Okay, so I'm over last night's spelling mistake induced tantrum and have returned to ask the question that I was going to ask 24 hours ago.
Now you know when you start reading a book and it doesn't grab you and you are struggling with it do you give up on it or are you determined to read it no matter what?
There is only one book that I have started and not been able to finish and I have started it more than once. Its not that I don't want to read it and I'm sure that it is very good but its very complicated and I've never been in the right frame of mind to finish it before but I will one of these days.
So personally I tend to plough through and hope that a book will get better before it ends but I know some people who just give up on a book that they are not enjoying.
What about you?
7 comments:
I usually try to struggle through. It has to be really bad or unsuitable for me to give up. I never finished Feersum Endjinn by Iain M Banks; it's written phonetically and therefore virtually unreadable for me. There was probably a great story in there, but I just couldn't decipher it.
There was one other book I never got through. I won't mention the title, nor the author's name, as they're occasionally part of this blog circle and I don't want to cause any offence. For me, this book was repetitive to the point of nausea and I felt I'd been tricked into buying some kind of poetry masquerading as a novel. It also had a lot of religious aspects which, as an atheist, didn't interest me in the slightest.
Still, only two non-finishers isn't bad, considering all the books I've read.
I used to plough on, like you, but have now decided life's just too short. I read for enjoyment. Where's the pleasure in ploughing through a book you don't like? You won't get any medals! Let that book go, Colette, and read....one of mine??
Something light and fun? If you want something worthy, Trollope is always excellent value!
Captain - I gave up on Vanity Fair because if Thackery could use 10 words instead of 1 he would and after 2 pages I gave up.
Frances - I agree that life is too short but the book I've tried and failed thus far to read is "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" and it is good but I keep forgetting who is who so I have to keep turning back. Maybe I'll wait until I get some time off work so that I can concentrate on it. Which of your books would you recommend?
You'll need a Kindle now, unless you buy second hand, but for a really easy read after your last efforts, how about Dead Ernest?
I don't have a Kindle (I'm fighting it as long as I can) but the good news is that in my job I always have easy access to plenty of second hand books so I'll keep a look out for it. Thanks.
Life's too short for me to keep reading a book that hasn't grabbed me withing the first few chapters, but I'm a convert to audiobooks - I listen to them in the car - and I've recently listened to a couple I'd previously given up on reading the usual way, and really enjoyed them.
Analyse that if you will!
That's interesting about the audio books Karen. I've never listened to one but I may give it a go.
Post a Comment