Reading out of order. What was I thinking?

[Gadget nee Jemcheeta]

So yeah, I had the 3rd book on the shelf. I hadn't even looked at book 1. So I read it. What a trainwreck. I mean, I just stumble onto this giant tragedy, right... but I don't know about it. So I have to slooowly come to grips with what has been done to these characters. Then it ends. And I don't have any of the others.

I really thought I was smarter than this :P
Oh well, anyway, I'm going to go out on a limb here after reading just one book, in the middle, and say I like it better than my previous most beloved set of words in print ever, that being Covenant.
Gah.
I was trying to determine where the closest bookstore was to me at work, then I realized I had no chance of finding it there. Are they in print somewhere, or do I have to second-hand them?

[Sorus]

They are either out of print or going out of print, but there are plans for them to be reprinted soon. (There's a thread on that somewhere here.)

And I wouldn't worry too much about reading them out of order - I started with the fourth book. It definitely gave me a different perspective, but I have no regrets.