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 CodexShadowhunters 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?
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ReplyDeleteThanks! That means a lot to us. We will get the post up as soon as we can.
DeleteI see your point, lots of authors have questioned this. To be honest, I will read ANYTHING Cassie Clare writes. I was wildly impressed with TID, especially after thinking it wouldn't be as good as TMI. Clare has created this awesome shadowhunter world, and I can't wait to see what's going to happen next! As long as the books are stellar like her other ones and are entertaining and she doesn't phone it in, then I'm a content reader :) Lovely post!
ReplyDeleteI do lovep her writing style and how she makes her characters so real. I mean, who doesn't love Jace? But I want something new from her. I will read anything by her, and I might end up reading her newer series, but there is no way I am going to be able to keep up with the novellas.
DeleteI never thought of authors writing too many books. Personally I don't really ever read novellas. For example I own all the Infernal Devices books in the series but I haven't bought all the Mortal Instrument books. I mainly just borrow those from the library because I don't want a 6 book series in my library. I love Cassandra Clare though, and I think her work is brilliant. Yes, she does write a lot of books but that really won't stop me from buying them or borrowing them.
ReplyDeleteAlex @ The Book's Buzz
I think that is part of the problem. I cannot even buy the rest of her books because I have run out of space on my bookshelf because I have all of her other books! It is quite frustrating for me, but I do see your point. Her writing is amazing, but I am getting tired of the same Shadowhunter world.
DeleteI am trying to stay away from series. I have two that I started over 10 years ago and still have not finished...and it seems that 80% of what I see is another book in a series. Is it bad that I'm a little anti-series? I don't know if it's semi-permanent or if it will pass, but I have to totally ignore books in a series right now.
ReplyDeleteI think it is great that some people are anti-series. Honestly, I even get tired of them myself. I hate having to wait for the rest of the books in a series to be released. I love stand-alone books too. The fact that an author can wrap up an entire story in one book is amazing to me.
DeleteI have only read one of Clare's books and probably won't continue, if I'm honest, so I can't really comment there. But I'm definitely the kind of person who likes to have things wrapped up. I also like seeing the way an author sees their world - perhaps because I'm a writer myself? I have no problem with them revealing everything about the world, as you mentioned. I actually tend to be fascinated by how much thought and time they put into it.
ReplyDeleteFor the main question - can authors write too many books - I think it depends. After awhile, I think they will be putting out books faster than they can come up with new ideas, and it's going to be the same story, with a few twists, over and over. I also think that it relates a lot to money, and while I understand, I don't think that's what writing should be (completely) about. At the same time, there's always someone who can get something out of a book. Words mean so much, and every book is worded differently ... So I'm not sure we can say some authors write too much, or criticize them for always writing the same, if those words helped people. If that makes any sense at all?
I understand what you mean. This question has a lot of different variables. Personally, I do not think an author can write too many books in general, but they have variety. I think it is possible that an author can write too many books in one particular world. At some point, the readers are going to get bored with the same characters, setting, and, sometimes, the same conflict.
DeleteI understand that some authors need to have new books in print. But, that should not sacrifice the quality of the story. I do believe that words are the best way to help people. They are so powerful, even if the message has been written before.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment!
YES AUTHORS CAN WRITE TOO MANY BOOKS. I think Cassandra Clare wrote too many books for TMI that I feel it's better left as a trilogy :P But that's okay, I understand that you have so many books written by the same author. I have a bunch of J.K. Rowling novels, and they filled up half of the shelf already haha :)
ReplyDeleteJillian @ Jillian's Books
I agree that Cassandra Clare is overusing her ideas from the TMI series. I would love if she wrote something different, but the only thing (that I know of) she has plans for is more TMI books and novellas. J.K. Rowling has written a ton of books, but they are all different. She has the Harry Potter series, her mystery books as Robert Galbraith, and her adult book The Casual Vacancy. I think she has come to accept that there is nothing else she should add to the Harry Potter series, and I respect that she knows when to stop.
DeleteI don't think it's a matter of writing too many books total, but perhaps too many books in the same world. I haven't read any of Clare's books, but I do know that after 13 Sookie Stackhouse books, I was so ready to be done with that world. I do know it is hard for authors to abandon beloved locales and characters, but after awhile, as a reader, I just want something new!
ReplyDeleteTerri M., the Director
Second Run Reviews
Yes! That is exactly my point! I would love if Clare wrote something outside of her Shadowhunter world. I would read it in a heartbeat! I never thought I would say this, but there is definitely such a thing as too many books in this case.
DeleteHere's my take: Personally, I am very, VERY over Shadowhunters. I think she's beaten that dead horse many times over. I won't be reading them. BUT, if she has ideas, then hey, write away! I mean, at some point, even the most die-hard fans will probably get a little sick of it, but I figure if she is enjoying it as an author, and readers are enjoying it, then why not? I have the choice not to read them (and I will be taking advantage of that choice). I can imagine that as an author, it may be hard to say goodbye to a world, and while I'd like to think I would be able to move on to something new, who knows? VERY interesting topic though!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree! Even though I am not going to read all of her books, I will not criticize her or her fans. I know that it can be hard to let go of a world, especially if you created it, but I think she has grown out of this world. I believe that she has developed as an author and that she should show her improvement through creating another amazing world.
DeleteI've only read 3 books by Cassandra Clare so far. But I totally get where you're coming from. My Mercedes Lackey for instance? Takes up 4 entire shelves in one of my bookcases (and I think I'm missing a box or 2 of her books since my last move). Anne McCaffrey takes up nearly 3 shelves, Anne Bishop takes just over 1 shelf...etc.
ReplyDeleteWhen you find an author you love/like, and they happen to be a prolific writer, it's hard to say no to buying more books by them.
I don't mind open endings, or series carrying on for mass quantities of books. As long as each book is written well. It can't be the same old thing, or reused plots, or just filler books to get another one out there. Once that starts happening, I stop buying books in that series and move on.
I agree. But I also think that it is inevitable for an author to get repetitive. It might just be me, but I eventually get tired of the same old characters in the same word.
DeleteI think I am like you, I prefer open ended books and stories. I like to create my own ideas of what would happen with the characters (this is why I don't like the Harry Potter epilogue).
ReplyDeleteAbout the Shadowhunters...I don't even know. It's so daunting. I am still reading City of Glass and there are so many out there. I'm interested in the series, but not that much.
At the same time I can understand why an author and readers would want to stick with the same worlds and characters. As long as it is still fun for the people involved, I don't think an author can write too many books. An example I have of this is Meg Cabot. I have read 20 of her books, 10 of which were part of the Princess Diaries series and I enjoyed every single one. I think a big part of that is the fact that I read these books as they were released and as I was growing up. So maybe someone picking up the entire series at once wouldn't feel the same way. That waiting for the next book, the growing with the characters, that's a big part of a series enjoyment. And maybe that's the reason some (readers/authors) can't let go of their series.
Anyway, that's a really great discussion to have!
Most of the time, I try to skip spoilers, but sometimes my curiosity does get the better of me. I like to compare the author's view of the future with my own. They do not match most of the time.
DeleteI do agree that Clare's books are a bit daunting. I know that there are many series that I have not read because the series is so long! I have always wanted to read Tamora Pierce's fantasy books, but there are just too many!
I agree that sometimes series go on for just too long. I've only read the first Clare book, and I want to read more, but it seems like such a commitment!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I would definitely recommend the first three Mortal Instrument books, but if you are worried about the commitment, then you can stop after the third. They were originally planned to just be a trilogy, so it does give closure.
DeleteTo me, an author can write as much as they want as long as the plot doesn't dry up. Many authors take things too far.
ReplyDeleteWhat bothers me more is when authors just write a bunch of books and a new one seems to be out every few months and when you pick it up, it is obvious that editing did not happen. I just want to write the author and tell them, less books! Take the time to write quality novels please.
I totally agree with you! Most of the time, it is painfully obvious when an author is rushing to finish a book. Writing is an art and it takes time to create great stories. I guess some authors are willing to sacrifice their story to get a book our early.
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