Book Rants - June 2026

I might had watched way too more movies than read books. It has been a rather lazy month. I seemed to lack the will to do things. I guess I can blame the weather. Here are the books I read in June and some movies I had watched. (I'm not listing all the movies I had seen because most of them are re-watches.)

01 -  Murder in Chinatown (Gaslight Mystery#9) by Victoria Thompson
What's it about: poverty, immigrants, murder
The mystery was really good in this one and it keeps me guessing who the suspect was. And as usual, I enjoyed the interaction between Sarah and Malloy (the two main characters).

Book Rants - May 2026

Is it helpful to talk about books I didn't finish? I like to list them in case someone might take interest because even if a book didn't work for me, others might find it to their liking. Even if a book have all the ingredients you like, it didn't mean you'll like the book. Here are the books I read and two I didn't finish.

Books I Unfinished:

01 - Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz
What's it about: post apocalyptic America, humanlike-robots, restaurant business 
Quit at: 29%
I thought this was about four robots running a noodle shop but it's mostly discussions of restaurant businesses, ownerships (of said business but also the robots), food, a lot of cursing (four-letter f words and the usual ones) and money (they are all broke). There are different perspectives and various back stories. It's a crappy world where humanity is no better than dirt (according to the robots anyway) and robots are pretty much in the same situations except they have less rights.
    I didn't care about a single robot no matter that they have various genders (some of them are referred to as 'they'), various body types (some had many arms and legs), they just seem bland. At first, I thought they are going to stick with Staybehind (the story starts with him, a robot waking up) but then they switched perspective and suddenly, it's dull. Don't know what happened, I just couldn't muster interest and even at 163 pages, I couldn't finish it. 

Ten Book Series I Deemed As Finished

If a book series is good, I want more but if a series is the opposite, I would wonder why it's so long. Sometimes I think authors/publishers are dragging out storylines so that there would be more books. Maybe we will never get to control how long or how short a series is but we can choose not to read them. Book series are getting ridiculously long and I refuse to endure a series if I'm not getting along with them. Here the books series I'm done with.

01 - Noodle Shop Mystery by Vivien Chien (7 books read, 13 released so far) 
I thought by book 6 or even 7, Lana (the main character) would grow a bit (investigation skills for example) but nope. Every book is pretty much the same so I thought reading 7 books is enough. The 14th book will soon be released which tells me that this will probably be 20 or 30 books long but I don't like Lana enough to follow her slow growth. I can read for the mystery but I find them a bit dull. The one fun thing is the covers - one can enjoy searching for a skull on every cover.

A few complaints about ebooks, reading, ereaders

01 - Recently, I heard amazon is discontinuing their kindle devices released in 2012 or earlier on May 20 which means those older devices cannot be used to purchase new ebooks or borrow ebooks from your public library but can only read the books already on the device and if you do a factory reset, the device will become unusable, basically a paperweight. What was the point of all this except to force people to upgrade? 
    I find this unfair because most people cannot afford a new ereader. I admit, some devices are too old to use but aren't we creating more waste by not using what is still working? If amazon wants people to upgrade then they should allow people to trade their old devices for new ones and not just give them 10 dollars gift card for them.

02 - The problem with Overdrive (which I use to borrow public library ebooks) is that, it does not tell you whether a book can be read on certain ereaders unless you borrow books directly from the ereader. (I use a kobo ereader.) Basically when I search for a book at my library's Overdrive website, I had to take a chance whether it can be read on my kobo. Most of the time, if there is a kindle format, it can be read on a kobo which is like 80 to 90% of the time. The only certainty is whether it can be read on a kindle because that's one of the formats that is offered in most library books - why is that anyway? Amazon doesn't even own Overdrive.
    The ebook formats usually offered from a library (my public library anyway, I'm in the U.S.) are: Kindle, OverDrive Read (read in a browser), EPUB, Open EPUB, PDF, MediaDo (design for graphic novels but read in a browser) and audio books which I don't use. (Read all about the different formats here).
    Supposedly if the ISBN number of an ebook at the kobo store matches the ebook your library had purchased, you can read it on a kobo otherwise you have to sideload the epub version (by using Adobe Digital Edition with authorization of your ereader) or the open epub version (which didn't need authorization). 
    I got the kobo so I don't have to sideload books or use Adobe Digital Edition because Overdrive is built right on the device and yet I cannot read a book that is an OverDrive format. So maybe sideloading books isn't too hard but it really defeats the purpose of having Overdrive on your device. (Note: OverDrive is the correct term with the capital D but I find it confusing that there is an OverDrive format so I used Overdrive when not referring to the format.)

03 - Last month, when I closed a borrowed library ebook and sync my ereader (a kobo), that book became a preview which is basically a sample which means I cannot continue reading the book. I tried many methods to get the ebook back but nothing works. The only reason a borrowed library becomes a preview if it expired which it didn't. The other reason is if the book's license (which the library had purchased) expired which wouldn't make sense because if it had expired, I wouldn't be able to borrow the book at all. I had return it and borrowed it again but it won't load onto my kobo so I was forced to finish the book on my kindle ereader which I loathed. I know it's a bit of a luxury to have two ereaders but I've been meaning to get rid of my kindle ereader (by selling, trade it in to amazon or giving it away) but I was too lazy. Maybe I should do a giveaway here on this blog? Is it even worth it since it will probably get discontinued in a few years by amazon?

04 - Petty reason not to read/continue a book #1 - Using the four-letter f word in a cozy mystery or a cozy book. I had this strange idea that if a book is cozy, it should not be bombarded with four-letter f word, to sort of give it a tame and friendly feeling but this seems not to be true.
    I recently tried to read a book that is a contemporary/fantasy-ish kind of cozy book but I couldn't stand that the main female character who is forty-something keeps using the four-letter f word and even use it as a verb. A character can curse when they are frustrated and angry but doing it like a natural habit is not something I like. Sometimes I think of this using the four-letter f word is a sign of immaturity that I cannot accept in older characters. Or am I weird to think that? And why was it necessary for a forty-something woman to curse? Is this a dumb reason not to read/continue a book?

05 - Petty reason not to read/continue a book #2 - Having a main character who sleeps in a tent on the beach and having casual sex with the lifeguard. I didn't read this book (which is also a first book in a series) but I read this synopsis and this is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. As a grown woman, she can do the latter but to sleep in a tent on a beach on a daily basis is baffling especially since she can afford real housing. Why isn't she worrying about the weather or the sand or the sun or someone coming up on her and attacking her or murdering her in her sleep? And also, because she's a cop, there might be criminals who she put away and maybe want to kill her or harm her. How many dumb reasons do you need to not do this? Plus she has a dog - I would think to be a responsible pet owner, you should have a real place, if not for yourself, for your dog. 

06 - Petty reason not to read/continue a book #3 - Having one of the main character's wife killed so he can be a broody mentor to some new youngster - why should this make sense? Can not a mentor have a wife, a happy family life, while still teaching his new student? Why did he need to have something tragic to provoke him to take on a student? Or rather, why did he have to be a gloomy fellow? Does having a dead wife made him a better mentor? Or perhaps the question to ask is, why do we need this? Or perhaps the real question is since this is a sequel series re-starter, why ruin the happiness of a character to continue a series? I can't accept this so this is another petty reason for not reading. 

07 - I recently encountered a male author who wrote under the pseudonym of a fake female author who had a fake bio (on goodreads). This author wrote books with main female characters which annoys me more. This is surprising but at the same time I find this disturbing. When female authors used male pseudonyms, they don't pretend to be male (as far as I can tell). I may be bias about this. I think male authors had no need or reason to pretend to be females. 
    Since fictional authors (tv characters and such) can author books, why not fake authors? But we know those fictional character authors are fake unlike this male author pretending to be this female author who is fake but not every reader would know unless they go about researching it. But still, what is the point of writing as a fake female author? 

Do you have a complaint about your reading or books in general?

Book Rants: April 2026

accidently here no. 2

I had a good reading month though it was busier than usual with the A-Z Challenge which I just finished. (I'll talk about that in a later post.) The art above have nothing to do with anything, I just thought I share it since I finished it and it's something cheerful to look at. Here are the books I read in April. 

01 - The house with a dragon in it by Nick Lake, illustrated by Emily Gravett
What's it about: a dragon, a witch, an orphan, wishes, family
It was disappointing that the dragon is only at the beginning and end of the book and didn't get involved in the main story. This is really about an orphan and a witch who grants her wishes. I half enjoyed this. It's mostly because I expected more of the dragon so it's like false advertising, perhaps this needs a new title and new cover art. The illustrations are wonderful.

Book Rants - March 2026

Here are the books I read & movies and shows I watched in March.

Books I Read:

01 - The Spoon in the Bathroom Wall by Tony Johnston
What's it about: school, bullies, bad principal, dragons, teachers, magic
This was really short (about 144 pages), I read it this in about an hour and some minutes - It really seems like a short story and yet, not really. I sort of liked this but it was just so short and everything moved quickly.

Book Rants - Feb 2026

I had set out to read more fantasies and middle grade and ended up reading more grade fantasies with not a murder in sight except in one book which I didn't finish reading. I would like to read more varieties but at the same time, I don't really like to read too beyond my comfort zone so it's a bit difficult choosing what books to read. 
    It's been a snowy, cold February, quite a fast month. The days just zoom on by. It didn't seem like I did anything but I did some work, some blogging, some reading and other things I forgot. If I didn't have a blog where I post some of my activities, I probably wouldn't remember much. Anyway, here are the books I read this month and a few I didn't finish.

Books I Finished:

01 - Totally Psychic (#1) by Brigid Martin
What's it about: psychics, ghosts, school, family, friends, sisters
I guess I would have liked this better if it wasn't so predictable but considering I read many types of these books (boy or girl using their new powers and the chaos that follows and breaking rules or advice they knew they should follow but don't), I would easily know where it will go. This was a good book but the stakes aren't super high and you know things will turn out fine in the end. There's a sequel but I probably won't read it.

Some of My Favorite Fairytale Retellings

Rachel at Hamlette's Soliloquy is hosting a We Love Fairy Tales Week (February 9-14) and I thought I list my favorite fairytale retellings (not in any particular order) with a few honorable mentions. For more about We Love Fairy Tales Week, go here.

01 - Kiss of the Spindle by Nancy Campbell Allen
Retelling of: Sleeping Beauty
With: steampunk fashion & technology (such as airships, an android that is sort of amusing, shifters, a surprise creature (which I will not name because it's a spoiler)
I really like the ending with a surprise (to me anyway) creature. (This is part of a four-book series but it can be read as a standalone.)

Book Rants - Jan 2026

It has been a long-short month where the days just sweep by like there's only a few hours per day. I did some reading, some jigsaw puzzles, basically procrastinating until I have to do mandatory stuff like work and chores. Same old things but I'm lucky to be able to say nothing extremely bad happened and though I wish time would go slower, at least I'm still around to complain. Here are the books I read this month.

01 - Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
What's it about: silver, gold, moneylenders, Jews, poor people, winter, bits of magic, kings, demons, slightly lunatic husbands
There are three main female characters (Miryem, Wanda, Irina) we are following so it's like we are reading three different stories at once though they are interconnected. I don't like these other perspectives from minor characters that could be told through one of the three though there is a bit that is probably necessary for one of the minor character's view but it wasn't as if they couldn't fit it into with the three. Plus why no winter king's perspective when his character is essential to the plot? I like that the king adheres to a strict trading rule - you do something for him and he do something for you in return - he doesn't do anything without a reason.
    There is no romance which I'm all for but the ending sort of ends like a romance which is fine. But these women (two of them anyway) were forced to marry these jackasses and [SPOILER AHEAD > they ended up with them so it kind of seem like a dumb conclusion but at the least the men changed in a way < END SPOILER] but we don't know that for sure since the ending isn't too detailed.
    Still, I enjoyed this book even if I sort of dislike how it ended but the ending still would have benefit from more details. 

Book Rants - Dec 2025

I might have quit reading more books than I finished but I still read more than usual. I'm not listing the books I quit reading because I didn't even read them past 10%. Here are the books I had finished reading this month. 

01 - Dying Cry (Timber Creek K-9 Mystery #10) by Margaret Mizushima
What's it about: small town, K-9, crime, murder, veterinary, family
I did think having the main characters married would make the story less appealing but it didn't but I still don't like Cole's viewpoint (main character) all that much. It's Mattie (main character) who is more interesting, being the cop but I don't have much interest in veterinary so reading Cole's view point sort of slows the story for me. Also, there is less Robo (the k-9) but there are other dogs too. Overall, a good addition to the series but I did think the writing seemed not as good as the previous books but that might not be true since I didn't re-read to compare. 

Some end of the year thoughts

01 - Time is just speeding by - It has been an unproductive year but maybe this is due to my procrastination but it really feels as if time went way faster than last year. In the beginning of every year, I thought, I'm going to finish this or that project or do this or that but I never got around to it and the year is almost over and I have done only maybe 50% of what I thought I would do. My procrastination isn't easing up and I have no excuse, no cure. Maybe it's better to give up some of those things I couldn't do and move on. Getting stuck is probably worst than not doing.
    So what have I done this year? I couldn't remember half of it but I read a lot of books, listened to some new music, watched a lot of shows (mostly repeats) and movies, did a lot of work, wrote some fiction, made some art, and did a lot of forgettable things. I think if you can accomplish at least one thing, like cleaning a tiny area in your closet, you're good. It's all good.

02 - A great loss to the blogging community – We had a great loss with Elephant's Child passing a few months ago (aka Sue though I've only known her as Elephant's Child). She was our coordinator/mc for the Words for Wednesday writing challenge and we shall all miss her. I didn't meet Elephant's Child in person but she was a very supportive, steady, presence in a lot of blogger's life including mine. May Elephant's Child rest in a kind and serene paradise.

03 - Blogging still means something – I posted a lot less than last year and I'm a little disappointed in myself but that's fine. I don't seem to be commenting on blogs as much as before and which should matter more. Commenting is like the central part of blogging and if I'm not commenting on other people's blogs, it just seems like I don't deserve comments on my blog. It can't all be one-sided. But I do read and appreciate every comment  left on my blog and I always try to return a comment but sometimes I get lazy. But I still reply to comments left on my blog though they are mostly a month or two behind. I still love blogging and I'll never give it up unless I'm force to do so.

04 - Blogging is therapy – I was very unmotivated this year. Unmotivated to write, draw, do every day chores, work, move. Having a blog helps to motivate me a bit. I think having to contemplate about what to post, what artwork to make with those posts, gives me a push to do stuff. I'm starting to think my blog is like therapy - without it, it feels like I can give up on everything and be lazy. With it, it feels like I can do a whole lot of everything. But the motivation comes and goes but I think my blog, this blog (or any blog I might create in the future), will always give me some motivation whether I post once every couple of weeks or a few times a week. I don't mind being an erratic blogger if I'm still blogging.

05 - When no means yes? – I was paying for an item at Barnes and Noble and the lady cashier asked if I want a shopping bag (you have to pay for shopping bags which are paper bags as all the shops no longer use plastic bags and yet, those had been free), I said no but then she asked again and again, I said no. When I checked the receipt, she had charged me for the bag but I was already out the door so I didn't go back and make a fuss but I was a bit miffed and mystified especially since nothing was complicating the matter - how can they get it wrong? I had a lot of bad shopping experiences with retail people so my expectations of them is very low but what the hell is this? I see no real explanation other than a brain fog but still rather annoying.

06 - Reading preferences can be a bit singular – One of the annoying thing about reading that I had come across lately was the four-letter F word used as a verb - my prudish side really hated this. (Using it as a curse is perfectly fine.) The previous months and this month, I started a lot of books that used this verb and I just dropped them. I would end up thinking of what I had read with that verb so basically, I couldn't really enjoy the book even if I had continued. So this is a dumb reason not to continue/read a book but I don't care. And please don't tell me how many amazing books I'll be missing for not reading them - I don't care. Someone (on youtube) had said how people who don't read books with explicit sex scenes meant they're missing out on amazing books and I would say the same thing - I don't care - I don't read books with explicit sex scenes either. Everyone have their reading preferences so don't encourage people to read what they don't want.
    
07 - Keep calm and read a book – I read a lot this year and I count quantity as good reading because not reading means means a bad year. One needs to get lost in a book once in a while or else real life will seem like hell. Now if only I can find books to read that don't make me give up on them after 20%.  

Do you have any thoughts about this year? What's on your mind these days?

My Best & Worst Books of 2025

I don't read much in December so I'm making this list early. But if I happen to read a really good or really bad book, I'll edit this but it's unlikely since every time I make these lists, none of my best of or worst of are read in December. Apparently, I seem to be reading a lot of murder mysteries now and less fantasy and middle grade which don't know if this is good or bad but at least, I read a lot more this year than last. Here are the worst and best books I read in 2025 in the order of from worst to best.

The Worst

01 - The Bangalore Detectives Club (#1) by Harini Nagendra
What's it about: sari, Indian food, something about a murder mystery
Thoughts: The writing is clumsy with awkward transitions between scenes, some chapters ending abruptly or they seemed to be cut off for no reason, long run-on sentences that probably could be broken up, small actions/events that are out of order or that they contradict each other, characters recapped events/happenings to other characters instead of readers witnessing it (this was written with a man reading a journal of sorts so readers are reading what the man is reading so it's like readers are getting third-hand accounts) and this didn't seem to have been touched by an editor. And yes, this is the author's debut but that's no excuse. As for the mystery - it was mediocre.

Book Rants - Nov 2025

Time just flew by. I don't think I did anything productive that wasn't provoked by time. Deadlines are good sometimes especially when you're unmotivated. At least I read some books. Here are the books I read (and a movie I watched) in November.

~ Books I read ~

01 - Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa, translated by Alison Watts
What's it about: making sweet bean paste, cherry blossoms, leprosy (Hansen's disease), friendship
I enjoyed this though it's a little depressing and characters aren't exactly winning at life or anything. Tokue (main character) is like a mystical figure because she thinks differently than other people and I like her idea - you don't have to be useful to society to live, you just do. This ended kind abruptly as we don't know what Sentaro's (main character) future. I did expect a certain character's end but kind of didn't want it to happen. This is not a happy story and yet this is recommended as cozy book which I think it's a kind of true but we really need to redefine cozy because cozy always somehow comes with sorrow - this book certainly does but I still liked it.

Book Rants: Oct 2025

Time just sped by so quickly. Already the year is almost over and it seems like I haven't really done anything. But at least I read some books. Here are all the books I read in and a movie I watched in October.

01 - There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura, translated by Polly Barton
What's it about: jobs, work, work relationships
This read like short stories (book is divided by jobs) as told by a nameless, thirty-something woman testing temp jobs to get an easy one because she was burnout from her previous job. She gets very involved with whatever job she was doing and is very competent at it which might make you hate her and yet, you don't. She cares about people and yet, she seems a bit aloof about relationships. But somehow she made us care about the people she cares about. Some of these jobs had a bit of paranormal to them, like a touch of whimsy.
    There was a scene where someone left a threatening message 'Die alone' and she interpreted as someone saying, 'I rather die than die alone!' and I don't know why, I just laughed at this and it's like funniest thing to me but it probably isn't funny at all.
    This is under the category of 'cozy Japanese reads' but I wish they wouldn't use the F word because that somehow took away the cozy. I enjoyed this book very much and the translation is wonderfully un-American.

Books I Unfinished - Oct 2025

I want to say these books aren't bad but I would be lying. But these are my opinions and you know what to do with opinions,right? Some of these books aren't bad, they are just bad to me as a reader. These are the books I stopped reading because I either lost interest or I simply didn't like it enough to continue. Sometimes I do finish a book even if I didn't like it because my brain sometimes refused to listen to the rest of me. Here are the books I unfinished lately. 

01 - Meet Me in the Moon Room by Ray Vukcevich
What's it about: short stories, fantasy, science fiction
Quit at: 17%
Why I quit: I was enticed by the cover art but the oddity, craziness, weirdness was too much for me but mostly because there are no resolutions to these short stories. I know short stories usually don't have resolutions but these were so short, they wouldn't have fit in a resolution. I didn't read them all so I couldn't say if they get longer.

Book series I've only read one book of (Vol. 2)

Maybe my reasons for not continuing a series a bit lame but that's that. I don't think it matters because we can read whatever we want or don't want and it's perfectly okay to put down a book or a series when you're not enjoying it. I like to read books I enjoy rather than try to like books I'm not enjoying. And just because I put it on this list didn't mean I might not continue later on. Here are more book series that I read one book of and will not likely continue. (Most of these I read before 2025.)(My previous list is here.) 

01 - A Wrinkle in Time (#1) by Madeleine L'Engle
What's it about: time, space, another planet
What I think: I should love this because it's the kind of book I do like reading but I can't seem to get into it. Perhaps if I had read this as a child, I might have loved it and even devour the series but it was dull to me.
Reasons to quit series: It was kind of dull

02 - The Case of the Missing Marquess (Enola Holmes #1) by Nancy Springer
What's it about: missing mother, amateur sleuthing
What I think: Being Sherlock Holmes' younger sister, there is some expectation that really wouldn't have been there if that's not the case. For some odd reason, I keep thinking Holmes is going to come and solve the mystery but nope. Apparently Enola backwards spells Alone and that's somehow described her well. At times, she seems awfully mature and at others, she is essentially a child playing a game. I don't dislike her but I also don't like her. The mysteries (there seems to be two here) is a bit bland to me.
Reasons to quit series: If she is her own original character with no relations to Sherlock Holmes, I might like her but mostly the mysteries was dull.

Book Rants: Sept 2025

I would like to have more varieties in the books I read but I always seem to end up reading murder mysteries. I had tried a couple of none murder mysteries but I barely got past the first chapter but at least I did finish one science fiction. The more I dislike a book (or anything), the more I have to complain about so some of these rants are pretty long. It wasn't a great reading month but I did enjoy a couple of books. 
   I put in the spoiler alert text in red but is it useful? It's difficult to decide sometimes what is spoiler and what isn't. I think you cannot write your thoughts on certain books without some spoilers so yes, spoilers for all the books I mentioned here.
    Here are all the books I read in September and other stuff I finished.

Books I Read:

01 - The Night Singer (The Island Murders #1) by Johanna Mo
What's it about: death of a teenage boy, investigation, teenagers, family, old crimes
This is like two books in one but the same story told twice - one in the victim's point of view (Joel, which was told in the present tense which is odd but acceptable) and the other is the investigation with various point of views, mostly Hanna's (a cop). It seemed like one of the views is redundant. I don't like going back and forth, it cuts off the continuation of the story each time.
    I'm annoyed by how much useless information and how many detours the book made before getting to the end. Also, Hanna's father's crime/case hung over the entire book as it was constantly mentioned, constantly thought about by Hanna but of course no resolution but will probably be the last case of the series. But I do find that case more interesting than Joel's case.
    Also, they kept mentioning Hanna's height (over 6 feet) and that annoys me because she really had no personality other than her height, her father's crime and also being awkward around everybody. This is a socially, awkward woman who got a bit too emotional when she shouldn't and her so-call great cop skills were mentioned but never utilized. Basically throughout the book, she was trying not to break down and sob. I don't think she's fit to be a cop, at least, she shouldn't be working Joel's case.
    I wouldn't call this is a murder mystery or even a thriller, it's mostly about people and their emotions and thoughts. I guess titling this as The Night Singer seemed almost meaningless considering that was barely referenced twice but I guess in a way, it gives a certain mystery. I honestly expected something vile or ultra-violent or something unexpectedly better than this ending with that large knife shape on the cover. What actually happened was underwhelming and dumb and I wouldn't call it murder. I don't like this two viewpoints format so I'm not continuing this series.

Some Rants on Book Series

Almost every book is a series so it's harder to find standalones and even if you found one, there might be a chance the author will write another book to change that status. Even books published a while back gets sequels or prequels so there's really no escape from book series so you might as well enjoy them. Here's some of my thoughts and rants on book series.

01 - The first book will always cement the verdict for me whether to continue the series or not — If the first book is bad, then the rest of the series is bad but that kind of mentality is wrong but what the heck. There are so many book series out there that there's no reason to slog through two or three books to get to the good ones. I know not every book in a series will be great but I think if you want readers to read your series, you should put all the best stuff (or at least something that makes me want to stick around) in book one - don't wait until book two to put it in because I'll never read book two if I dislike book one.

02 - Maybe publish series all at once — I don't go about trying to pick series that are already finished being published before deciding to read them. I just decide when I see the first book. So it's frustrating to have to read a book or two and find the series is incomplete because of various reasons. One reason is the series not being successful enough that no new books will be published. Another is that the author has not finished writing them or worse, the author has died. So why not only publish a series after all the books in the series are finished being written? Maybe it's a waste of paper and money to publish a series all at once, maybe a whole series may be a bigger failure (financially speaking) than a single book but incomplete series are annoying. Of course I'm not saying if the series is 20 books long to published all 20 books at once but maybe half of it or have some sort of completion with the story to the first three books.
    I dislike how some books are released as standalones but only turns into a series because that book is successful and not because it needs a sequel. I have seen this and I have say, the sequel or the next book in that so-called series is never good.

03 - Make book series as standalone series — It's a bit crazy to have a series with sub series or even sub-sub series and so forth. Just make them all separate so people won't go crazy trying to decided which order to read. I'm all for book sequels using new characters in the same universe but maybe not put in things to connect to the original series. Authors should stop connecting all their books into a singular universe. Why can't book series be standalone series or does everything have to be part of a series?
     
04 - Shorter number of books is better — Three, four, seven or even ten books in a series I can tolerate but after ten, it's just too long. I do not have patience for long series mostly because I can't fast-forward a book like a tv show. I've seen series that are 40 books long and just recently I saw one that was 60+ books. I think the longer a series the less likely the stories will get better. You can only expand so much with the same characters. 
    But if a series has each book as a sort of standalone, I don't mind this as much. For instance, for murder mysteries (which I mainly read), each book has a case so that it can be self-contained so you can read them in any order. But sadly, even with this kind of setup, there are still storylines that are continuous (like character relationships changes or characters dying, etc.) but at least, you don't have to try to figure the order too much.
  
05 - Shorter books are better — As in length - 400 pages or less, not 800 or 1,000 pages. I have low patience for book series with books the size of dictionaries - they're too much and especially way too long if the series is 5 or more  books. If one or two books are long, it's fine but if all the books are long - who has the patience? I think long books are for standalones, not series. 

06 - Put numbers on the book or after the title so we know the order of the book — I know some book series are, as stated above, self-contained so you can read them in any order but I'm an orderly reader and I prefer to read a series in order so I need to know the sequence. So yes, any reader can go search online the order of any book series but why do readers have to do that? They should be able to tell by looking at the book cover or spine (in paper formats) or inside the book (ebook format). 

07 - Reprints of parts of a series in those so-called special editions have to stop — You might have seen one or two beautiful editions of the first or second book of a series that you love and thought hey, maybe they will print the other books in the series in that same beautiful edition but nope. This pisses me off. Not only because I spent money on them but that I have half of a series which I then have to get rid of because I don't like owning half series. 
    
08 - End the larger plot quicker — I don't like book series with larger plots for the entire series that doesn't get wrap up until the last book of the series but especially for long series. For instance, for murder mysteries, I would prefer the larger plot (or a certain case that involves the main character that is constantly mentioned in every book) to get a resolution in book 2 or 3 so that if we don't read the rest of the series, we get a resolution. I don't want to read 10 books to get that resolution. 

09 - Authors shouldn't continue a series of another (usually deceased) author's completed series — They made it sound like it's a continuation but it's really a redo or remake. These new books will never have the same flavor as the original so why do it? 

10 - No more new books (such as sequels or prequels) to already finished series — When a series is completed, that's it, don't go back and release a sequel or a prequel. It's harder to accept the new additions when you've read the original. More so when the sequels comes a decade or longer after the original was finished. Like I said in #9, they will never have the same flavor even with the original writer because it's written at a different time, different mind-set, almost like a completely different series so why do it?

What do you like or dislike about book series?

Book Rants: August 2025

I didn't do much blogging this month, same as last month. I have very little motivations even though I did write a couple of posts. I suppose if I get pay to blog, I might just muster the will to post more. Also, I find most things too boring to blog about aside from books. I didn't even post any fiction this month or last month. I like to get back to doing that and also participating in Words for Wednesday more even though I'm always late. For the colder season, I had changed the header to a warmer hue. Sadly, I didn't save the colors hex from the months when I had same warmer hue so I couldn't get back whatever it was.
    This month, I read a lot of murder mysterious or perhaps I should say historical murder mysteries. I don't quite like contemporary murder mysteries much but maybe that will change if I read more of those. Here are the books I read in August.

01 - The Perry Mason Mysteries, Volume One by Erle Stanley Gardner
(The Case of the Lazy Lover, The Case of the Lonely Heiress, and The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom)
What's it about: law, lawyers, murder, deaths, investigations
I like these three books well enough and they were kind of fun cases but I don't think they make me want to read more however short they are. I like Perry Mason and his secretary Miss Della Street (why is she always being referred to as Della Street, not Della or Miss Street but always Della Street?) but not enough to continue the series and there are many books. 

02 - Gaslight Mystery series by Victoria Thompson
What's it about: murders, slums, high society, corruption, poverty, policemen, midwives
So far, I have read 13 of 27 books. (I'm not showing all the covers). Each book is self-contained with a different mystery but if you care about the two main characters (Frank Malloy and Sarah Brandt)'s relationships and those around them, then I suggest reading them in order.
    I like how changes to that period, such as inventions like the motorcars, progress along with the characters and the time period. I enjoy having knowledge of future inventions and events and reading how these people in that time period are adjusting to them.
    The mysteries are good but I enjoy the characters more - they are a cheerful bunch. The characters, mainly, Malloy and Sarah (Sarah rarely calls him Frank), are ones readers enjoy knowing. It's not too much focus on Malloy and Sarah romance even though I had a feeling even in the beginning, they would end up together but you can feel their joy working together to solve cases. Gino and Maeve are also good characters. In a way, these books a bit tame and kind of cozy if you take out the crimes.
    Overall, I liked and enjoyed this series a lot but it would have been nice to be able to read all the books but my library don't have them and half of them are in audiobook format which I don't read. Maybe if I get an urge to complete the series, I might purchase the books I didn't get to read.

Unfinished
03 - The Wintringham Mystery (aka Cicely Disappears) by Anthony Berkeley
What's it about: rich people, servants, maybe a murder, maybe a romance
Quit at: 17%
So what if Agatha Christine couldn't even solve this mystery? The main characters are too boring and it just seemed like I'm reading a lot of dull things that I just don't care about. I didn't get to anywhere toward the death of one of the characters. I was too bored to continue. 

Have you read any good books this August? I hope September will be good to you.

Book Rants: July 2025

Not much blogging this month. I just didn't have the motivation for it. But I celebrated four years staying at this blog. (You can read about it here. ) And I had a giveaway which I think was a bad idea but sticking to it but I have extended the date to enter. (Check it out here.)
    In between, I read some murder mysteries. Here are the books I read this month.

01 - New leash on death by Olivia Blacke
What's it about: ghosts, murder, roommates
The back and forth between two perspectives kind of delay the story but this was a decent read.