I am currently having a mini crisis -- I ran out of space on my bookshelf.
Really, I ran out of space a long time ago, but I continued to shove books in every crevice available. Now, I have accepted the fact that if I stuff another on the shelf I will have to brace myself for the biggest avalanche ever to be seen in my room.
While I was mourning this tragedy, I began to realize a pattern on my bookshelves. Most of the books are series, or part of series. Some of them are companion novels too. I have a lot of books, but they are all by the same authors.
I have also noticed this pattern on my new Kindle. I have found so many novellas that I never knew existed. It seems that some authors write more novellas than actual novels.
A popular example that I found for this is Cassandra Clare.
She has written three trilogies for the same world, and she is currently working on another that will be released later this year.
Novels
The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, Clockwork Princess
The Mortal Instruments 1: City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass
The Mortal Instruments 2: City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, City of Heavenly Fire
The Dark Artifices: Lady Midnight, Prince of Shadows, The Queen of Air and Darkness*
The Last Hours: Chains of Gold, Chains of Iron, Chains of Thorns*
The Wicked Powers: untitled, but it will be a trilogy*
Total: 18 books
*Series that are still in development
Novellas and Companions
The Shadowhunter's Codex
Shadowhunters and Downworlders
The Bane Chronicles: What Really Happened in Peru, The Runaway Queen, Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale, The Midnight Heir, The Rise of the Hotel Dumort, Saving Raphael Santiago, The Fall of Hotel Dumort, What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything, The Last Stand of the New York Institute, The Course of True Love (and First Dates), The Voicemail of Magnus Bane
Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy: Welcome to the Shadowhunter Academy, The Lost Herondale, The Whitechapel Fiend, Nothing by Shadows, The Evil We Love, Pale Kings and Princes, Bitter of Tongue, The Fiery Trial, Born to Endless Night, Angels Twice Descending*
*Series still in development
Total: 23
That is enough to fill an entire bookshelf.
Do not get me wrong, I still love Clare's writing. Her characters are complex, funny, and entertaining. I love how she created her own world. Her writing style is one of my personal favorites. I just cannot read another book about the Shadowhunter world.
When I read a book, I automatically fill in the little details that the author leaves out with my own imagination. For me, this make the world my own. This is why I love open ended books. Then, I am free to run wild and imagine what could have happened. I do not need an author to dictate every single facet of their world. Then, it is the author's world, not mine. My problem is that I am having trouble putting my own mark on Clare's world. In a way, she invaded my carefully constructed plans for Magnus's past lives. I feel as if her world is colliding with the own inside my own head. Her books are becoming more destructive to me than enjoyable. It is like Clare is throwing her books at me faster than I can absorb.
Clare's series will always hold a special place in my nerdy heart, but I am not sure if her recent/developing series will.
I will gladly read anything else she writes, as long as it is not in the Shadowhunter world. Unfortunately, it does not seem like she is going to stop anytime soon.
I also have this problem with epilogues in general. I almost cried during the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows epilogue. Everything about the future was spelled out for the reader with practically no room to imagine anything.
I have been struggling with other books too, like The Heir by Kiera Cass and The Specials by Scott Westerfield. I do not want to have my version of the story be ruined.
I am definitely an open-ended reader. I love cliffhangers and mysterious endings, but I guess I am in the minority.
Do you like open endings? How do you feel about epilogues? Are you continuing with the Shadowhunter series? If so, why?
