Series Crackdown 10.0 – Sign-Up and TBR

As I am not participating in the NEWTs readathon this August, I thought I’d use the time for a different one. The Series Crackdown has been around for a long time, but this is my first time participating. Keeping up with, let alone finishing series is something many of us are really bad at, so this is the perfect readathon to meet some reading goals, finally pick up that next volume, and feel the satisfaction of having read an entire trilogy/series/duology.

The Basics

Normally, this is a 10-day-readathon but because this year is its tenth anniversary, it will run from 1st – 31st August. The point is to tackle all those series that are gathering dust on the shelves. Whether you start a completely new series, continue one you’ve already started or finally read the very last book – let’s give those series some love!

There is also something called MOO points which you can get for participation in Twitter chats, posting updates or Instagram photos, and so on. I keep cracking up about this because whenever I read MOO point, I have Joey from Friend’s voice in my head, explaining why a moo point is invalid. “It’s like a cow’s opinion. It’s moo.” 🙂

Pick a Team

There are four teams – Duologies, Trilogies, Quartets, and Beasts. This was my first hurdle and it’s the reason this sign-up post is going up at the very last moment. I appreciate something about all of these, after all. A duology is lovely because if you liked the first book, there is more, but you don’t have to commit to thousands of pages to get the full story. Trilogies are classics, especially in the fantasy genre, quartets have the added bonus of being just a bit longer. And beasts… well, if I love a series, it’s always good to know there’s a lot more to look forward to. On the other hand, some series do go a little too far or it can take ages for the next book to come out.

In the end, I went not with my favorite type of series (because I couldn’t decide) but instead chose by team leader. After looking at their Twitter accounts, Mel from The Book Moo spoke to me the most, so Quartets is the team I’m reading for. Simple as that.

The prompts

Now for the nitty gritty. My favorite part of any readathon is the prompts. They push me to pick up books that I otherwise wouldn’t have – not because I don’t want to read them someday, but because there’s always something shiny grabbing my attention instead. Which is how I got into this whole 100-unfinished-series mess in the first place…
You can double up in this readathon, but one book counts for a maximum of two prompts.

My tentative TBR

FIRST IN A SERIES: Kacen Callender – Queen of the Conquered

This book was just nominated for a World Fantasy Award, a prize that usually goes to books I end up loving. It also works nicely for my personal challenge of discovering 10 new-to-me Black authors. And the premise sounds fantastic. Caribbean-inspired fantasy for fans of V.E. Schwab and Marlon James? That sounds both impossible and awesome. I’m here for it!

SEQUEL: Laini Taylor – Days of Blood and Starlight

It took me two reads to fully appreciate the first book in this trilogy, but now I’m all in. I want to learn more about this world of Seraphim and Chimaera, I want to see how this ages old war could possibly be resolved, and of course whether protagonist Karou can find some happiness for herself in this brutal world.

GATHERING DUST ON YOUR SHELF: Mishell Baker – Impostor Syndrome

I don’t know why I’ve waiting so long to read this book. I read the first two volumes pretty soon after they came out and was absolutely blown away. Borderline doesn’t get nearly as much attention as it should, especially for an SFF book with mental health representation. I can’t wait to find out how double-amputee Millie’s story ends and finally finish the trilogy.

GLOSSY COVER: Jessica Townsend – Wundersmith

I adored the first book in the Nevermoor series which I read during my holiday in February. The quirky world of Nevermoor is exactly the kind of book I need right now. It’s full of fun and joy and lovely friendships. Plus Hollowpox, the third book, comes out in August, so this is the perfect time to catch up.

RECOMMENDED BY A FRIEND: Andrzej Sapkowski – Blood of Elves

I read the first two Witcher books in preparation for the Netflix show and they were so much better than I had expected. It helped that I had Henry Cavill in my head as Geralt of Rivia, but both the writing and stories surprised me.  I am excited and a bit daunted to read this book. But I also need more Geralt in my life, so here we go. A friend from work recommended this series and without that recommendation, I might have just watched the show and never picked up the books.

FANTASY: N. K. Jemisin – The Stone Sky

I lovede first two books in this Hugo Award-winning trilogy to piecesand I saved the last book on purpose. First of all, this apocalyptic world is something you need to savor, so the timing has to be right. Secondly, I know it’s going to blow my mind, so I’ve been saving it for a bad day. My days aren’t all that bad at the moment, but I’ve been itching to finally finish the series and get answers to all my burning questions.

READ WITH A SNACK: Ursula K. LeGuin – Tehanu

This is the freebie prompt because you can eat a snack with any book (and I am determined to snack while reading more than just this one). I’ve been doing quite well this year in finally catching up on the Earthsea books and this is the one I’ve been most looking forward to, simply because it is so divisive. It’s won lots of awards and many people love it. But some seem to absolutely loathe it – I am interested to find out what that is all about.

ANIMAL ON THE COVER: Susan Cooper – The Dark is Rising

I just started this series this year because it’s one of those classics that a part of me feels like I should have read. I liked the first book well enough but it felt very much like only the beginning of something much bigger. This second volume is the most acclaimed, so I am excited to dive in and find out for myself how this reimagining of Arthurian legend goes.

So this is my tentative TBR for the month of August. Knowing myself, I will probably replace at least one of these books with something else – Muse of Nightmares is staring at me with sad puppy eyes right now and Network Effect is calling my name! We’ll see how well I do in the beginning of August. Some of these books are quite big but if I get through them fast enough, I may even add a second book for some of the prompts. I do have two weeks off work in August, so there should be plenty of time for reading. I can’t wait for the Twitter reading sprints, the Instagram photo challenges (I won’t participate because I’m rubbish at taking pretty pictures but I love looking at other people’s photos), and all the other ways to connect to this community.

If you’re participating as well, leave a link to your post. I love seeing what other people are choosing for the reading prompts.