It may be 2013 already but not all of 2012's reads have been shared. Below are my December reads.
It would appear like our society really enjoys sequels. If we love the characters, the story, and the writing enough, we don't want the final page of the novel or the final credits of the movie to be the end. We want to join our new found friends on new adventures with new problems. We want them to overcome new obstacles and find success in new opportunities. Of course, all of these are only productive if the story truly doesn't end. Hamlet 2 or even a sequel to Phantom of the Opera doesn't really make sense in my mind. The story is over, people are dead, or at the very least an unbreakable resolution has been reached.
But there are those stories that most certainly need to continue. There are imaginatoriums which encompass so much and call out for a greater deal of storytelling. There are also those tales which could have a perfectly fine ending with one telling but the imaginatorium is such that the author cannot stop because the characters and the world itself has more stories to be unearthed.
After all the books I read over the course of the year, there were a few series I began which had sequels. I'm not one who must read the sequel right after. My patience in waiting to find out the next part of the story has been perfected over the years. However, after awhile, whether it be just the need to power through the rest of the series or because I do actually want to know what happens next, I do get a little antsy to read on. I went through my lists of everything read and found some of the sequels I was anxious to read which is what December was. I finally finished the Hunger Games series and the Percy Jackson series. Wither, which I had read in January, had a sequel which I read. There was another Inspector Lynley mystery as well. Then continuing from last month, I picked up the fourth book in the Dark Tower series.
After reading the first Hunger Games in January, followed by the second one in July, I figured one book every six months would be sufficient so I finally picked up the third one. Again, it was one of those books that kept building and building, and then suddenly we were at a resolution. The ending may have made sense within the world of the book but, without giving away any spoilers, I felt like she tried to take on too much story, got tired of what she was writing, and quickly found her resolution so she could be done. It's certainly the most violent of the three books. I also felt like it was still too much of a cop out ending of the Jane Austen variety. Yet, I'm thankful I finished the series and I did enjoy it. The last one was different enough and made for a good read. In regards to violent all out wars, the final Percy Jackson book is one giant battle of awesomeness! That series came to an awesome conclusion but also left room for the other series that Rick Riordan wrote. What I appreciated about the end of the Percy Jackson series was that he tied up all the loose ends, brought together his overarching themes but took his time to do it within the realm of a young adult novel. It was satisfying and a fun read.
But there are those stories that most certainly need to continue. There are imaginatoriums which encompass so much and call out for a greater deal of storytelling. There are also those tales which could have a perfectly fine ending with one telling but the imaginatorium is such that the author cannot stop because the characters and the world itself has more stories to be unearthed.
After all the books I read over the course of the year, there were a few series I began which had sequels. I'm not one who must read the sequel right after. My patience in waiting to find out the next part of the story has been perfected over the years. However, after awhile, whether it be just the need to power through the rest of the series or because I do actually want to know what happens next, I do get a little antsy to read on. I went through my lists of everything read and found some of the sequels I was anxious to read which is what December was. I finally finished the Hunger Games series and the Percy Jackson series. Wither, which I had read in January, had a sequel which I read. There was another Inspector Lynley mystery as well. Then continuing from last month, I picked up the fourth book in the Dark Tower series.
After reading the first Hunger Games in January, followed by the second one in July, I figured one book every six months would be sufficient so I finally picked up the third one. Again, it was one of those books that kept building and building, and then suddenly we were at a resolution. The ending may have made sense within the world of the book but, without giving away any spoilers, I felt like she tried to take on too much story, got tired of what she was writing, and quickly found her resolution so she could be done. It's certainly the most violent of the three books. I also felt like it was still too much of a cop out ending of the Jane Austen variety. Yet, I'm thankful I finished the series and I did enjoy it. The last one was different enough and made for a good read. In regards to violent all out wars, the final Percy Jackson book is one giant battle of awesomeness! That series came to an awesome conclusion but also left room for the other series that Rick Riordan wrote. What I appreciated about the end of the Percy Jackson series was that he tied up all the loose ends, brought together his overarching themes but took his time to do it within the realm of a young adult novel. It was satisfying and a fun read.
The other series I continued with was the Inspector Lynley series. Thank goodness that the second installment, Payment in Blood, was not as dark and twisty as the first one. I honestly wasn't sure if I wanted to continue reading any of Elizabeth George's novels if they were all as dark as the first but the second one still has it's dark bits because she deals with people and real people it seems like. The mystery is a central part of the story but her stories are much more character driven which I really like.
Also, I powered on with more Stephen King with the Wizard and the Glass which was good but basically the whole book was the back story of Roland. I understand the purpose of the back story but there wasn't a lot of moving the plot forward in the fourth book. Hopefully the fifth one will move along and get the current characters further along in their journey.
Lastly, Fever, which was the sequel to Wither, was good until the end where I just got frustrated as to what she did with her characters. I'm all for trying to overcome obstacles and creating new conflicts but I had really hoped for a better ending. Granted, there will be a third one so I suppose she had to bring Rhine back into a place of vulnerability to keep the story going but I still do not like where she placed the characters again.
It's been a year of books. There have been some really good one and some ones where I've questioned the sanity of the publishers and the authors for that matter. But sometimes, imaginatorium and good imaginatorium is all subjective. If you've walked through these blogs, I hope something has peaked your interest and intrigued you in such a way to discover the magic that lies within the pages of books. . .
So my New Year's Resolution: To be better at posting sooner and to make exciting posts as well. The reading will continue and perhaps there will be a bit of a different format as the new year comes about. Stay tuned!
Mockingjay- Suzanne Collins
The Last Olympian- Rick Riordan
Fever- Lauren Destefano
Payment in Blood- Elizabeth George
The Wizard and the Glass 
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