THE PROBLEM:
I came up with two main reasons for my book burn.
1) The series featured a love triangle. I've come to the realization that it is not the first book in a series but the last, which can really make or break an entire triangle for me. I don't mean WHO the person ends up with, but HOW it all plays out at the end. Plus, you all know how I feel about them to begin with.
2) The longer I wait between books, the higher are my expectations. The more time I have to wait between series books, the greater time I have to analyze and anticipate what is to come next. If I read series books close together, I tend to just enjoy them and not over think about what I expect to happen in future books.
THE SOLUTION:
How do I avoid future book burn?
1) I am done with love triangles. I know I can't completely avoid triangles, because sometimes they pop up unexpectedly. But I don't plan on starting any more series where the description explicitly - or implicitly - says that the main character is 'torn between two people,' unless a trusted friend has read the book and told me that the description is misleading.
2) I will wait to start new series until multiple books are released. This was already a bookish resolution of mine this year, but I'm even more determined to be much more selective about starting new series. I prefer to read series in larger chunks anyway, but it will also help me get a feel for the series from others before I invest in it. I know I won't completely stop this practice, but I do want to be more careful about what I pick up.
How do you benefit?
I am cleansing my shelf of love triangle books that I don't plan to read.
I am giving away an ARC of Masque of the Red Death*
(No, this is not the love triangle series I mentioned above.)
(No, my business cards have nothing to do with this, except to show you how serious I'm getting about my dislike of love triangles. Also I'm excited because they arrived today!)
Policies:
Giveaway is for US or Canada residents only (sorry other international readers!)
You must be at least 13 years old to enter
See my policies HERE
*The book is new, but does have a small crease in the upper right corner of the cover, just in case that will bother you.
SUMMER SERIES CHALLENGE: Are you in the middle of several series that you've yet to complete, although all the books are released? Are there any finished series that you'd like to tackle in one chunk? Stay tuned for details on my upcoming series challenge.
Yup, I didn't enjoy Masque of the Red death because of the love triangle. I've made the same resolution this year too and I think the only book with a love triangle that I am willingly planning to read this year is Clockwork Princess. I'm not very good at waiting to read books, especially ones I want to read the moment they release, but I'm trying to go back and finish some of the already completed series that I've started. I hope this way you're able to avoid book burn, Lauren! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I have you as a passenger on my anti-love triangle train. Also, the fact that you didn't like this book for that very reason, means that I made the right decision to not read it.
DeleteIt's definitely going to be difficult to stick to my second resolution...especially considering the fact that I'm currently reading a book that is the first in a series, and *could* turn into a triangle, although right now there is none. *sigh* I'm a work in progress!
My split infinitive is already bugging me.
DeleteYay! Someone else to join me in HOLDING OUT for the end of series before reading. I won't feel so alone now. I totally know what you mean (hence my hesitance to even read Boundless...I don't want another Spell Bound on my hands). <3
ReplyDeleteExcited to see what you have planned for the summer!
I'm glad that we share this goal. Unfortunately, I haven't been that good at it so far, but I'm working on myself. And thanks to you, there's no way I'm picking up that Unspoken series until it's complete!
DeleteI'm excited to share the challenge!
Yay! Love this post and giveaway idea. I own a copy of Masque already...so I won't be entering but it's a great prize for someone!
ReplyDeleteI don't struggle with the love triangle as much as you but I did rather enjoy reading the Unearthly trilogy in one sitting. But like Keertana, I do sometimes (well maybe more than sometimes) have a problem being patient enough to wait for a series to finish before starting it. I don't know why, it's not like I don't have enough other books I could read in the meantime...
Thanks, Heather. You are a constant encouragement to me.
DeleteSome love triangles work and some don't. I just wish it was easier to tell when you start reading :) Wonderful giveaway - I haven't read this one yet. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI AGREE! That is EXACTLY my problem, thinking the love triangle is going to be great, because it works in the beginning of the series, and being crushed by disappointment in the end. I don't think there's any way to tell until the final book is out!
Delete1. I LOVE THIS BOOK.
ReplyDelete2. I really like love triangles, so I think you and I complement each other well. Perhaps an event in the future?
3. I don't like to read series back-to-back so the HarperTeen #TheEndIsHere event is tough for me. I'm coping with this by reading the first two books and then waiting on the last one. (Ex: Delirium and Pendemonium right now, waiting on Requiem). Unearthly and Hallowed were just too exhausting to go straight into Boundless. BUT you already know about my anti back-to-back sort-of rule anyway.
I don't mind reading series before large chunks are relaesed, although it is nice when I happen upon that is already that way. For example, Lumatere!! YAY. BUT, I will wait or stop reading them until later if I find out there are cliffhangers involved. An example of stopping a well-loved series is when I stopped reading all of Cassie Clare's books until they're finished and then I'll re-start them.
I could talk on all of this for days.
But, yeah, I LOVE this book you have pictured. I'm sad you aren't reading it, but I TOTALLY understand why because it DOES fall under your category!
We do compliment each other well! This is not the only area that we differ. I would love to do an event/post with you in the future! Even a comparison post about how we read differently. Or something on triangles.
DeleteEven though this book may be amazing, what worries me is how the series will develop as a whole. If the third book disappoints me, than that really affects the entire series. It is mostly the back and forth that goes on, and doesn't necessarily mean WHO the heroine chooses. I read a book last year where I was happy with her pick, but it took her so long to get there that I was completely disgusted by her at the end of the story and couldn't enjoy it. However, If you tell me that you still love this series when it is complete, I will definitely pick it up. I trust you!
I liked Masque Of The Red Death ha ha. I think I am on the fence about love triangles. Like, I read a lot of books with them and always end up choosing a team. But then I get annoyed when one feels totally forced.
ReplyDeleteAnyways! Hope lots and lots of people enter.
Thank you, April. I have heard good things about this book from multiple people, so I'll keep it on my radar until it's complete. I sometimes have mixed feelings about triangles as well, and I always pick someone. Usually, I'm right, but it's tough for me when I'm not, because I tend to get very emotionally attached.
DeleteOh certainly, though I can never wait for most of a series to come out, so I just accept that I might have to be disappointed sometimes :( I'm also okay with not completing a series if I find that it is going in a direction that I don't like, so maybe that helps me?
ReplyDeleteI have an insatiable desire to KNOW WHAT HAPPENS, so it's hard for me to give up on a series. I've even looked up what happens at the end, if it is something that I feel like I just cannot continue. But I really admire people who can DNF books or series in the middle of them!
DeleteI don't know that I experience book burn that much, but I get really antsy when waiting for the next book in a series to come up. But then by the time it comes out, I've moved on to other things and it usually takes me awhile to get to that book. Weird, I know.
ReplyDelete(Also, I think my computer had a bit of a problem when I was entering & might have submitted the first two entries twice. It kind of flickered, so I wasn't sure, and then it showed that they weren't entered so I tried it again. Anyway, just a heads up.)
Thanks for the giveaway!
Ems
That happens to me as well! I'm glad you've not experienced book burn so much! It's probably because I get too emotionally tied up in my characters. I've also noticed that you're better at DNFing books than I am. I've got to learn that skill!
DeleteAnd your comment showed up once, so no problems at all!
I don't know about book burn (I'm sure I've experienced it and my tired brain just isn't remembering), but I definitely get antsy when it comes to series. I like being able to read books a few weeks apart. I think back to back would do me in, but like I said, I don't want to wait TOO long.
ReplyDeleteI definitely prepare to read books closer together. If not back-to-back, I like knowing the next one is out there and accessible so I can get it as soon as I want it.
DeleteI don't like most love triangle for a reason you've mentioned in another post I'm about to comment on (haha) and that is the fact that I hate when one boy basically becomes the obstacle/distraction in book 2 until everything is resolved and she ends up with the guy she was originally with. To me, give them another relationship obstacle to overcome but not a person, you know? I hate how most love triangles end with one person getting used and treated like filler. But I think it's so difficult because sometimes there are good triangles, ones that make sense, but how can you tell if it's one of those before you start a book? That's what I find so difficult!
ReplyDeleteI also get you on the long wait between books. I'm really excited for Requiem to come out, but I'm also really nervous. I'm afraid that all this time I've had to think about how it might end has colored my expectations. I can totally binge out on an entire series if I'm into it, and I think you're right about having different expectations and not being as disappointed in things when you read that way. It's like you don't have enough time to theorize so you can just enjoy things as they're written!
That is such a thoughtful answer, Hannah. YES! For some of these series there's no way to tell what kind of triangle it's going to be, or as with the Shatter Me series, there's no way to tell that there is even going to be a triangle. That's why I've begun to wait to read first books until the next are out. And I agree that they are annoying if they're just added for tension between the main characters, and for no real purpose otherwise. I'm curious about the triangles you think are "good" though. I'm finding that I feel that way about very few of them.
DeleteOh Requiem. I don't think I"m going to be able to read that book. I read Delirium and freaked at the end. And I still haven't decided whether I can get through the entire series. I will be on the lookout for everyone's response though.