I think my preference on serials is to watch them all at once, which is why I like Netflixing the DVD of series so much more than watching the show from week to week. I lose out on the water cooler conversation that way, but it’s seems worth it to me. If I watch/read it all at once then you fully realize how much time you are devoting to the endeavor, as opposed to try and track how long you spend watching a chapter a week.

I started reading the Harry Potter books just after the fourth book (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) was released and was very sad to hear that the rest of the series had not been written or released yet. I dutifully waited for the next two series installments to be released, pre-ordering them like a good fan boy. Now I’ve finished the sixth book (which leaves several unanswered questions, go figure) and can’t wait for the next installment. I’ve heard rumors that Rowling has already finished the seventh book so one would think the release should be in a timely fashion. Hopefully she doesn’t pull a Lucas-like dick move and decide to release in three years.

I really wish I had waited until all the books were finished before starting to read them, like I did with the Dune novels. I think the Potter books are a little more fun, though. They are definitely a little more common for people to have read, since the Dune novels get pretty painful after God Emperor of Dune; I never thought I would finish that series. I must have forgotten how painful it was to read, because I was thinking about re-reading it recently. I was looking to refresh myself on the story more than the accomplishment, but luckily for me I read the cliff notes on Wikipedia instead and remembered how disjointed the story was after the fourth book. I guess that can happen after 3000 years pass in a story. Time saved I guess; yay for me!