Wednesday, June 13, 2007

I haven't been reading at all lately and I keep trying to figure out why. The only theory I can come up with is because all the books on my to-be-read pile are paranormals.

In theory, I love the thought of a paranormal book. Vampires are hot. But every time I try to start a vamp series, I only last a couple books before I quit.

Sometimes I can't even make it through the first book.

Christine Feehan; Dark Series: I got through about 2 or 3 of these books before they all started to sound the same. I took a break and when I tried going back, I'd lost track of where I'd left of and all the details. Since all authors have their own rules in the worlds they create, it really pays to keep up.

Charlaine Harris; Sookie Stackhouse: I really liked this series. It was funny and involved many characters-and not all of them vampires. But again, I only made it through about 2 of the books before quitting.

J.R. Ward; The Black Dagger Brotherhood: I read the first book in this series and LOVED it. But the man I loved the most was the only non-vampire in the bunch. He was a cop who gets fired for crossing the line and ends up hanging out with the 'brothers.' And I found that I wanted to skip the books in between and go straight to his. That's not good.

MaryJanice Davidson; The Undead series: I got pretty far in this series. But I think it was because it was first person and lighthearted. Plus, it was really, really funny. Humor can get me through any genre. Even Historical; my least favorite genre. But I'm still a couple books behind in the series. I'd have to read the blurbs to figure out where I left off.

Nora Roberts; The Circle Trilogy: Now I'm a HUGE Nora fan, and I haven't even started this series. I have them all, ready to read, and I haven't touched them. And all my friends-even the non paranormal fans-swear to me it's a really good series. But every time I pick up Morrigan's Cross, I can't get through the first page. What is with that?

I'm thinking it might have to do with the amount of work involved in reading paranormals. Because the authors build their own worlds, they have their own rules. You have to remember all the rules to really understand the books. Pick up any contemporary book and you can usually get into it right away with no real confusion. (Unless it's about a career/sport/place you're not familiar with).

Maybe I should give up on the paranormals for now. Do you think? Or maybe I'm just not in the reading mood. I think I'll have a pact to read at least one a week and review them here. Do you think that'll motivate me?

We'll see!

1 comment:

Connie said...

Hmmm, lets see what's on your pile.

Christine Feehan ~ Don't read her; the blurbs haven't caught my attention.

Charlaine Harris Southern Vampires ~ Love, love, love! I'm on the library list for the new one because I only buy one author in HC.

J. R. Ward ~ I've read the first two and have the rest on my TBR. Just haven't felt the urge to pick them back up.

MJD Undead ~ Another Love, love, love! Betsy's just so funny. Another, though, that I get from the library as they're not worth the HC price (I can read one in about an hour).

Nora Roberts Circle Trilogy ~ IMO, paranormal is not something the Queen excels at. The first two were OK (and only OK), but the last one was a total waste of my time. Hated the hero, hated the ending. Bleah . . .

I can recommend Kim Harrison's books about Rachel Morgan. They're some of my favorites (unfortunately, now she's bringing those out in HC first, too).