My favorite is a well-paced trilogy. Quartets are acceptable as well. Almost any time a series goes longer than that (no matter how addicted I might get), I expect an unfortunate degradation in quality

YES. I was just reading the latest in a series I've quite enjoyed...and it's the 6th or 7th book, and I thought it was the last, and come to find out there's at LEAST two more planned, and I was really annoyed. Not only because I have to wait for more wrap up, but because, really? Dude? You can't say it all in SEVEN BOOKS? (Which are not short)?? But at least there does seem to be an end planned. Many series I read/have read just go on and on...and eventually (sometimes sooner [coughAnitaBlakecough] rather than later) just go downhill, and it makes me sad because I usually liked them so much to start with.

Though I don't tend to as much have that issue with mysteries, unless they get too caught up in the main character's personal life (like if suddenly after four or five books, there's no outside mystery, it's always that the serial killer wants the detective/forensic specialist/cop! This time Every time, it's PERSONAL!)

ugh, i'm half way through _The Windup Girl_ and just got _Catching Fire_ from the library. I put a freeze on everything else i have on hold until i'm done with at least one...but such a condundrum...finish the one i'm halfway through (and totally able to put down) or jump ahead and read Catching Fire cuz i WANNA even though that means i might run out of time on Windup Girl...can't renew, there's other folks waiting. Oh, the first world woe!

Well, I recently finished Blameless ... don't know if I'll follow the series any further.

I finished it last night myself. I enjoyed it, and it made me laugh out loud at points, of course, but it felt...like not as much was at stake as usual. I never felt a real sense of danger, perhaps because Alexia is so gosh-darn unflappable. That's part of the lighthearted, romp-y tone of the books, I suppose, which has its charm, but it seems like very little HAPPENS in each book. There are basically one or two revelations or developments that move the plot forward (and I do like that Carriger is moving a continuing plot, of sorts, regarding Alexia's preternatural nature through the books and like the references to past books), but otherwise it's just silly fun, which is fine.

I did like that secondary characters like Lyall and Floote got a chance to shine (and, like Steph, I really want to know what the HELL is/was up with Floote: it seems to be implied that he was a sundowner...or maybe a Templar, but I've forgotten what he's done in previous books). Also, I got unexpectedly teary at Lyall's reaction to Biffy's sadness at the realization that he'd become a werewolf.

I'm interested to see what Carriger is planning for the next two books, which I believe are supposed to close out the series.

hum, I guess I'm done with Bon Temps (for now at least). I've picked up a Christopher Moore book.

I started losing my love for Bon Temps starting with Book 7 (where they're all staying at the hotel in Rhodes). There are still glimpses of good stuff, but I'm just getting more and more frustrated with the author and Sookie. I'm starting book 10 tonight, and I really shouldn't be feeling relieved that I'll be temporarily done with the series.

It's a toss up whether I'll start the Soulless series, The Strain series or Game of Thrones series next. I considered getting that Reapers book that Gris mentioned upthread, but paying $10 for a 250ish page book isn't sitting well with me right now.

Or maybe I'll take a reading break and play the latest Professor Layton game!

Re Blameless: my theory is that Floote was a Templar, and had a change of heart. From what I remember in the previous books, he's not *thrilled* with supernaturals, but he's very, very uneasy about Templars.

Also, I got unexpectedly teary at Lyall's reaction

Yes. That got me, as did the realization that Lord Akeldema and Biffy really did, and still do, care for each other.

The plot point I'm most excited about for the future books is Lord Akeldema, Potentate! Whoo, that is going to be fun.

I considered getting that Reapers book that Gris mentioned upthread, but paying $10 for a 250ish page book isn't sitting well with me right now.

Unfortunately, I doubt it will ever be much cheaper (except used, I suppose) as it's not really being marketed as a genre book - it's literary fiction that happens to take place in a post-apocalyptic world with zombies - and so will likely never get the mass market paperback treatment.

On that note - I just read Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion in mass market paperback form and the contrast in readability between them and my more common Kindle reading was stark. When dealing with a long book like that the teeny mass market paperbacks are so annoying! Incredibly thin paper, tiny print, hard to hold in one hand (especially near the beginning and end, when the weight is unbalanced), ink that rubs off on your fingers - wow. In fact, I read Catching Fire and Mockingjay in hardcover from the library, and kind of hated those too - so heavy and REALLY impossible to hold in one hand! I used to be one of the people who said "Oh, but I will miss the feel / smell / look of real books if I switch to eBooks" but I have to say... I don't. I mean, i like having books on my shelf, and will always buy some books I really like in hardcover or nice paperback form for that reason, but I'd rather READ any of them, these days, in Kindle format.

In fact, I read Catching Fire and Mockingjay in hardcover from the library, and kind of hated those too - so heavy and REALLY impossible to hold in one hand!

Imagine the day when books and other media are just beamed directly into our brains -- the Kindle, et al., will seem positively unwieldy!!

I feel exactly the same way, Gris! I debated getting a Kindle for a looong time because I loved the feel/smell/look of real books just like you. But it seemed like the text on some of the mass market paperbacks was getting teeeeeeny tiny (or possibly I'm just getting old), and that's what prompted me to make the switch. Now I feel odd reading an actual physical book.

There are times when I do miss books though. When I go to bookstores now, I actually make a point of seeking out the recent books I've read on my Kindle, picking them up, looking at the cover, flipping through the pages.

What's really pissing me off about ebooks is how much the publishers are fixing the prices. I was fine with most books being 9.99 and under. But that price just keeps rising. I saw something on the Kindle bestseller list that was selling for $14.99! That's ridiculous!

And total tangent here - I can't believe Harry Potter isn't available in e-book format!

And total tangent here - I can't believe Harry Potter isn't available in e-book format!

The only books I've been willing to get from... less reputable sources. JKR could have made ANOTHER $70 or so from me if the books were on Kindle, as I would have gladly bought them again to be able to re-read the series without having to cart 30 pounds of books on vacation. Oh well, her and her publisher's loss.

Imagine the day when books and other media are just beamed directly into our brains -- the Kindle, et al., will seem positively unwieldy!!

I would want the books beamed onto my retina so I could still do the whole "reading" part, and it'd need to have a transparent/windowed option so I could sort-of-read-and-sort-of-watch-TV like now but otherwise... yeah!

I'm over the price-fixing. It's annoying but capitalism is the financial system we have - if they're making more money at $14.99 a copy, which for bestsellers I'm sure they are as the books are selling anyway, they have every right to charge that, just as I have every right to decide if it's worth it to me at that price. Same reason I've rarely bought a hardcover bestseller (HP being another exception). Lately, I've been voting with my wallet reading some 1.99 - 3.99 pulp fiction from indy publishers, and frankly I find them just as enjoyable as something like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, so there's that.