SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

I’d like to read 10 more books this year, but I’m kind of new to fiction and have a massive TBR list. There are many series I intend to start, like Red Rising, and the Bobiverse, but I’m wondering if trudging through a series one after another is the way to go. Should I perhaps only do one-offs, or maybe read the first of a few series, but save the sequels for next year? Thoughts?

Start with the one book you are most interested in. If it's a series, when you're done, feel out whether you want to continue that world or whether you want to go for something different.

I generally find that planning my reading too strictly ends up backfiring. The road to reading slumps are paved with scheduled reading lists! :P

Last year a few of us here did a buddy read of The Dandelion Dynasty and we took two months between books to allow for other reading. The books are chonkers and had heavy subject matter so the breaks were definitely welcomed. I think taking a cue from mood readers might help you with your endeavor...
Read the first of a series and if it feels like you're going to have to trudge through the next books... take a break and pick something that excites you in the moment. If the book was heavier in subject matter and your brain feels fried/emotionally drained... take a break with a lighter book. If it absolutely, 100%, has your attention and you need to know what happens next... read the next book. If the book is super complex and your worried about forgetting characters and important plot points... read the next book.
No one will judge or police the way you choose to read. Some series are really easy to read straight through and others definitely need the breaks, so its good you have some one-offs in the queue.

This is an interesting question which I grapple with myself. I am an obsessive completionist, which means if I start something I have a compulsion to finish it. I've been wanting to start reading The Wheel of Time series for a while now, but it's 15 books! I know that if I enjoy the books I will power through them. But if I don't it's going to be a trudge for me. I keep finding a one-off book to read instead because the thought of starting to read such a long series is daunting.

It's the same with TV shows. If I start watching a show, I will watch one episode a day until I've gotten through the whole thing. But if I enjoy the show I will start binge watching and knock off 6 or 7 episodes in a row. Am I crazy or is this normal?

I think that in your position it would make sense to just check out books that appeal to you, and if you like them try others by the same author, or others in the series, if they are in a series. In my opinion there’s no good reason to continue with a series if it feels like it’s going to be a slog. Try something else instead. And there is certainly no problem with reading other things in between books of a series either.

Typodology wrote: "I’d like to read 10 more books this year, but I’m kind of new to fiction and have a massive TBR list. There are many series I intend to start, like Red Rising, and the Bobiverse, but I’m wondering ..."

if starting a series, make sure it is complete or the authors are known to be regularly productive, so you would not end up like A Song of Ice and Fire readers (or any incomplete series). I waited for half my life already.

A lot of the classics of SF (and Fantasy, but less so) are stand alone books. I am a heavy mood reader and suck at continuing series. It doesn’t really bother me if I haven’t finished a series and I’m not usually super keen to continue them right away. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t like them and don’t want to read the rest eventually, just something else interested me more. If you want to get broad exposure to the field in a short(er) amount of time, then I’d recommend reading stand alone novels.

Typodology wrote: "Should I perhaps only do one-offs, or maybe read the first of a few series, but save the sequels for next year? Thoughts?"

It all depends on what kind of reader you are. Stand-alones are safe, but you'll be missing out on a lot because SFF has lots and lots of series. Some people are completionists, so they shouldn't start a series unless they are pretty sure they will enjoy it. Personally, through this club, I have gotten used to reading a lot of first-in-series, finding most of them to be 2-stars or 3-stars, and being selective in which I continue. I am juggling lots of series and even have a file that keeps track of where I am in each. Waiting for a series to end before starting it is an option, but you'll have to skip most of this club's BotMs.