I have a tendency to have a really hard time to make a conscious decision to let a series go, in much the same way as I struggle with DNF'ing a book. There are tons of series that I have let drop off, but that was never actually a conscious decision because I wasn't enjoying the series anymore. It is more likely to be that I just didn't request the next book in the series from the library, or I borrowed it and didn't get to read it so had to be returned unread.
The idea of saying 'that's it, no more' to a series like Stephanie Plum is difficult because there was a time when I loved this series. I used to buy the books as they came out, and did this up to book 12, which is about when I decided that I didn't want to buy the books anymore but I was still happy to keep borrowing them from the library. Notorious Nineteen was marginally better than the last couple of books, but I still hadn't gotten to the point yet where I couldn't add my name to the request list once it was added to the library catalogue.
When I think about this series in particular, there are a few things that I think about.
I wonder if someone picked up this book as their introduction to the Stephanie Plum series if they would find it hysterically funny in the same way as I found the first few books in the series. Is it just not laugh out loud funny anymore because there are so many familiar scenes that seem to play out in each book: the cars that blow up, the whole Babe vs Cupcake thing with Ranger and Morelli, the fact that Stephanie couldn't apprehend a fly most of the time, Grandma Mazur's quips and Lula's constant state of hunger. The only element that is normally present that was missing this time was the animal humour - thank goodness! There's only so many times that a monkey giving someone the finger is funny - and for me that number was zero.
As an aside, I can't imagine ever picking up book 19 in a series without having read the previous ones, but apparently it happens!
I also wonder what impact if any the movie has had for readers of the series. In my imagination, I think I do see Katherine Heigl as Stephanie but the same isn't true for the characters who play Ranger and Joe. I still have my own image of what it is that they both look like.
I have contemplated rereading the few books of the series to see if they are actually as funny as I remember them being. The first time around, I would be laying in bed reading the books literally crying with laughter. And that wasn't just once, it was multiple times per book. I encouraged people I knew to read them and I know that they passed them onto their friends too.
I guess I am a little reluctant to try the reread in case it really does turn out that either they aren't as good as I remember them being, or that as a long time reader of the series I am now a little jaded by all the repetitive shenanigans. Whichever way it is, I don't want to spoil the memories that I currently associate with the earlier books.
Perhaps if I knew there was an end in sight for the series it would make it easier to go back to the beginning with a less pessimistic attitude, but as far as I can see the plan is for this series to keep going and going. All good books have a beginning, a middle and the ending. Perhaps the issue with this series in particular (but there are some other series where the same can be said to be true) is that the middle has been going for so long now that it is sagging badly, and the fight to get to the end is just going to be too uphill to make it.What about you? Do you find yourself getting sucked into the series vortex where you just can't quite let go?
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I agree on all points. I once drove through a horrible rain/hail storm to get to the bookstore (50 miles) on release day. But I quit buying them also. Glad to hear someone else doesn't care for the monkey!
ReplyDeleteI know a couple of people who aren't keen on the monkey!
DeleteI haven't read any of this series, but long ongoing series like this one - I tend to avoid. Like you said, I like my series to ave a definite end ... and I actually prefer them to end before I start. I have a hard time DNFing books too, but I've come to just accept that it's how I am - and as bad as a book is (for me), I'll stick it out to the end 99% of the time.
ReplyDeleteI stick it out 99% of the time too, and sometimes still feel guilty when I do end up giving up!
DeleteI am glad I am not the only one who isn't finding the last two or three as funny as the first 12 or 13. There were times when I would be laughing so hard I would have tears coming out of my eyes, in the early books! I think one of the problems is lack of character growth. Stephanie is stuck in a time and space, and isn't learning anything. And I want to see her learning from her experiences, and how she is at fault too for not being able to commit to Morelli, who is a fabulous character. I think I've lost respect for Stephanie in these past few books because she can't decide between the two, and 19 books is a long time to play against two men. Thanks for raising this thought, Marg :-)
ReplyDelete19 books is a long time to be still undecided but I think the problem for Evanovich is that once Stephanie decides once and for all (and I think it should be with Morelli too) she is going to upset huge numbers of people who like the other guy.
DeleteIt's not the most ridiculous love triangle I have read though. There was a contemporary cosy mystery series I was reading where the main character was dating two men and they both loved her enough to propose to her on the same day but she still couldn't decide which one to choose.
I started the series with book number 11; then I read No. Fifteen, followed by the No. One book, just before the movie came out. I enjoyed that one the most. And the movie.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Stephanie should have learned more along the way. The shenanigans have started to wear thin for me, too. And I've borrowed the last one I read from the library. And I hated the monkey!
I enjoy the Sue Grafton alphabet series more...and there is definitely an end in sight with that one. The next book should be "W."
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DeleteThanks Laurel-Rain. I think I would possibly still find no. 1 funny but I am not going to be testing that theory out just yet.
Although I haven't read the Stephanie Plum series, I definitely know the feeling of wanting to keep reading a series even after it has overstayed its welcome. It's just so hard to give up on characters once they've gotten into your head--you want to know how it all turns out for them.
ReplyDeleteExactly! You are invested in their lives and want to know where they are going.
DeleteI completely know what you mean about series ... I think they bog down after a while. I gave up on the sookie stackhouse series without really intending to. Only so many times you can care about a similar series of events. I feel like an author should have an end in mind and be ready to finish the series where appropriate, although I sometimes wonder if the huge popularity of them, like the Stephanie Plum series, is what keeps them going.
ReplyDeleteSookie was one that I have given up without really consciously making the decision to do so.
DeleteI think the fact that they do go straight to bestseller is a factor because the author and the publisher must be making good money off of them. Why would you stop a cash cow?
I have a really hard time giving up a series like this when I USED to love it a lot. It's SO helpful when there's an end in sight, too. I've gotten to the point where I try to avoid the seemingly endless series just for this reason! But, of course, they're not entirely avoidable. :) Good luck!
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I haven't read this series, but I've experienced similar issues with other series -- or other authors' work in general. Sometimes, the author seems to lose the passion; the books become more ho-hum, I think because the author is churning out what the publisher and public are willing to buy, instead of what s/he really wants to write.
ReplyDeleteJ. K. Rowling was brave to walk away from Harry Potter when she finished the series. There were plenty of fans who wanted more stories -- about James, Sirius, and Remus, or about Harry's kids, or ANYthing set in that world. But she had told the story she wanted to tell, and she took the time and the risk to write a completely different story. It's a luxury that the success of HP gave to her; not every author is in a financial position to take that risk. But it was still a risk, from a creative standpoint, and it still took courage.
I haven't read the series , but haved loved several others. My favorites are usually under 10 books long. And I'll reread some of them if they have multi-dimensional characters that keep revealing more about themselves, or growing in some way. They are basically very long stories - like Dorothy Dunnett's, J. K. Rowling, the Patrick O'Brien sea-faring series (a very long example!). . .
ReplyDeleteI think extra long series succeed best in genre fiction, like Evanovich's mysteries. I can't imagine someone like Dorothy Dunnett writing 19 books in a series.
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