Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Series I Haven't Finished


It's time for Top Ten Tuesdays, a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish that features a different book/reading theme each week.   This week's topic is:

Top Ten Series You Haven't Finished 

I love series, but admit that there are several series on my shelves that I still haven't gotten around to finishing.   Here are the ones that immediately come to mind (the cover images are the first book of each series):

(1) The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon.   I loved the first four books in this series, but found the fifth one didn't live up to my expectations.   I stopped reading the sixth book after 200 pages and haven't bothering to try it again.  Even though I have the seventh book sitting on my shelf, I don't know that I'll ever finish this series (which has yet to be completed).   It's been close to fifteen years since I first started reading this series and my reading tastes have changed quite a bit since then.   As a result, this series no longer holds the same appeal for me.




(2) Sara Donati's Wilderness Series.   This series is very similar to Gabaldon's Outlander series, and it is for much the same reason that I don't know that I'll ever finish this one.   Loved the first few books, but was not as keen on the later books in the series.   I have the last two novels sitting on my shelves, but I have a feeling they'll remain unread for a long time to come.






(3) John Jakes Kent Family Chronicles.   As I absolutely love John Jakes' North & South trilogy I gave his Kent Family Chronicles a try in the hopes I would find it just as engaging.   While I liked the first book, The Bastard, I didn't enjoy it enough to continue with the series.






 
(4) Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori series.  I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books in this series and have the remaining books sitting on my shelf to read.  I fully intend to finish this one, and have no excuse for not having done so earlier.  








(5) Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series.   I love this 20-book series set mainly on the high seas during the Napoleonic Wars and featuring a British Naval Officer and his surgeon/spy best friend.  I've read the first 16 books but have put off going any further since I know that once I finish the final four books there will be no new material featuring Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin for me to read. 





(6) Jack Whyte's Camulod Chronicles.   I read the first book (The Skystone) in this Arthurian series a few years back.   I enjoyed it so much that I immediately went out and bought the rest of the series.   Guess what?  I still haven't read any of them.  The fact I haven't finished is a reflection of the fact that I get easily distracted by new books and push older ones further and further down my tbr pile.   I do plan to finish this series!






(7) Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series.   I thought the first two Thursday Next books (The Eyre Affair and Lost in a Good Book) were great fun to read, but had much difficulty with the third one (The Well of Lost Plots).   I haven't tried book four (Something Rotten) mainly because I'm afraid it will be too much like book three.   I'll get through this series eventually.






(8) Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation Series.   This series is great fun, but I have to be in the right mood to read the books associated with it.  Since I haven't felt like reading light, fluffy historical fiction/ modern-day chick lit lately, the last two books in this series remain on my shelves unread.  I will read them one of these days.






(9) Conn Iggulden's Emperor series.   The first two books in this series set in ancient Rome and featuring Julius Cesar are pretty good, but I just don't care enough for the characters to continue with this one.








(10) Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.   I've read the first five novels in this epic fantasy series.  With the exception of the series' final novel, which is due to be released next year, I have all the books on my shelves.   The fact I've not read past book five is not a reflection of the quality of the series, which I think is very well done, but rather a result of the fact that each of the books is about 1000 pages long!  I just haven't felt like devoting a significant chunk of my reading time to this series recently.    I will probably get back to this series late this year or early next.