Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The Unfinished Series

You ever get that feeling of being trapped in a series, this feeling of I'm never going to be able to read anything but this series again, even though it might be the greatest series in the world.

I get that from time to time and even though I love a series to death, I started taking rather long breaks (like a month or two) in between books in a series and I seem to enjoy later installments much more without the "I'm trapped in an unending series" sense.

I got this idea from a website (here actually) and thought I'd list all the series that I'm in the middle of or waiting for along with how many books I've actually read in each one. Hence, "unfinished" is taken in the sense of series' that I have yet to finish reading as well as some series' that don't have a conclusion yet, which I couldn't finish even if I pushed everything else aside.

These also happen to be series' that I for some reason have no doubt in my mind I'll finish. :D

Below are the series' followed by the books I've read/total count:

A Song of Ice and Fire 4/projected 7
The Wheel of Time 5/projected 14
Malazan Book of the Fallen 6/10
Gentlmen Bastards 1/2 so far, but probably 7
The Long Price Quartet 1/4
Dresden Files 3/11
Discworld 1/37+ (I should probably just give up now)
The Riyria Revelations Reading book 1/projected 6


Not to mention I've never been able to keep up with Raymond Feist or R.A Salvatore and have all but given up on those.

Alright, so I have a long way to go seeing as how I'm in the middle of 8 series and I continue to read a million things in between. I'll do it, mark my words, I will do it, you just watch me. :)

Anyone else "stuck" in the middle of a few?

11 comments:

  1. I don't think I ever feel "trapped" in a series but I do get frustrated by the long waits between books. This doesn't bother so much when each book wraps up the story in the end, but when I'm in the middle of a series and I know that I have to wait three more years, at least, for a resolution- that bothers me. Such was the case with The Crown of Stars series by Kate Elliott. I really enjoyed those books but it took 8 yrs for the series to be completed and I never ended up finishing it.

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  2. Oh no, that's the worst. Then again, two of my favorite series' are taking their sweet time getting finished (A Song and Wheel of Time).

    I don't know why it is, but the trapped feeling I get makes me enjoy a series much less. That's why I started taking breaks to read shorter, more self-contained novels and it makes the whole experience better for me.

    It's ok to tell me I'm crazy. :)

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  3. What I am waiting on, mainly due to the fact that they have yet to write them:

    GRRM (who isn't)
    Erikson
    Lynch
    Brett
    Rothfuss

    Not sure if stuck is the correct term but definitely waiting.

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  4. I used to get this with WoT and ASoIaF, but I gave up Wot eventually and will read the whole thing from go to whoa when the final Sanderson book is released. I'll have to keep doing this with ASoIaF and I've already read The Gentleman Bastards 3 - 4 times and will do so again when Republic finally comes out. I've lost count of how many times I've read the various Flashmans and as the author is now dead we're unlikely to see any more of those.

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  5. 8 series. Every once in a while I revisit my shelves to see what books I have and where they are going in the future. I have many series going. Many of them are just new and the next books are yet to come. Although there are a few that are out that I have not been able to get back to, to finish. These are the ones that really get to me, as I have the next books sitting here.

    This is a great idea. I think my list in on my book shelves to remind me what I need to look for in the future.

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  6. The Riyria Revelations

    Dont know that one... interesting. Pretty much up to date on all the others, although maybe not on Dresden, but that is by choice rather that time constraints.

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  7. @Ty - Yeah, you're stuck, but not on purpose. :)

    @Elfy - I didn't ever feel stuck with ASoIaF now that I think of it, but definitely Wheel of Time and Malazan.

    @Melissa - My bookshelf is constantly calling me to pick up these series, but I'm way too quick to jump to the next flashy object. :)

    @Anonymous - Thanks, I will definitely not quit. Lately, I've actually had an itch to get back to find out what happens to Rincewind in The Light Fantastic.

    @Alec - The Riyria Revelations is the series starting with The Crown Conspiracy which everyone and their dog's fleas are reading lately. :) I read the next Dresden installment about once a year, which is about as fast as they come out. I don't see me getting finished any time soon.

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  8. I'm currently in the middle of so many series it's not even funny, Discworld being the biggest with five books down. My plan for Discworld is to read one book a month. This should be doable considering the books will probably never go out of print.

    Btw, I never feel "trapped" in any series because I have no qualms quitting if I feel it's not doing anything for me. Malazan is a good example of this as I quit after Toll the Hounds.

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  9. @Benjamin - That's a good idea and pretty much how I've been doing the Malazan series, Dresden, hopefully Discworld, and some others. I just think I enjoy things much more that way too.

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  10. I have to agree with the comment on Discworld, don't give up! Pick up Guards! Guards! and read the chronicles that follow Carrot.

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  11. Deal! I already read The Light Fantastic, so I'm now 2/37+ (I think there's been a few more actually since this).

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