Reading Omnibus Editions

Hypnos164

Hypnos164

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I seem to have accumulated a few Omnibus editions on my TBR pile lately but haven't really read many of them.

On reflection the reason seems to be:

I don't like putting a book down unfinished but I rarely want to read 2-3 books of a series "back-to-back". Starting these volumes feels like a comitment to read all 2-3 books in one go...

I did manage to read the Omnibus of George Pelecanos's Derek Strange books one novel at a time with breaks and other works between.
 
I like the convenience of them, but they are heavier (I read in bed mostly) and more cumbersome. I have quite a few.
 
I know what you mean Matt. Don't worry about putting it down though. Just stick a bookmark in it and come back to it when you are ready.
 
Often i dont read books back to back, i just leave a bookmark where i was in the omnibus.

I have done that for Vance's Demon Prince vol 1 omnibus with the first 3 books, same with his Planet of Adventure omnibus and Chronicles of Amber omnibus by Zelazny.

So i'm the opposite of you i dont get omnibus to read a series in a row but to collect fav writer works in one place and read when i feel for them one novel at the time.
 
Its mostly one of those compulsive irrational behaviour kind of things.

The heavy thing is an issue at the minute too as I’m commuting (for the week) by train and have to drag all my stuff across London on public transport ... so lighter books have looked very attractive recently :)
 
I must say that I prefer reading the books in a series "back-to-back" when I can. For one thing, I tend to be impatient to know how it all ends. For another, I borrow books from the library and I tend to want to finish a series before one of the books is borrowed for an extended period by someone else.

The longest series (which I did borrowed from the library**) I've read "back-to-back" was Stephen King's Dark Tower.


If the books all happen to be under one cover, that's all to the good (if one sets aside the weight of the volume).



** - Though not all of them from the same branch.
 
I must admit to a great fondness for omnibus editions (when they're done well). Of course, I've no problem, generally, with going through an entire series -- or didn't until getting into such a heavy research/writing mode (with other things added to the mix) which has slowed down my free-reading time enormously. But in any event, I find them both convenient and, in many cases, attractive.

As for weight... well, yes, that can be a problem if you're lying in bed, or carting something massive and heavy around town on public transportation and the like (as I do). I think, for instance, of the White Wolf edition of Moorcock's Von Bek, which is huge thing and not a great deal lighter than a medium-sized dictionary... but it's an excellent way to read the pieces which make up the contents, as the connections are made all the more notable and the structure even tighter than otherwise... and I've often found this to be the case with such omnibus editions (Archer in Hollywood, for example)....
 
I've read a few omnibii (?) and never had an issue. It's certainly a lot cheaper when you get a good one.
 
If all the books in a series I like are available I definitely want to read them back to back. Nothing pleases me more than to discover a new favorite author or series and go back to the bookstore or library and find the rest of the series on the shelves and/or more books by the same author. I'll buy them in a flash (pocketbook permitting), take them home, and devour them. Unfortunately, I've not come across enough omnibus editions of things that I want to read or reread, or I would own many more of them.

Maybe if I subscribed to a book club ...
 
Hypnos164 said:
Its mostly one of those compulsive irrational behaviour kind of things.

The heavy thing is an issue at the minute too as I’m commuting (for the week) by train and have to drag all my stuff across London on public transport ... so lighter books have looked very attractive recently :)
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I'm a terrible series,omnibus reader. I mean i like those authors more than most but i dont read series often back to back. I'm very compulsive,irrational in how i read. I suddenly feel for other types of books despite i have a new book/series waiting for me in a single book. I have to find my way back mood for series/omnibus read.

Like right now i was planning to read more of Planet of Adventure series but then i felt for some spy,crime stories and i have read 3 crime books in a row and now i'm reading a Le Carrè book. I have learned not doubt the way i read :)
 
AE35Unit said:
I dont know about Omnibus, but I do like something I can read On the bus...;)

BTW, isnt Omnibus an old word for a type of bus?
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Not an old (in the sense of no longer used) word:

omnibus - Dictionary definition and pronunciation - Yahoo! Education

As you can see, the first definition still refers to this usage; it is the second which refers to a literary collection. In fact, the word "bus" should actually be written "'bus", as it is an abbreviation of the whole....
 
AE35Unit said:
Aren't words fascinating!
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Very!

Taxi, cab and taxicab - are all contractions, which begs the question why folk give these things long names in the first place. (Okay, with these and the bus, we can blame the French. :))
 
AE35Unit said:
Aren't words fascinating!
Click to expand...

Oh, you should try reading Derrida!...:D

Yep, words are fascinating things, with their subtleties, nuances, shadings, associations, and etymologies... one of the reasons I find (good) literary criticism to be such a joy to read is because it often looks at how language shifts and flows, and how that can affect the way one reads a piece, thus bringing something new to a well-written piece every time one encounters it....

UM: Please, no! It isn't all that long ago that they dropped "freedom fries" in favor of "French fries" again....:rolleyes:
 
j. d. worthington said:
Not an old (in the sense of no longer used) word:

omnibus - Dictionary definition and pronunciation - Yahoo! Education

As you can see, the first definition still refers to this usage; it is the second which refers to a literary collection. In fact, the word "bus" should actually be written "'bus", as it is an abbreviation of the whole....
Click to expand...
That's interesting. I wasn't aware of the first definition/usage.

Funnily enough I think of anthology more often as a collection of works by different authors, whilst an omnibus as being more a collection of novels or novellas most commonly by a single author. Perhaps it's not technically correct, I don't know, but that's how I most often see it being used and what first springs to mind when I see it posted in forums. I use the term single author collection more for a collection of short stories by an author. At least that's how I define/categorize those terms/items in my personal library. As long as I have a system that works for me and doesn't appear too far from the "accepted" mark I'm not too fussed.
 
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