If I want to, I do. If I don’t want to, I don’t. Sometimes I’ll get through the second book and decide that I’m not interested in the third. Or I’ll try out the sequel and it’s a DNF. All those are options.
It’s no different from choosing to read the first book, really.
I mean, I do sometimes like to have print and audio versions of the same book. My spouse is only into audiobooks, so if I like a book and then want to share it, it’s off to libro.fm I go.
But multiple print editions? Nah. Not unless it’s written by a literal friend or family member of mine. I don’t have enough shelf space for that.
Oh heck yes. For me it’s Tamora Pierce’s Tortall books. I literally read through all of them at least once a year. Pure comfort.
Those are your favorites? It seems like you feel kind of negative about them.
I haven’t, but will investigate!
Oh, I’d totally count that! Haven’t read it in decades, but it had such an impact on me as a teen.
Haha, everyone keeps telling me that! I’m not much of a TV watcher, though.
Most recently, there was a moment in Ink Blood Sister Scribe like this. Other fantasy examples I can think of offhand include Six of Crows and The Library at Mount Char.
Three times now I’ve had to read a genre I generally dislike for a reading challenge, and three times now I’ve found a book I adored as a result. I ended up with some DNF books I hated as well, but I always ended up finding one I loved in the end.
The first was a historical romance, which is VERY MUCH not my usual jam. Ended up reading Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure and laughing my ass off. Turns out, I’m entirely down with romance novels as long as they’re funny!
The second was a political thriller (too much tension in a world that’s too real tends to stress me out, so I avoid them), but While Justice Sleeps had me super engaged. I love it when highly intelligent protagonists are working against highly intelligent antagonists, and this definitely gave my brain the excited chemicals instead of the anxious ones.
Thirdly was a horror novel, but someone on r/fantasy recommended some fantasy/horror crossover books for folks who were feeling nervous about this square on the Fantasy Bingo card, and so I ended up reading The Library at Mount Char, figuring I couldn’t gate any book with a library in its title too badly. And I ended up adoring it! It was dark, but dark in a way that gripped and fascinated me, rather than giving me nightmares.
Anyway, this is why I love doing reading challenges every year. It breaks me out of my comfort zone and introduces me to stories and authors I never would have discovered otherwise.
Not weird, that’s super normal.
I’ve only read two of his books and I loved them. That said, slow and sad is a distinct stylistic choice (especially these days!), so it doesn’t surprise me that they’re divisive.