The reason is the same as when I was a teenager and scoffed at essentially any genre other than murder mysteries. No matter how wonderful the writing is, I have to be sucked in by the third page or it will take me weeks to finish a book. A good book I'll read in a day (given there is the necessary time). For example, on recent Saturdays I read Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall and Jodi Picoult's House Rules, each in less than 24 hours. Neither are short. Neither are murder mysteries.
But before I go on I must go back to my junior year of high school to a conversation I had with my english teacher. When I told her I had never stopped a book in the middle, she said, "But there are so many other books out there you could love, why waste your time on ones you don't?" I pondered this statement, then put down Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises and never picked it up again.
Here's the thing - clearly Hemingway is an excellent writer. I'm not saying he isn't. But when I'm not invested in a book (which I wasn't with Hemingway), it takes me a while to read even though I read every day. So when I have shelves of books in my house I am itching to read, why am I forcing myself through a different one?
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| My bookshelf once upon a time... LOOK - it's The Sun Also Rises |
I have passages galore highlighted in it, but I have little motivation to finish it. The writing is beautiful and stunning and I can learn from it, but the plot has taken forever (at least in my opinion) to develop and I'm still not really sure why I should care about the characters.
Somewhere around the end of middle school I couldn't find books that held my attention anymore, so I turned to murder mysteries and legal thrillers. From page one these books have suspense, so even if I wasn't crying over characters I was at least racing through the pages. I read every single Mary Higgins Clark and John Grisham book that existed, then discovered the plethora of other authors in the same genres.
Eventually, I began branching out again. I can't choose a favorite anything to save my life, but I can tell you without regret that my favorite book is The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold. Why? Well, I talk about that here. Not a murder mystery at all, but from page one I was drawn in and couldn't put it down.
Now I read a murder mystery only on a rare occasion, because that is not a genre I will ever write in so I do not need to be familiar with it. And I now find that a much broader range of books (and I mean BROAD, from chick lit to dystopian YA to non-fiction accounts of Mount Everest and Ebola) can suck me in and earn my devotion.
I truly believe that every person in this world could love reading, if only they found the right genre. Case in point: my mother. She never enjoyed reading. My entire life I never saw her read and finish a book. But she loves sewing, and in the past year she discovered a few series involving quilters and mysteries - and she's read several of them. She has been eager to read them, and tell me about them, and find more of them. I think that many of the people who tell me they don't like reading or don't have time for it have just never taken the time to explore books outside of what is required reading at school.
So what is my point, exactly? I'm not sure. In all honesty, I was about to go to bed. But in summary...
- I think it's okay to stop reading a book in the middle...
- But even a book you don't particularly love can still teach you something valuable.
- Different genres, perhaps, are suitable for different parts of our lives...
- and the reason there are so many different types of books is because we all have different tastes!
So what is your policy on not finishing a book? What makes you stop reading, if you do? Has your taste in genres changed over time? Seriously, I'd love your thoughts!
7 comments:
I TRY not to give up on a book, I really always TRY because I know the effort that's gone into writing it.
That said, if it makes my head hurt I will put it on hold for a LONG long long while.
I read anything and everything though, for me it's more about the compelling voice than the genre. If it's good, I'll give it a go... Obviously YA is my favourite though...
YES I've been rediscovering YA lately (because that is what I'm writing) and YA does a very good job of hooking me right away, I think mostly because of the voice. Just one of the many reasons YA is awesome!
Also, I agree - I always try not to stop a book because, well it's published. So A. a lot of effort went into it and B. it must have been good enough to get published.
When I was in high school, it always bothered me when I didn't make it through a book. As I've gotten older, I've mellowed. I'll usually give a book three chapters and, if I'm not enjoying it by that point, I put it away.
Sometimes, though, it just comes down to mood. I picked up Coyote Blue in June and couldn't get into it and I know it wasn't the books fault (I love Christopher Moore) it was just that it wasn't a good time for me to be reading that particular book.
Eh, I just read. When I'm done with reading for the day, I memorize where I was and set it down. Sometimes I get done with reading for the day and then I buy something new or see another book on my shelf and get sidetracked in that one for a while. Series I take one at a time, but I do read multiple books simultaneously. I was working through Knots & Crosses and Thrilling Cities simultaneously in the closing weeks of school. But! I always finish a book. No matter how godawful it is, once I start it, I finish it. And no matter how awful it is, I never get rid of it, which is probably a big part of why my room is so overrun with books.
^WALL-O-TEXT GO!^
Oh, and my taste in genres has always been the same. I'll read anything you chuck at me, but for the most part I avoid YA and romance. Just never been appealing. But then, I'm not really the target demographic for the latter. Former? I blame the fact that I was introduced to "adult" fiction (not like that) when I was only in second grade.
I pretty much have to finish a book once I start it for two different reasons:
1. No matter how bad it is, I still *need* to know how it ends or I'll wonder about it.
2. I also have some deeply held hope that maybe, just maybe, it'll get better.
Now, when I say I finish it, I'll admit that if it doesn't keep my interest I might skim large portions of it so I get enough information to know what's going on so I can quickly get past it.
Kathleen - Ohhh good point. I agree that certain books are better at different times. Sometimes I'm just not in the right place for one.
Nick - ah yes, I have an ever growing collection of books, too. It's the best though, isn't it? Very interesting that you just remember where you are in your book and have a rather relaxed attitude about reading what draws you at that moment.
J.leigh - I agree, I always think that perhaps the end will make it all worthwhile. My problem is I can't skim!! I've tried, but I always end up reading it all anyway, which is maybe why I will reach a point where I just put the book down for good.
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