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Guilt from not finishing a book
I start so many books I never finish. Every time I start a book, but don't finish it, I feel guilty. Especially if it's a book that's well respected. I find myself feeling guilty that I'm not enjoying it. "What's wrong with me?" I'll ask myself. "Why aren't I liking The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress?" I bought the audiobook of Pattern Recognition, but found I wasn't enjoying it on audiobook, so then I purchased the book hard copy, but now I'm no longer interested in reading it...the writing itself is wonderful, but I'm finding the plot rather uninteresting. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress -- it's weird, but the plot isn't grabbing me, either... I started reading a new book...Seven Years In Tibet, and so far I'm into it. Maybe that's just the nature of books. Can't be into all of them. Start many, only finish a few. Well, I'm a very, very, very slow reader, so reading an entire book takes a lot of time, so maybe y'all out there that can just read a book zippedy quick have no idea what I'm talking about.
I finish every book I start but sometimes if its crap I have to take a break from it. Right now Im struggling through The Sleeping Doll by Jeffrey Deaver.
Dark past, bright future, living abroad, well read. You're like the reincarnation of James Dean, hopefully with better driving skills ( Tomstrong on me, best compliment I ever got! )
Bug, I figure the old saying one mans meet is another mans poison applies here. I used to feel bad if someone really recomended a book to me and then I didn't enjoy it but now I just shrug and give the old aint my cup of tea thing. I figure lifes short and some books like some relationships, whatever the expectations of others, just aren't meant to be.
Its not how hard ya rock, its how well ya roll.
I gave up on Samuel L Jackson's biography. His life was fairly interesting, but the author sucked. The book is written in British too, and the translation wasn't worth it. Plus it read like a high school essay biography, inly really, really long. And repetitive in word choice.
I stopped reading, "The Brothers Bulger" about halfway through. I love Howie Carr, and the subject matter was interesting, but I knew there was better stuff out there and TBB was just dragging a bit. Being a real story, it didn't have a thread/plot to hold it between chapters, it was just description.
I feel better when I finish a good book than I feel bad when I give up on another one.
If it's not consensual, it's not moral. Ever.
The book is written in British too, and the translation wasn't worth it.
Huzzzuh?
I've given up an a few books that I've come back to a couple of years later and, in some cases, really loved. I think often you can find a book at the wrong time for you. In other cases, some books are just shit.
The book is written in British too, and the translation wasn't worth it.
Huzzzuh?
I've given up an a few books that I've come back to a couple of years later and, in some cases, really loved. I think often you can find a book at the wrong time for you. In other cases, some books are just shit.
Then of course there is that.
Its not how hard ya rock, its how well ya roll.
the only book i remember giving up completely was my antonia by willa cather. apparently its a classic of sorts. we had to read it in tenth grade of high school.
i honestly tried to read this book. four different times i threw this book at my wall and swore to myself i would never read something so boring and stupid again in my life. i only read probably four chapters of this book. not sequential chapters. i mean four chapters total lining up with my assignments. did not enjoy one second of this book. after reading the parts i did read i wanted to kill my english teacher and go back in time and convince willa cather to never write any thing. never hated anything so much in my entire life. why write a boring book about some ones boring life? i still have no answer for this
dont judge me for only reading parts of this book. i challenge anyone to read this entire book and say its good in any way shape or form. worste book i have ever partially read.
IF I CATCH A DISEASE, YALL IS GONNA BE THE FIRST TO KNOW ABOUT IT
-xec8
http://cooleddy.wordpress.com/
I only read half a page of Tale of Two Cities. In my defence I was 13. In fact, I tried reading something else Dickens before that and got exactly as far. I considered myself godlike at that point so I decided Dickens was crap. I don't know, he might be, but I should give it another try someday.
You should give it another try; I read A Tale of Two Cities a few years back, and it was great.
I've never quit a book halfway through, but there are quite a few that have tempted me:
The Bell Jar- Sylvia Plath
House of Leaves- Mark Danielewski
Death and the Dervish- Mesa Selimovic
JG Ballard- Crash
and most recently Blood Meridian by Cormac Mccarthy--so damn boring.
When I lose interest in the story, I'll usually just drag myself through it anyways, but with a much lazier approach. I've always been annoyed with people who feel they can discuss a book after they've only read half, this being the usual context in which half-read books come up.
sorry derek, i know you love king, i do too but i couldn't finish king's Desperation.
I liked Desperation but I really struggled with the partner book the Regulators.
Dark past, bright future, living abroad, well read. You're like the reincarnation of James Dean, hopefully with better driving skills ( Tomstrong on me, best compliment I ever got! )
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and most recently Blood Meridian by Cormac Mccarthy--so damn boring.
that's a surprise, to me. man. that book just about fucking killed me. i found myself constantly amazed at some of the pictures cormac took his time to paint.. in that novel there truly is a scathing amount of the worst imaginable, from nightmares of blood and withered death to the reality of the normal that is that story, and the book in its entire is not without a flare for humor: "Hell fire, come on out. I'm white and christian."
some of the scenes just burn into you, though. for, like, ever. i cant look toward a burning white sun without thinking about this book in some small way at least and not feel a touch of the dry mouth and a white hole in the sky. though i cannot locate at this perfect moment that very short passage, one of the most cited passages is a long, changing description and certainly [i]shows[/i] the men in all their humanity and dirty flaw:
[font=tahoma]The men as they rode turned black in the sun from the blood on their clothes and their faces and then paled slowly in the rising dust until they assumed once more the color of the land through which they passed.[/font]
pretty much, one of the most flawlessly written novels in human history. if faulkner were still around, reading [i]the evening redness in the west[/i] would have improved his own craft. cormac is not the next faulkner or anything such nonsense blah blah. cormac mccarthy is cormac mccarthy. (though, i really didnt enjoy [i]no country[/i], not the first and certainly not the second and s l o w e r time i'd read it.
-kabol
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As deeper breathing returned, he coddled a dream of images of his future family, of himself and his love and children and in it he smiled the smile of one who works hard and provides, the proud father. The pride of the father. He stopped his thoughts and pushed himself to hurry because of the pride of a father like Ol Jim, because there are some people in this world you just shouldn’t rile.
-A Daughter's Pride
I only read half a page of Tale of Two Cities. In my defence I was 13. In fact, I tried reading something else Dickens before that and got exactly as far. I considered myself godlike at that point so I decided Dickens was crap. I don't know, he might be, but I should give it another try someday.
i think dickens sucks. it took me a month to read tale of two cities and a month to read oliver twist. thats at least twenty five more days than it takes me to read any other book. and its not because it was complex and intricate. it was because i could barely pay attention to the book longer than twenty minutes at a time. such a chore.
i just find him boring, longwinded, and annoying. hes the english honore de balzac with less talent. or maybe honore de balzac is the french charles dickens with more talent.
IF I CATCH A DISEASE, YALL IS GONNA BE THE FIRST TO KNOW ABOUT IT
-xec8
http://cooleddy.wordpress.com/
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and most recently Blood Meridian by Cormac Mccarthy--so damn boring.
that's a surprise, to me. man. that book just about fucking killed me. i found myself constantly amazed at some of the pictures cormac took his time to paint.. in that novel there truly is a scathing amount of the worst imaginable, from nightmares of blood and withered death to the reality of the normal that is that story, and the book in its entire is not without a flare for humor: "Hell fire, come on out. I'm white and christian."
some of the scenes just burn into you, though. for, like, ever. i cant look toward a burning white sun without thinking about this book in some small way at least and not feel a touch of the dry mouth and a white hole in the sky. though i cannot locate at this perfect moment that very short passage, one of the most cited passages is a long, changing description and certainly [i]shows[/i] the men in all their humanity and dirty flaw:
[font=tahoma]The men as they rode turned black in the sun from the blood on their clothes and their faces and then paled slowly in the rising dust until they assumed once more the color of the land through which they passed.[/font]
pretty much, one of the most flawlessly written novels in human history. if faulkner were still around, reading [i]the evening redness in the west[/i] would have improved his own craft. cormac is not the next faulkner or anything such nonsense blah blah. cormac mccarthy is cormac mccarthy. (though, i really didnt enjoy [i]no country[/i], not the first and certainly not the second and s l o w e r time i'd read it.
-kabol
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It's obvious that he's a great writer. I mean, I recognized the humor, and his ability to conjure up images of what probably happened. And I knew there was something at work with the language as I read it, but there was just something else keeping me from being fully involved; maybe it was the context. I just found myself indifferent to what happened to The Kid, including his little moments of being human--the scene where he reacts to the boy with a gun, near the end is a good example--or whether he outdid the judge. Also, I read the introduction by Harold Bloom where he blows the entire book, and also reveals the theme of the judge representing perpetual war--it being insurmountable and all. So from the beginning, I was annoyed by the introduction, and bored by the aforementioned theme, so that probably factored in to my overall response.
Like you said, it's probably better after a re-read or two, but I doubt I'll ever get around to that. I'll probably read some of his other stuff though.
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oh, no worries, bandmech. i understand completely. ive read through his books ('cept for suttree which i have but havent dug in yet) but have only reread [i]the road[/i] and [i]no country[/i]. loved [i]the road[/i], thought the writing phenominal, but hated [i]ncfom[/i] even after the second read and i think it jaded me to the movie because i didnt like it either, even though it is championed by a few members here i deeply respect. so it's all taste. word is, he has two currently in the workings, and [i]the road[/i] is being made into a big production and ridley scott is signed up to film [i]blood meridian[/i]. he's finally getting his due, i think, even though he's getting close to eighty years of age. the point is, i understand not liking something that so many loved. maybe [i]meridian[/i] just hit me perfectly, timely. just like [i]no country[/i] may have just missed me--bad timing and all that.
-kabol
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As deeper breathing returned, he coddled a dream of images of his future family, of himself and his love and children and in it he smiled the smile of one who works hard and provides, the proud father. The pride of the father. He stopped his thoughts and pushed himself to hurry because of the pride of a father like Ol Jim, because there are some people in this world you just shouldn’t rile.
-A Daughter's Pride
I find it odd that people force themselves through a book they just plain don't like. There are so many books out there, it seems silly to be forcing your way through one when there are probably a whole lot of books out there you'd love that you aren't even touching.
i agree. but i always read books i like. at least i have for the last three years. but i do an inordinate amount of research on authors before i pick them up. wikipedia, interviews, reviews, and things like that before i even consider picking up a new author or book. but once an author has established himself in my "good" pile i usually keep picking up everything by him. or her. i dont go much by recommendation because i dont know many people who read very often. or read at all if its not assigned. sad state of affairs, but, we do what we can. but this has lead me to find many many authors that i really enjoy who have, in turn, led me to other authors.
of course, i may just have too much time on my hands. also, wikipedia is why the internet exists and it will soon consume me. i have no trouble spending hours and i mean hours on wikipedia. i can honestly sit on there all day. like twelve hours. i now have a wide but shallow level of knowledge on many things and people and i will soon know everything about everything at a very basic level. i'll become like a god, a god with only cursory understanding of all that is subject to him.
IF I CATCH A DISEASE, YALL IS GONNA BE THE FIRST TO KNOW ABOUT IT
-xec8
http://cooleddy.wordpress.com/
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i agree, that's safe. but i love being the first to give myself the first initial impression of a book. i dont read forwards. i dont read reviews, unless it's a book i dont really want to read but need to read (like breach of faith .. about post katrina and other disasters). generally, when i pick up an author ive heard about, i dont want to know anything about the author or the book. i wanna just gauge it, freebase style. that's the one thing i do sometimes regret about this site: know waaay too much about chuck. i hear his voice when in read his books, see his quirks from interviews and whatnot. dont ever want to really meet the man because i want some resemblance of the unknown, [i]something[/i] shrouded with a little mystery left to it.
kabol
..
..
As deeper breathing returned, he coddled a dream of images of his future family, of himself and his love and children and in it he smiled the smile of one who works hard and provides, the proud father. The pride of the father. He stopped his thoughts and pushed himself to hurry because of the pride of a father like Ol Jim, because there are some people in this world you just shouldn’t rile.
-A Daughter's Pride
I find it odd that people force themselves through a book they just plain don't like. There are so many books out there, it seems silly to be forcing your way through one when there are probably a whole lot of books out there you'd love that you aren't even touching.
That's exactly why I failed 11th grade English. Instead of The Scarlet Letter, I read a comic book because the pictures were sure to hold my unabated interest.
but then again. i'm a dork.
As deeper breathing returned, he coddled a dream of images of his future family, of himself and his love and children and in it he smiled the smile of one who works hard and provides, the proud father. The pride of the father. He stopped his thoughts and pushed himself to hurry because of the pride of a father like Ol Jim, because there are some people in this world you just shouldn’t rile.
-A Daughter's Pride
i may have overstated my method. i guess i only really do that now if im unsure about someone. i guess i used to do it a lot more back when i was hungry for something new, a new way to tell a story, something i couldnt get through school or find in my libraries. but i do usually read blurbs about the book and such like that. for a lot of books now i mostly just check out amazon. then i run through the book. then after ive sufficiently swallowed it i check out more about the author and reviews and interviews about the book.
i just really like to get the story and then i want to know where the story came from.
and when i said recommendations before i meant recommendations from people i physically know. i'll usually pick up anything that an author i really like tells me about them. i also pick up peoples influences a lot. first, because theyre probably really good, maybe better. second, because i like to watch the progression of story telling and picking up on where this persons voice comes from. its like a giant spider web that im trying to unweave and then reweave. nice metaphor me, way to go eddy.
IF I CATCH A DISEASE, YALL IS GONNA BE THE FIRST TO KNOW ABOUT IT
-xec8
http://cooleddy.wordpress.com/
I find it odd that people force themselves through a book they just plain don't like. There are so many books out there, it seems silly to be forcing your way through one when there are probably a whole lot of books out there you'd love that you aren't even touching.
I think you can learn something even from the worst books.
Dark past, bright future, living abroad, well read. You're like the reincarnation of James Dean, hopefully with better driving skills ( Tomstrong on me, best compliment I ever got! )
I find it odd that people force themselves through a book they just plain don't like. There are so many books out there, it seems silly to be forcing your way through one when there are probably a whole lot of books out there you'd love that you aren't even touching.
I think you can learn something even from the worst books.
I'm sure you can, but you can also learn something from books you enjoy...plus you get the added benefit of enjoyment. :-)
I find it odd that people force themselves through a book they just plain don't like. There are so many books out there, it seems silly to be forcing your way through one when there are probably a whole lot of books out there you'd love that you aren't even touching.
That's exactly why I failed 11th grade English. Instead of The Scarlet Letter, I read a comic book because the pictures were sure to hold my unabated interest.
I hate the idea of forcing everyone to read the same thing. Some people enjoyed The Scarlet Letter. Others didn't. Maybe those others would enjoy reading Moby Dick instead, or Kafka. I think if reading becomes a chore (as it was in high school) it can turn people off to the experience. I mean, we do have a nation of people who don't like to read. Something's broken here.
I find it odd that people force themselves through a book they just plain don't like. There are so many books out there, it seems silly to be forcing your way through one when there are probably a whole lot of books out there you'd love that you aren't even touching.
I think you can learn something even from the worst books.
I'm sure you can, but you can also learn something from books you enjoy...plus you get the added benefit of enjoyment. :-)
Thats true but it makes you appreciate the better books more. If that was the case that yo gave up on too many things so soon I would only spend ten minutes at the cinema a week.
Dark past, bright future, living abroad, well read. You're like the reincarnation of James Dean, hopefully with better driving skills ( Tomstrong on me, best compliment I ever got! )
I find it odd that people force themselves through a book they just plain don't like. There are so many books out there, it seems silly to be forcing your way through one when there are probably a whole lot of books out there you'd love that you aren't even touching.
I think you can learn something even from the worst books.
I'm sure you can, but you can also learn something from books you enjoy...plus you get the added benefit of enjoyment. :-)
Thats true but it makes you appreciate the better books more. If that was the case that yo gave up on too many things so soon I would only spend ten minutes at the cinema a week.
I read over a hundred pages of Pattern Recognition (which is about one third of the book) before I gave up. I agree with you that you should give a book a fair chance. If you're watching a movie, at least watch till the beginning of the second act starts.
I'm not sure I quite buy into the appreciate better books theory defense. I mean, I'm not going to eat a shit sandwich in order to appreciate a gourmet meal better. I guess I do see your point, somewhat. I would argue that reading poorly written works make you appreciate better books more -- not reading books you don't enjoy. But you could argue it the other way, too.
At the end of the day, I guess I just think it's better to be spending time reading books you enjoy, rather than trying to tie yourself in knots reading books you don't...even if we do feel guilty giving up on books. But maybe this is just me. I mean, we're all different. Different outlooks...this is what makes for good contrast. And without good contrast, things would get quite boring.
Okay, I'm gonna watch some Aeon Flux now.
I don't have a problem not finishing books I'm really not enjoying. I read a good quote by Nick Hornby yesterday that I agree with: "Every time people force themselves to carry on with a book they're not enjoying, they reinforce the idea that reading is a duty."
I didnt like House of Leaves and thus didnt finish it. i have felt very little guilt over not finishing it.
I also couldnt finish Blood Meridian and Im taking my second stab at The Crying of Lot 49.
Other books I never finished include:
- Crash
- Demian
- A Clockwork Orange
- The Beauty of Men
- American Psycho
- The Informers
- 1984
- Notes From Underground
Im not counting the books my classes have assigned to me (The Firm, The Scarlet letter, etc). I usually read the first chapter then search for a detailed plot sypnosis online somewhere.
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