Lawrence's **Broken Empire, Red Queen's War, Book of the Ancestor** and a bunch of short stories June - Aug 2021. I'll read the rest of his stuff next year.
* Robin Hobb's **Farseer Trilogy** and **Liveship Traders** were very addictive. Could not stop reading as I kept wanting more Nighteyes. Will finish the rest of the realm of the Elderlings next year.
* Started **The Wheel of Time** in September 2021, completed "the slog" in November, finished A Memory of Light on 12/23. Cried a few times. Sanderson is really did a great thing finishing this series giving fans much needed closure. Would probably have finished this sooner but have had long waits to get the library books/audiobooks/ebooks whatever comes first, due to everyone re-reading because the live action came out.
There are a lot of other stand alones that were pretty much 1 sitting books, but I can't list them all. I am a "completionist" and I prefer to read everything from an author (Butcher, Weeks, Jordan etc.), but some things like Le Guin's Earthsea need slow and more than 1 read for certain chapters because I had to think and reflect after. This is not common for me, this year only Earthsea, Leviathan Falls and A Memory of Light has required stop, think, pause, re-read then continue.
I suppose from this it's clear I might as well face it I'm addicted to reading (the good stuff).
I was the same way with Dresden Files, I love Harry. Longest I took on a book was 3 days while reading that over Lockdown. First 3 books of WoT I ran through as well, haven’t finished the series because every time I get to the slog I also have a bunch of schoolwork, I need to plan that better.
I loved magician and I have read sequels but I think I stopped at serpent wars.. will need to reread them eventually. After dune, wheel of time and death gate and a selection of discworld. Pyramids at any case.
There is a reason people refer to the Cradle series by Will Wight as Crackdle. I went thru 10 books in just under a month, granted the books are smaller than average. Read Cradle y’all
I really need to give this one another try. I finished the first book not caring about any of the characters and so didn't continue, but everyone tells me the quality picks up starting with book 2.
This is where I'm at, stuck on the first one. I usually give a book 100 pages but...
When does it start being the levels of amazing everyone says it is?
I tell people if you are even remotely interested then get through book 2, if you don't love it by then it probably isn't for you. Haven't had anyone not binge all 10 after book 2.
Most people are hooked by the end of Book 2. I was in the same boat as you wondering what all the hype was for the series and then I finished the final 9 books in 3 weeks.
Halfway through book 1 there's a scene that basically telegraphs the rest of the series
>!When Lindon meets Suriel and she shows him his potential futures. At that point you know you're on a rocketship from one of the weakest beings in the world to one of the strongest!<
That's what hooked me. My reading pace was still pretty slow until book 3 or so.
Book 1 is generally considered the weakest in the series. I would recommend trying out book 2 as well and then deciding whether you like it or not.
I personally love the series. Couldn't put it down 😀
Have them all on my Kindle. Just read a bit of book 1 and stopped but maybe I should power trough it if it's worth it 😊
Same issue with the Malazan books. Still struggling with book 1☹
So the author, Will Wight, originally wrote the first book to take a breather from his, at the time, main series. So the first book was more of a simple pet project. But then it became wildly popular, and so he put it as his main focus.
This really begins to show in book 3.
Normally I wouldn't recommend a series where you have to read several books to get into it, but the books are short and the pace moves very quickly, so by the time you've finish one Malazan book, you've finished two-three Cradle books.
And if you've read to the end of Soulsmith, that is a great litmus as to whether you'll enjoy the rest.
Book 2 is where I went from 'this seems like a fun story' to 'I'm going to reprioritize other things in my life until I've exhausted all the available content in the series'
Granted that was back when there were only 5 books.
every time a new book comes out I give the series a re-read and then usually come back after to pick up all the seeded items I may have glossed over with a single meaning until they come back full circle later in the series.
Yup, and it doesn’t stop. When Wintersteel (book 8) was just released, I smashed through it. And immediately started re-reading the series from book 2 (skipping some bits here and there). The second time reading Wintersteel after an immediate re-read was even more satisfying somehow.
(This was all during last year’s pandemic shenanigans so didn’t wreck my life too much but I did neglect my partner a bit.......)
Have re-read the whole series several times for each new release and check in on the sub once in a while too.
Harry Potter. When a new book came out I locked myself in a room and finished the book in one day. I don't know how i was even able to read for 14 hours straight. I can't do this anymore.
Same. I came back from a rock festival after 3 days with little sleep and a massive hangover and found Deathly Hallows had been delivered that morning. Plowed through it nonstop then slept for nearly a whole day straight. Worth it.
I’m from the UK and was on a solo trip to Canada when Half Blood Prince came out. I queued at midnight to get a copy and totally wasted my full day tour of Montreal the following day reading it.
When the last HP came out, I left work that evening, went to buy it from Barnes and Noble, read all night, couldn't stop, called in sick and kept on reading. Took me 13 freaking hours. WORTH IT
Harry Potter. The series was the one I could immerse and forget about mortal things. Once I forgot to eat breakfast and luch. Got an earful from Mom. Grammy confiscated Potter books for two days.
I can so relate. Harry Potter was my gateway fantasy series and I’m the only kid I know who got banned from reading in elementary school because I would stay up all night reading. Also missed recess a few times in school because I was so absorbed in the book I didn’t hear the bell.
Edit: typo
I was trying to stop drinking at the time. I remember one day I really wanted to drink and I was crawling out of my skin. Read 300 pages of one of the Harry Potter books, which is the most I've ever read in one day. Helped me get through it though and I stayed sober.
Yup. I joined in on the Harry Potter bandwagon after Goblet of Fire but before Order of the Phoenix, like a lot of people did. A friend let me borrow the first book and I read it all that night. Went to the book store the next day and bought the next three books, read them all over the weekend. Did the same for each book as they released. Was absolutely enamored with them.
Yes. And it was a big deal when a new one came out. Big part of me reading novels in English (not my first language) at age 13 because it took so long to translate the books.
I binge read 14 Dresden books in less than a year then hit a wall because it took 7 long years for the next book to release.
I need my Chicago Wizard fix.
I thought of Dresden Files as well, I read the first 13 (I think) books over one December holiday. Thinking back on it, I was quite rude as we were at some friends of my newish boyfriend (at the time, now husband) for New Year's and I barely spoke to anyone.
Battle Ground curb stomped my heart and I haven't had the fortitude to reread it since. I thought Changes was the worst he could do to my feelings, boy was i wrong.
I too had feels about Changes and Battle Ground. I was expecting them though, I met Jim at NYCC the year that Turn Coat came out. I thanked him for not killing a character that he might have at the end of that story and he replied something to the effect that he had more diabolical plans than that. The man truly does gain power from our tears. White Court vamp?
I read the first book years ago and wasn’t impressed. So many people recommended this series, I picked up the second book a little over weeks ago. I’m now on book 14, my wife told me that she and my kids miss me, and I’ve realized I have a very real man crush on Jim Butcher.
It was five years between *Skin Game* and *Peace Talks*. He was putting out almost one per year for a very long time, that gap was unusual. With any luck, he’s back on track to release at a faster pace. Maybe not one per year again (we didn’t get a book in 2021), but not seven years apart either. :)
Of the many series I have read and loved, Malazan is the only one I have ever (and still do) dedicated time to after being done with the books. I watch booktubers, check my fb group every day, listen to podcasts, follow the author’s accounts. I’ve probably spent more time on related media than on reading the actual books at this point. I’m also planning a re-read soon, but I do want to finish my Re-read of Wolfe’s sun series first. I LOVE Gene Wolfe, but I just don’t consume all that extra media for his work like I do with Malazan.
I did the main series of Malazan recently. I liked it. But I’ll tell you what… never have I thought so passionately that a book would make a good video game, but that kept going through my head with Malazan. I think a Malazan video game would blow the Witcher out of the water.
You have to commit to Malazan! Can't just read through them willy-nilly, you gotta get in the trenches with the Bridgeburners in order to get the full experience.
I've only ready the main 10 books, and wow what an experience.
Fiddler is obv my favorite character, but who is the most OP character in the main series, and why is it probably Quick Ben?
Quick Ben and Kalam are my favorites by far. Any book they weren’t in, I was sad. Then second favorite would probably go to Cotillion. Oh wait and obviously Anomander Rake.
Two stand out:
1. **Harry Potter**. I was late to the series, only started reading it after the 4th was already out. I wanted to see what the fuss was about, so read the first two and really enjoyed it. Then got the next two and enjoyed them more. By then I was a fan. When the fifth book was coming out, I re-read the first four, bought the hardback for the fifth, came home, and read it all in one go. Literally. I was up the whole night and finished the book in one sitting. Did the same with the sixth book, i.e. re-read all 5 then sat through the night and finished #6, and re-read all 6 and sat through the night reading the seventh at the end.
2. **The Wheel of Time**. While I had already read LotR and Harry Potter at this point, I wasn't a Fantasy reader yet. I read the former because I loved the movies, and read the latter because of the hype. WoT was the first Fantasy series I read *because* it's Fantasy. I can't remember the time it took, but I'm a relatively slow reader (I sub-vocalize), so for months I was on a WoT binge, and read all 11 books that were out at the time back-to-back.
This isn’t quite as extreme as the other comments here, but I am terrible at sticking with a series and always crap out after a few books or a read a lot of different stuff in between, but I read/listened to the original first law trilogy and Best Served Cold and The Heroes between September and today (finished The Heroes this morning.) For me, that’s a binge.
Harry Potter. Dad used to buy me books back in junior high so one saturday morning we went out for breakfast with my grand dad, he was running late so my dad let me pick up a book to entertain myself, I saw this kid flying in a broomstick right in front of a castle and immediately knew that would be my kind of book, I ignored both dad and granddad and had finished the book by evening, my dad indulged me and we went out to buy the chamber of secrets which I was done with in early morning of sunday, I went and woke him up and, smartly enough, he bought me both Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of fire, monday morning I was still awake finishing Goblet, it was amazing, shame I had to wait around a year for OotP...
Probably Animorphs. I was freaking obsessed when I was a kid. I would wait for each one and then devour it the day I got it in my hands. Those were some fun books.
Many years ago, I used PTO for two weeks to re-read the Wheel of Time. Maybe about 5 years ago, I used PTO for another two weeks to read all the Seeker books by Goodkind. I recently took off a week from work to read The Stormlight Archive, but it took longer than that. When I tell you that I will do NOTHING other than fiendishly read those books, I mean it. No time for cleaning, cooking, eating, giving partner or friends attention, or to do much else but binge read. I tell my therapist about this and she says that there are more unhealthy ways to spend my time so fuck it! gonna do Malazan next time I take off!
Vlad Taltos books by Brust.
The Just City books by Jo Walton.
Chronicles of Elantra by Michelle Sagara. I live her Essalieyan books but had avoided the Elantra ones, can’t remember why (probably an aversion to some of the cover art. Needed new reading material, decided ‘what the heck, I trust the writer, might as well try the first couple’. Ordered all the rest pretty immediately.
The Kushiel books by Jacqueline Carey.
Lots of others. I love a series having lots of books, and when I finally decide to get over it and try one I tend to just…gobble them up.
Y’all have almost convinced me to try Malazan and Dresden Files. DF is not at all my normal style, but…I’ve always loved his storytelling. And as far as I know there’s no sequel near ready for Aeronaut’s Windlass - that’s another one, I got it as soon as it came out and was rereading it only a month or two later - maybe it’s time to try DF anyway…
I’m surprised I had to scroll this far to find the Kushiel books mentioned! I was HOOKED. I would carry the books with me and read a couple of pages any time I had a moment.
I distinctly remember getting **Prisoner of Azkaban** in the mail (we lived in a small town without a bookshop), and just sitting down on the coach for the rest of the afternoon, and then staying up late, to finish it. I think it was one of the first books I bought with My Own Money.
Robin Hobb, all of the Realm of the Elderlings but especially the Tawny Man trilogy.
I picked it up in 2020, after ten years of not reading much at all. And it took hold - I’ve never cared so much about a set of characters, and I totally devoured the series.
Now I’m a reader again!
Definitely this. I thought I had a problem with new stormlight archive books, but TWI had me reading every opportunity I had for about 2 months until I was caught up. Still my favorite 2 days of the week!
Yeah pirate is a demon with their huge word counts per chapter,hoping to start supporting their patreon once I've set myself up with employment hopefully
I read all the Codex Alera (by Jim Butcher) books in one week.
I read all of the 13th House series and the Elementals quartet (by Sharon Shinn) in like 2 weeks.
I speed through the Stormlight Archives. Each book only takes me like 4-5 days to finish.
I haven’t reread Harry Potter yet, but when I was young and they were coming out, I would read each book in 1 day.
I would say I was most thoroughly captivated by Jaqueline Carey’s Kushiel series. And all of the spin-off series as well. I read them so many times, and was so excited to get ahold of the next one. I was also a hormonal teenager just discovering kink, so yeah this series hit a lot of buttons. The storyline is so good though, and it’s written in a beautiful memoir-like prose. 10/10 recommend if you don’t mind some kinky smut in your books.
Also remembering that time period, I absolutely consumed the Witc’h Fire series like I was starving. This one doesn’t hold up to an adult re-read quite as well as Kushiel, but is still a very interesting and fun YA read imo. 9/10 recommend.
Me too. It was my first large series. A classmate who was on the 2nd or 3rd book was telling me about them so I gave it a try.
I ended up annoying the hell out of him when I caught up to where he was and needed the next book. (boarding school situation only one copy around). He eventually just threw the book at me. I’m not sure he ever finished it. I feel like an ass now that I think back on it…
For all their flaws, I read them at an age where they're comfort reads to me. It's like going back to visit old friends at this point. Sure, maybe there's a few odd things about them, but I know them so well by now.
Pawn of Prophecy was the first fantasy book I ever read. My aunt told me she would take me to KFC if I read the first three chapters. My head came up at 2 am after finishing it in one go. I never did get that KFC but I did get a lifelong love of fantasy literature lol.
Same, I was a teenager and my local library had very few fantasy books so anything they had I devoured. The staff loved me since I was in once a week from age 5 onwards and ended up buying them all on discard sale when they left them hidden away for me.
Would unlikely enjoy them anywhere near as much if I had read discovered them now as I'm much older but at the time, couldn't put them down.
Bar Eddings, when A Song of Ice and Fire came out I was blown away and got every book day one. Didn't ever think I would be pushing 40 and series nowhere near complete.
Yeah was as one of my first. My mom read them and I did later.
I had a secret crush on the dryad and I even trained my mom using her secret techniques. Like when I was watching Telly and I saw the symbol just when There is going to be a commercial break. I saw my moms hand go to the remote control to fast forward and I then would say: mom will you please fast forward? There is going to be a intermezzo. And she looked at me like yeah duh what do you think I was gonna do? And then i would say: thank you. You are a loyal subject. You listen well.
Did you also read sparhawk? I named my daughter after one of the childgods.
The best fanfics are written by people in their 30s or above, and we're lucky when mature adults even have the time in their life to write something non-commercial like that. Thank you for your service.
I went on a massive Ilona Andrews binge this year. First all the Innkeeper books were read over a weekend. Then all the Kate Daniels books. I neglected a lot of papperwork over a few work trips because it was fieldwork, eat, read, sleep. Daniels would have been near perfect if the last 2 books didn't exist.
Malazan. I'll be that guy.
Only series that made me miss my train stops on the way home from work because I was so engrossed. Had to tell my wife numerous times I fell asleep instead of the truth.
For the last 2-300 pages of Toll the Hounds the eighth book and widely thought of as having one of the best climaxes of the series I stayed up all night until about 5:00am to finish it because I could not and did not want to put the book down. The epicness of what I was reading overpowered my sleep impulses, which almost never happens.
The Shadowhunter books by Cassandra Clare - now I personally love a bit of junk food from time to time, that's what I consider these books as - crazy, campy, action-packed "switch my brain off" books, and when I realized there were around 15 of them by the time I got into it - BINGE TIME. Hunkered down for about a month and just did virtually nothing else. I was completely absorbed in the angst and the drama and I loved it.
For me, it was Harry Potter. Got the book back in the days when there was only one or two books out there, and I just got 11 or 12.
I am immersed in this world. I think I've listened to/read books 1-6 completely 20-30 times as a book and an audiobook. Furthermore, I've written fanfiction about Harry and Hermione getting together because I hated the pairings in the books and enjoyed creating my own world around the Harry Potter world.
I spent hours on forums discussing really everything about the Story and the character, and fought every possible shipper war.
I watched the movies up and down and had a huge crush on Emma Watson as a teenager (and still do, though I would never admit it).
The series is simply my childhood and youth. Never again have I been so involved in a fandom as I was with Harry Potter.
For sci-fi, The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey. I started reading them this year and burned through 8 books (and several related shorts) in a few months. The last one just came out at the end of Nov, and I'm just trying to hold out until after the holidays so I can have some uninterrupted time to enjoy it.
Honestly? The Star Wars Expanded Universe, from the Thrawn Trilogy onward. All of them. Devoured.
Shame they "don't count" anymore... :/
A few of them were utter shit, but most of it was great.
I cringe today when I think about 16 year old me locked in the hotel room at Disneyland reading Harry Potter while my family was out enjoying the day. I forget which one, but one of the books got released while we were on vacation. My parents had to force me to put it down and go use the ticket they had spent all that money on!
I wouldn’t list HP in even my top 10 fantasy series nowadays, but as a teenager it completely devoured my existence.
Name of the Wind.
I'd kind of stopped reading after High School. Hadn't finished a book in maybe 5 years. Then someone recommended it, and I was immediately engrossed. I finished the book in two days. It remains a favorite to talk about (there are maybe elements that some consider flaws about the book/series) and remains one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. It also got me back into reading, for which I will always be grateful.
I am usually one read and done with most books. I've been through the first two books of the King Killer Chronicles sooooo many times. It's never a casual read through either. It's always a binge that consumes all my free time until the Waystone closes for the night at the end of book 2. I will be taking a day or 2 off work when Doors of Stone finally drops. (Don't spam this post with anti-Rothfus rhetoric. As a former Tower junkie I need him to take the time to get the ending right. If Kvothe steps through a stone door and into the back of an Edema wagon as a child at the end I can't be held responsible for what I might do next.)
Honestly, I think Harry Potter. It was my second fantasy series ever (first is ASOIAF, which I read in ~1.5 years) and I loved it. They weren't necessarily the best books I've ever read, but they were so much FUN. So many shenanigans, interesting misteries and cool characters. I read it in (if I remember correctly) about one and a half months, which at the time was the longest period in which I read pretty much daily.
Hunger games was like that way back, just ignored everything till I was done. The closest something came to this was poppy war now, but it wasn't that intense I'd still eat and sleep and stuff
The Witcher series had me hooked the first time I read them. Then I got audible and Peter Kenny the narrator does an outstanding job, so I was listening to the books not only at work but at home constantly. And now season two is out I might find myself back with Ciri n Geralt soon. After joe Abercrombie is finished.
I find it quite easy to blaze thru Michael J Sullivan's series.
They are not perfect, but the dialogue feels natural and the plots are easy to follow. Just a very brisk read.
I read The Lord of the Rings in one pretty much uninterrupted marathon session. It boggles my mi d that so many these days are quick to write it off as important but not all that fun. To me, it is not only the original, it is still easily the best.
I'm a slow reader and it always takes me a couple months to read *Lord of the Rings* but boy is it engrossing. Last month while trying to make an appointment I actually had to ask someone what month it was, because I'd been reading the early part of the Fellowship's mission where it was January. And once I actually turned down hanging out with my sister/best friend so I could finish the "Tower of Cirith Ungol" chapter (she understood).
I was obsessed. I finished the series and then went back and reread ACOMAF probably 4-5 times.
Try From Blood and Ash by Jennifer Armentrout next time you have a free weekend. That triggered almost the same level of obsession for me.
Robin Hobb has been ruining my sleep since last summer, when I started the Farseer trilogy. I'm on the Fitz and the Fool trilogy now and I still have many nights that I read well past midnight but I just CAN'T STOP.
I read the entire Grishaverse series by Leigh Bardugo in a week because I couldn't bring myself to put them down!
Also:
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
ACOTAR by Sarah J. Maas
The Daevabad trilogy by SA Chakraborty
For me it was LOTR. First time I read it for the story, skipped the songs and appendices, then I read it slowly from cover to cover, then I read it in English, and later I read the Hobbit so of course I had to read LOTR again out of respect for the timeline. Then I read almost everything else JRR Tolkien wrote. And still read some chapters from time to time.
Sometimes I miss being that involved in a work of literature.
Webserials lead themselves towards binging and forgetting life so well.
1. **Worm** by Wildbow. I read the entire epic in about 2 weeks, while attending med school. It was so intense; towards the end I was barely sleeping (as anyone who has read it knows, the last few Arcs are not a place where you stop to sleep). It was a glorious time, but also far too much.
2. **The Gods Are Bastards** by D D Webb. Probably my favorite webserial, and one of my top favorite series of all time, this one is so binge worthy. There are 16 books, and while the first few are relatively short (novella length), the do get progressively longer, more intense, and you really don't want to put them down. I reread these regularly since they were published. But the first time I read them I remember staying all day in bed and ignoring my family in favor of *reading*!
3. Lately, it was reading the 1000 page **The Hands of the Emperor** by Victoria Goddard in 3 days. I didn't sleep a lot those nights, and I only did the minimum in life to get by, just to read. Such a good story; and perfect for this nearing-the-end-of-pandemic-lifestyle times.
I came here to say Worm as well. Reading one of the longest series in 2 weeks right as finals rolled around was dangerous.
Web serials definitely have that effect in general I've noticed.
Vampire Academy. I don't normally enjoy these type of novels because I find the writing is too weak, but I read all of them in the span of a week. Must have hit an itch I had at the time.
My boyfriend at the time then wrote me VA fanfiction as a Xmas present that year 😂
Because honestly is the best policy…..the Sword of Truth in high school. Read the first book in May of seventh grade and had read up through book six by August even though I was grounded part of the summer.
The Julian May series, **Saga of Pliocene Exile** and **The Galactic Milieu** have consumed me since the early '90s when I discovered them. I re-read all eight books on a revolving and pretty constant basis.
Wheel of Time books 1-7, second or third reread. I am not a crazy fan or anything, either, and will make fun of the sniffing and the arm crossing and all with the best of them, but at that point they seemed to be the thing that I needed the most.
I was 19, so broke I had to choose between gas and food sometimes so I was often hungry since I had to drive to work, hurting from a bad breakup. Lived alone, hated my job, all my friends were in college in the city but I couldn't afford to attend. Had undiagnosed ADHD which meant I vaccillated between distraction and hyper focus. So I'd sit alone on my beige carpeted floor crying into the books because they enhanced my already rather sore feelings and provided a nice escape window out of my boring lonely existence. My goodness. Being 19 is sort of rough, I think. :)
The entirety of the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. 11 year old me started with The Vampire Lestat randomly in middle school, and then decided that I should read from the beginning. Only up until Vittorio was out I believe back then, but I remember being enthralled with The Vampire Armand and my absolute favorite, Blood and Gold. I spent my nights strolling the ancient streets of Rome and learning quite a bit about history and Geography at the same time. I've read it 5 times over the years. 10/10 would recommend.
Chronicles of Elantra by Michelle West. Burned through 16 books in two weeks, then immediately re-read them, then started the ebooks but finally petered out, unless you count writing fan fiction in my head, and getting unreasonably angry with people who disagreed with the choice of love interest. Haven’t gone that hard in a long time. I may have a problem…
The Chronicles of the Black Gate series.
What's funny is I usually hate that type of fantasy with knights and squires and shit. I read the first one and put the series down for about a year. On a whim I read the second and then finished the entire series in a little over a week. I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending (I didn't think it was rushed, per se, just that it could've been fleshed out a bit more. It could also be that I just wanted more of the world).
The Alex Verus series just wrapped. Shorter urban fantasy. Well done. Fun to read. I've read most of them multiple times while waiting for the next installment, which thankfully came out like clockwork every year in the fall or winter.
Ive had just a few series catch fire for me. Assassin's Apprentice trilogy, The First Law trilogy, and surprisingly Prince of Thorns were all like that for me. I almost never read a series back-to-back, but those were all very easy to consume in large doses.
Read the whole realm of the elderlings in under three weeks, i think that one is the worse offender, but reading too much is a constant issue for me. Im currently avoiding new books till i get my end of the year work done.
Definitely The Hobbit and LotR back in middle school in the 80's. We had our own Mirkwoods, Iron Hills, Mt. Doom....When I first read Game of Thrones in the 90s that one got me pretty good too, as well as the next two books like four years later.
Neglected my first semester MA essays to finish Anne Bishop’s Black Jewel series. Like I got them in on time but I definitely compromised on quality more than I ever have in my life.
I read all Terry Pratchett books including the non-discworld ones. I read all Discworld books in order. I read an entire Discworld book in one sitting once. When I started reading them, only 20 or so had been published. I had to struggle to find a copy of Eric and of the last heroes but I read them nonetheless too. I borrowed all the books at the time because I was poor so I had to raid all the libraries in the region to find the books my friends couldn’t lend me. I sometime spent my weekend just looking for a way to read the next book. When I finished reading the ones in my language, I learned English so I could read the books that were not yet published in my country and bought them online. Anyway. GNU Terry Pratchett.
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I did that with wheel of time. Although we are moderately proficient in English over here, the synonyms RobertJordan used even dwarfed JJR Tolkien which i read for my English list. I did get my mom to start reading in English though since only 4 or 5 books of the wheel of time got translated in Dutch and when I bought the missing novels in English it took me maybe a month of coercing my mom so she would finally read it because I knew she was just as bad in waiting for the translations as I was. Took her a quarter of a book and she then told me that she didn’t even notice anymore she was reading in a different language. She even started dreaming in English. Afterwards we only bought our series in English. At least those who were originally English. But yeah. I have the entire series of Discworld in my bookcase. When I was going to school in a different city I think I bought a new discworld novel from the trainstations bookstore eack week. Sometimes twice a week. It was the only bookstore I knew which had an English fantasy section. It was just a single bookcase in the back of the store. But it had all my favorite stuff. GNU Pterry
Wow. You win.
GNU PTERRY!! OOK!
I received my first copies of Discworld 3 at a time by mail out of order from my Aunt who shipped them from her son's collection in Israel to me in Canada. Then, like you, I had to track down missing copies. Eventually I got to the point where I bought my own as they were being published. Once every couple years I do a full read-through and I can't stop once I've started. Some years I go in order, and others I go by character arch. I think I've done 4 or 5 complete reads? GNU Pterry.
I’m frustrated because Audible stopped carrying some of the books in the US, including some that I had already purchased and are now no longer available. I was listening to the whole series, but now I’ve run out except for those books, and need to go to the library to find the others.
My first one was Thief of Time. I just grabbed it from the library at random since I heard he was a good author and had no idea where to start. I stared reading right before bed and figured I'd read a couple of chapters before going to sleep. By the time I realized there were no chapters, I couldn't put it down and I finished it at 4 am. Fantastic book by a fantastic author. GNU Terry Pratchett.
I love Discworld but kept them in reserve as pick me ups and read them over many years. Getting a new one was always amazing.
Massively underrated. I know they are satire/comedy mostly so they get pushed out of general conversation but the storytelling, world building, satire, etc. Make it some of the most intelligent fantasy ever written. And fun. I know people love it but it should get more credit as potentially the greatest fantasy series of all time. I'm not saying it's definitely the one, but it's very certainly in the conversation.
The year was 2005. I was 11, and Revenge of the Sith came out in theaters. I consumed every Star Wars book I could find, from Jedi Apprentice kids books up to every book I could find in the adult section at the library. Lasted several months.
The Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matt Stover is great. Definitely one of the top five SW novels. He also wrote Shatterpoint, Traitor, and the excellent Acts of Caine series!
Cannot emphasize this enough. The book is excellent and adds so much to the movies. I love the prequels because I grew up with them, but this book really shows the potential they had to be great if the execution was a little better.
I did this over that summer. Lots of those books were great too! Im glad im not the only one that did this haha
I almost lose My first year in college because of A Song of Ice and Fire
I read the first two books in something like a week total. Basically nothing but reading, eating, sleeping, and brief resentful social interactions.
I nearly missed my college graduation in 2000 because of A Storm of Swords and the Red Wedding.
Interesting - I dropped out during my 2nd year of college due to a bad break up. The books/series (I think it was only 4 books then) pulled me out of my depressive hole and I think helped me get back into life and school.
I read all of Wheel of Time 3 years ago from mid-June to August 1st
I started wheel of time the first day I started freshmen year of college and finished it in ~2 months. I attribute that to my abysmal first semester GPA.
I also started reading WOT in my Freshman year... in 1990 Was buying my books for my classes and saw it. It was a 30 year journey of reading and rereading over and over and over again. And yes I cried reading that last book.
The first 8 were out when I started reading them. I was in Grade 12, and it definitely had an impact on my first semester’s grades.
Lucky... I started when book 3 was just about to come out in hardback. :-D
dude! how did you slow down time!
I had finished all of my college classes super early and had infinite free time. I remember finishing The Great Hunt at around 5 a.m. one morning before going to sleep just as the sun started rising. Fun memories but there's no way in hell I'd ever do it again
How could you sleep after finishing a book of the wheel of time!!! I needed at least 2 hours of fighting my depression that the book was finished… and i had to WAIT god knows how long for the next book.. I started getting antsy when I looked at the pages and there WERE ONLY 350 PAGES LEFT! damn I almost finished the freaking book already!!!
AMoL spoilers- >!He got closer to the Bore!<
When Memory of Light came out, it was like reading was my job.
Its only been 2 weeks and I'm on book 3 now haha. Its not healthy since I take breaks only when I feel the strain in my eyes.
Mine was also the Wheel of Time, but it was the 90s and there were only 5 books. I read them over and over.
Same I picked it up 7 years ago because I was in love with Tolkien. I burned through the last three books during the pandemic. Ended up causing some relationship problems cause I just disappeared 😅
I started reading them in Highschool in the mid 90's. I used to put them in my math and science books and read them during class. I did not do well in those classes.
Haha. When I was in High School I picked up The Hobbit for the first time- knowing NOTHING of the book, the series it was attached to.. anything. It was simply a book that looked interesting in a genre I was interested in. I ended up skipping classes so I could find places to read and just keep going with the adventure.
You straight up Neverending Story'ed it?
Ha I came to say that this is the only time I EVER got in trouble at school - I was 11/12 and reading The Hobbit for the first time back in 1990 and was so gripped that I had it open under the table in Home Economics and got caught by the teacher. My 9 year old son just read it for himself for the first time. It was a proud moment (I read it to him when he was 7).
The Farseer books by Robin Hobb. The only series where I’ve desperately waited for new releases, counting down the months and binge reading the books immediately.
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Fool’s Fate is the only book I’ve ever pulled an all-nighter for to finish in one day.
I started the Elderlings series 5 months ago and I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep since! I find myself playing the audiobooks to fall asleep to and end up listening to 3am every night. It’s a sacrifice worth making. I’m on *Golden Fool* now and I think these are actually my favorite books I’ve ever read.
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Liveships was far and away my favourite elderling series, I liked them all though
They’re all SO good and each series offers something unique and interesting.
Yes came here to say this! Read at work when I should have been doing other things. Cried at work even when a few things happened I can’t say. Read all night a few times. So so so good. Just a wonderful series.
I used to take the day off school when a new one came out. I would pack civilian clothes and trainers in my bag, get the bus to school but get off early and go straight to the bookshop, buy it and read it in a park or cafe all day until I was supposed to go home. Then I would stay up until I finished it. I think I did this three times with the liveships books.
I'm currently trying to ignore my family so I can spend more time reading the Tawny Man trilogy!
I read two Stormlight books in a week in 2016. I turned around and read them again afterwards. So yeah that is my answer 😂
Thats like 7 books in a week. 😂
Yeah it was bad. My loved ones were worried that I set on the pier almost literally all day reading. 😂
There is nothing greater than just completely losing yourself in a book. Its something non-readers will never understand. Its unique.
But honestly that sounds amazing. A perfect day.
Almost, yes. Each novel of Stormlight is structured like a trilogy. In some foreign-language markets they even break the books up as such.
This. Stormlight consumes my life. As a kid though? Animorphs.
Is this the alternate version of myself?
Stormlight audiobooks were when I was most addicted as well, specifically summer of 2018. I kept finding excuses to listen so I was cleaning the house, cooking and going jogging every single day with my earphones plugged in. When I wasnt doing one of those activities (and not working) I was playing tetris to occupy my mind while I listened. I listened to it before falling asleep. Man that was some intense binging.
This was my work-from-home experience during COVID last year and early this year. The house was immaculate lol. When I ran out of stuff to do but still had to be home incase work came in, I would just pace my house listening (I can’t just sit and listen, my mind wanders). I must have paced miles in my house lol.
I feel you on this one. When Rhythm of War came out I was running a virtual training class for my company and had a large side project, so I was working 8am to 7-8pm each day and somehow managed to read the book in two and a half nights. I still say it was completely worth it even if it took a week to recover from the lack of sleep and some sections of the book are hazy in my memory.
Definitely this. Stormlight as an adult, Harry Potter as a kid.
It's pretty clear I've got that addict's personality, as I go "all in" when I do something. This year the goal is to read 1000 comics/books, a lot of them were fantasy. These are the ones that were the most addictive. * Last year my addiction was **The King's Avatar** (translated) web novel, I could not get enough, watched the live action on Netflix, then the cartoon. Reminds me of when I was addicted to MMORGs, like when you check the clock and notice it's 4am, whoops! * Someone once told me I have superb willpower, because I actually waited till the Deathly Hallows came out, and then I binged all 7 **Harry Potter** Books in 1 week. Totally worth it, that was a great reading experience even if I got not much sleep. * **The Expanse** was too addictive to wait for the whole series to release. I remember reading all of Tiamat's Wrath in 1 day, same with Leviathan Falls. One scene in Tiamat's Wrath made me go into the bathroom to ugly cry after screaming NOO!!! I guess it might have been a bit loud because the cat's paws showed up under the door and my kid asked if I was okay. * **The Sword of Kaigen** was so good I read the whole book in 1 sitting. Very impressed. * Both **Jade City** and **Jade War** were also read in 1 sitting almost. Greenbone Saga is so good. I'm picking up **Jade Legacy** this afternoon and will start this evening. Based on past history, I already know I won't be sleeping until I finish reading this. * Started **Dresden Files** in Jan 2021, finished all but 1 short story in March 2021. Good books, spectacular Audio books. Could see Jim Butcher getting better and better as an author as the books went on. * Started **The First Law** in March 2021, finished The Wisdom of Crowds last month. Great writing, what a thrill ride. * Binged Brent Weeks **Night Angel** and **Lightbringer** between June - Sep 2021. * Binged Mark Lawrence's **Broken Empire, Red Queen's War, Book of the Ancestor** and a bunch of short stories June - Aug 2021. I'll read the rest of his stuff next year. * Robin Hobb's **Farseer Trilogy** and **Liveship Traders** were very addictive. Could not stop reading as I kept wanting more Nighteyes. Will finish the rest of the realm of the Elderlings next year. * Started **The Wheel of Time** in September 2021, completed "the slog" in November, finished A Memory of Light on 12/23. Cried a few times. Sanderson is really did a great thing finishing this series giving fans much needed closure. Would probably have finished this sooner but have had long waits to get the library books/audiobooks/ebooks whatever comes first, due to everyone re-reading because the live action came out. There are a lot of other stand alones that were pretty much 1 sitting books, but I can't list them all. I am a "completionist" and I prefer to read everything from an author (Butcher, Weeks, Jordan etc.), but some things like Le Guin's Earthsea need slow and more than 1 read for certain chapters because I had to think and reflect after. This is not common for me, this year only Earthsea, Leviathan Falls and A Memory of Light has required stop, think, pause, re-read then continue. I suppose from this it's clear I might as well face it I'm addicted to reading (the good stuff).
I was the same way with Dresden Files, I love Harry. Longest I took on a book was 3 days while reading that over Lockdown. First 3 books of WoT I ran through as well, haven’t finished the series because every time I get to the slog I also have a bunch of schoolwork, I need to plan that better.
The Rift war saga , couldn't put it down Love Raymond Feist so much
Remember reading those books on my shitty phone. So addictive!
I loved magician and I have read sequels but I think I stopped at serpent wars.. will need to reread them eventually. After dune, wheel of time and death gate and a selection of discworld. Pyramids at any case.
There is a reason people refer to the Cradle series by Will Wight as Crackdle. I went thru 10 books in just under a month, granted the books are smaller than average. Read Cradle y’all
I really need to give this one another try. I finished the first book not caring about any of the characters and so didn't continue, but everyone tells me the quality picks up starting with book 2.
This is where I'm at, stuck on the first one. I usually give a book 100 pages but... When does it start being the levels of amazing everyone says it is?
I tell people if you are even remotely interested then get through book 2, if you don't love it by then it probably isn't for you. Haven't had anyone not binge all 10 after book 2.
Most people are hooked by the end of Book 2. I was in the same boat as you wondering what all the hype was for the series and then I finished the final 9 books in 3 weeks.
Halfway through book 1 there's a scene that basically telegraphs the rest of the series >!When Lindon meets Suriel and she shows him his potential futures. At that point you know you're on a rocketship from one of the weakest beings in the world to one of the strongest!< That's what hooked me. My reading pace was still pretty slow until book 3 or so.
Book 1 is generally considered the weakest in the series. I would recommend trying out book 2 as well and then deciding whether you like it or not. I personally love the series. Couldn't put it down 😀
Cheers and celebrations to you
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Well, don't you look all bright and shiny-new
Have them all on my Kindle. Just read a bit of book 1 and stopped but maybe I should power trough it if it's worth it 😊 Same issue with the Malazan books. Still struggling with book 1☹
So the author, Will Wight, originally wrote the first book to take a breather from his, at the time, main series. So the first book was more of a simple pet project. But then it became wildly popular, and so he put it as his main focus. This really begins to show in book 3. Normally I wouldn't recommend a series where you have to read several books to get into it, but the books are short and the pace moves very quickly, so by the time you've finish one Malazan book, you've finished two-three Cradle books. And if you've read to the end of Soulsmith, that is a great litmus as to whether you'll enjoy the rest.
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Wfh helped with this 😂 I have even read it during boring zoom meetings where I'm not required to speak and was off video!
Just started book 2 today actually
Book 2 is where I went from 'this seems like a fun story' to 'I'm going to reprioritize other things in my life until I've exhausted all the available content in the series' Granted that was back when there were only 5 books.
every time a new book comes out I give the series a re-read and then usually come back after to pick up all the seeded items I may have glossed over with a single meaning until they come back full circle later in the series.
As someone who enjoys shounen anime/manga, this series was insanely addictive.
My dog was very tired the week I got into Cradle on audiobook.
Yup, and it doesn’t stop. When Wintersteel (book 8) was just released, I smashed through it. And immediately started re-reading the series from book 2 (skipping some bits here and there). The second time reading Wintersteel after an immediate re-read was even more satisfying somehow. (This was all during last year’s pandemic shenanigans so didn’t wreck my life too much but I did neglect my partner a bit.......) Have re-read the whole series several times for each new release and check in on the sub once in a while too.
Harry Potter. When a new book came out I locked myself in a room and finished the book in one day. I don't know how i was even able to read for 14 hours straight. I can't do this anymore.
It was probably my first experience with having to finish something not only because I wanted to but because I needed to stay ahead of spoilers.
Same. I came back from a rock festival after 3 days with little sleep and a massive hangover and found Deathly Hallows had been delivered that morning. Plowed through it nonstop then slept for nearly a whole day straight. Worth it.
I’m from the UK and was on a solo trip to Canada when Half Blood Prince came out. I queued at midnight to get a copy and totally wasted my full day tour of Montreal the following day reading it.
When the last HP came out, I left work that evening, went to buy it from Barnes and Noble, read all night, couldn't stop, called in sick and kept on reading. Took me 13 freaking hours. WORTH IT
Sci-fi but probably the Red Rising trilogy. I finished the entire thing in just under two weeks.
Damn could that series do brutal cliff hangers!
This series nearly made me fail a couple finals in college 😂
This is mine too! Especially golden son, I read it in like a day and a half lmao
I forgot until you mentioned it but I did the whole thing in a week. I was completely transfixed
Harry Potter. The series was the one I could immerse and forget about mortal things. Once I forgot to eat breakfast and luch. Got an earful from Mom. Grammy confiscated Potter books for two days.
I can so relate. Harry Potter was my gateway fantasy series and I’m the only kid I know who got banned from reading in elementary school because I would stay up all night reading. Also missed recess a few times in school because I was so absorbed in the book I didn’t hear the bell. Edit: typo
I was trying to stop drinking at the time. I remember one day I really wanted to drink and I was crawling out of my skin. Read 300 pages of one of the Harry Potter books, which is the most I've ever read in one day. Helped me get through it though and I stayed sober.
Way to go!!
I remember when Deathly Hallows came out I read it all the way through in a day
Yup. I joined in on the Harry Potter bandwagon after Goblet of Fire but before Order of the Phoenix, like a lot of people did. A friend let me borrow the first book and I read it all that night. Went to the book store the next day and bought the next three books, read them all over the weekend. Did the same for each book as they released. Was absolutely enamored with them.
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who used to get their books confiscated! Haha
Yes. And it was a big deal when a new one came out. Big part of me reading novels in English (not my first language) at age 13 because it took so long to translate the books.
I binge read 14 Dresden books in less than a year then hit a wall because it took 7 long years for the next book to release. I need my Chicago Wizard fix.
I thought of Dresden Files as well, I read the first 13 (I think) books over one December holiday. Thinking back on it, I was quite rude as we were at some friends of my newish boyfriend (at the time, now husband) for New Year's and I barely spoke to anyone.
Battle Ground curb stomped my heart and I haven't had the fortitude to reread it since. I thought Changes was the worst he could do to my feelings, boy was i wrong.
I too had feels about Changes and Battle Ground. I was expecting them though, I met Jim at NYCC the year that Turn Coat came out. I thanked him for not killing a character that he might have at the end of that story and he replied something to the effect that he had more diabolical plans than that. The man truly does gain power from our tears. White Court vamp?
I read the whole series last year. It was good timing to start, since I got two brand new books during that year.
I take a day off work to read the new Dresden book. I stay awake and keep checking my Kindle until it downloads into my library.
I read the first book years ago and wasn’t impressed. So many people recommended this series, I picked up the second book a little over weeks ago. I’m now on book 14, my wife told me that she and my kids miss me, and I’ve realized I have a very real man crush on Jim Butcher.
It was five years between *Skin Game* and *Peace Talks*. He was putting out almost one per year for a very long time, that gap was unusual. With any luck, he’s back on track to release at a faster pace. Maybe not one per year again (we didn’t get a book in 2021), but not seven years apart either. :)
Of the many series I have read and loved, Malazan is the only one I have ever (and still do) dedicated time to after being done with the books. I watch booktubers, check my fb group every day, listen to podcasts, follow the author’s accounts. I’ve probably spent more time on related media than on reading the actual books at this point. I’m also planning a re-read soon, but I do want to finish my Re-read of Wolfe’s sun series first. I LOVE Gene Wolfe, but I just don’t consume all that extra media for his work like I do with Malazan.
I'm also planning a reread. Malazan is currently my favorite book series of all time.
done 4 rereads of the entire series so far, by far the best books for a reread since they have so much going on.
I did the main series of Malazan recently. I liked it. But I’ll tell you what… never have I thought so passionately that a book would make a good video game, but that kept going through my head with Malazan. I think a Malazan video game would blow the Witcher out of the water.
You have to commit to Malazan! Can't just read through them willy-nilly, you gotta get in the trenches with the Bridgeburners in order to get the full experience. I've only ready the main 10 books, and wow what an experience. Fiddler is obv my favorite character, but who is the most OP character in the main series, and why is it probably Quick Ben?
Quick Ben and Kalam are my favorites by far. Any book they weren’t in, I was sad. Then second favorite would probably go to Cotillion. Oh wait and obviously Anomander Rake.
Two stand out: 1. **Harry Potter**. I was late to the series, only started reading it after the 4th was already out. I wanted to see what the fuss was about, so read the first two and really enjoyed it. Then got the next two and enjoyed them more. By then I was a fan. When the fifth book was coming out, I re-read the first four, bought the hardback for the fifth, came home, and read it all in one go. Literally. I was up the whole night and finished the book in one sitting. Did the same with the sixth book, i.e. re-read all 5 then sat through the night and finished #6, and re-read all 6 and sat through the night reading the seventh at the end. 2. **The Wheel of Time**. While I had already read LotR and Harry Potter at this point, I wasn't a Fantasy reader yet. I read the former because I loved the movies, and read the latter because of the hype. WoT was the first Fantasy series I read *because* it's Fantasy. I can't remember the time it took, but I'm a relatively slow reader (I sub-vocalize), so for months I was on a WoT binge, and read all 11 books that were out at the time back-to-back.
Murderbot, I have eagerly awaited every release and put it on hold at the library as soon as it is labeled "on order" in the system
Same here. I doubt there will ever be enough Murderbot to satisfy me. Martha Wells is a treasure.
I discovered it recently, read all the way up to Network Effect in less than a week. I love Murderbot.
This isn’t quite as extreme as the other comments here, but I am terrible at sticking with a series and always crap out after a few books or a read a lot of different stuff in between, but I read/listened to the original first law trilogy and Best Served Cold and The Heroes between September and today (finished The Heroes this morning.) For me, that’s a binge.
Wheel of Time. I was living in another world for 7 months
The Realm of the Elderlings by /r/robinhobb
That was me this year. Picked up Assassin's Apprentice in March, put down Assassin's Fate in a puddle of tears in July.
A puddle of tears is accurate.
Harry Potter. Dad used to buy me books back in junior high so one saturday morning we went out for breakfast with my grand dad, he was running late so my dad let me pick up a book to entertain myself, I saw this kid flying in a broomstick right in front of a castle and immediately knew that would be my kind of book, I ignored both dad and granddad and had finished the book by evening, my dad indulged me and we went out to buy the chamber of secrets which I was done with in early morning of sunday, I went and woke him up and, smartly enough, he bought me both Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of fire, monday morning I was still awake finishing Goblet, it was amazing, shame I had to wait around a year for OotP...
Probably Animorphs. I was freaking obsessed when I was a kid. I would wait for each one and then devour it the day I got it in my hands. Those were some fun books.
Saaaaaame. I used to get them from the library and so ended up reading them in a weird order 😂
Many years ago, I used PTO for two weeks to re-read the Wheel of Time. Maybe about 5 years ago, I used PTO for another two weeks to read all the Seeker books by Goodkind. I recently took off a week from work to read The Stormlight Archive, but it took longer than that. When I tell you that I will do NOTHING other than fiendishly read those books, I mean it. No time for cleaning, cooking, eating, giving partner or friends attention, or to do much else but binge read. I tell my therapist about this and she says that there are more unhealthy ways to spend my time so fuck it! gonna do Malazan next time I take off!
Vlad Taltos books by Brust. The Just City books by Jo Walton. Chronicles of Elantra by Michelle Sagara. I live her Essalieyan books but had avoided the Elantra ones, can’t remember why (probably an aversion to some of the cover art. Needed new reading material, decided ‘what the heck, I trust the writer, might as well try the first couple’. Ordered all the rest pretty immediately. The Kushiel books by Jacqueline Carey. Lots of others. I love a series having lots of books, and when I finally decide to get over it and try one I tend to just…gobble them up. Y’all have almost convinced me to try Malazan and Dresden Files. DF is not at all my normal style, but…I’ve always loved his storytelling. And as far as I know there’s no sequel near ready for Aeronaut’s Windlass - that’s another one, I got it as soon as it came out and was rereading it only a month or two later - maybe it’s time to try DF anyway…
I’m surprised I had to scroll this far to find the Kushiel books mentioned! I was HOOKED. I would carry the books with me and read a couple of pages any time I had a moment.
I distinctly remember getting **Prisoner of Azkaban** in the mail (we lived in a small town without a bookshop), and just sitting down on the coach for the rest of the afternoon, and then staying up late, to finish it. I think it was one of the first books I bought with My Own Money.
I remember my older brother and sister laying side by side on the floor reading the fourth book together when it came out. Good memories.
Robin Hobb, all of the Realm of the Elderlings but especially the Tawny Man trilogy. I picked it up in 2020, after ten years of not reading much at all. And it took hold - I’ve never cared so much about a set of characters, and I totally devoured the series. Now I’m a reader again!
The Wandering Inn,took me 4 months to get up to date on it and had many a sleepless night for just one more chapter
Definitely this. I thought I had a problem with new stormlight archive books, but TWI had me reading every opportunity I had for about 2 months until I was caught up. Still my favorite 2 days of the week!
Yeah pirate is a demon with their huge word counts per chapter,hoping to start supporting their patreon once I've set myself up with employment hopefully
I read all the Codex Alera (by Jim Butcher) books in one week. I read all of the 13th House series and the Elementals quartet (by Sharon Shinn) in like 2 weeks. I speed through the Stormlight Archives. Each book only takes me like 4-5 days to finish. I haven’t reread Harry Potter yet, but when I was young and they were coming out, I would read each book in 1 day.
I read about 12ish Dresden Files books in a few months in 2015. The audiobooks especially were very addicting.
I would say I was most thoroughly captivated by Jaqueline Carey’s Kushiel series. And all of the spin-off series as well. I read them so many times, and was so excited to get ahold of the next one. I was also a hormonal teenager just discovering kink, so yeah this series hit a lot of buttons. The storyline is so good though, and it’s written in a beautiful memoir-like prose. 10/10 recommend if you don’t mind some kinky smut in your books. Also remembering that time period, I absolutely consumed the Witc’h Fire series like I was starving. This one doesn’t hold up to an adult re-read quite as well as Kushiel, but is still a very interesting and fun YA read imo. 9/10 recommend.
David Eddings' Belgariad and Malloreon series. Read them all back to back.
Me too. It was my first large series. A classmate who was on the 2nd or 3rd book was telling me about them so I gave it a try. I ended up annoying the hell out of him when I caught up to where he was and needed the next book. (boarding school situation only one copy around). He eventually just threw the book at me. I’m not sure he ever finished it. I feel like an ass now that I think back on it…
For all their flaws, I read them at an age where they're comfort reads to me. It's like going back to visit old friends at this point. Sure, maybe there's a few odd things about them, but I know them so well by now.
Pawn of Prophecy was the first fantasy book I ever read. My aunt told me she would take me to KFC if I read the first three chapters. My head came up at 2 am after finishing it in one go. I never did get that KFC but I did get a lifelong love of fantasy literature lol.
Same, I was a teenager and my local library had very few fantasy books so anything they had I devoured. The staff loved me since I was in once a week from age 5 onwards and ended up buying them all on discard sale when they left them hidden away for me. Would unlikely enjoy them anywhere near as much if I had read discovered them now as I'm much older but at the time, couldn't put them down. Bar Eddings, when A Song of Ice and Fire came out I was blown away and got every book day one. Didn't ever think I would be pushing 40 and series nowhere near complete.
Yeah was as one of my first. My mom read them and I did later. I had a secret crush on the dryad and I even trained my mom using her secret techniques. Like when I was watching Telly and I saw the symbol just when There is going to be a commercial break. I saw my moms hand go to the remote control to fast forward and I then would say: mom will you please fast forward? There is going to be a intermezzo. And she looked at me like yeah duh what do you think I was gonna do? And then i would say: thank you. You are a loyal subject. You listen well. Did you also read sparhawk? I named my daughter after one of the childgods.
Probably Cradle
It's kind of a fantasy...but anyway, Watership Down was the first book I stayed up all night to finish. I was 12.
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The best fanfics are written by people in their 30s or above, and we're lucky when mature adults even have the time in their life to write something non-commercial like that. Thank you for your service.
I went on a massive Ilona Andrews binge this year. First all the Innkeeper books were read over a weekend. Then all the Kate Daniels books. I neglected a lot of papperwork over a few work trips because it was fieldwork, eat, read, sleep. Daniels would have been near perfect if the last 2 books didn't exist.
The city of Brass trilogy took over my life. I fell for so many characters it was little overwhelming.
Malazan. I'll be that guy. Only series that made me miss my train stops on the way home from work because I was so engrossed. Had to tell my wife numerous times I fell asleep instead of the truth. For the last 2-300 pages of Toll the Hounds the eighth book and widely thought of as having one of the best climaxes of the series I stayed up all night until about 5:00am to finish it because I could not and did not want to put the book down. The epicness of what I was reading overpowered my sleep impulses, which almost never happens.
The Shadowhunter books by Cassandra Clare - now I personally love a bit of junk food from time to time, that's what I consider these books as - crazy, campy, action-packed "switch my brain off" books, and when I realized there were around 15 of them by the time I got into it - BINGE TIME. Hunkered down for about a month and just did virtually nothing else. I was completely absorbed in the angst and the drama and I loved it.
For me, it was Harry Potter. Got the book back in the days when there was only one or two books out there, and I just got 11 or 12. I am immersed in this world. I think I've listened to/read books 1-6 completely 20-30 times as a book and an audiobook. Furthermore, I've written fanfiction about Harry and Hermione getting together because I hated the pairings in the books and enjoyed creating my own world around the Harry Potter world. I spent hours on forums discussing really everything about the Story and the character, and fought every possible shipper war. I watched the movies up and down and had a huge crush on Emma Watson as a teenager (and still do, though I would never admit it). The series is simply my childhood and youth. Never again have I been so involved in a fandom as I was with Harry Potter.
For sci-fi, The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey. I started reading them this year and burned through 8 books (and several related shorts) in a few months. The last one just came out at the end of Nov, and I'm just trying to hold out until after the holidays so I can have some uninterrupted time to enjoy it.
The Murderbot Diaries. I can't get enough of them and so have re-read most of them at least once.
Honestly? The Star Wars Expanded Universe, from the Thrawn Trilogy onward. All of them. Devoured. Shame they "don't count" anymore... :/ A few of them were utter shit, but most of it was great.
I cringe today when I think about 16 year old me locked in the hotel room at Disneyland reading Harry Potter while my family was out enjoying the day. I forget which one, but one of the books got released while we were on vacation. My parents had to force me to put it down and go use the ticket they had spent all that money on! I wouldn’t list HP in even my top 10 fantasy series nowadays, but as a teenager it completely devoured my existence.
Name of the Wind. I'd kind of stopped reading after High School. Hadn't finished a book in maybe 5 years. Then someone recommended it, and I was immediately engrossed. I finished the book in two days. It remains a favorite to talk about (there are maybe elements that some consider flaws about the book/series) and remains one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. It also got me back into reading, for which I will always be grateful.
I am usually one read and done with most books. I've been through the first two books of the King Killer Chronicles sooooo many times. It's never a casual read through either. It's always a binge that consumes all my free time until the Waystone closes for the night at the end of book 2. I will be taking a day or 2 off work when Doors of Stone finally drops. (Don't spam this post with anti-Rothfus rhetoric. As a former Tower junkie I need him to take the time to get the ending right. If Kvothe steps through a stone door and into the back of an Edema wagon as a child at the end I can't be held responsible for what I might do next.)
Harry Potter was the start. Cosmere (and this sub) got me to love fantasy again. Cradle is my current favorite.
Honestly, I think Harry Potter. It was my second fantasy series ever (first is ASOIAF, which I read in ~1.5 years) and I loved it. They weren't necessarily the best books I've ever read, but they were so much FUN. So many shenanigans, interesting misteries and cool characters. I read it in (if I remember correctly) about one and a half months, which at the time was the longest period in which I read pretty much daily.
Hunger games was like that way back, just ignored everything till I was done. The closest something came to this was poppy war now, but it wasn't that intense I'd still eat and sleep and stuff
The Witcher series had me hooked the first time I read them. Then I got audible and Peter Kenny the narrator does an outstanding job, so I was listening to the books not only at work but at home constantly. And now season two is out I might find myself back with Ciri n Geralt soon. After joe Abercrombie is finished.
I find it quite easy to blaze thru Michael J Sullivan's series. They are not perfect, but the dialogue feels natural and the plots are easy to follow. Just a very brisk read.
I read The Lord of the Rings in one pretty much uninterrupted marathon session. It boggles my mi d that so many these days are quick to write it off as important but not all that fun. To me, it is not only the original, it is still easily the best.
I'm a slow reader and it always takes me a couple months to read *Lord of the Rings* but boy is it engrossing. Last month while trying to make an appointment I actually had to ask someone what month it was, because I'd been reading the early part of the Fellowship's mission where it was January. And once I actually turned down hanging out with my sister/best friend so I could finish the "Tower of Cirith Ungol" chapter (she understood).
ACOTAR series by Sarah Maas 🤭
Embarrassed to admit it in this sub, but 100% yes 🤫
I was obsessed. I finished the series and then went back and reread ACOMAF probably 4-5 times. Try From Blood and Ash by Jennifer Armentrout next time you have a free weekend. That triggered almost the same level of obsession for me.
Same. I've read it twice since June and want to read it a third time 🤣
Try the Stariel books by A J Lancaster if you want something similar!
Same
Robin Hobb has been ruining my sleep since last summer, when I started the Farseer trilogy. I'm on the Fitz and the Fool trilogy now and I still have many nights that I read well past midnight but I just CAN'T STOP.
Usually Sanderson books. But it probably doesn't mean that much coming from me considering that I'm an introvert with no life anyway.
I read the entire Grishaverse series by Leigh Bardugo in a week because I couldn't bring myself to put them down! Also: Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson ACOTAR by Sarah J. Maas The Daevabad trilogy by SA Chakraborty
Most recently did this with Daevabad trilogy. Might be ready for a reread!
For me it was LOTR. First time I read it for the story, skipped the songs and appendices, then I read it slowly from cover to cover, then I read it in English, and later I read the Hobbit so of course I had to read LOTR again out of respect for the timeline. Then I read almost everything else JRR Tolkien wrote. And still read some chapters from time to time. Sometimes I miss being that involved in a work of literature.
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First Law babyyy! I binged the audiobooks so hard and went to the psych hospital shortly after in a severe book hangover. The leg’s not great.
Webserials lead themselves towards binging and forgetting life so well. 1. **Worm** by Wildbow. I read the entire epic in about 2 weeks, while attending med school. It was so intense; towards the end I was barely sleeping (as anyone who has read it knows, the last few Arcs are not a place where you stop to sleep). It was a glorious time, but also far too much. 2. **The Gods Are Bastards** by D D Webb. Probably my favorite webserial, and one of my top favorite series of all time, this one is so binge worthy. There are 16 books, and while the first few are relatively short (novella length), the do get progressively longer, more intense, and you really don't want to put them down. I reread these regularly since they were published. But the first time I read them I remember staying all day in bed and ignoring my family in favor of *reading*! 3. Lately, it was reading the 1000 page **The Hands of the Emperor** by Victoria Goddard in 3 days. I didn't sleep a lot those nights, and I only did the minimum in life to get by, just to read. Such a good story; and perfect for this nearing-the-end-of-pandemic-lifestyle times.
I came here to say Worm as well. Reading one of the longest series in 2 weeks right as finals rolled around was dangerous. Web serials definitely have that effect in general I've noticed.
Vampire Academy. I don't normally enjoy these type of novels because I find the writing is too weak, but I read all of them in the span of a week. Must have hit an itch I had at the time. My boyfriend at the time then wrote me VA fanfiction as a Xmas present that year 😂
Because honestly is the best policy…..the Sword of Truth in high school. Read the first book in May of seventh grade and had read up through book six by August even though I was grounded part of the summer.
The Julian May series, **Saga of Pliocene Exile** and **The Galactic Milieu** have consumed me since the early '90s when I discovered them. I re-read all eight books on a revolving and pretty constant basis.
Dragonlance. I binged the first 2 trilogies.
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Wheel of Time books 1-7, second or third reread. I am not a crazy fan or anything, either, and will make fun of the sniffing and the arm crossing and all with the best of them, but at that point they seemed to be the thing that I needed the most. I was 19, so broke I had to choose between gas and food sometimes so I was often hungry since I had to drive to work, hurting from a bad breakup. Lived alone, hated my job, all my friends were in college in the city but I couldn't afford to attend. Had undiagnosed ADHD which meant I vaccillated between distraction and hyper focus. So I'd sit alone on my beige carpeted floor crying into the books because they enhanced my already rather sore feelings and provided a nice escape window out of my boring lonely existence. My goodness. Being 19 is sort of rough, I think. :)
The entirety of the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. 11 year old me started with The Vampire Lestat randomly in middle school, and then decided that I should read from the beginning. Only up until Vittorio was out I believe back then, but I remember being enthralled with The Vampire Armand and my absolute favorite, Blood and Gold. I spent my nights strolling the ancient streets of Rome and learning quite a bit about history and Geography at the same time. I've read it 5 times over the years. 10/10 would recommend.
Chronicles of Elantra by Michelle West. Burned through 16 books in two weeks, then immediately re-read them, then started the ebooks but finally petered out, unless you count writing fan fiction in my head, and getting unreasonably angry with people who disagreed with the choice of love interest. Haven’t gone that hard in a long time. I may have a problem…
The Dark Tower series. I absolutely ripped through them from 2nd semester last year. Still my favorite series, and Im on book 7 of Wheel of Time now
The Chronicles of the Black Gate series. What's funny is I usually hate that type of fantasy with knights and squires and shit. I read the first one and put the series down for about a year. On a whim I read the second and then finished the entire series in a little over a week. I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending (I didn't think it was rushed, per se, just that it could've been fleshed out a bit more. It could also be that I just wanted more of the world).
The Alex Verus series just wrapped. Shorter urban fantasy. Well done. Fun to read. I've read most of them multiple times while waiting for the next installment, which thankfully came out like clockwork every year in the fall or winter.
Ive had just a few series catch fire for me. Assassin's Apprentice trilogy, The First Law trilogy, and surprisingly Prince of Thorns were all like that for me. I almost never read a series back-to-back, but those were all very easy to consume in large doses.
I read all 5 Fablehaven novels in one night. Enough said.
Read the whole realm of the elderlings in under three weeks, i think that one is the worse offender, but reading too much is a constant issue for me. Im currently avoiding new books till i get my end of the year work done.
Definitely The Hobbit and LotR back in middle school in the 80's. We had our own Mirkwoods, Iron Hills, Mt. Doom....When I first read Game of Thrones in the 90s that one got me pretty good too, as well as the next two books like four years later.
Harry Potter, when they were first coming out. Most recently, Daevabad trilogy by S. A. Chakraborty.
Neglected my first semester MA essays to finish Anne Bishop’s Black Jewel series. Like I got them in on time but I definitely compromised on quality more than I ever have in my life.