Been Meaning to Finish . . .

Last week I posted a confessional, of sorts – listing all the fabulous books that are languishing in my ‘Been Meaning to Read’ pile.  

But the truth is, there are a lot more books that I could have listed but didn’t because they were in a sub-category: book series that I started reading, but haven’t continued with . . . a ‘Been Meaning to Finish’ pile, if you will.  

These are books that I haven’t got round to picking up, despite the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the series or am so close to finishing the series completely, if only I'd read the finale . . . see? More bookish insanity! 

Now, some of these I have good excuses for – either I’m delaying saying goodbye to these characters, or I have such outlandishly high expectations from the first book that I don’t want to risk the disappointment of a lagging second (which has been known to happen!). 

Here are those books/series that I've been meaning to finish . . 

Lust for Life last book in Jeri Smith-Ready’s WVMP Radio series

Yep. Nope. Can’t do it. I’m sorry! I love this series, I adore Ciara and Shane and Smith-Ready had me on the edge-of-my-seat with their romance and helter-skelter lives as radio vampire-DJs. But this is the fourth and final book in the series, and I’m just not yet ready to say goodbye to them for good and forever. So I’m delaying. 

Days of Blood and Starlight second book in Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone series

I LOVED the first book. LOVED. ADORED. Hadn’t read anything quite so magical/unique in a long time, so why didn’t I dive right in to the second book? Weeeeellll . . .  I have tried. Truly. I've gotten about 12% through my ebook copy, but have yet to feel that lingering pull that keeps me enthralled and reading. I've stopped and re-started this book about three times, never quite getting hooked (and, if I’m honest, I haven’t seen the same rave reviews for ‘Blood and Starlight’ as I did for ‘Smoke and Bone’). So for now I've tucked this one away and stopped pressuring myself – clearly I’m just not in the right space to read the follow-up to one of my absolute favourite books to have come out of 2012. Also not helping matters is the fact that novella #2.5 in this series is titled ‘Night of Cake & Puppets’ . . . which just sounds bonkers to me. 

Women of the Otherworld every installment that’s not Clay and Elena’s by Kelley Armstrong

To be honest, I started on a slippery-slope when I began reading Armstrong’s ‘Women of the Otherworld’ series. I gobbled up ‘Bitten’ and ‘Stolen’ and then bought all the books in Armstrong’s series . . .  but when I tried reading ‘Dime Store Magic’ I got grumpy that it wasn’t about the werewolves or my favourite couple, Elena and Clay. So I looked ahead and saw that they next appeared in ‘Broken’ and then ‘Frostbitten’ . . . and I never went back and read all the books I'd skipped. Sure, I picked up again for Savannah’s story and got the gist of what I'd missed, but I do really love Kelley Armstrong (although new book ‘Omens’ not so much – it’s a bit boring) and I've promised myself to go back and read all the ‘Women of the Otherworld’ books that I skipped to get Clay and Elena’s story.

Shadow of Night second book in Deborah Harkness’s All Souls Trilogy 

Again, I loved ‘A Discovery of Witches’. But when ‘Shadow of Night’ arrived it was all big and chunky (584-pages, people!) I cracked it open and got 15-pages in before I had to admit to myself that I couldn’t actually remember very well where ‘A Discovery of Witches’ left off or what the big spoiler-y cliffhanger was again. *Sigh*. This is the problem when you read so many books; the complex storylines get lost and befuddled between releases, so when it comes to delving back into this extremely intricate world it becomes clear that my poor brain decided not to sacrifice those Spice Girls lyrics for more mental-space and I draw a complete blank. I probably just need to read the last chapter of ‘Discovery of Witches’ or find some spark-notes online (or a particularly spoiler-heavy Goodreads review) to jog my memory. This is more likely to happen when third and final ‘The Book of Life’ comes out next year and I’m motivated to finish the trilogy completely.

Dead Ever After final book in Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse: Southern Vampire series 

Urgh. And then there’s that one series that’s been letting me down for the last 4-5 books and I actually cringe at the thought of the author attempting to give me a halfway satisfying conclusion. I’m sorry Ms Harris and Ms Stackhouse, but this series started to seriously irk me with all the faerie stuff (not even HBO could make it cool, and Ms Harris just insisted on bringing those fae relatives back again and again and again). Not to mention the fact that everybody’s favourite steamy couple got all staid and dull when the chase was over and they actually got together. 

I’m even less inclined to read this, the 13th and final Sookie Stackhouse book, when I see that Charlaine Harris has a #13.5 out too (Who does she think she is? John Farnham?). I know it’s a short-story collection, but the very fact that Harris felt the need to release ‘After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse’ tells me that things might have wrapped a little too hastily in ‘Dead Ever After’. And it does annoy me that great characters like Quinn were just hustled out of the series for no good reason and now she’s going to justify their sudden departure in a short-story collection. Grr. See? Even just theorizing about these books annoys me. 
I’m not in an open-minded enough place to lay this series to rest yet. 
Also, 3.0/5-stars on Amazon is . . . . not inspiring.  

Hallowed and Boundless books two and three in Cynthia Hand’s Unearthly series.

I have no excuse. I really enjoyed first book ‘Unearthly’ and there are occasions when I actually stop and think; “whatever happened to that angel who saved the human boy from a wildfire. . . ?” before realizing that I could actually find out because the series is complete. But then I get sidetracked by other books and this one just keeps getting pushed back. I know, I know – I will get around to it. 
Eventually.
One day.
. . . Maybe. 

Been Meaning to Read …

It actually feels quite shameful to lay down all these raved-about books I know I’ll probably love, but haven’t actually gotten round to reading yet. This is the book blogger/avid reader’s ‘dirty laundry’ equivalent; possibly worse than admitting you dog-ear pages or read the autobiographies of reality-TV stars.  

I’ve missed the bandwagon on a few books now … But I do get round to reading them, eventually, and chastise myself for the delay.  

‘The Hunger Games’ by Suzanne Collins was a classic example where I acknowledged the hype, assumed Katniss would be my spirit-animal, but just didn’t feel like joining the nail-biters waiting for books 2-3. So I read the trilogy in one go about six months before the first film came out and had the predictable OH MY GOD, DO YOU ALL KNOW HOW AMAZING THESE BOOKS ARE?!? reaction. 

I think there’s a slight difference in my regular ‘To Be Read’ pile and my ‘Been Meaning to Read’ pile. The main one being – I know I’ll love these books when I do actually read them. Which I think is where the shame of not actually reading them in a timely manner comes from. I’m only delaying my own enjoyment, and how crazy is that!  

But there’s also certain sweetness in the build-up, of coming to a book long after the bandwagon has departed the station and I’m left to savour and think on a book in my own time, without the pressure of other fans buzzing around.  And they’re also a sort of fail-safe; books I can reach for, to pull me out of my reading slumps.

So here they are – the books I’ve been meaning to read - and will no doubt enjoy - but just haven’t cracked open yet. Feel free to bemoan my delay or tell me any books I should also be not reading (?) or feel free to air your own shameful titles you’ve been meaning to read.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I have read the first chapter of this and was suitably impressed with the luscious writing and fantastical set-up. And isn’t it going to be turned into a Tim Burton film? I bought this when it was first released and it seemed to turn everyone into a fangirl/fanboy … and then I put it aside because it seemed a bit like dark chocolate I wouldn’t want to gorge myself on. I will get back to it, one day.

The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater

I think after being seriously underwhelmed by ‘The Scorpio Races’, I was slow to take ‘The Raven Boys’ on, even though the premise sounded much more like the ‘Mercy Falls’ Stiefvater I fell in love with. I’ve felt doubly guilty for not starting this one after Wendy at the midnight garden wrote some rave reviews (and the second book seems even better than the first – which is practically unheard of!). 

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

I’m about to remedy this, because I’ve since moved Patchett’s ‘Bel Canto’ from my ‘Been Meaning to Read’ pile, to my ‘Read it - Loved it’ pile. I kind of knew I would because she was recommended to me as someone in the same vein as Geraldine Brooks and Barbara Kingsolver … who I both love. So ‘State of Wonder’ can now come into my life and dazzle me too (though I’m dubious about everyone’s claim that it’s even better than ‘Bel Canto’. How is that possible?!) 

Graceling Realm by Kristin Cashore

I actually had to read some of third book ‘Bitterblue’ when I judged the 2012 Inky Awards. But it became very clear, very quickly, that this is one series I didn’t want to skimp on by jumping into the end and missing all the good beginning and middle. 

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

 

Winner of the 2012 Printz Award, I was actually about 80 pages into this book and really enjoying it … but then my brain couldn’t hold on to all the seemingly disparate threads and I had to let go, with a promise to try again at a later date. Look, it’s in the very blurb that it’s a book of unconnected events that eventually tie together beautifully – I’ve just got to psych myself up for it and be in the right frame of mind.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

I have no excuse. This is a sure-fire contender for my ‘All Time Favourite Books’ list. I don’t know why I haven’t. I’m sorry, okay?!

October Daye series by Seanan McGuire

I have actually read the first book ‘Rosemary and Rue’, and on the strength of that went out and bought the next four books in the series. I keep meaning to read them on my holidays in one go, but never seem able to psych myself up for the emotional pummelling I know will be in store for me (the first book left me a bit of a wreck). Maybe this Christmas I’ll finally sit down and read 1-7!