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| Image from The Broke and the Bookish |
This week's Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and The Bookish confronts two current bookish fears of mine - starting and finishing series. I'm usually a staunch series finisher; however, recently, I've been loath to finish the, albeit few, series I'm in the middle of. Unlike some bloggers, my fear to finish is not because of the series ending but because I'm ready to read something new, and I'm tired of being tied up with the same characters and plot for so long, which brings me to my next bookish fear: starting a new series. Again, I'm not looking forward to investing so much time into three, four, or more books when there are so many excellent standalones on my TBR list. Regardless of these issues, I managed to compile a list of series that I am currently interested in immersing myself in.
- Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness (finish) - I loved The Knife of Never Letting Go, but the intensity of this series has me afraid to continue on. It's so dark!
- The Quartet by Lois Lowry (finish) - I was late coming to Lois Lowry's classic, The Giver. I didn't read it until graduate school, but I immediately fell for it. It is quintessential dystopia - accessible to all - and I love the exploration of memory preservation via Jonas. However, I never read Gathering Blue or Messenger; mostly because I knew they weren't a straightforward continuation of Jonas' story, and I'd read mixed reviews; however, reading Ally Condie's Matched and the recent release of Son has me interested in returning to Lowry's strange society.
- Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin - I've heard fantastic things about this series. I think it's time to jump on the bandwagon - luckily, my library carries them all!
- The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin - I shamelessly admit that I judged this book by its cover - in a good way. It is so beautiful that I immediately wanted to read it having absolutely no idea what it was about. It seems, however, that the novel's content will live up to its captivating cover. (Shout out to Myra McEntire's Hourglass series for similar cover envy!)
- The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M. T. Anderson - These novels are a historically accurate account of growing up during the American Revolution written by a fantastic and very versatile author.
- Chains by Laurie Anderson - Another historical account of revolutionary America by a powerful and favorite author. I'm actually surprised I haven't read this yet as I own the first book, and Anderson's Speak is one of my favorite novels.
- Thursday Next by Jasper Fforde - A detective that has the ability to jump into books and solve literary mysteries? Yes please!
- The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin - I own all of these, yet I can't seem to get pass the first chapter - third time's the charm?
- Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman - I hear this is a very moving and powerful graphic novel account of the Holocaust.
- Touch by Laurie Stolarz - I loved the Blue is for Nightmare series, and I've added each book of the Touch series to my TBR as they have been published - I guess it's finally time to crack one open. You know, though, the benefit of waiting to start a series until all/most of the books are out is that there is no lag between each book!
What series are on your TBR? Do you share my series fears? Any tips for overcoming them?
Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading!
I am not a big series reader either. I agree: too many compelling stand-alone books.
ReplyDeleteThat's probably why I liked all the Lois Lowry books; they are a series yet they all stand-alone.
Here's my list of Top Ten Series I'd Like to Read.
That's kind of why my interest has been re-sparked in the Lowry books. Originally I didn't read them because they weren't a true continuation of the story, but now I think that might not be such a bad thing.
DeleteI feel you on the Chaos Walking series. I don't know if a book has ever left me more emotionally spent than The Knife of Never Letting Go. It wasn't even that it was the most emotional read ever(that would go to something like If I Stay), but just that it made me feel so many emotions in such a sort time that I felt literally exhausted when I finished the book, like I needed to take a nap.
ReplyDeleteI've also never read anything past The Giver. I can never decide if I want to or not. I'm afraid reading more in the series will tarnish how I view the book in my mind.
I don't think anything can mess up The Giver; I'm more worried that they won't live up to The Giver.
DeleteMara Dyer is fantastic! Looking forward to starting Hourglass soon! I also need to get to Patrick Ness and George R.R. Martin.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear our assessment of Mara Dyer. Outside of its beautiful cover, I haven't heard a lot about it.
Delete*your - my fingers got ahead of me!
DeleteI love the Mara Dyer series -- she really keeps you guessing & likes to finish her books with cliffhangers though, so maybe wait until the fall when the final book is released!
ReplyDeleteI read The Giver and A Wizard of Earthsea for school (one in grade school & one in college!), but I didn't actually realize they were part of a series -- perhaps I will revisit them one day. Those historical ones are new to me, but also sound intriguing -- too. many. series. !
Tell me about it!! I do like waiting until the final book is released, especially in a series I haven't started yet, so there is no lag in my reading.
DeleteMy list could probably be twenty series long instead of ten! I, too, need to start some of your picks : Hourglass and Chaos Walking mainly, have been sitting on my shelf for too long!
ReplyDeleteI worked *really* hard to pare my down - it was definitely in the double digits!
DeleteI had no idea that Maus was part of a series; the first one moved me to tears. I also would love to pick up the rest of the books after the Giver, especially now that they're making it into another movie. Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteI know - my interest in the books beyond The Giver had been piqued - and yes, Maus is part of a series - I've heard such wonderful things about it. It looks so different from what I normally read!
DeleteMaus is probably one of my favorite series of all time. Before I read it, in college, I wasn't really familiar with the whole "graphic novel" genre. I thought the illustrations would be weird and distracting. But they add SO MUCH to the story. It's really wonderful and I sobbed the whole way through.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really into graphic novels either. I thought one of the more critically acclaimed ones I've read, Blankets by Craig Thompson, was beautifully illustrated, but the story felt disjointed and anti-climatic. I've heard nothing but good things about Maus - it's hard to find a copy though!
DeleteI feel the same way about the Chaos Walking books! I read the first two books, but I have had to take long breaks in between each book because they are SO intense! I still haven't read the third book because I need to just chill from the intensity and darkness.
ReplyDeleteYou've made it further than me! I can't imagine reading these over the summer - all that sunshine! - but that's my only uninterrupted reading time for quite a while.
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