On reading multiple books at once

In the book community we often call this phenomenon of reading multiple books at once; 'book-affairs' or just 'affairs'. Because you can't stick to a single book. This definitely explains the guilty feeling you may have when you read more than one book at a time. I know that I for one sometimes feel like I'm neglecting the other books I'm reading and I definitely feel guilty and bad because of it.

When I first starting reading I couldn't even fathom the idea of reading more than one book at a time but now I, generally, read multiple books at once - mainly because I have so many books to get through. There is some downsides to reading more than one book at a time but I've found that I quite like it.

CONS
Some of the problems are; confusing yourself with the story lines, characters etc, the stress, indecisiveness when it comes to which one you want to read at that time and the feeling of guilt. I know not all have the same problems but these are definitely some that I've encountered while having my many affairs.

PROS
But what's the pros of reading multiple books then?
You can end up reading much more if you know how; I tend to have a current read in each format; an audiobook, an ebook and a physical book - and I also have a review book (no matter the format) going on with the other books. That way I can listen to the audiobook while working, cleaning or writing, reading the ebook on my phone, computer or tablet when I have a short break and at night I can read the physical book with a cup of tea. In the end I end up reading much more because I can take advantage of breaks and reading whilst doing something else - it's quite smart, if I do say so myself.
Some other good parts about reading more books at a time is you can switch between the books when you need a break from a certain book or you want to save or just devour the book slowly.

Personally I dislike reading big books because I feel like I miss out on so many other books while reading it so if I'm currently reading a big book I always have a smaller book on the side so I don't feel discouraged. It's one of the ways I get myself to read bigger books.


Advice when having these 'affairs'

• Read different genres; it's easier to differentiate between the books if you, for example read a horror book, fantasy book and a contemporary book 
• Different formats; I might be biased but this definitely makes me read more
• Don't read an insane amount of books at a time! 
• If some, or just one, of the books are on the bigger side keep a list of characters and notes so you won't forget - I have to do this every time I read a big book

Did I forget something or do you just want to add something? Tell me in the comments! 

Translating literature

I don't know if translations are that big a deal for any of you, but for me it definitely is and I practically struggle with it every time I go into a bookstore or a store with books. I somehow came across Smartling, which is a translation software and I felt quite inspired to write a post about translating literature;

I'm a Dane, so the majority of the books in my country is written in Danish - which for me is a big problem. The majority of the books that are published, are published in English, and I for one do not like reading translated novels; because I find that when you translate literature something gets lost; whether it's the writing style, a character quirk or something else.
For example, the first time I read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen it was in Danish and I didn't really like it. A couple of years passed, I read it in English and it's still one of my favorite books to this day. The famous quotes and Darcy's pride do not translate well, at least not to Danish.

The writing style is quite important for the book and you can't translate that directly - so that tends to get lost. For newer works I find that it's not that big a deal; I read The Hunger Games in both English and Danish and it was translated beautifully; but when it comes to classics I can't read them in Danish. Somehow the old-English is wonderful but I don't enjoy a novel in old-Danish.

I know that translating works is vital if the rest of the world is to have an opportunity to read said book but you have to be quite careful with the translation. I find that the most important aspect to consider when translating is literally the language; use the words that are closest to the ones you're translating and the ones that explain the meaning of the word(s) the best.

My biggest pet-peeve when it comes to reading translated books is probably the conversations and how they're portrayed in the translated version


Literature is a big part of my life and I hope to get a job in the publishing business once I'm older. For me the value of the written word is practically everything; I use most of my freetime to read and when I'm not reading I'm either talking to other book lovers or writing posts about books.
The written word is also essential to the world we live in, except from talking it's one of the only ways to communicate.


The moral of this post is to be careful when translating and that translations are quite important in our world - even if I don't approve.

Reading slumps!

I was in a bit of a reading slump back in July, but I, thankfully, got out of it after a week or two. I know I hate being in reading slumps since reading is what makes me relax after a tough day and I really miss reading when I'm in a slump - I just can't get myself to read it.

Firstly, what is a reading slump? A reading slump is a period of time where you don't read or rather can't really get yourself to pick up a book and start reading. It can last weeks and it can last months. If you don't have time to read - e.g. due to school - that's not a reading slump.

Reading slumps can be caused by a bunch of things. Maybe the book you're currently reading is the cause, you can't really find out what to read (too many choices) or maybe you've read a bad book or had a bad streak with books and have, in a way, given up.

Secondly, how do you get out of them? I've got a couple of ideas of how to get out of these unfortunate slumps, so here's my ideas:

1. If you're trying to read a book, and have been for a while, stop. Put it down and find the book on your ereader, at your local library or on your shelves that you want to read the most and read it. Sometimes the excitement of reading can push you out of a slump.

2. If it's due to a bad streak in books try reading a book you've previously loved. For me, I would probably read Pride and Prejudice for the umpteenth time. Please keep in mind NOT to read a book that has made you sad *cough* The Fault in Our Stars *cough*.

3. Let it take it's time. Don't pressure yourself to read, because if you pressure yourself you can end up in a worse state than before.

4. Get excited about reading! Watch some booktube videos, read reviews, make lists about books, talk about books etc. You don't have to read to get excited about reading.

5. Find the time to read; Do all your homework, clean your room, light some candles and make a cup of tea. If you're relaxed and don't have anything you actually have to do, you might find yourself wanting to pick up a book.


Do you have any ideas on how to get out of a reading slump? 

Being a reviewer

I've been asked a couple of times what it's like to be a reviewer. We get to read certain books before the release date and we receive books for review - obviosuly. 2 years ago I didn't know about any of this - it was around the time that I discovered booktube. I envied them - a lot - I wanted to receive books for review to. I didn't know how hard that actually is. Being a reviewer is fun but at the same time very stressful.

You probably know about sites like Netgalley and Edelweiss, well I discovered more sites where you can receive free ebooks in exchange for reviews; Bookblogging, blogging for books etc. And when my blog started gaining followers (when I was on the other domain) I began receiving review requests daily and then publishers contacted me.. So now I'm left with a ton of books - both digital and physical - that I have to read and review. I've already read a bunch of them, but I still have a long way to go.


Requesting a sh*tload of books
A problem when you first begin being a reviewer is that you get overwhelmed and request a load of books - which is a very bad idea. Netgalley is probably why, you can just press 'request' and then you find out whether or not you get the book and after a while with denials you start requesting more because you think 'I'll not get approved to all of them anyway' - which is an even worse idea, because once the ball is rolling; it's rolling! Limit yourself to a few instead of 20 like I did.
Another problem, very similar to that, is when you start receiving mails from publishers about which of these 10 books you want to receive - and you start thinking that and that and that and that and end up requesting a bunch of them because you don't know better in the beginning.

Not enough time
Readers always say that there's too many books and not enough time - well that enormous pile of books is just getting bigger when you're a reviewer. I know I didn't stop accumulating a ton of books when I started receiving books for review. I kept on buying and because I also had review books I made them a higher priority than the books I already own - which means that I'm now left with over a 100 unread books - and that's only the physical ones.
The problem is that you don't have the time to read your own books, you have to choose whether you want to read the review books or your own books.

Stress!
Another problem is that it is quite stressful; I like reading a book a while before it's release date so that I have the time to write a proper review that can be released on the release day or before - but if you have other things to do, it's quite hard finding the time to get those books read and sometimes you just end up reading a bunch of books and writing half-decent reviews.
Also having that big pile of books weighing on your conscience is stressful. One month - arc August -  I tried getting through them all but I ended up receiving more books because of it so it didn't even leave a dent in the pile.

Choosing
A thing I have a hard time with is choosing between ALL of the books; library books, review books, the books I own etc. Also; should I read newer books or classics? Should I read this or should I read that? I feel like you don't really have the time to devote the time to read classics when you're a reviewer because your focus lies on the books in front of you - which means newer books. Unless a classic is re-published you don't really get to read classics - I know I don't.
Choosing can also be quite stressful, but you feel like you're neglecting some books as well.

It's exclusive
My favorite thing about being a reviewer is probably the feeling you get when you receive a package full of books or an email saying you got approved to a certain e-galley. Being a reviewer feels quite exclusive because you don't have to pay anything, you literally just have to speak your mind and the fact that you can read books before others is also adding to that feeling. But is that feeling worth being stressed? To this day I still can't figure it out.


Don't get me wrong I like being a reviewer but it's not purely a good thing, it has two sides like everything else but if you can somehow find a balance in being a reviewer and being 'yourself' it's great! But if the scale tips more towards reviewer it gets stressful. Netgalley 'bans' are adviced!

How to choose which book to read and how to tackle your massive TBR-pile!

I randomly started thinking about HOW I actually chose which book to read. And since I find my "results" kind of interesting, I thought I'd make a post all about it, because maybe I can help some of you guys!

You know that feeling you get when you try to choose a book and you instantly feel overwhelmed because there's so many? I get that feeling and sometimes I just feel to intimidated and I stop trying to find a book and just do something else - or I start reading 1 book, then I put it down, then I pick up another, and I also put that one down. I tend to do that multiple times, and sometimes I never finish the other books. The reason I do that is because I feel overwhelmed and try to read to many books at once because I want to bring down the number of unread books on my shelves. Another thing I tend to do is just choose a book I have for review (which is not bad, but I still have to read the books on my shelves).

I recently started to come up with some different strategies to tackle my massive TBR - which also means how to choose which book to read (hence the title).

1. Making a pile to choose from

Too many choices can be VERY overwhelming so you could choose maybe 10 books out of your TBR pile to choose from (and maybe put those 10 in a "special" spot, so you know exactly which ones you can choose from). That way the choice will be much easier to make since it's easier to deal with 10 than 100. 

You could choose to do a theme or just wing it!

2. TBR Jar!

I love TBR Jars, I have had a couple but since I was tired of my old one, I made a new one (you can see the post here). That way the chose aren't yours to make, the Jar is doing it for you!

3.  Pick a number

There is some different options for this one. You can get someone to say a random number (1- how many unread books you have/the number of books in your pile etc. ) and then the book that has that number is the one you have to read. You could also just count to that number on your bookshelf (in unread books) and then again, the book number x you have to read.
You could also use these options on your goodreads TBR (they already have numbers so you just have to find the number)

4. Blind Book Date!
This is kind of elaborate, but I just love it! (I would recommend getting another person to do this for you). You have to write down keywords for the book. Take The Da Vinci Code for example, you could write secret society, mystery, thriller, religion, science and adult. For Hunger Games you could write YA dystopia, unrequited love and survival. (You could also just write random words from the summary instead of keywords).

Then you just have to wrap the books, write the keywords on the paper and then choose which book to read based on the keywords. And that way you also get a "present"

5. Create a poll
This either involves a blog or another person!
With a blog: There's a widget thingy, where you can create a poll. You just have to write the titles and then your readers can choose which book they will have you to read! (I am thinking about using this one)
With another personYou choose 3-5 books that you really REALLY want to read, and then you get either your mom, dad, boyfriend, girlfriend, bestfriend or anyone else to choose which book you have to read. They could do the quick one and just choose one randomly, or they could take the time to read the blurb (or you could tell them about the book) and see which book they think you will enjoy the most.

how do you choose which book to read?

What's the deal with graphic novels?

I've tried to read graphic novels - I've actually read volume 1-18 in the Walking Dead series, but I've never actually CARED for graphic novels. When I read books, I feel connected to the characters in some way or another, but when I read graphic novels I just feel indifference. I don't care whether the characters live or die - I don't get the same connection as when I read actual books.

I love the artwork in graphic novels, I am seriously thinking about reading Locke & Key by Joe Hill solely for the artwork. I think I've read volume 1-3 in the Locke & Key series and I couldn't even get through the first volume of Fables even though I love fairytales. I have no desire to read a graphic novel, I feel like they're pointless - I am not saying that to be rude, but for me I just prefer books.

They are much faster to read than actual books, but you don't get the same "ammount" out of it. I mean, how can you know what the characters are feeling or how they're holding up? How do you know who's in love with who and how do you know who's the bad and the good guy? I love all those hidden messages in books that you can only decipher once you've read that book 3 times - you don't get that with graphic novels.

I'll probably still try to read some, I just don't think I'll ever be one of those people who love books and graphic novels the same or lean more towards graphic novels.
I know some people absolutely love graphic novels or solely read them - but I'm just not one of those people.

How do you feel about graphic novels?

Discussion: Antigoddess by Kendare Blake with Jayd

Book Depository | Amazon | Goodreads | Kendare Blake's Website
Publisher/Year: Orchard Books / September 10, 2013

Genres: YA Fantasy

Summary: He was Apollo, the sun, and he'd burn down anything that tried to hurt her... Cassandra and Aidan are just your average high-school couple. Or so Cassandra believes. Blissfully unaware that she was once a powerful prophetess, Cassandra doesn't even know that god exist... Until now.
Because the gods are dying - and Cassandra could hold the answer to their survival. But Aidan has a secret of his own. He is really Apollo, god of the sun, and he will do anything to protect the girl he loves from the danger that's coming for her. Even if it means war against his immortal family...

BE AWARE: The discussion contains small spoilers for people who haven't read the book, but they don't ruin anything for you plot-wise. It is generally only about the characters, the set up and such things. There is a single spoiler, but I have marked it with <SPOILER> for those of you who haven't read it.  Now on to the discussion;


Jayd: I really liked the prologue, and the vision scenes. They were so well written, and they seemed really dreamlike. The images were really clear in my mind of what was happening.

AmandaEmma: I agree with you on the vision scenes, they were really interesting, and whilst I was reading some of the longer ones, I totally zoomed out. The only thing that mattered was the vision.

Jayd: I know! I thought that with the fight scenes as well. I think that Kendare Blake writes action/fighting scenes really well. But some of the other more ’specifically’ YA stuff was fairly uninteresting… I wanted to quit reading with the Halloween party.

AmandaEmma: Yes! She really does, I prefer the ones in Anna Dressed in Blood though. I could not understand why the costumes mattered that much. They did not do anything for the story….

Jayd: Yeah, I agree. I liked Athena’s parts of the story, but i think Kendare Blake is better at writing male characters as a whole.Oh my gosh, I know. I kept cringing every time the costumes were mentioned. I mean, there a thousand other ways they could have been described, but it seemed like every single one had to be slutty with a capital S. It did nothing for the story, and only annoyed me as a reader.Not only that but the behaviour of Cassandra and Aiden at that time just really didn’t seem like them. Would ancient Apollo really want to go to the basement to make out at a teenage party?

AmandaEmma: Definetely! Maybe she should just write another Anna book... I totally agree with you on that! Also, I cannot even picture Cassandra wearing a costume like that…
But on the other hand, something I really liked was the fact that we for once  read about a heroine that doesn't do stupid things to save others, because I was getting sick of that.

Jayd: I still need to read the sequel to Anna, haha! Me neither…I agree! it was a nice refreshing change. I think that Antigoddess was a very mixed book, that had its good points and its bad points. Like, I thought Aphrodite’s madness was well portrayed, but it  also did seem like she did a lot of waiting/watching on the sidelines, most prominently right at the end, somewhere around Aiden’s death. Hopefully she’ll become a much more prominent character later on in the series.

AmandaEmma: I hated Aphrodite… She has always been one of my favorites, but in every book I read about greek mythology, I seriously cannot stand her… It's weird. But yes, she was standing on the sidelines a lot! I really liked Circe’s Coven, no idea why, but when they choose to help Athena and Hermes they totally got on my good side. Especially when the leader (can’t remember her name) told Athena that she was happy she got to them in time, so that they could help… And then Cassandra’s vision happened and I was devestated

Jayd: I really liked Circe’s Coven too! I had a wonderful image of all these beautiful women in deep friendships together,and it was wonderful. 

<SPOILER>I was very sad whenHera obliterated them as well, and I felt so awful for those who were left</SPOILER>

 I also liked the fact that I can see the story being a trilogy. The over arching plot was developing at a nice pace, and it didn’t seem like there was loads of ’filler’ to stretch it into a series.

AmandaEmma: Completely agree with you on that! I hated that they were escourts, but I love how Blake managed to portait them as something beautiful and connected.It would be nice, but I don’t know whether I will read the next one.. I just feel like it had so much potential and it did not live up to my expectations.

Jayd: I didn’t particularly like the fact that they were escorts either.I’m not sure if I’ll read the next one either, but I know I’m much more likely to get it from the library rather than buy my own copy.I did have quite high expectations for the book as well, and though it wasnt awful, there was something missing, and the fact that I know Kendare Blake can do much better is dissapointing.

AmandaEmma: I understand why she made them escorts because of the mythology… I just hate that she actually took that step..You are completely right, I know some people are head over heels for this book, but she can do so much better!

Jayd: I think that Antigoddess was enjoyable, but it wasn’t the kind of book where I literally couldn’t put it down.
I really liked the cover though! I had no idea what any of it meant until I was about half way through the book when I realised, but I think it was good how it tied in with the novel so well. It’s rare that you get to say that about book in current YA.

AmandaEmma: It was totallly putdownable! Except from the vision parts! Yes! I really liked the cover before I read the book, and now I love it because it fits the story so well! It definetely is rare.

So we both agree that it was a great book, but not really one we would want to buy the sequel to. We actually both gave it 3 stars before we even started the discussion, so we are definetely on the same page when it comes to this book.

Discussion: Paperbacks vs. Hardcovers with Ebony from The Book Bee

AmandaEmma: So which do you prefer, hardcover or paperback?

Ebony: While I think there are pros and cons about both, overall I prefer hardback. What about you?

AmandaEmma: paperbacks

Ebony: Is there any particular reason why you prefer paperbacks?

AmandaEmma: I prefer hardcovers for my absolute favorites like Austen and Rowling.. and classics... but only because they last longer. 

Well, they are cheaper and I just like that they open more easily, I feel like hardcovers are hard to read in for some reason. Also I have small hands so sometime hardcovers are just too big for me

Ebony: Yes, hardbacks for favourites are a must in my opinion! And good point about paperbacks being cheaper! 
Although I prefer hardbacks, I own few in comparison to paperbacks. I don't usually consider my hands small, though I have encountered some books in both hardback and paperback format that are too big to be comfortable in my hands.

AmandaEmma: Same here, but I actually have a bunch of hardcovers for no particular reason.. Another great point is broken spines - I cannot deal with broken spines -.-'

Some paperbacks break their spine to easily, which is why hardcovers are a better choice for favorites. 

But also, when people loan books, I feel like they are more careful with hardcovers opposed to paperbacks. My hardcovers get back to me in perfect condition while paperbacks have broken spines, dog ears and tearing 

Ebony: Broken spines are the worst! I actually have cried over them before! That's one con I find about paperbacks - I'm always so careful when reading them so I don't break the spine or bend a corner, and sometimes I just get so uncomfortable I stop reading, which annoys me.

Yes! I don't understand that at all! Paperbacks are so much more fragile as opposed to hardbacks! I'm so, so careful with who I lend my books too. With my hardback copies, not so much as I know they're harder to ruin...except for their dust jacket, though I usually take the dust jacket off a book if I'm loaning it to someone.

AmandaEmma: Yes! But that is what floppy paperbacks are made for, I seriously LOVE those. So bendable and the spine is intact once you are done reading it for the 5th time ^^ 

Same here, people can loan 1 book and then we can see if they can loan more, because my books are my babies. 

Ebony: Floppy paperbacks are the best kind of paperbacks! Apart from the fear of bending a corner, they're the perfect compromise between hardback and paperback.

AmandaEmma: yes! I love how we almost agree on everything! So cons about hardcovers?

Ebony: Hmm, now that I've said I prefer hardbacks, lets see how many cons I can actually think of!

1. They are longer lasting. Generally.
2. Harder to damage, which is sort of a repeat of the first con
3. No broken spines! (Except for extreme circumstances.)
4. It's like they have *two* covers.
5. In many cases the hardback cover is nicer than the paperback cover. I think that's all... 

Gosh. I can't read. I read cons and wrote cons but actually wrote about pros! 
Okay, now for some cons:
1. They are HEAVY. Not the best for travelling with

AmandaEmma: I was just thinking about that!

Ebony: 2. Although you can read your hardback copy without worrying about ruining it, you still have to worry about ruining the goddamn dust jacket

AmandaEmma: the dust jackets are easily damaged! it is annoying

Ebony: Which is sad and annoying and makes me upset! Oooh, one more con - they are more expensive! What about some pros about paperbacks??

AmandaEmma: 1. They are cheaper, 2. Easier to travel with, 3. Easier to read in

Ebony: I agree with all of those!

AmandaEmma: cons: 1. Broken spines, 2. Easy to ruin, 3. varying sizes

Ebony: Oooh, yes! Varying sizes, I forgot about that! That really annoys me!
Another thing I don't like about paperbacks is that they seem to release multiple covers for paperback books whereas they only seem to release the one on hardback. I really don't like my covers not matching, and sometimes it's really hard to find the matching covers!!

AmandaEmma: which is what box sets are for.. but hardcovers also vary a bit

Ebony: Yes, that's true, though I find their variation is not as obvious as with paperbacks.

 So if we sum up this discussion it would look something like this:

What do you prefer? 

Discussion: Why ebooks?

I know some people really hate ebooks and I know that there is also people that prefer ebooks over physical copies. I am one of the inbetweeners, I really like both, and at times I prefer one over the other. I really like reading books on my iPad, especially because I can get a bunch of different books for free, and since I live in Denmark most of the books I win is ebooks, because people won't pay for shipping...

Arcs and space
When I read arcs(=advance  reader copies) or a book I have received for review, I actually prefer a digital copy, because I feel like I can take better notes and highlight EVERYTHING I love or hate, I think it is easier to review them if I have all those notes.
Also, I have way to many books on my shelves, and I cannot really fit anymore in, so ebooks are great spacewise, since the only place they take up, is space on my iPad! And I can totally live with that!

Pet peeve
Why I prefer ebooks sometimes correlates with one of my pet peeves, which is series not matching! I normally buy the longer series as ebooks or get them from the library - it is just nicer that way!
Have you noticed all the different heights there are? Seriously, there must be around 30. I hate having to look at that! You can go from pocket to mass to normal to large to weird. And I have that scale all over my bookshelves - I hate it.

Eating while reading!
Another great point: eating while reading! I prefer to read all the time, so when I have to put it down to drink or eat, it seriously annoys me. Also, if you eat while reading physical books and you get crumbs between the pages, it seriously drives me insane! Or stains on the pages....

At night
It is easier to read on an e-reader because well, when you lie in bed and cuddle, it's hard to flip pages in a normal book, but to hold the e-reader still and just tap the side is easily done! But it kills me that I don't get to flip the pages..... I love flipping the page so I can read the next and next and next! I love doing this:


You can read an ebook at night! Because even if the lights are off, you still have background lighting! Also, if the font is annoying, you can just change it! Or if the letters are to small or to big, you can change it to your liking!

The feeling

One thing I hate with ebooks though, is the fact that I don't get to look at the gorgeous covers all the time or see them fit on my shelves. Don't get me wrong, I still love them. I just hate that I never get to look at them, like really look at them. I don't get to do that:

Why do you like/hate ebooks?

Discussion: Series vs. Standalones

So, since I am having a sick day, I thought it would be a great idea to make a longer post - since I have the time. I have chosen to talk about series vs. standalones, because it something I think about everytime I either buy books or have to choose a new book to read, but here we go.

Story
Some series are great story wise - for example Harry Potter - one book would never be enough so it is great that there are multiple books set in the same world. But there are also some series that contains 4 books but the story is dragged out, so 2 or 3 books would have been better.
Then there is the standalones, for the most part, I like standalones better - I HATE cliffhangers - but also the story is actionpacked or filled with amazing scenes because everything has to be in this 1 book.
Sometimes series are better, because you get to know the characters better and you get to live in their world for a longer period of time. But other times standalones are just better because the story does not have to be dragged out over multiple books.
I would say that this one is a tie.

Series: 1
Standalones: 1

Characters 
When I look back, most of my favorite characters are from series, because when you really like a character that is in a series, you get to know them better and watch them evolve. You get to see them grow and learn new things. You get to see how sad they get over the tragedies they experience. And you get to see how triumphant they are when they overcome something.
Sometimes I just do not feel like I really get to know the characters when I read standalones. The only characters from a standalone I have "befriended" are from The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and The Help by Kathryn Stockett.
When it comes to series, I can honestly say that I feel like Hermione is one of my best friends ever and that I can tell her everything. Harry and Ron are those boys you just cannot help to like and become friends with. I feel like I could just meet Hermione, Ron and Harry, and then die happy. Because then I have met my best friends ever.
This one would have to go to series..

Series: 2
Standalones: 1

Covers
I have a bit OCD, so cover changes REALLY bothers me. I cannot look at series or buy them, if the covers do not match, I really can't. That problem is something you very easily get over with standalones - because you just have to find the version of the book you like and then you are done. You do not have to worry about matching covers or get mad if you cannot find them.
Okay, I only have one problem with that. I want all my John Green books to match, so I have to find the yellow version of Paper Towns with the car on... And I cannot find it ANYWHERE. But other than that, the standalones win.

Series: 2
Standalones: 2

Money
Obviously series are, for the most part, more expensive. Because if you want to buy all of them it tends to add up - especially with the longer series, trilogies and duologies are not that big a problem. Standalones are ofcourse a "one time pay", you pay for it and that is that, you have a WHOLE story in your hand.

Series: 2
Standalones: 3

Time
I think it is safe to say that everyone has read a marvelous book that ends on a cliffhanger - then you find out that it is a series and the next books comes out in a year. For example the Divergent trilogy, my friend has waited and waited for the third one to come out, and I personally got extremely mad when I read the Nightshade series by Andrea Cremer.. I read the sequel, because I thought it was a duology. Then it ends on a cliffhanger and I am like NO, this is NOT TRUE. And ofcourse I find out that it takes a year or so before it gets published - and books here in Denmark tends to get published ½ a year after the actual release date -.-' lucky me.

Series: 2
Standalones: 4

So we have a winner, and that is STANDALONES, which is what I expected, but it was actually fun to find the pros and cons for both sides.

Do you prefer series or standalones? And what is your favorite series and favorite standalone?