I like to read a mix of both. Like @BookmarkTavern I don‘t especially like cliffhangers.
I like books that are part of a series but can also be read on their own. The tagged book is an example. It‘s part of an entertaining series, but the action skipped forward from the 1870s to the 1930s. You don‘t need to know all the details of the earlier books to enjoy this one.
#sundayfunday #hyggehourreadathon