We all know the dreaded scenario: *turns off lights and holds flashlight underneath face* You get one, two, three, maybe even four or more books deep into a series when it stops, possibly on a cliffhanger, and then suddenly... *dramatic pause* There are no more books! That is just the worst. Except recently I actually read the first book in a series I knew was abandoned and am contemplating...
For anyone who doesn't already know this about me, I am a series girl. I absolutely adore series and much prefer them to standalone books. There are so many reasons that I love series, but that's not really what this post is about. Instead, I want to talk about consistency among series because, well, it's been a bit of a problem for me lately. And when I have a bookish problem, I bring it to you...
I say "we" as though I am one of you. Muahahahaha! Just kidding. Or am I...? Anyway, that was a long title, but I didn't know any other way to accurately portray what this discussion will be about. Actually I'm still not sure that's accurate, but close enough. You see, I read LOTS of paranormal and urban fantasy, so I end reading about creatures with immortality or extended lifespans quite often....
There are certain things that seem to pop up in so many books, and even movies and TV shows, and every time they do, I find myself wondering, well, 1) why they pop up so often, but mostly 2) how the characters know how to do these things in the first place. So I decided it's high time I took to the internet and find out whether it's just me who lacks the worldly experience and unflinching...
Do you like my graphic? There was no literal way to represent the topic, so I went with a visual metaphor, which is pretty fitting considering my blog name ;-) but I digress. I admit that I am notoriously stingy when it comes to giving out 5 star ratings for books. Well, notorious may have been a bit of an exaggeration as I'm not exactly famous and most of you probably didn't even know that about...
I am having a very genre-specific problem at the moment. It's getting harder and harder to find sci-fi or fantasy books anymore that aren't about saving the world. Whatever happened to just saving a loved one? Or pulling off a heist? Or escaping a kidnapper? Or completing a journey? Or finding something/someone? I mean, seriously, there are a million different goals a book can have, as proven by...
I know I can't be the first person to ever discuss this, but it was just something I started thinking about a few weeks ago while commenting on a post about whether sex should be allowed in YA books over at (un)Conventional Bookviews. It seems to me that content ratings would be helpful in order for readers to find what they want and avoid what they don't want, but I suppose everything has pros...
I've been doing a lot of serious discussion posts lately, so I thought I'd do one a little more light and fun this week. So... Have you ever thought about how observant characters are? I mean, for everywhere they go they seem to notice all the different paintings on the walls, the types of plants, the pattern in the carpeting, and for every person they meet, they seem to notice everything from...
I share a lot of book covers on this blog, but I also find myself noticing a lot of other bookish things like blurbs and titles, and sometimes I like to share those too. I mean, covers are not the only thing that influences my decision to buy or read a book. Titles are the first thing I see right along with the cover, and they probably have just as much influence since they often are what gives...
I talk a lot about realism (obviously, since I've got this whole unofficial series about it going on my blog), and I've made it pretty clear that I like things in the books I read to be pretty realistic. But so far I've talked about specific things, like characters and injuries. Today I want to get a little more broad. This was actually something I noticed in a book I read lately. The book,...
