What was it like back in the early-mid 1800 when books came out in chapters?

This came up in r/books regarding The Count of Monte Cristo:

"It is probably my favorite book.

Can you imagine being in France in 1844 and then reading parts of The Count of Monte Cristo released basically every two weeks over the next 18 months? That would be so amazing, kind of like serial television today. Sitting around the "water cooler" talking about Dantes and what would happen next..."