12 sep 05
I finally forced myself to finish Nick Hornby’s A Long Way Down. I don’t recommend it. Seriously. I didn’t enjoy it.
This, of course, begs the question: when you find yourself disenchanted with a book, do you stick it out, or do you move on to greener pastures? I’ve got half a dozen titles waiting for me at all times, but I feel inclined to make my way through no matter what.
What do you think? Do you have to read some bad books to appreciate the good ones? Or do you bail when you become disinterested?
(Current book is Microserfs by Douglas Coupland. I know it’s so nine years ago, but I’ve always wanted to read it, and I got it for next-to-nothing used.)
Denise / 13 sep 2005 / 10:08 a.m.
it depends on the book. with Wicked, I just couldn’t take any more of it and put it away. When I read the Bell Jar, I hated the third of the book that i read. I didn’t read it for about one year and then i finished it. it wasn’t as bad as i thought it was going to be.
Courtney / 13 sep 2005 / 10:26 a.m.
Hey Maura! Remember me? From high school? Although I read your blog regularly, I have never commented before (as I’m sure you noticed!), but on this topic I must say this: there are more books out there in the world than you could possibly ever read, right? So why waste your time finishing one you don’t even like? My list of books to read is over three pages long and never seems to get any smaller … so if I don’t like a book, I abandon it!
Ro / 13 sep 2005 / 1:08 p.m.
I read Microserfs when I was in college (so it’s been a while) but I remember it being very boring. I did read the whole thing but I was very disenchanted by it.
Heather / 13 sep 2005 / 1:14 p.m.
I stick it out in hopes that it will get better. Right now I am reading a chick-lit book called “Call Waiting” that is absolutely horrible. The main character is so pathetic and only concerned about getting married. I can’t stand people like that plus, nothing is happening in the book. I hope it picks up and something happens since I have only 100 pages left. Next up: “Tropical Heat” which I heard was very good.
Kayleigh / 13 sep 2005 / 4:07 p.m.
Haha I started Microserfs a few months ago, and I cannot quite get myself to finish it.
Shaun / 13 sep 2005 / 6:03 p.m.
Usually I press on, though I am still halfway through The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, The Satanic Verses, and Vineland 4 years, 2 years, and 9 months later, respectively.
Melissa / 13 sep 2005 / 7:44 p.m.
I try to read at least 50 pages. If I don’t like it, I put it away and read another book or two, then come back to the one I didn’t like. I’ll read through those first 50 pages again, and if I still don’t like it, I put it away. If I don’t enjoy it, I don’t want to force myself to read it, because I’ve done that and it feels like punishment. (I only own 3 books I have not finished because I didn’t like them.) However I may come back to it years later and like it then… I’ve done that too, with books I guess I just had to “grow into.”
jenn / 13 sep 2005 / 7:46 p.m.
I seem to be the minority here, but I liked Microserfs. Of course I read it while I was living in Palo Alto (where most of the book takes place) and working in computer science, so maybe I was a little biased. For me, whether or not I stick with a book depends on what variety of dislike I have for it. If I just think the plot is a little lame, I can usually get by, but sometimes it’s just too much and I give up.
nicole / 13 sep 2005 / 8:15 p.m.
With books, I put them away if I’m not enjoying them, but if it’s a movie, I force myself to sit through it. I reason a movie will take just two hours of my life away, but depending on the length of the book, that’s too much time wasted on something that isn’t enjoyable.
jason / 13 sep 2005 / 7:10 a.m.
you have to stick it out. i can’t imagine stopping on a book at any point because you can’t judge the quality of a book until you’re about halfway or 3/4 of the way through and by then, you might as well suck it up and finish it. no one says you can’t skim, though.