The Series I Couldn’t Finish
I genuinely enjoyed Wicked. I read it a few years ago when there were about a hundred copies floating around in the fiction section I was running. As a bookseller, if I see a dozen of something, I take it home and read it so I can tell my customers about it. You can’t sell a book you know nothing about, right? And Wicked was neat. I thought it was so neat, I added it to the list of things to do with my daughter when she’s older… a month of Oz: Read the original Wizard of Oz, watch Judy Garland sing and be awesome in the old movie, read Wicked together, go see the musical, and so on.
I pumped the series during an Earth Day event too: Go Green with the Wicked Witch of the West! I thought I was being cute, most of my co-workers just thought I was being weird. I’m ok with that.
Then, I read book two: Son of a Witch. I struggled, plodded, and pulled hair through it. Three quarters of the way through the book I realized that I didn’t really care for the story, Maguire’s intricate world no longer resembled Oz in any way except in name, and frankly I was bored. I was reading for the sake of the series.
I bought Lion Among Men off a clearance table at Barnes & Noble when it was still a current publication. I had the first two in hardback, it only seemed appropriate to be complete. Besides, a lot of series have a saggy middle and then perk up quite nicely in the end. I was under the false impression that this was going to be a nice little wrap up for a trilogy. Still, I was unmotivated to read it. It sat on my shelf for a couple of years, all crisp, shiny, and new. I read the first 5 pages about a half-dozen times and put it back.
At the beginning of 2012 I set some reading goals for myself. I do this every year. I typically decide that I should read anywhere between 60 and 80 books a year, but steadily hit in the 70 to 75 range (except for the year I was pregnant). This year, I was overzealous and was shooting for 80 or more, I am currently reading my 70th title if you don’t include children’s picture books, which I don’t, and clearly not going to read 10 books by the end of the month. With these goals, come little notes to read through x amount of already owned titles, or to finish such and such series. Lion Among Men fell into both of these notes, so creeping on December I gave myself the final push and said, “It’s now or never.”
I checked it out from the library on audio, thinking it would be an easy thing to listen to while doing chores. Kill multiple birds with one stone and all that.
Despite John McDonough’s excellent reading voice, ah I could die listening to that wonderful voice, I have yet to finish the book. And, I will be turning the audio book back into the library having listened to the first disc in the course of a month.
Sadly, The Wicked Years is just not for me. I don’t feel it in my bones, I am not enraptured in its essence and all those other over the top feelings I get when I am enthralled with a series. Simply put, if I were to ever finish this series (which, by the way, has a 4th book too!), it would be by the sheer force of my insane will to get things done. I don’t care about it that much to be that willful.
This is a series that shall remain unfinished.
Do you have a series of books like that in your life? Talk to me.
What series have you read lately that you simply could not have lived without?
Anakalian Whims 
R. H. Kanakia said,
December 13, 2012 at 8:02 pm
Even Wicked didn’t really jibe with me, somehow. The character of the witch was too ambiguous, in some way.
I recently read and enjoyed the first book in the Hunger Games trilogy, but I don’t think I’m going to read the other books. I don’t know why. I just don’t really feel the impulse.
DoingDewey said,
December 13, 2012 at 8:09 pm
I also didn’t really enjoy the first book enough to try the others. I love the musical, but the book just didn’t do it for me. It’s been a while, but I have a vague feeling that it was just more depressing than the musical version.
Anakalian Whims said,
December 13, 2012 at 8:14 pm
I’ve yet to see the musical, I desperately wanted to catch it live.
DoingDewey said,
December 13, 2012 at 8:15 pm
You absolutely must! I played music from the show for my high school show choir and have been in love with it ever since 🙂
insiderhedge said,
December 13, 2012 at 8:13 pm
Reblogged this on Parrot Reviews.