Ceri Louise Reads

At the start of the year I made a number of TBR lists to help me focus my reading for the year to clear my backlist books. At nearly five months through the year, I am having mixed success… But never mind! Over the next few weeks or so I will be sharing these lists with you and letting you know how I am getting on with them.

So first up: Series I want to finish in 2023. I’ve been making focused series lists for quite a few years now and it really does help me to make progress with series. I’m part way through so many that it can sometimes feel overwhelming, but narrowing down the number that I’m actively working on completing makes it a bit more manageable! There are 12 series on this list, at time of writing I have completed two but I have made progress with a few others. To be on the list, the series have to be ones I’ve already started that were out in their entirety at the beginning of the year.

1. Poldark by Winston Graham

I actually started this series over ten years ago and was reading through them quite quickly until the new BBC adaptation started.I then took a break as it was too confusing to be at two different places in the timeline, but I’ve been much slower at picking them up since the show stopped airing. I love this Cornish family saga and I only have the last two books to go, so I really need to motivate myself to pick them up.

2) Dirk Gently by Douglas Adams

This is the less well known series from the Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy author. I read the first one quite a few years ago now and all I really remember is that it was very confusing…! These books have been on my TBR for a really long time so it’s high time I read them, but I will need to reread the first one before picking up the final two books in the series.

3) The Stolen Kingdom by Bethany Atazadeh

These are fun YA fairytale retellings from an indie author I came across on Youtube. I reread the first three books in this series over the last two years and I just have the final one to go. I know I will read it really quickly when I pick it up, so I don’t know why I’m putting it off. It is partly that it’s hard to come to the end of a series you’ve loved, because then it’s over, but Bethany Atazadeh has started writing a prequel series so there’s more for me to read set in this world. This could be an ideal light read for summer though.

4) The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb

At my knitting group a few weeks ago I met a Robin Hobb super fan who was nagging me to continue this series. It’s kind of the opposite problem to the last series though, I know that once I get into this series, I’ll have the whole Realm of the Elderlings to go and it’s super long! I really enjoyed Assassin’s Apprentice when I first read it a few years ago, and so I know I’m missing out on a lot of good storytelling by not progressing with these books. I need to reread the first one and then get on and pick up the others.

5) A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

A friend of mine leant me this series and I read the first one towards the end of 2021. Based on advice from a few people I wanted to wait to pick up the second one until I had access to the third. I read the second one this January and I keep meaning to get onto the third one and not quite getting around to it. It’s another one that I know will be a quick read and I really want to know why my friend almost rage quit the final volume at the halfway point…

6) Deathless by Namina Forna

We read the first in this YA duology for our SFF bookclub in 2021, and the second part came out last year. I was given the sequel for Christmas and I’m really keen to see how it turns out. As the first one is a bit fuzzy in my memory I will need to reread it before reading the second. I probably would have done this by now, only The Gilded Ones has been in storage and I’m finally getting all my books back when I move in a few weeks! 

7) This Poison Heart by Kalynn Barron

Another fantasy YA duology, I loved the first book in this series so much and have been eagerly anticipating the sequel. Again I was given the second book for Christmas, and while a lot of the first book has stayed with me, I enjoyed it so much I want to reread it and pick up the sequel right away. Again, need to wait for my books to be liberated from storage.

8) The Founders Trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett

I picked up the first book in this series, Foundryside, for a buddy read in 2020 but wasn’t really motivated to carry on the series until it was out in its entirety. This was mainly because the worldbuilding was so detailed and the magic system quite intricate, so I wanted to be able to immerse myself in it. I need to reread the first one before carrying on the trilogy, and rereading hasn’t been a priority so far this year, but will have to be in the second half of the year if I want to get through this list!

9) The Poppy War by R F Kuang

I read the first book in this series last year and it was an emotional rollercoaster. I know that the sequels are more of the same and also chonkers, and I’ve heard mixed reviews of the final volume, so this series is probably not my priority but I would like to at least get to the second one this year while the first is still vaguely fresh in my mind.

10) Bangla Desh by Tahmima Anam

I picked up the first book, A Golden Age, for Read Around the World last year and thought it was beautifully written and bittersweet. I finished the second one earlier this month and I’m partway through the third one now. I will definitely finish it this month, maybe even before this post goes live!

and the two that I’ve finished:

11) The Sands of Ariwaya by Harsh Faisal

This is an enchanting desert fantasy duology that I finished at the start of the year. It had been a while between reading the two volumes but the second book dove straight back into the action and I picked up the threads pretty quickly. Loved it.

12) Arc of a Scythe by Neal Shusterman

I read the first two books in this series at the end of 2021 as part of a buddy read, but as much as I enjoyed them I was dreading picking up the third one, and i couldn’t quite put my finger on why. The drama levels were high and I’d heard some mixed reviews, but it was only when I started reading it that I realised what the problem was. This is a dystopian utopia set up – the world is meant to be perfect but humans have messed it up. The issue for me was that in a world where immortality is the standard and all sickness has been eradicated, I, as a disabled person, would not be allowed to exist as I am. While living with chronic illness can be frustrating, it is part of who I am and reading a book set in a world where there was no one like me was sad.

So that’s it, that’s my list of series I’m hoping to get through this year! Check back later to see how I get on, and find out what my other TBR challenges are. What series are you trying to finish?