Recently I've been reading a lot of pretty good books. And then I get to the ending, which is, more often than not now, left open for an obvious sequel.

I HATE this!

Plot lines aren't finished. Relationships unresolved. Strings untied.

It is such a let down to read these kind of books that have good stuff going for them (but not enough to warrant a sequel) and not be able to have completion. I'm never so bowled over that I would plan to read another book in the series, so I am left unsatisfied and a book that was good is now, meh.

Why can't stories be told in one book anymore?

When I look for books to download in the library catalog all I find are "book 3 in the blah blah series" "part of the such-and-such trilogy". Literally, over 75% of the books listed are part of a series.

I don't have anything against series (hello, Harry Potter), but I feel like so many stories stretched out into series should really only be one book. What I really hate is reading a book that doesn't say it's "book 1" of some series only to find in the end that things have been left hanging for the possibility of another book. This has happened to me SO often lately.

The obvious reason why this is happening is money. There have been several successful series, trilogies, etc., and every publisher wants to cash in. Personally, the obvious money grubbing makes me sick and turns me off from reading certain YA genres (angels, vampires, weres, dystopian, etc.) where this seems to be prominant. I'd rather read the literary middle grade books that leave you feeling good and satiated at the end.

I have not been hovering over writer sites lately, so maybe this has already been discussed to death, but I had to vent.

What's your experience/feelings on this?