On Forgetting to Read Sequels

September 17, 2023August 26, 2023 Kara Jorgensen2 Comments

I recently discovered a less than desirable reading habit I now possess, and I’m hoping that, in pointing it out to myself, this will somehow hold me accountable. In turn, I’m holding you all accountable for this bad habit as well.

I read book 1, really enjoy it, buy book 2, then forget book two exists or put it off in favor of another stand alone or book 1, lather-rinse-repeat. I also do this with later sequels/subsequent books in a series, so no, it doesn’t get better if I’ve read book 2.

I was making the slips for my TBR coffin the other day when I realized how many of the papers in it are actually sequels/not book one in a series that I enjoyed. If you have not seen the TBR coffin, I will link to the Tiktok here. You might be wondering why I buy book 2 if I don’t plan to read it.

Well, I do plan to read it, and sometimes I buy book 2 ahead of time, even if I haven’t read book 1 yet because I want to support the author or I already like this author, so I’m fairly certain I will get to the series and enjoy it.

After thinking about why I tend not to read book 2+ in a timely manner, here are some fairly obvious reasons why this happens:

there’s a big gap between books 1 and 2, which causes me to forget everything in book, so I tell myself I need to look up a synopsis/summary of book 1 before reading book 2. I put that off and forget.
my to-be-read pile is just really big and new things tend to get preference, unless that new thing is a sequel (see previous bullet)
they are heavy books (in terms of message or world-building), and I need to be in a specific mood or headspace to read them
sometimes I get nervous book 2 won’t be as good as book 1 and put it off.
other times, I enjoyed the series so much that I don’t want it to be over, and I put off reading the last book
but mostly, I just forget they exist because out of sight, out of mind

No matter the reason, it’s a bad habit that I’m shaming myself for. What is especially funny to me is how I have tried to work around this by waiting to read a series until I have all of the books (or wait until close to the last book’s release day), and the outcome is still the same. From now until the end of the year, my goal is to read as many of those sequels and subsequent books as I can. One way or another, I am determined to break this awful habit and actually read what I have.

What sequels or subsequent books do you need to move up your TBR?

Writing

Writing Update

February 19, 2016February 18, 2016 Kara Jorgensen2 Comments

So I’ve been incredibly negligent with my blogging. Grad school started toward the end of January, and I’m still finding that balance between work and writing.

What I can say is that I have begun brain-storming and writing book 4 of the Ingenious Mechanical Devices series AND I have a title!

dead magic

The working title is Dead Magic, and I’m really hoping it doesn’t change because I quite like it.

The story will center around Emmeline Jardine, Immanuel Winter, Adam Fenice, and Nadir Talbot a few months after the events of The Earl and the Artificer.

While I can’t give too much away because it’s very subject to change at this point, I can say that the trial from book 3 doesn’t quite go the way Nadir plans, Immanuel is now working at the natural history museum, and Emmeline finds a mysterious book. The aesthetic is flowers growing through bones, moonlight breaking through fog, a museum at night.

The aesthetic is flowers growing through bones, moonlight breaking through fog, a museum at night.

If you’d like to find out more about the story, stay tuned on my blog, and of course, check out my Pinterest board for Dead Magic.

Writing

A Change of Direction

August 24, 2015August 24, 2015 Kara Jorgensen3 Comments

I’m now at the 60% mark in my third book, The Earl and the Artificer. I’ve already had my mid-book panic/meltdown and have overcome it through outlining and trying to maintain a level head since. Trying is the key word here since that involved dowsing myself in coffee, walking in circles until nearly wearing out the floor, and probably a bit of incoherent babbling.

Between freak-outs, I have decided that after this book is finished, the “direction” of the Ingenious Mechanical Devices series will change slightly. I don’t know if the books will alternate between Eilian-and-Hadley and Immanuel-Emmeline-Adam anymore because I have a lot more stories in my head for Adam-Immanuel-Emmeline. Book four is definitely going to be for the trio, and book five more than likely will too.

The reason for this is that I really want to move toward the dark, paranormal side of the steampunk/historical-fantasy world. I’m drawn toward ghosts, mythical creatures, and paranormal entities lurking in the London fog.

Does this mean there won’t be more adventures for Eilian and Hadley after The Earl and the Artificer?

No, I am definitely leaving the possibility open for future stories with them. I love them dearly, but their relatives are calling to me more than they are. For now, they will be on hiatus after book three.

For the past few days, I toyed with whether or not to start a whole new series devoted to Adam-Immanuel-Emmeline. Honestly, it doesn’t make sense to. Readers would end up coming to the world in the new series not knowing who the characters are or what the world they live in is like. I don’t really feel like doing that with a new series even if the characters are pre-existing. It makes more sense to go on with the series and simply shift the focus. Who knows if Eilian and Hadley will be the focus for book five or six.

Either way, I feel this is the right decision for me, and I just wanted to make my readers aware of the change.

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