Booking Through Thursday: Series or Stand-alones?

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme hosted over here. It's really fun, so just hop over there and join in.


This weeks question:

Do you prefer reading books in a series or when they are 

Stand-alones?

I do love series, especially because they allow the author more time to get into a character. Such series as  Harry Potter  are amazing, because the characters make a real journey and mature. Yet there is a big chance that the sequels aren't as good as the first one and that you end up reading the same in every book. You might expect me to talk about Lord of the Rings being the best series/trilogy ever. But it was meant to be one big book, actually, and it only became three because it was too expensive to print it as one big book.

I think stand-alones are a bit more special at times. An author has put so much time into it and it is a lot harder to write. On Chesil Beach for example is an amazing stand alone that really gets you into the characters mind. Although it's a relatively short book it's pure genius. Never have I read a stand alone book that was so good in analyzing it's characters, except perhaps Middlemarch .


So, what are your thoughts on this?