Something I am going to try to be better about, now and into the future (call it a resolution, if you must), is give myself permission to stop reading a book if I am just struggling to get through it. Usually, once I start, I feel like I have to see it through to the end, find out if it gets better, etc. No more; if I am bored or uninterested, I am going to start stopping.
Case in point: Snow, by Orhan Pamuk. I got about half way through this book, and I realized that I had been reading it for about two weeks. If you read this site, you know I have a lot of reading time on my commute, and usually finish a book in a week, sometimes faster. I realized part of the pacing problem: I just truly didn't care. The writing style was somewhat engaging, but the story just put me into a stupor, and I further realized that I had no interest in how the story continued, let alone ended.If you finished this book, and think I am missing out, let me know. As for me, I have a growing pile of books from the library that I want to read, and it is time to allow myself to move on.
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4 comments:
I have precisely the same problem. I can only think of maybe two books that I have started and not finished, out of some sense of duty to see it through. You are right, life is too short for wasted time when there are other great books out there.
I'm having the same trouble with The Alchemist right now, and I contemplating whether or not I should finish it.
Same problem, B. Right now I can't get into ANY of the books I've been picking up. Nothing is grabbing me.
One of my 10th grade (!) students is reading _Snow_ right now...I'm going to watch closely to see if he actually finishes it.
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