Series are great. They allow the reader to stay in the rich worlds of their imagination a little while longer and they allow authors to further expand their stories, making them more intricate and fabulous. However, to really enjoy a series, one needs self control. The self control to wait 3 years until all 3 books are out. I can't do that and hence, I wait a year for every sequel and while some books continuously floor me, others don't get the chance to.
A lot of the time, my interest dims when the sequel comes out and I put the series off repeatedly until the whole thing is out and I can't make myself read it anymore. There are many reasons for this:
- I've grown as a reader and don't find the subject matter interesting.
- Upon further analysis I realized that the book wasn't as enjoyable as I initially perceived.
- I've forgotten why I even liked it in the first place.
After a quick browse though my GR reading list, I noticed 59 unfinished series. There might even be more.
Too Far Gone
Defiance - C.J. Redwine
Legacy - Cayla Kluver
The Girl of Fire and Thrones -
The Pledge - Kimberly Derting
Delirium - Lauren Oliver
Eve - Anne
Read: 1st book of each series
Most of these books I enjoyed in the moment but they didn't shine bright enough for me to continue thinking about them and want to read their sequels. Now multiple years after reading them, I've come to realize that with the size of my current TBR-list and the volume of new books coming out, I doubt I'll be getting to these.
On The Fence
The Assassin's Curse - Cassandra Rose Clarke
Shatter Me -Tahereh Mafi
Masque of the Red Death - Bethany Griffin
The Name of the Star -Maureen Johnson
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkin
Anna Dress in Blood - Kendare Blake
Read 2/3:
The Gathering - Kelley Armstrong
Uncommon Criminals - Ally Carter
Bloodline - Richelle Mead
Deep down somewhere I might have given up on some of these, but there is still a trickle of hope. I remember having enjoyed the previous books in these series but they no longer appeal to me as much. I'm still on the fence with Bloodlines, Uncommon Criminals and The Rising because I've read multiple books in the series and I feel it's a waste to give up this late in the race.
Hopefully Soon
Allegiant - Veronica Roth
Fire Study - Maria V. Snyder
Scent of Magic - Maria V. Snyder
Blood Red Road - Moira Young
I've been putting these books off but I know that I'm definitely going to read them. The timeframe in which I will do this however is unknown. I do wish to read all of Maria V. Snyder's books as I think she is an incredible storyteller. Blood Red Road is a book I read a few years ago and adored. However, now that the sequels are available I never feel in the right mood to read them, hence I've put off reading them. As for Allegiant, I'm so scared of being disappointed!
I can't even...I have a multitude of unfinished series on my shelves! I've just grown bored with them, or have heard some unpleasant things. But there's a series that I'm determined to jumpstart again, and that's The Dark Hunters series.
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll reignite your love for these again. :)
I'm always optimistic with books because you never know when one hits your fancy but the the number of stories I never finished have exploded thanks to the series craze. I hope you get a chance to get back into that series, I've heard great things.
Delete-Mari
I f there's a syndrom for not finishing series I definitely have it! I also must have more than 50 unfinished series. Last time I counted they were 48 and I've started quite a few of them since. I think I want to finish about 15 of those hopefully some time soon!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I missed some more too. Not continuing with books we don't enjoy is understandable but it's a little sad when we don't continue with series we actually enjoyed.
Delete-Mari
Dude, definitely bump GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS back into consideration! The first book was fine, but the second and third were fantastic. Such vivid writing, such fun and compelling characters, and such smart, thought-provoking storytelling.
ReplyDeleteI actually quite liked the fist book and then forgot about it as the rest of the series came out. I have heard that the rest was really good so I'm on the fence.... I might give it another go :)
Delete-Mari
I have trouble with this too - it's just hard to keep focused on a series when the books are so far apart! I guess it is a good thing though if some time passes and it gives you the perspective to decide not to finish the series which saves you time. I often wish I had not started a series until the whole thing comes out though!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. I have friends who have the discipline to wait, but I'm a thrill seeker and want to devour the next best story pronto. Maybe one day, I'll learn :P
Delete-Mari
I do have a bunch of pending to finish series too, that's why I joined the Read Sleep Repeat series challenge, but so far I've binge read series that I didn't have in my list and haven't done too a job to going to the pending ones!
ReplyDeleteHaha were all suffering from the same disease. I guess we can't complain too much, reading is a hobby and thus we shall read what we want, when we want.
Delete-Mari
I'm such a weird blend of a person -- on the one hand, I'm fairly compulsive, but on the other, I have zero tolerance for being bored. So when it comes to series, my intolerance for boredom wins out and I'm pretty ruthless about abandoning series if the second book rolls around and I can't really remember what I liked about the first. In general, my attention span is too short to be captured by this long, drawn out story.
ReplyDeleteMy boredom issues aside, I also feel that many (most?) series don't need to be series, but are an idea that is perfect for a single book stretched and dragged out into multiple books. Or what about the times you slog through three books and the ending is just a complete disappointment? Series fatigue is real and I have it!
Thanks so much for stopping by! Jen @ YA Romantics
I completely relate with your boredom problem. I sift through ten books when I go to the library bring home 5 and then I try each one and only ever end up reading one of them. Its not time that's stops me, it's that they don't pull me towards them and hence I give up pretty quick. I do the same to series.
DeleteI used to love series and I still do for my favourite books because I want to read more. I want the author to have enough space so he/she can develop the story to its maximum capability. However, I think we can all agree that YA has a problem with it's non stop series. Everything YA nowadays is usually a series so I can understand your series fatigue :)
-Mari