Opinion: The Benefits and Dangers of Binge-reading

There’s nothing quite like discovering a new series that you’ve never read before, and throwing yourself head-first into the pages. After all, readers know better than anyone else what the painful wait between novels is like, as the calendar crawls toward the release date. Binge-reading skips the wait and delivers a unique reading experience, but it’s not without both benefits and dangers.

I started thinking about this post while reading the Throne of Glass book series. With my latest review for Heir of Fire, I could hear the tiredness in my own voice, and when I started on the prequel, The Assassin’s Blade, I was really beginning to suffer the bad side-effects of binge-reading.

I’ve had some fantastic experiences with binge-reading before – I powered through the Maze Runner and Percy Jackson series in short order, and thoroughly enjoyed both. I particularly love getting into a series – feeling part of the universe and really understanding the authors’ vision.

One of binge-reading’s greatest benefits is the connection you form with the characters. When you’re waiting a year or more for the next installment in a series, it’s easy to forget characters and their motivations. Reading books consecutively, you can form a deeper personal bond with the character; but it’s not without its dangers.

Binge-reading can easily reveal character flaws. Obviously every character won’t appeal to every reader, but with the healthy gap of time surrounding a novel, it’s easy to forgive and forget a few questionable decisions or an attitude that irritates you. But reading back-to-back, it’s hard to hide from that. Authors deserve praise for keeping their characters consistent across multiple novels, but if the character is frustrating you, then the effect is only compounded.

Subtle details are easier to notice while binge-reading, including clever subplots and symbolism. As a writer, I spend far more time than I should inserting ‘Easter Eggs’ into my chapters, or weaving understated plot threads that would only make sense on a re-read or by paying very close attention. Binge-reading helps readers to pick up on these elements, because we become familiar with the author’s style, and feel comfortable enough with the imagined world to start noticing the small details.

Sometimes though, it’s the large details that you want – backstory is vital to keeping a series moving forward. A lot of sequels spend time recapping the last novel, assuming the reader has taken a break. With binge-reading, this isn’t necessary, and if a series isn’t expanding its lore and canon, it’s very noticeable. Oftentimes readers want to know just as much about the past of our world and characters, as whatever is happening now.

The final thing I love most about binge-reading is simply experiencing the entire series in one glorious hit. Reading is addictive, and reading a great series even more so. Whether you’ve started a manga (Death Note, I’m looking at you), or embarking on a YA or epic fantasy series, there’s an undefinable bookish urge to know how it all ends – and binge-reading is the perfect excuse to dive into the deep end.

My last complaint about binge-reading is the bookish hangover. You all know what I’m talking about – it happens after every amazing novel, and it’s worse when you’ve just finished a trilogy. That strangely empty feeling you have inside, unsure of what book could possibly fill the void left behind; in the worst situations, you’ll be reduced to a shade of your former self, needing copious amounts of chocolate and fangirling to repair.

And of course, how could I possibly forget the fangirling? Is there anything better than finally knowing all the spoilers, and being able to talk freely with the amazing bookish communities that surround our favorite series? Binge-reading means you don’t have to fear accidentally reading about a character death or shocking plot-twist; and even better, it means you can now torment new readers by vaguely suggesting things about the later books! The fan communities are some of the best places you can be – filled with people who adore the same novels as you, and who are always there to discuss characters, ships, and those heart-breaking moments that kept you going back page after page.

So those are my thoughts on the benefits and dangers of binge-reading! Do you prefer binge-reading, or do you like taking a gap between novels? Was there something I didn’t talk about? Leave a comment below, and consider sharing my post, or subscribing to my blog!

Thanks for reading!