If you've read between 1/3 and 2/3 of a book and you can't seem to get any further, should you really walk away?
I habitually start books. Or maybe I should say that I chronically begin them? I typically make it at LEAST 60 pages. And then I stop. Perhaps I'm a harsh critic? I don't usually leave the book saying I hate it, I just can't make myself finish. In fact, I tend to see it as MY problem for not being able to complete the book. I read 1/3 of "She's Come Undone" in a few days. But now it's been a couple of months and I'm still not done. At this point, I'm not sure if there's any ending that will satisfy me as a reader. It hasn't been a bad book, but at the same time it's been torture---I know that doesn't make any sense, but it did in my head.
More than a year after I started "I Am Legend" I did actually finish it. It wasn't great. I still haven't seen the movie even though I know they are very different. I'm glad I can say I finished it and tuck it away in my "finished" column, I guess.
Should I consider it a character flaw that I don't "finish what I've started"? Or am I really just saving myself time by avoiding the end of books that have already lost my interest?
3 comments:
Well -- I know I am in the minority, but that is how I felt about the book, "The Shack". For whatever reason it did not grab me like it has the rest of the world. I got about half way through and then "life" took over. I guess I allowed "life" to be an excuse not to read it...not to finish it. Then before I knew it, it had been several months. When I picked it back up to finish it, I decided to start from the beginning and was determined to finish it. I did finish it and while it ended up being a good book, I cannot rave about it like everyone else does. It was just "ok" for me! Typically I am like you and once I start a book, I cannot put it down -- but if it doesn't grab me -- I will allow other things to get in between me and my reading time lol!
While I am a "Russian Judge" in many things - when it comes to books I tend to be a fluff ball. :-P
Even bad books I tend to finish - because I'm always afraid that maybe just the beginning is bad and the book picks up. (I've seen that frequently.) Or I'm afraid that the end is something special.
Maybe you are just really particular in the books you read? Are there any you really like? Or maybe you don't really like to read?? I dunno...I'm grasping! LOL
Maybe you really only like beginnings and that is all you need?
I don't think there is anything wrong with any of it. :-)
I think that I have enjoyed most of the books that I have finished. There are probably a handful of books I really didn't like when it was all said and done. Yet at the same time, I can think of a LOT of books that I didn't like that I only started. So this seems to show that I don't finish books I don't like. In terms of fiction, I think I am more critical than some. BUT, I don't like to think that I am too picky---which might be why I'm willing to start so many books!!!
Fiction books I really like:
The Time Traveler's Wife
The Shack
Their Eyes Were Watching God
A Little Yellow Dog
The Color of Water
Redeeming Love
The Great Gatsby
and a most of the "mystery/crime" ones I've read on vacation...
I'd say there's a decent variety up there, but yes, I think I'm critical. BUT I'm determined to finished "She's Come Undone"!!!
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