Tuesday 18 September 2012

Tell Me Something Tuesday #12

 













It's been awhile, I've missed some weeks of TMST but I've finally got my act together and I am joining in this week... Hurrah! And not a moment too soon as Cambria will be taking a break from TMST in October.

For those who don't know, Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely Cambria Herbert.

Each week Cambria thinks us up a question for us to answer and we all post our answers and link up. Simple; but a wonderful way for bloggers and readers to get to know each other.

On with the Q!




This weeks question:


Do you like to read stand alone novels – why or why not? What is the last stand alone novel that you read?

My answer:

Oh yes sir-ree I do!

I love to read. That's the long and short of it. The only thing that matters, is if the author can reach me through their characters, voice and story.

It's strange. Before blogging, I would read mostly stand-alone novels, but since blogging and getting to read some very interesting and up-to-date booky-type blogs, I have more time for, and interest in, series books.

That being said, I sometimes have trouble with books as a series. They can be great to start with only to fizzle out, or the writer can seem to "run out of steam". I know that I will probably get beaten with a book for saying this, but "The Hunger Games "was teetering on the edge of this. (Covers head awaiting flung paper backs)
Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed them, but by the end of book three, boy was I glad to get to the conclusion.

Sometimes a trilogy can really take a nose dive. And I mean, a really bad one. (My brother can vouch for this, he was reading a fantasy series, now I think they may end up as door stops or coasters....) They can start off great, have a long, boring middle and a lame, unbelievable ending. Thankfully, I haven't got any examples to date, it's either that, or the memory is so horrendous that I've blocked it out...

Source
You can find some real gems in stand alone titles. I like that you have the beginning, middle and end in your hands all at one and not have to wait for the next instalment. It's almost as bad when you are watching a season and they end on a cliff hanger - and you know that you have to wait a whole year for the next bit. I'm not the most patient of people...

The most recent stand alone novel was Inkarna by Nerine Dorman (read all about it here)
It. was. Awesome! Loved it. It was something completely different an the author concluded it beautifully.




This is what I think of when I think of great, stand alone titles that I have enjoyed.

 







6 comments:

  1. Hooray for the stand alones. I agree series can get too long and drawn out. best to end the series while it is still on top. I am always on the lookout for good stand alones so I will check out your list!

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    1. I hope you find something there you like Heidi! I'm sure I have more stand-alone titles that I loved, but thses were the ones I could pull from the memory!

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  2. What a great list here! The Jellybean one looks so fun!
    Sometimes series do go on too long so i can see yout point there! Thanks for joining in this week!

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    1. Hi Cambria! Very glad to be joining in this week! =0) The Jelly Bean Crisis was great! I didn't know if it would even be my type of read but the characters were so well done and you really do care about the story's protagonist - Poppy... Worth checking out!

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  3. You're right about the dangers of Trilogies - I love me some Peter Hamilton for about 2 2/3 books, then he brings in the deus ex machina and *wah wah wah wah* My answer: http://katysozaeva.blogspot.com/2012/09/tell-me-something-tuesday-on-wednesday.html

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  4. Ah, the perils of the trilogy eh Katy?! I'm glad it's not just me that gets that - I often wonder if it's just my impatience of wanting to get to the end lol.

    P.S. Can you recommend a trilogy that you enjoyed from beginning to end?

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