Book #54: "The Mystery of the Cupboard"

Back near the beginning of this journey, when I was discussing Douglas Adams and Louisa May Alcott, I came to the conclusion that the last books in their respective series were only really necessary for completists. In Alcott's case, I believe my words were "I doubt I'll ever read it again." 

I have similar but more mixed feelings about this series. (Actually, this is not the final book, but I don't really want to read the next one.) The title of this book is very accurate, since it lays out all the whys and wherefores of how the magic works. And it's fun to read, and it certainly has a lot of ramifications for the various relationships in the story, and yet...I, myself, just don't really want to know that much. I would be content for the cupboard to remain a mystery. 

Part of this probably comes from learning there was a fifth book, which I was previously unaware of, and reading the synopsis of said book. I was just...whelmed. (I was not in Europe, but some of the book takes place there, so I think it's okay.)

(Also, turns out that is not just a reference I love, but an actual word, though it does not mean what I thought it meant. Technically it means "buried" or "submerged", which is what I thought "overwhelmed" meant, and...now I might need to lie down.)

Boy. You make one late-nineties teen movie joke and it hijacks your whole thing. The point is, there's a part of me that wants to read the fifth book, because I am a completist in some ways, and I don't care for it out in the universe somewhere, taunting me. Probably with British insults that I wouldn't even understand because I am so delightfully middle-American. But I also don't care about it (in this moment, anyway) enough to find it and read it. And I didn't really want to know what I learned in this book, so there's the possibility that I would get more information I don't want in the last one. Plus if my reaction to the book is the same as my reaction to the summary, it might taint the rest of the series for me. Aggressive mediocrity can do that. But I did like this book, in the end, and it's not fair to judge a book based on what I think it might be, and...

Okay. That right there is why I shouldn't do this late at night, because the more tired I get, the worse the rambling gets. For now, anyway, the fifth book remains unread. The end.

Author: Lynne Reid Banks

Potentially objectionable content: Covered in detail above