Comments on: Give up, give in and walk away

By: Monica Brand

Monica Brand — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 20:01:44 +0000

Oh, I like his writing fine, it’s the content that’s lacking.

By: Heather

Heather — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 21:36:50 +0000

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.

By: Semicolon

Semicolon — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 01:30:48 +0000

[...] 1. JustOneMoreBook (Suki’s Kimono)2. Cindy (The Children of Men)3. Carrie K. (Reading Like a Writer)4. Anne (The Christian Almanac)5. Carrie/Bookfest (The Thirteenth Tale)6. cloudscome (Psalms Through the Year)7. Brenda N (Evasions)8. Monica (Through Painted Deserts)9. Mindy (The Alchemist)10. Stephen Lang11. Ruth (Anacaona)12. MFS (Girls of Tender Age)13. Allison (There Is No Me Without You)14. DeputyHeadmistress (The Day No Pigs Would Die and Fast Food Nation) [...]

By: Heather_in_WI

Heather_in_WI — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 19:32:16 +0000

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.

By: Marie

Marie — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 19:05:18 +0000

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.

By: Sherry

Sherry — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 16:55:54 +0000

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.

By: Jennifer, Snapshot

Jennifer, Snapshot — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 15:22:57 +0000

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 : )

By: Mindy Withrow

Mindy Withrow — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 13:59:01 +0000

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!