Most Anticipated Books of 2015!

Hey, y'all! So I originally was not going to do a post about my most anticipated books of 2015 because I didn't think I had enough to post about, but upon further investigation and after watching a couple "most anticipated books of 2015" videos, I remembered some books that I'd previously forgotten were being released. I also found out about a few books that I'm now incredibly excited about.

I'm going to be talking about these in chronological order by when they're going to be released. A couple don't have official release dates yet, but I have a general idea of what time of the year they're going to be released, so I'll just put them wherever I think they belong.

The Mime Order

by Samantha Shannon

Release Date: January 27th, 2015

The first book on this list is also my most anticipated book of the year. I want this book in my hands like right now. The Mime Order is the sequel to The Bone Season, and is the continuation of The Bone Season series, which is supposed to be 7 books long. I read The Bone Season at the end of November, and I fell completely in love with the world and characters. I can't wait to see what happens next, because I was a bit worried about how it ended.

Playlist for the Dead
by Michelle Falkoff

Release Date: January 27th, 2015

First of all, can we just look at this cover?! So gorgeous. Anyway, I'd actually forgotten about this one and saw a Booktuber talking about it and had to go ahead and add it on this list. The premise of this book reminds me a lot of 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher, which is one of my all-time favorite books. Basically, the book centers around the suicide of the main character's best friend and a playlist that the best friend left, with the note "listen and you'll understand." Part of me feels like this is going to be a not-as-good 13 Reasons Why, but I'm still intrigued and want to pick it up.

A Darker Shade of Magic

by V.E. Schwab

Release Date: February 24th, 2015

First of all, can we just talk about how absolutely gorgeous this cover is? I just sat frozen, staring at it, the first time that I saw it. So prettay! Anyway, this book just sounds amazing. Parallel Londons, magicians, and worlds that sound like they have a dystopian feel? Sign. Me. Up. This book sounds absolutely incredible. 

Instinct

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Release Date: March 31st, 2015

If I were to rank these books by my excitement, this one would probably be lower on the list, simply because I haven't read anything from the series yet. I've been collecting the books and obviously plan to read them at some point, but since I haven't read the other books, my excitement for this book is currently at "oh cool, new book!" and not "I MUST HAVE THIS BOOK NOW." That aside, this series does sound really interesting. It's pretty underrated, but anytime I see someone talking about it, they liked it. Plus, Sherrilyn Kenyon is one of the biggest fantasy writers right now. She knows how to write fantasy.

Stiletto

by Daniel O'Malley

Release Date: June 30th, 2015

This is the second book in The Checquy Files, and the sequel to The Rook. I'm really excited for this book, even though I haven't read The Rook yet. It's one of the first books I plan to read in 2015, so hopefully I get to that soon and can get really excited about this book. The series sounds really interesting, and right up my alley. So I'm really looking forward to getting into these books.

Lair of Dreams

by Libba Bray

Release Date: April 14th, 2015 July 7th, 2015

This one's pretty high on my excitement meter. I absolutely loved the first book in this series (trilogy? IDK) and I cannot wait to read this one. Especially since it's even longer than the first one. Yay, big books! Anyway, I wasn't super excited about how the romance left off at the end of the first book, so I hope that it gets fixed in this book. Also, up until recently, the release date was in April, and now it's been pushed back until July. I am not happy.

Armada

by Ernest Cline

Release Date: July 28th, 2015

Once again, I love this cover! It makes me think of book covers from back in the 70s/80s. Anyway, I absolutely loved Ernest Cline's first novel, Ready Player One, and it sounds like this one is going to have the same vibe. Sci-Fi, video games, dystopian worlds, what more could I ask for? So excited!

The Rest of Us Just Live Here

by Patrick Ness

(No Cover Yet)

Release Date: August 28th, 2015

Patrick Ness seems like such a unique writer. He has a really interesting writing style, and he seems to come up with so many incredibly interesting concepts. In The Rest of us Just Live Here, the main character is just a normal person who lives in a world with crazy paranormal creatures. But he/she (I haven't seen anything saying one way or the other) isn't one of the people fighting these creatures, but rather just a normal person who knows people who fight the creatures. That just sounds really unique and cool.

Lady Midnight

by Cassandra Clare

(No Cover Yet)

Release Date: September, 2015

I love Cassandra Clare. I love the Shadowhunter world. I really wish that she would release The Last Hours first because the characters seem more interesting to me, but I'll read absolutely anything that she releases that's in the Shadowhunter world. 

Untitled (Ms. Peregrine's Peculiar Children #3)

by Ransom Riggs

(No Cover Yet)

Release Date: September, 2015

Originally, this wasn't on my list because Goodreads said it wouldn't be released until 2016. But I checked back the other day and it said September 2015! Yay! I'm not sure if this will be the conclusion of a trilogy or the continuation of a series, because Ransom Riggs hasn't exactly made that clear, but whichever it is, I've enjoyed the series so far and can't wait to see what happens next!

Carry On

by Rainbow Rowell

(No Cover Yet)

Release Date: October 6th, 2015

When I heard that Rainbow Rowell was releasing this as its own book, I got so excited. I'm assuming that since it's actually titled Carry On, it will be Cath's fan-fiction, but I've also heard people saying that they thought it was going to be a "canon" Simon Snow novel. I'm just going to stick with the "Legit Carry On" theory, and hope that's what it is, because I would absolutely love to read that. So excite!

Winter

by Marissa Meyer

(No Cover Yet)

Release Date: November 24th, 2015

I haven't read The Lunar Chronicles yet, but it sounds like something I would absolutely love, and it's really high up on my TBR. I'm definitely going to be finished with the first three by the time this comes out, and maybe even with Fairest, the prequel. I'm just beyond ready to get into this series.

Passenger

by Alexandra Bracken

(No Cover Yet)

Release Date: 2015 (probably late fall)

This is the first book in a new duology about a teenage girl who accidentally discovers that she can time travel and goes on a treasure hunt across continents and time. And that just sounds really epic.

So, those are my most anticipated books of 2015! What books are you looking forward to in 2015?! Let me know down in the comments!

I've started doing Booktube a little as well, so if you want to check that out, you can click HERE. I plan to post most of my videos to my blog, but just in case I miss one or decide not to post it on here, that will keep you up-to date. 

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

Thanks for reading! If you like my posts, I'd really appreciate if you'd subscribe/follow so that I know you're enjoying what I'm posting! See y'all soon!

The Grinch Tag | Book Tag

Hey, y'all! So I love talking about my favorite books just as much as the next book blogger, but as a person who gets annoyed pretty easily, I'm always up for talking about things that I hate. So when I saw Jamie from Ermahgerd Berks do this tag on her Youtube channel, I knew immediately that I wanted to do it because it just sounded like exactly my type of book tag. And since it's Christmas, this is especially appropriate! So let's just jump right into it!

1. Half of the lights on the Christmas tree are burnt out : Name a book/series/character that started out good but then went downhill. 

This series is the epitome of "series that started good but went downhill." I absolutely loved Divergent. I read it in a single day because I just couldn't put it down. I picked up Insurgent almost immediately afterward, and was slightly disappointed. But it wasn't until Allegiant that I became really disappointed with the series. Allegiant took the trilogy in a direction that was completely out of left field, and characters died unnecessarily, and I just didn't enjoy it. I didn't dislike it because of that one really spoilery thing that happened near the end of Allegiant, but that was definitely one of the negative factors. Just overall, this series went from having a first book that is one of my all-time faves to having one of the most disappointing endings to a trilogy ever. 

2. Annoying Great Aunt Sally who will not leave you alone : Name a book that you didn't enjoy, but everyone else seems to love so it never goes away. 

Everyone absolutely loves this book, and I could. not. stand. it. I thought it was predictable and the characters were utterly unlikable. You can do SO much better, John Green.

3. Your pets keep knocking over the Christmas decoration : Name a character that kept messing things up for everyone else (can't pick a villain!).

Oh, Clary. I love Clary. But she's basically a pro messer-upper. Is that a real term? No. But it should be. She just made so many dumb decisions. It didn't make me love Clary any less, but it did make me facepalm and shake my head at her.

4. You hear your parents putting out the presents and learn Santa isn't real: Name a book you were spoiled for. 

I was spoiled for a couple books...

I still haven't read Mockingjay (at least, at the point that I'm currently writing this) but I did get spoiled for part of it, as well as part of Allegiant. For Allegiant, I got spoiled for a character death (if you've read the book, yes, that character death), and for Mockingjay I got spoiled for a character death as well as the resolution of the love triangle. 

5. It's freezing outside: Name a main character you just couldn't connect with.

I just could not connect with Juliette from the Shatter Me trilogy. I just didn't understand any of the decisions that she made, and couldn't connect with her personality. She was so weak in the beginning and was so dependent on a man, and I couldn't connect with her personality and even when she became a stronger character, I just couldn't get why she did some of the things she did. I didn't hate her, and I didn't think she made insanely stupid decisions, I just couldn't get it. 

6. Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas is You' and it's giving you anti-romantic feelings : Name a couple you couldn't stand. 

I don't want to spoil anything for people who haven't read this book, especially since the series isn't finished yet, so I'm going to be very vague here. There's a bit of a love triangle that forms, and by the end of this book, two of the characters start a romance, and I hate it. I much prefer the other guy that the girl could be with. I can only hope that this situation will get fixed by the end of the series because I really hate this couple. Like a lot.

7. That scratchy homemade wool sweater you got for Christmas years ago but won't get rid of : show some books that have been sitting on your shelves for a while, and you aren't motivated to read, but you don't have the heart to get rid of. 

Here are a few... it's mostly the contemporaries I've purchased. I'm interested in the story, but I'm almost never in the mood for contemporary. My little stitch of interest is what keeps me from getting rid of them.

8. Grandma Got Runover by a Reindeer: Name a character death you still are mad about (warn people for spoilers! You can also use TV or movie deaths). 

WARNING: HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS SPOILERS AHEAD!

I could not, still have not, and probably never will be able to cope with the death of Fred Weasley. In my mind, he's still alive. The Weasley twins are probably my favorite characters in any series ever, and I just cannot deal with Fred's death. I can't. What death? I don't know what you're talking about. The Weasley twins are both alive. Neither of them died. 

9. The malls are overly crowded with holiday shoppers: Name a series that has too many books in it/went on too long. 

This is really hard for me, because I really love series, especially long series. However, I will name a series (that I haven't read) that just has way too many books in it.

Unfortunately, this isn't even all of the books in the series. Two more have come out since the last one in this picture. There are a whopping 12 books in this series. And I don't think that's all (although I'm not 100% sure, so don't quote me on that!). I tried reading the first book, and didn't even get halfway through because I hated it and didn't think it was written very well. I don't know how on earth it has managed to get 12 books out of it. 

10. The Grinch : Name a main character you HATE (No villians again!).  

I had to pick someone from Looking for Alaska, because I disliked basically all of the characters. I especially hated our narrator, Pudge as well as Alaska. I thought that Pudge was the absolute biggest pushover ever. He becomes this completely different person when he becomes friends with these people and I absolutely cannot stand that. And I thought Alaska just tried too hard to be this really philosophical, deep person, but she was just another teenager who thought they were cool for sneaking away to smoke and get drunk. Maybe I'm just too old for this book. I don't know. I just hated all of the characters, especially Pudge and Alaska.

So, that's The Grinch Book Tag! I really enjoyed doing this one, because sometimes I just need to talk about things that I hate!

I've started doing Booktube a little as well, so if you want to check that out, you can click HERE. I plan to post most of my videos to my blog, but just in case I miss one or decide not to post it on here, that will keep you up-to date. 

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

Thanks for reading! If you like my posts, I'd really appreciate if you'd subscribe/follow so that I know you're enjoying what I'm posting! See y'all soon!

October/November Book Haul [Book Haul #5]

Hey, y'all! So remember how I said I would see you in December? Oops, I lied. Not on purpose, of course, but I just didn't think about the fact that I'd be doing my book haul soon. My bad. This will probably be my last book haul of the year, because there's only one other book I want to read by the end of the year that I don't have. Also, since there are only 9 books in this haul, I'm not going to divide by sections. I'm just going to go book by book.

Also, as a side note, this is possibly the most excited I've ever been about a book haul. And I'm not saying that because I want you to get pumped or to try to get you to read on. I'm genuinely really excited about all of these books. I bought almost all of these with the intent to read them by the end of the year, so they're all ones that I'm really wanting to read. And there are a couple that I've already read.

Gone Girl

by Gillian Flynn

This is one of the books that I've already read. If you'd like to read my thoughts about it, you can click here to see my discussion post.

There was just so much buzz surrounding the movie and I really like mysteries/ psychological thrillers, so I was really interested in reading it. And it was definitely an interesting read.

The Rook

by Daniel O'Malley

After reading Ready Player One, I had a major book hangover. Like, bigtime. I wanted to read something exactly like it. Every time I looked on a website for similar books, this one popped up. I wasn't totally sure since it was more of an adult novel and I usually go for YA (not that I'm afraid of adult-- my brain just defaulted to looking for books that fit my typical genre rather than branching out). However, upon realizing that this was both a fantasy and a dystopian and after reading the very intriguing blurb, I was very interested. And also, because of my interest in a certain book (which pops up later in this haul), I've gotten really interested in adult fantasy. 

The Chaos Walking Trilogy:

The Knife of Never Letting Go

The Ask and the Answer

Monsters of Men

by Patrick Ness

I've had my eye on these books for a while, and when deciding to get the first book, I just decided to buy the trilogy in matching covers. These covers are really pretty (especially The Knife of Never Letting Go) and I also love the spines.

This trilogy is a science fiction dystopian (oh look, my fave word!) and it just sounds insanely interesting. I know that when I read the first, I'll want to continue immediately. The only concern I have with these is that their binding is really tight. They almost seem like they're British binding and I'm not excited about that because I hate breaking spines, especially really pretty ones like these. I just want them to loosen to that I can actually open them without being scared of cracking the spine.

A Clash of Kings

by George R.R. Martin

I had both the first and the third book in this series, and I want to start it sometime near the beginning of next year, so I decided to go ahead and get the second book. I really like the big, floppy, trade paperback copies, so that's what I went for. I found this used online, so it was pretty inexpensive. So now I can marathon the first three books and hopefully the rest of the series once I buy them!

The Bane Chronicles

by Cassandra Clare

Y'all. This was like my most anticipated book of the year other than City of Heavenly Fire. I absolutely love Magnus Bane. He's possibly my favorite character in the Shadowhunter world. He's just so snarky and sassy  and sarcastic and I love him. The cover is gorgeous, and I could not be more excited about getting to read even more about him. This is my next read after the one I'm reading right now.

The Diviners

by Libba Bray

This is the other book in the haul that I've already read. I discussed it in the same post as my Gone Girl discussion, so you can click here if you want to check out my discussion about The Diviners as well. I won't go into too much detail here, but let's just say that I enjoyed it and am eagerly awaiting the second book in the series (trilogy?). Going into it, I'd heard many really great things, but wasn't certain about how much I'd like it. So I was cautiously optimistic. But I ended up really enjoying it!

The Bone Season

by Samantha Shannon

This is actually the book that I'm reading right now. I watched a book haul that Regan (PeruseProject on Youtube) did, and in it, she hauled this book. When she said fantasy and dystopian within the same breath, my interest was peaked. And when she explained what it was about, I immediately went and found a used copy online and ordered it because it just sounded so incredibly interesting. I love both genres and it's set in England, and it's going to be a series, and it just seems to be everything I really like in books. So far, I'm really loving it.

So there you go, that's all for my October/November Book Haul! Like I said at the beginning of the post, this will probably be the last book haul of the year. I have all but one of the books that I want to read by the end of the year, so I shouldn't be buying any more after that one. Maybe.

I'll be back in a few days with my TBR for the rest of the year, which might be outdated by the time I get it up, because I might have finished The Bone Season by then. Either way, I do plan to get that up later this week.

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

Thanks for reading! If you like my posts, I'd really appreciate if you'd subscribe/follow so that I know you're enjoying what I'm posting! See y'all soon!

October Horror Marathon Book Discussions!

Hey, y'all! As y'all may (or may not) know, back in June, I started a series of posts where I do short discussions about all of the stand-alone books that I read. The second post of that series is in the works (just one more book 'til victory!), but since I did a horror (or just generally creepy/suspenseful books) reading marathon in October, I decided it would be cool to do discussions on those books separately. These discussions will be entirely spoiler-free and fairly short. They're also in order of when I read them, in case anyone was curious.

Horrorstor 
by Grady Hendrix

I really love horror, whether it's in movie or book form, but it was the formatting that drew me in. For those of you that don't know, Horrorstor is a new novel (released Sept. 23!) that is formatted like a furniture catalog. The premise of the story is that our main character, Amy, works at a furniture store that's an Ikea knockoff (which everyone in the book actually acknowledges). Some odd things have been happening overnight, so her manager asks her and another employee to stay with him overnight and try to figure out what has been going on. And as you might guess, it's a lot worse than anyone might have guessed. I absolutely flew through this book. I was just too curious to know what happened. I started it before going to bed one night and then finished it the next day. It was really intriguing and fast-paced. I'd heard that it was a pretty typical horror novel, so I wasn't expecting a ton, but I was actually pretty impressed. Yes, there were certain aspects where I thought it fell on typical horror tropes, but in general, I thought it was pretty unique. It definitely wasn't perfect though. I thought that Hendrix could use a few pointers in how to write suspense. In the first half of the book, there were several times something was supposed to be suspenseful, and because of the way it was written, the suspense didn't translate. Overall, it wasn't amazing, but I did enjoy it.

Also, one of the coolest aspects of the book is the way the chapters are presented. I don't want to spoil anything, but if you've read the book, you know what I'm talking about!

I'll give it 7.5 stars out of 10. 

172 Hours on the Moon
 by Johan Harstad

Let me start out with the fact that I enjoyed this book. There were definitely some things that I had problems with, but overall, I enjoyed it. The first thing that kinda bothered me about the book was how long it took before really getting interesting. It wasn't until around page 100 that we started to see creepy things going on, and even then, it wasn't incredibly exciting. Things got interesting when they got to the moon, but that was halfway through. Too much build-up for me. My second problem was the romance. I wouldn't exactly call it insta-love, but it didn't seem to serve a real purpose and felt just kinda thrown in.

This last problem I had is slightly harder to explain without spoiling, so I'll try my hardest. At a point near the end, there is a twist. To keep the reader in the dark about the twist, Harstad has a certain character do things that make literally no sense given what that character knows. Yes, it keeps the reader from discovering the twist until he reveals it, but once the reader finds out about the twist, they're like "oh, then why did that thing even happen?" Sorry to be so vague, but I don't want to spoil. If you want to know which moment I'm specifically talking about, feel free to ask!

However, excluding those problems, the book was enjoyable. It was very suspenseful, and until we discovered what was actually going on, I had no guesses as to what was really happening. Once the characters got to the moon, it became really fast-paced and I really didn't want to put it down. If you're wanting to read this, I'd tell you to power through the first 100 pages. It took me a few days to read the first half of the book, and a few hours to read the second half. It really picks up. I've complained about a lot of things in this book, but overall, I did like it.

In the end, I gave it 8 stars out of 10.

The Diviners 
by Libba Bray

When I started this book, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. All I knew was that it was set in New York City in the 1920s and that it was creepy and paranormal. It took me a little while to get into it. Adjusting to the slang of the time and remembering what was and wasn't acceptable in that time took a little while. But once I got into it, I was hooked. The fact that it was nice and long was really great for me, because it allowed me to actually get invested in the characters and the storyline. I really loved the pacing. The mixture of suspenseful, creepy scenes with the slower sleuthing scenes was really great. One aspect that I really appreciated was that for most of the book, a love triangle was alluded to, but it wasn't until close to the end that anything happened. However, I was really annoyed by which guy she went for. But supposedly, there are 3 more books coming, so that gives Evie three more books to fix her mistake. I actually didn't know until I got near the end of the book that it was going to be a series. I'd been reading it under the assumption that it was going to be just a stand-alone. I'm really excited to pick up the second book when it comes out, because I really, really enjoyed this one. I wasn't sure I'd like it, but I thought it was great. 

Overall, I had to give it 9.8 stars out of 10. 

Gone Girl

by Gillian Flynn

The first thing that I have to say about this is that it was very well-written. Gone Girl was very clever and kept me guessing for a very long time. The unfolding events that are crafted by the characters are very intricate and well done. It took me a very long time to figure out what the truth was and who to believe, and I really like that. I also really appreciated that we're not really supposed to completely like either Nick or Amy. We see even from the beginning that they both have their issues and that they're both flawed people, and I really like that.

One bit that I wasn't such a huge fan of was the ending. And by ending, I don't mean "Part 3" when everything begins to wrap itself up. I mean like the last 10 pages. I thought everything up to that point was really great. But those last 10 pages... nope. However, I do think it was appropriate for the book. For my own contentment, I wanted to change those pages. But they worked. In that sense, the ending reminded me of 1984.

I don't see this book becoming a long-standing favorite of mine that I re-read thousands of times. I think that my praise for the book is due to about 60% appreciation for the complexity of the book and how well-crafted it was, and 40% personal love. Yes, I did really like it, but my feelings toward it lean more toward admiration of a well-written novel than something that I feel extremely personally attached to.

I have to give it 9.5 stars out of 10. It's just incredibly well-crafted.

So there you go, those were my discussions for my October horror reads! I hope you enjoyed this post! I've got a lot of things planned for the near future, so just be ready for that!

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

Thanks for reading! If you like my posts, I'd really appreciate if you'd subscribe/follow so that I know you're enjoying what I'm posting! See y'all soon!

Series vs. Trilogies vs. Stand-Alone Novels

Hey, y'all! So, lately I've been thinking about the differences, pros, and cons of the different ways stories can be published in book form. Currently, trilogies seem to be running rampant in young adult fiction, but is it really the best way for a story to be told? Or perhaps the stand-alone- a single book for a single story? Or are stories best told in the form of full-fledged series- one story spanning several books and several smaller stories? Is there one real answer?

I recently re-watched Ariel Bissett's video called "I Hate Trilogies" and that's what got me thinking about this. Click here if you'd like to check that out. I'd recommend it, given the fact that I'll be referencing that video without going into full detail about her arguments. And while you're there, you should definitely check out some of her other videos because she has some really interesting and thought-provoking discussions on books. A couple of my favorites are "Appreciation vs. Liking" and "Our Favorite Authors" because they both got me thinking about my own opinions and the way I view certain things.




I agree with a lot of the things that Ariel mentioned in her video. A lot, but not quite all. I definitely agree with her opinion on trilogies. In general, I think that most trilogies don't need to be trilogies. The second or third book (or both) often suffers because the plot is being dragged out to fill out three books. Or even worse, a new conflict comes out of nowhere to create the need for another book.

As I look at my bookshelf and all of the trilogies on it, I can say with complete honesty that (of the ones I've finished) I only truly, completely love two of those trilogies: The Infernal Devices and the Across the Universe trilogy. And in the case of the Across The Universe trilogy, I actually wish that I could smoosh the 3 books together into one huge, epic novel. Not because there's anything wrong with the books as-is, but because I think that a mystery dystopian set in space deserves a single, massive novel reminiscent of a Lord of the Rings bind-up.

Now, that's not to say that every other trilogy is complete crap and I hate it, but in all of the other trilogies, there's at least one book that I really dislike or think isn't as strong as the other two. Let's take Divergent for example.

EXAMPLE.

I loved Divergent. It was one of the best books I read this year, and I was completely enthralled. But I got less and less impressed with the novels as I went along. Insurgent was good, but nowhere near as good as Divergent, and I don't even know what to say about Allegiant. It just took this turn that was unexpected, unwanted, and unwarranted.

The Shatter Me trilogy also suffers from shouldn't-be-a-trilogy syndrome, except in this case it's the first book that suffers. This entire trilogy could be condensed into a single book, and would probably be a lot better. I'm not sure that would fix my fundamental problems with that series, but that's a complaint for another post.

This is where mine and Ariel's opinions branch off from each other. Stand-alones vs. series. Ariel's argument is that most books should be stand-alones with exceptions for the gems like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, etc. and that most ideas don't warrant multiple books. I both agree and disagree with that. Yes, there are several ideas that are stretched too much and don't need the X number of books in their series, but I feel like the vast majority of these are the trilogies. Once we get into 4, 5, 6, etc. book series, I feel like these ideas are the ones that merit multiple books. Obviously there are exceptions, but there are exceptions to every rule.

Series are my favorite way to consume stories in book form, and often stand-alones fall flat for me. Typically, my biggest complaint about stand-alones is that they're too short and I didn't connect with the characters because I only had about 300-400 pages to do so. The characters and stories that I fall in love with are almost exclusively within series. And why wouldn't they be? When I spend thousands of pages with a character, plus the time anxiously waiting between books (and probably re-reading the previous ones) those will be the characters and stories that stick with me. Those are the ones I care about. When I go to do a Tumblr challenge or a tag about books and it asks anything about characters, almost all of the characters I choose are from series. Only occasionally do characters from stand-alones make it to the list.

When it comes to stand-alones, I feel like I don't have enough time to get to know the characters and to care about what happens to them. I'm a pretty fast reader, so if I grabbed a 300 page book and just sat and read it, it would take me less than 5 hours. Sure, I usually actually take 2-3 days to actually read that 300 page book, but 2-3 days still isn't a large chunk of my life. Regardless of the actual time spent reading a book, I generally find stand-alones to be too short most of the time, and I feel like there aren't enough pages to give me all of the things I want in a book. If I were to pick my ideal book size, I'd go for a book that was somewhere between 500-600 pages. I like big books (and I cannot lie). Even those 200 more pages could make the difference.

For example: 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad.

172 Hours on the Moon is the most recent book that I finished. While I liked it, it felt very rushed. The first half was fine, and maybe even a little slow, but once we got to part 2, I felt like everything happened all too fast and then was just suddenly done. And although I didn't dislike the characters, I didn't particularly care about them either. When something happened to one of them, my reaction was pretty much "Well that was unfortunate." and I moved on. I had only spent maybe 200 pages with these characters and I don't think that's enough to care. At least for me.

Now, I'm not saying that stand-alones have no merit and shouldn't be written. Obviously, there are plenty stand-alones that are wonderful and don't need to be any longer or shorter than they are. And have read and loved several stand-alones. However, I find that for me, (in general) they aren't the ideal way to experience a story. For me, the story and characters often aren't fleshed out enough. Maybe duologies are the answer. I'm pretty sure that I've never read a duology, but maybe that's the happy medium between a book that's too compact and a trilogy that's stretched past its limit. Or maybe we just need epic, huge stand-alones. Which I'm not opposed to in the slightest. Bring on the big books.


That's all I have for this discussion about series, trilogies, and stand-alones. What are your opinions on this topic? Do you love series as much as I do? Or do you prefer stand-alones? Or do you have opinions in defense of trilogies? Let me know down in the comments, because I'd love to see other people's opinions on the matter!

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