Discussion: Tackling the Series That Have Lingered on my TBR

 

While setting my reading goals for this year, it struck me that the biggest culprit that keeps my TBR so mountainous is that I struggle so much with the series.  I really have a love-hate relationship with them.  I read one book from a series and even if I love it and the next book is available, I still flit off and read something else rather than continuing with the next book.  I’m also famous for saying that I want to wait for at least two books in a series to come out before I even start reading so that I can then binge read them both.  Yeah, that doesn’t happen either.  Instead, I end up with series on my TBR where I was waiting for the second book, promptly forgot about the series altogether, and now the series has 3, 4, and sometimes even 5 books out.  I’ve been a series failure for years but because one of my goals this year is to read more of the books I already own, I’m really going to make an effort to get through a bunch of series. Even if I don’t finish them, I need to see progress, preferably well beyond the first book.  If there’s no progress, I think it’s probably time to take them off of my TBR and move on with my life.

 

THE SERIES I’VE MADE PROGRESS ON

 

I plan to start with the series that I’m closest to being caught up on and that’s The Illuminae Files.  I read and loved the first two books but then just never got around to reading the final book.  Once I get through my February ARCs, finishing this series is my number one priority.

THE ILLUMINAE FILES by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

 

Once I’ve finished with that series, I plan to continue with the Throne of Glass series.  I’ve had most of the books on my shelf for years but just finally pulled the first one down in December.  I read it and immediately felt like a jackass for having ignored the series for so long, I don’t know that I’ll get the entire series read in 2019, but I plan to get through as many as possible since it’s the biggest series sitting on my shelves.

THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J. Maas

 

Another series that has been sitting on my shelves for years is The Raven Cycle.  Just like with Throne of Glass, I either ignored the hype or else worried that the books wouldn’t live up to the hype. I couldn’t even tell you which at this point, but regardless, it took me until this month to finally read the first book.  Also, like with Throne of Glass, I felt like a moron for putting it off because it was brilliant.  I started and plan to continue this series on audio and hope that I’ll finish it this year since the first book went so quickly.

THE RAVEN CYCLE by Maggie Stiefvater

 

The next series I really want to get caught up on is the DC ICONS series.  I thought Wonder Woman: Warbringer was great, but then saw a lot of meh reviews for the Batman book so I lost interest in the series for a while.  My sister texted me last week though to tell me how much she loved Catwoman: Soulstealer so my interest is renewed.  Worst case scenario is that I skip Batman and move on to Catwoman but there will be progress, darn it, before the Superman book comes out in March.

DC ICONS by Bardugo, Lu, Maas, and de la Peña

 

A Song of Ice and Fire has the honor of sitting on my bookshelves the longest unread.  I have slowly but surely made progress on the series though and only have to read one more book to be all caught up.  The problem?  That one brick of a book is as long as some of the complete other series I want to read.  The good thing is that Martin takes so long to come out with each book that I’ll probably be caught up for years once I finish A Dance with Dragons, lol.

A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE by George R.R. Martin

 

The Clash of Kingdoms series is one I started but then honestly just completely forgot about until I won the second book in a giveaway this past fall.  The third book is also out now, so I’d like to go ahead and wrap this one up as soon as possible too.

CLASH OF KINGDOMS by Erin Summerill

 

A final series that I’ve made some progress on and would like to wrap up this year is The Nevernight Chronicles.  I really enjoyed the first book but haven’t gotten around to the second book yet.  The third book comes out in September so I’d like to be caught up by then.

THE NEVERNIGHT CHRONICLES by Jay Kristoff

 

 

THE SERIES I HAVE YET TO EVEN START

 

In addition to all of the series that I’ve started but not finished, I also have a pretty ridiculous list of series that I keep saying I’m dying to start but then keep ignoring.  Below is a list of series I still haven’t started yet that have been on my TBR the longest.  If you’ve read any of these, which ones do you think I should prioritize once I make some progress on the series I’ve already begun?  Are there any you think aren’t even worth starting at this point?

 

THREE DARK CROWNS by Kendare Blake

 

 

ARC OF A SCYTHE by Neal Shusterman

 

 

AN EMBER IN THE ASHES by Sabaa Tahir

 

 

FLAME IN THE MIST by Renee Ahdieh

 

 

THE GREAT LIBRARY by Rachel Caine

 

DAUGHTER OF SMOKE & BONE by Laini Taylor

 

 

WAYWARD CHILDREN by Seanan McGuire

 

 

THE WRATH AND THE DAWN by Renee Ahdieh

 

* * * * * * *

Question:  Do you struggle to complete series too?  Do you have a plan of attack for this year to try to knock some series off your TBR that have been there for ages?

26 replies
  1. Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy
    Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy says:

    I’m terrible at finishing series too! Sometimes I’m not blown away by the first book and I don’t see any reason to keep going. Mostly though I just can’t keep up. I hear about a series that I’d love but it’s already on the 8th or 9th book, and no way will I ever catch up, lol. I do have a handful of authors who are on my “must read” list and I’ve been good about keeping up, but that list is pretty short.

  2. Aj @ Read All The Things!
    Aj @ Read All The Things! says:

    I pretty much avoid series because I’m so bad at finishing them! They sit on my TBR for so long that I forget what happened in the first books and have to reread. Good luck with finishing all of these!

  3. Sharon
    Sharon says:

    I am always hesitant to start a series. If I really like it I will put the next books in the series ahead of others on my TBR list. But I do have so many that I read book 1, liked it but I guess not enough to be waiting for the next book LOL I liked the Three Dark Crown series. Book one & two were good. But book 3 was the best. Cannot wait for book 4 to come out. I read the Flame in the Mist series too. I really liked book 1, but book 2 was just okay It did not live up to the hype I had set.

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      I wish I could at least put the ones I like ahead of other books and get caught up. Even if I love it, I still sit on it and wait for whatever reason, lol.

  4. Angela
    Angela says:

    I’m also really bad with starting series and not continuing! I would recommend The Wrath and The Dawn. I’ve read two of the Three Dark Crowns books, and I have not been impressed at all, giving up on that series.

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      Three Dark Crowns is one I’ve considered dropping from my list. I saw several reviews that thought the third book was not good at all, which makes me leary about even starting it.

  5. Lindsi
    Lindsi says:

    I struggle with this too! I start books all the time, but waiting a year between books often means they get skipped over for something else. I know that sounds terrible, but it’s true. I’ve been trying to go back and finish the series I’ve started, and I’ve made a little progress, but it’s time consuming!

    Also, The Raven Cycle is one of my favorites! I still need to finish The Daughter of Smoke and Bone, but I’ll need to re-read the first book to refresh my memory.

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      I really loved the first book in The Raven Cycle and am eager to continue that one. The fact that I enjoyed it on audio bodes well for it to actually happen, lol.

  6. Tanya @ Girl Plus Books
    Tanya @ Girl Plus Books says:

    At some point I really need to revisit the Throne of Glass series. I read the first book years ago and never continued. I liked it okay but didn’t love it. Friends have assured me that the books get better and better but it just hasn’t happened yet.

  7. Sam@wlabb
    Sam@wlabb says:

    I have been so bad at finishing series. I am behind on ToG, and I keep meaning to finish Ruined. I did start the audio book for the last Glittering Court book so, yeah for me! Good luck with all of these.

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      I’m glad it’s not just me. I’m really hoping I can stick to this game plan and finally finish a few of the oldest ones.

  8. ShootingStarsMag
    ShootingStarsMag says:

    Oh gosh, I’m so bad with series. For the past few years, I’ve been trying to finally get through some of them though like the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy and The Raven Cycle; loved both! I want to re-read the first two in the Illuminae files and then finally read the third. Their set up makes them fairly quick read, so it shouldn’t be TOO tough. There are a lot of other series that I never started that I want to read though.

    -Lauren

  9. Jonetta (Ejaygirl) | Blue Mood Café
    Jonetta (Ejaygirl) | Blue Mood Café says:

    I actually started a Goodreads group to tackle my series reading. It’s helped as we set it up like a challenge. Still going strong and I’m feeling much better about my series reading. The list of what I can’t get to is still daunting but the list of those I’ve completed or am staying up to date in is impressive.

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