Top Ten Tuesday: Series I Don’t Plan on Finishing

June 26, 2018

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme originated by The Broke and the Bookish now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is: Series I don’t plan on finishing

Mwahaha! Yes! This is the sort of Top Ten Tuesday I can get behind. I’ve read a lot of first books in series. A lot. I am picky when it comes to committing to reading a full series. I’m sure there are more than 10 series I’ve started and will never finish. I have a feeling this will be an extraordinarily ranty TTT. I couldn’t be more excited. 😀

All titles below are links to the book’s Goodreads page.


 

Top 10 Series Don’t Plan on Finishing

 

Southern Reach by Jeff VanderMeer

I didn’t miss the bandwagon on this series. I ran away from it. Yes, Vandermeer’s writing is haunting and atmospheric. In fact, Annihilation is so atmospheric I mostly had no idea what was going on. Plus, the protagonist got on my nerves and has zero development. Nope, sorry! No more Southern Reach for me.

My Review: Annihilation, Southern Reach #1

 

Fever by Karen Marie MoningI am sad to say that by 46% of the way through DarkfeverFever book 1, I still didn’t care. MacKayla Lane’s sister was mysteriously kidnapped in Dublin, Ireland. Obviously, teenaged Mac goes off to hunt her sister down. And, also obviously, she runs into the fae. It sounds so gripping! And yet… the writing bored me. Sorry, Moning. Pass.

 

 

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

 

My challenge with The Darkest Minds is a combination of implausible world building and a strange feeling like the narrator was distracted the whole time. This makes Ruby a super believable character, as she spent her prepubescence in a weird sort of labor camp, but it wasn’t a pleasurable reading experience. I know she’s scarred and struggling with a different world. But, I just want to enjoy reading my book.

My Review: The Darkest Minds, The Darkest Minds #1

 

The Diviners by Libba Bray

I wanted to love this book so badly! It was actually a super strange experience. After reading the prologue, I thought that was what the book was going to be focused on. So I read and read, confused as to why we had such a long introduction. Then I realized the prologue was bait for the short story, not the long one… It wasn’t until after 50% I realized what the book was actually about. But I had read so much waiting to get to the “real book” that I didn’t care about any of it once I realized the part I was hoping would end was the focus of the story. Oops. Sorry, The Diviners. I won’t be reading more.

My Review: The Diviners, The Diviners #1

 

Stephanie Plum by Janet Evanovich

 

I LOVE the character of Stephanie Plum. She’s plucky and gives no shits and will let no one put her down. So, why won’t I keep reading this series? One for the Money gave me nightmares for weeks. Evanovich’s writing really got to me. I had nightmares of Benito Ramirez breaking into my house and rape-murdering me. I kid you not! Horrifying. I am not willing to risk that again. #SafetyFirst

My Review: One for the Money, Stephanie Plum #1

 

Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie

 

I enjoy a good mystery, but it isn’t my favorite genre. Most of the time, I figure out Whodunit before the end of the book. Not with Christie’s works! She (almost) consistently surprises me. I really love Poirot’s character, too. So, why don’t I finish this series? Uh, how about because there are 33 novels, 50+ short stories and 1 play featuring Poirot! I love you Poirot, but I am not that dedicated to your adventures. I’ll commit to 10.

My Review: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Hercule Poirot #4

 

The Dark Tower by Stephen King

 

This is a sad case where book one turned me off from the rest of the series. The Gunslinger has an incredible first line. Sadly, for me, it was all downhill from there. Being thrown into a universe with no explanations is fine as long as explanations are forthcoming. Alas. No explanations came. The book ended and I had no idea what I had just read. Not a compelling reason to continue.

My Review: The Gunslinger, The Dark Tower #1

 

Fifth Unmasking by SC Flynn

 

For me, this is the most controversial addition to the list. I enjoyed reading Flynn’s fantasy novel. It has promise and will certainly be addictive to the right audience. I would have continued reading the series if it wasn’t for problematic content related to sexual encounters. For a YA book, I was shocked at the volume of these encounters and how poorly they are handledParticularly one around non-consensual sex. *shudder* I don’t want to venture further because of this, and it makes me sad.

My Review: The Hidden Face

 

The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry

 

The Giver is one of my all-time favorite books. It’s one of the key novels which pulled me into reading at a young age and is the first book my Kids Lit Book club read when we were founded. But I cannot bring myself to read The Giver Quartet. I love The Giver so much… what if the other books diminish my love for The Giver? I will not risk it.

 

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

 

If you’ve been to my blog and read any of my Top Ten Tuesday posts, you saw this coming. A Song of Ice and Fire. Where do I begin? I just cannot get into a series where the author obviously doesn’t care for his characters and refuses to respect his craft by editing ANYTHING. Besides, the world who adores this series also thinks he’ll never finish it. So, perhaps I’ll end with the last laugh anyway.

 

Okay, okay. More than most Top Ten Tuesday posts, this felt a bit cathartic. It felt shockingly good to explain why I won’t read more of these series. I’m not one to rant about books (often), I prefer to rave. Not all of these series are rant-worthy, but it was nice to get my feelings out, you know?

On this quest, I also found about 1.5 million series I have left incomplete. Yikes! Perhaps that should be the next Top Ten Tuesday. I need to get on that…


What do you think?

  • Did you participate in Top Ten Tuesday? Share your links below!
  • Which books from this list have you read? Do you think I’m making a mistake by cutting off these series?
  • Which series are you cutting out of your life? Why?
  • Have you cut more series out of or kept them in your TBR?

7 Comments

  • Captain's Quarters October 1, 2018 at 1:20 pm

    Hardy har har! I am entertained that ye put #SafetyFirst in here. I agree with all these choices except the game of thrones. I will wait until me dying breath with hope in me heart for the next book. Arrr!
    x The Captain

    • Jackie B October 1, 2018 at 5:27 pm

      Hahaha. Thank you! You’ve got to protect yourself. I know that the Stephanie Plum series quickly turns into something more light-hearted and fun, but I’m just not willing to try it… O_o

      I know I’m unique when it comes to my opinions on The Game of Thrones. I don’t mean to be a big naysayer, but it just isn’t for me. I think my passion against this series only exists because I want my voice to be heard amongst all those shouting positively FOR the series! XD I hope that the next book will come out soon and be filled with everything you are looking for in this series. XD

      • Captain's Quarters October 3, 2018 at 12:16 pm

        I don’t mind that ye dislike the Game of Thrones. And ye are not unique. The first mate thinks it is poorly written and blatantly will not read the first one. Though me love of the series led me to going to Meow Wolf in Santa Fe recently. And it was delightful. The first mate enjoyed it too. So there is that.
        x The Captain

        • Jackie B October 5, 2018 at 11:58 am

          Confession: I had never heard of Meow Wolf and I just got lost in a hour-long internet blackhole learning about it. That sounds AWESOME! How did Game of Thrones lead you to this art installation? SO COOL

          • Captain's Quarters October 5, 2018 at 12:29 pm

            Well I follow GRRM’s blog because of Game of Thrones. GoT led me to his other work and his blog. It was on his blog that I followed the building and creation of Meow Wolf because he was a major investor in getting it to open. Of course the whole idea captured me fancy. How could I not want to climb into, on, and around art? If fact, I built the entire trip to New Mexico on going there. I made the first mate take about a million pictures and I had so very much fun climbing on things and exploring. I may have gone a little mad. An article below for ye.
            x The Captain

            https://www.npr.org/2016/03/27/471732581/diy-artists-paint-the-town-strange-with-some-help-from-george-r-r-martin

            • Jackie B October 5, 2018 at 3:39 pm

              This is SO COOL. Oh wow, I’m glad that GRRM is contributing to his community in this way. These sorts of stories always make me happy. Plus, Meow Wolf is absolutely fascinating. I’m so glad that you were able to experience it!

              Thanks for sharing the article — this is super neat. 🙂

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