How do you know when to give up on a book?
I’m halfway finished Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller and my heart isn’t in it. I give every book the benefit of the doubt, a second chance on the next chapter, hoping it gets better, pulling me in so I can’t put it aside. Feeling guilty for not wanting to finish, afraid I’m missing the best part by stopping now. I’m not getting any younger, the book stack next to the bed is getting taller, so I’ve no time to waste on books refusing to hold my attention.
A few months back I abandoned Teacher Man. Readers of this blog long enough know I adore Frank McCourt, so you know it must have been an ill fit for me to put that book down. (Marie, not one word. I know you’re just prejudiced against the Irish. Ha.) Giving up Teacher Man was easy because it was a library book and needed to be returned on time. The book isn’t sitting on the shelf screaming at me to finish.
And it also looks like that Elizabeth George book has seen the last of me too. No problem there; I’ve had it with that genre now. And I”m not linking, I’m even bored of talking about it.
But back to Miller.
Tuesday afternoon a head cold had me flopped on the sofa. Perfect chance to plow through the pages. I did. Miller’s comments regarding living simply and… and … can’t remember what I read. Well, whatever it was, it rang true at the time.
But I’m still not excited about the book.
And now a Christmas church controversy (why must there always be drama??) is distracting me from book, blog and peace filled thoughts.
I guess I’m more a perfectionist than I’d like to admit. I don’t like loose ends. I constantly put things in its proper place. Not finishing this book is like being a quitter.
How often do you give up on a book?
I have a hard time setting a book aside, too, as I am most certainly (and frustratingly) a perfectionist! But I love Nancy Pearl’s “the rule of 50″–if you’re 50 years old or younger, give every book 50 pages before you decide to finish or not; if you’re over 50, subtract your age from 100 and give the book that many pages to hook you. “Believe me, nobody is going to get any points in heaven by miserably slogging their way through a book they aren’t enjoying but think they ought to read,” she says.
This is why I have never finished Moby Dick!
I think that as my reading time becomes more precious, not necessarily in scarcity of time, but in a huge list of books that seem worthy of my time, I am more and more willing to shut a book that just isn’t grabbing me, so that I can give another book a chance. I never used to do that.
Also, like you said, if a book is due back at the library, that helps : )
Yes, I have this pull in both directions, too. I know I have persevered throught the first part of some books and found myself eventually enjoying and appreciating a delightful read, But the opposite happens, too. I keep reading only to find at the end of a hard slog that I’ve wasted my time. I’m relying more and more on the word of people I trust. If someone I know says it’s worth reading, I keep going. If not, I put it aside with only a little guilt and and few thoughts about whether it might have been worthwhile.
The first book I remember dropping in the middle was “Naked Lunch” by William Bourroughs. I was all set to like it, too. I was still in my teens and quite the decadent young lady, but that book was so ugly and nasty I just couldn’t stand it any more. It gives life from a heroin addict’s perspective, and is just dehumanizing.
Well … I usually try to suck it up and ad least skim through to the end…. except for “Don Quixote” and “Cruchy Cons”. Those I just couldn’t finish…. LOL.
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I actually loved Through Painted Deserts. But I think you have to read his other books first to really appreciate his writing. Or maybe that is just me.
Oh, I like his writing fine, it’s the content that’s lacking.