Obsessions...You can't help but keep reading it.

[jD]

I recently completed A Game of Thrones. I decided I was not reading the next book in the series because these characters are unredeemable. They are flawed, cruel, and violent. This is a seven book series and the next one is 1200 pages with mixed reviews that make me hesitant. My problem is that I can't get the characters out of my mind. I want to know what happens to them. I have checked out the upcoming HBO series based on the book and I have read every spoiler I can find but its not enough. The last time I obsessed over a series was Lord of the Rings years ago. I was exausted by the time I got to Return of the King but I had to finish it. Has this ever happened to any of you and if so, what was the series? BTW, broke down and reserved the book at the library so I am going to invest a week reading it and probably the other four that are out.

[Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~*]

Umm..its got you for sure...might as well give in.I have had series Ive been obsessed with but because Ive enjoyed...or cant figure out whats going on but keep reading cause I HAVE to figure it out. now...I have Game of Thrones & the others (4 books) in the so-far series..and now I have to read to find out for myself...so I guess III be there with you! :)

[jD]

Are you reading them now? If so, perhaps we could compare notes...

[Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~*]

No Im waiting for the series to finish! ggrrr..book 5 is set to come out soon..but in HC..I heard he plans for 7 books?..Im reading DONE series only now..but that dosent seem to always happen :(..I dont know about you..but I forget!...same with Diana Gabaldon's books..Ive read the first 4....have waited so long Im going to have to re-read..dont know when she plans to wrap it up.

[Donna]

My personal book obsession is definitely The Harry Potter Series. I own the Hardback copies, the ebooks, and both versions of the audio (Jim Dale's and Stephen Fry's) Stephen Fry's audio is my favorite of all of them and I listen to all 7 of them at least once a year lol. Its strange, I know, considering my age and all. But I LOVE the world that Rowling created with those books and it never seems to get old for me no matter how many times I read or listen to the books.

[jD]

I have not joined the Harry Potter love fest but my daughters have. It's crazy. I am just happy that they enjoy anything outside of their overly analytical worlds. It is the only fantasy/science fiction I can get them to read.

Sandi,
There were only six books planned in the Games of Thrones series but apparently one of them had to be made into two books. All I know is that it is taking too long to get this thing done. I went to the library today and discovered every copy in every branch is out. I am on a wait list for book 2. It seems the fever has spread.

[Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~*]

Thanks jD..well...I guess it has spread cause everyone is hoping it will be soon? maybe I will give it a start..youve got me curious!

Donna..your not alone..I had & have the same obsession with..ahem..Twilight. I own the Hardbacks..paperbacks. puzzle..DVD's..bookmarks...and I cant blame my kids because they are grown & gone!.so I should know better at MY age! LOL!!

[jD]

Sandi,
I don't know if I would have confessed the Twilight paraphernalia LOL...Although I may or may not have gone to the midnight book launch and treasure hunt at a Borders for the launch for Breaking Dawn...I don't recall.

[Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~*]

It was a moment of insanity..( thats my excuse & Im sticking to it)but I would read them again!! :)

[Sonya]

The original Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop. I'm sure you guys can tell I'm obsessed because I've already talked about this series in another thread.

When I first read it, I immediately re-read it MANY times. I just couldn't get enough. Every 3 or 4 months I pick it up and re-read it again.

[Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~*]

Really? its that good? what did you like the most about it? the characters? the story? and what about the other books that followed the trilogy? Were they just as good?

[Siobhan]

I loved the Black Jewels too. Except I haven't read the newest ones and now I can't remember where I left off, drat it. I loved the characters the most, the setting a lot, and the topsy-turvy concept.

[Donna]

Black Jewels is one of my favorites too. I just read it for the first time this year. The original trilogy is the best of course, but the stand-alones in the series are really good too.

My newest obsession is the Downside Ghosts series by Stacia Kane. Amazing urban fantasy series, and I can't wait to read more by her. I've never gotten this excited about a series that is so close to being PNR. But trust me, this series is incredible.

[jD]

Is that Downside Ghost YA?

[Donna]

No JD, its definitely not YA. In my opinion, I think it would be somewhere between UF and horror, but w/ some PNR elements to it. The first book in the series is Unholy Ghosts, personally I think its better on audio.

[Regina]

I actually prefer the written version of Downside Ghosts. But it is a fabulous series! I would put it strongly in the UF category or post-apocalyptic.

[Crystal]

Hello everyone! Sorry this is my first post, lol. Alot of these books sound really great! I personally did all the Harry Potter openings and have enjoyed reading them, but it's not the one I have a obsession about. I have an obsession about Kelley Armstrong's, Otherworld series and Darkest Powers (young adult) series. I love those books! I started reading them in high school back in 2002 and never stoped. I've read all of them at least three times.

[Danielle The Book Huntress]

This is my first post, as well. My obsessions:

GhostWalkers series by Christine Feehan. I had never read her, and I wasn't sure I was going to read her because I wasn't into PNR romance for many years until about 10 years ago. Everyone talked about her, and they mentioned this series with military heroes who had been enhanced. I read Shadow Game, and I am completely obsessed with this series. I went on to majorly glom her. I own pretty much all her books.

Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward. This obsession slowly snuck up on me. I can probably go a few days without thinking about these books. Maybe.

Patricia Briggs. I read Moon Called and I liked it a lot. I read Blood Bound, and I was hooked. I even started a group so I could have the excuse to talk about her books.

Immortals After Dark by Kresley Cole. This book series is one of my first PNR faves. Still at the top of the list.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I haven't read all the books, I love the first book and the movies I've seen. I plan to finish this series this year.

Cal Leandros series by Rob Thurman. Very underrated, but I am a huge fan of these books.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I can't tell you why, but I just adored this book. I am looking forward to the next in the series.

Hehe. Just some of my obsessions. I have an obsessive personality, I suppose.

[jD]

I hate YA or at least hated it until I read Twilight. It hooked me but good. I read them all and made my friends read them too. I would have to add one to Game of Thrones, that is the Auriel's (spelling wrong) Colors by Jeffery Overstreet. I don't know anyone who has tried this series, it is difficult to understand but once you get a taste, you can't stop. Raven's Ladder: A Novel Raven's Ladder is the third one, the forth, The Ale Boy's Tale comes out next month.

[[deleted user]]

The Kusheil's Legacy series has me pretty much trapped. The lead character is a next level Mary Sue, (the most beautiful, most self sacrificing, most desired woman ever.) and I usually hate that, but I can't stop reading and wondering what will happen to the characters next.

Twilight pulled me into YA, but I didn't care for the books all that much. It just opened me up to the genre and now YA is my guilty pleasure.

Oh, and The Sookie Stackhouse Novels.

[Louise]

I liked the Trinity series by Fiona McIntosh, the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Claire and naturally HP/Twilight. Finished The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson this morning and although I was definitely going to have a break, I couldn't and have started The Well of Ascension over breakfast (Mistborn series).
I generally like to try and read a completely different book to the one I have just finished, it is so rare to find a series that makes me pick up the next book straight away. Harry Potter is the only series that has found me in a queue at midnight and I'm chasing that feeling I suppose.
I got A Game of Thrones for christmas, so fingers crossed. May also have to check out some of the above!

[jD]

Right now, I have stopped everything to read the Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb. It's great that the series is finished so no waiting. I was reading a few paranormal romance books when I started with book 1, then I got hooked. I am almost done with book 2 and am on the way to library to get book 3. It's an obsession for sure.

[Danielle The Book Huntress]

I'm going to have to read that, jD. I've heard nothing but good about it.

[Louise]

jD wrote: "Right now, I have stopped everything to read the Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb. It's great that the series is finished so no waiting. I was reading a few paranormal romance books when I started w..."

I've read the first two and have the third, but managed to take a break and it's sadly lasted several years... It's on the to do list though! I find the first 100 pages or so drag a bit and then they're page turners.

[Raven614]

jD wrote: "Right now, I have stopped everything to read the Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb. It's great that the series is finished so no waiting. I was reading a few paranormal romance books when I started w..."
Those books are on my all time favorites list. I’ve read the 2nd trilogy of the farseer called the tawny man and they are good also! The first book of the tawny man does a lot of reminiscing with the main character. Outstanding stuff. The liveship traders series is in the same world and it is top notch also!

[jD]

I just finished book 2 and I think that what Hobb does best is make the reader feel like they are sitting down by a fire listening to a friend telling you about their life. Fitz has grabbed my loyality as a reader. Frequently, I can love a book but not really care what happens to the characters in the long run. I find that the Seven Waters series also does a great job of pulling the reader all the way in.

[Raven614]

jD wrote: "I just finished book 2 and I think that what Hobb does best is make the reader feel like they are sitting down by a fire listening to a friend telling you about their life. Fitz has grabbed my loya..."

Right on!! You just described the reason I read. To bad it doesn't happen enough.

[jD]

@Raven614
There are a few that have grabbed me in such a way. Fitz's story reminds me of Warded Man. Hardship and heartache. A child growing into a man with danger and no real adult leadership to shape him. That trilogy is not complete yet so if you need to have a story wrap, you might want to wait. Both books so far have major cliffhangers.

[Karen]

jD wrote: "I have not joined the Harry Potter love fest but my daughters have. It's crazy. I am just happy that they enjoy anything outside of their overly analytical worlds. It is the only fantasy/science..."

I know what you mean about Martin taking too long to finish the series. I'm obsessed with 'A Song of Fire and Ice' but I refuse to read past the 3rd book. It ended on such a cliffhanger and then having to wait 5? 6? years for 'A Feast for Crows' only to find out that it didn't follow my favorite characters, that I would have to wait for the fifth book to read those characters' POVs did me in on the series for awhile. It does get in your head though. I still remember how I felt reading the 1st book--I couldn't get enough of it.

[Jea0126]

I know how preachy Terry Goodkind can be. All the same, I pick up any of his new ones as soon as they come out. I'm that way too with Robert Jordan and now Patrick Rothfuss.

[Jea0126]

And add Jennifer Fallon to that list for me.

[Lin]

I've haven't finished A Game of Thrones, I keep thinking about it but as soon as I start to read I remember why I put it down. I agree, the characters are irredeemable and I can't put the effort needed into them. I'm hoping that watching the TV series might help and then I can finish the book and get over it.

Dune would have to be the one I couldn't get out of my head. I was totally exhausted reading the series. It has the same problems as A Game of Thrones, characters that are too grey to be completely likeable, but are incredibly interesting.

Discworld has to get a mention too, they're definite pre-orders, especially the ones with Sam Vimes.

Also have to agree with the Cal Leandros series (the new one is brilliant), Terry Goodkind and Patrick Rothfuss (reading the new one now- though I do spend my entire time worrying about Kvothe too much).

[Meg]

To say the characters in Game of Thrones are "irredeemable" is to vastly underestimate Martin. Some of the characters you hate the most in book 1 later become your favorites. People change. They have multiple sides. Some of the characters are truly awful, rotten human beings, but not all of them. :) So, yeah, this series is one of my obsessions, and waiting is just part of it.

I devoured the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning while I was out of work after having my tonsils out. I read the entire series straight through, and I've since read it again.

I love the Kushiel's series, and Phedre's "Mary Sueness" doesn't bother me. In fact, it hadn't ever really occurred to me before. Everyone in her culture is extremely beautiful, so for her to be fits in. She's a trained courtesan, so of course she's desirable--it's her job!

[S.J.]

I will add my Tolkein obsession to the list of confessions. I don't go out and learn Elvish for fun or anything, but his stories and the world he created really stick with me. Unquestionably, the Hobbit was my favourite work of his. It was a much easier read than Lord of the Rings or the Silmarillion. I remember reading it at age 11 and I have been captivated by fantasy ever since. I loved the story of Lord of the Rings too, though I know many people find it to be a bit of a tough read. The language used to write it was very formal and archaic and that bothers a lot of people I think!

[Jada]

I've read the Host like 4 times! :) love that book!

[S.J.]

You're never too old to read Harry Potter! :)

[Kashii]

Hmmm... my book obsessions? Harry Potter (of course) even though i thought the movies were awful i went and paid money to see every single one and i bought the dvds... i dont really like audio books but i bought the audio books, HP paraphernalia, and every last book and companion book released.
Also Kushiel's Legacy. I love that series. I can't stop reading it. I love reading it in my heade i imagine movie formatted version of the books. I wish I could meet some producer or somewhat who actually wanted to make a movie without ruining it to make the Kushiel movies and then create it with them. Yes I know its odd but yes.

[Melissa]

My current book obsession is actually a Manga...

But in the past, it's been Harry Potter and The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. I can't get enough of Brandon Sanderson, I'm really looking forward to his new books!

I still read Harry Potter fanfics...(: