But when is enough enough?
I just looked at my TBR pile and I think the number of stand-along novels is less than 1 in 10 of the whole collection.
I gotta be honest. I'm getting too old for this. When I was younger I could keep track of long, meandering stories much better than I can now. But then, my only responsibilities back then were going to school and cleaning my room-- and I never kept up on my room. Now I'm far too preoccupied by a much busier life to keep up with the gazillion books (yes, that's an exact number) that land on my doorstep.
Don't get me wrong-- I want to read everything I see. I just don't have the memory, or the energy to to keep it all straight anymore; and I certainly don't have the time reread everything. No. I need to conserve my brain cells when possible so, inevitably, more books drop off my radar unless I'm really attached to the series. Old favorites like Charlaine Harris and Patricia Briggs languish on the shelf, sometimes because they're just not that good anymore (not naming names)-- but mostly because I forgot what the heck was going on.
I think I understand why series fiction is so prevalent these days. What better way to ensure a steady paycheck than to come up with a ongoing (and hopefully popular) cast of characters? Some authors seem to have this down to a science. I notice favorite authors of mine branching out in to YA and paranormal fiction all the time: But I admit I'm getting mistrustful of the trend because it seems like the books get formulaic and rushed as the authors push to publish so many books in a row.
The stand-alone novel is starting to look really good right now. I have a few hefty volumes on the shelf written by people like Dan Simmons and Guy Gavriel Kay and I'm thinking it would be a real breath of fresh air to read a story the ends with final page.
Who's with me?
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