I'm routinely having to renew books because I've got more than I can get through during the three week checkout period? I've got accounts with three libraries which means that even when the collections librarian at one chain didn't think it odd to have books 1,2, and 4 of a series, the odds are very high that one of the others has it.

The longest I've ever waited for a book on hold was about 2 months, and that was for a new best seller (Bosch series). And starting next month, you can stagger your holds - so if you want to delay getting a book, you can defer to the next person in line, but still stay in line for the book.

But OK - I'll give it another shot.

Looking back through my recent history:
Neal Stephenson, Loonshots, SM Stirling's "change" series, "Lethal White", Jack Campbell's two new series, new Harry Bosch novel, the Destroyerman series.

One trick I used when I started was to keep an eye on authors or novels that were coming out in the future, and put the hold on then (our libraries put the books in the collection before they are available) -

We use 3 library systems' (state, local, and regional) collections for a broader selection.