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authors, books, novels, Reading, Reading lists, Taste in books, writers
Sad to say, but I abandon more books than I finish nowadays.
I simply lose interest in them. I read a few chapters, lay them aside for a few days, and realize: I really don’t care how this end. There’s nothing drawing me to return to the page. Often the book is well-written, has received rave reviews, the characters are strong, and the plot adequate. But it’s not compelling. I’m not sucked into the story. Something is missing, and I’m disappointed. Because I want to be swept away, I want to be dazzled, I want to be moved. But I’m not.
A few of these abandoned books I’ve kept, hoping the timing just wasn’t right. I wasn’t in the mood for this particular book. This has happened before. I’ve abandoned books and returned to them later and loved them. Or I’ve persisted with a book I wanted to abandon but couldn’t because I had an outside inducement to continue (a class I was taking, a book club choice, a friend had recommended, etc.), and then, about half-way through, something is triggered, and I find myself eagerly finishing the book–a book I would have abandoned otherwise.
Here’s a few books I abandoned within the past year but have kept on my shelf, hoping the timing was just off:
- Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kinglover
- Bel Canto, Ann Patchett
- Arcadia, Lauren Groff
- The Tiger’s Wife, Tea Obreht
- Wild, Cheryl Strayed
Recent reads I loved and eagerly finished:
- The Snow Child, Eowyn Ivey
- Mudbound, Hillary Jordan
- The Round House, Louise Erdrich
- The Shadow Catcher, Marianne Wiggons
- Games of Thrones (first three books in the series), George R. R. Martin
- The Hunger Games (all three in series), Suzanne Collins
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (all three in series), Stieg Larsson
A few I finished with coercion and am glad I did:
- The Light Between Oceans, M. L. Stedman
- Claire of the Sea Light, Edwidge Danticat
- Tinkers, Paul Harding
- Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson
Books I’m currently reading and on the verge of abandoning:
- Object Lessons, Anna Quindlen
- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz
Books I’m currently reading and am eager to finish:
- Peace Like a River, Leif Enger
- Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel
Books on my shelf, or in my Kindle, that I’m looking forward to reading:
- Tenth of December, George Saunders
- We the Animals, Justin Torres
- Americana, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Plague of Doves, Louise Erdrich
I don’t know if I’m unusual in doing this, if I’m particularly picky, or if this is fairly common. Do you abandon books? Or do you force yourself to finish them?
Have you read any of these books? What’s been your experience with them?
I’m just the same as you. It was as if I had written your post myself bar your choice of books which with some common choices is a little different. I find downloading the first few pages on Kindle helps. Nice to know it isn’t just me who is disappointed by so much contemporary writing. I think my favourite writer – discovered totally by accident in The NewYorker- must be Colum Mccann – ‘let the great world spin’. The Irish are born story tellers.
I’ve had McCann’s Transatlantic on my “to read” book list for a while now. Sound like I need to move it forward. Speaking of the Irish and stories (Although I don’t know if the author was Irish), a real page-turner I read years ago was Leon Uris’s Trinity. Quite popular in its day.
Than you. I’ll check it out.
I read Steve Jobs but found it boring in places. I usually finish all books unless it is terribly boring.
Yes, I have to agree, after the first couple of chapter, it was beginning to sound tedious. But I’m glad I finished it. Really gave me an insight into a great mind–not a mind I would have wanted to inhabit, but fascinating nonetheless.
I’m glad I finished it too. Would like to get around to reading some others on your list as well.
I can completely relate. My husband gives me a hard time about abandoning books, but life’s too short to spend all that time reading something that’s just all too easy to put down and forget about. During my last trip to the library, I picked up three books. I started, then abandoned, two of them. It’s only the third, An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine, that’s held my interest.
So, while my husband teases me about abandoning books that fail to hook me, I ask him, “That book that was boring in the first few chapters, the one you insisted on reading all the way through anyway, did it ever get better?” and then he reluctantly admits that no, it never did.
I feel good about my willingness to set aside books that don’t hook me. After all, there are more good books in the world than I could ever hope to read, so why waste time on the bad ones?
“An Unnecessary Woman” just made the National Book Award long list. I get excited when people recommend books–I want to read them too. Wish I had all the time in the world to do so. There are more books on my shelves than I will ever have time to read or reread in my lifetime–but I like having them there–my own library to browse through and pick out what strikes me in that particular moment.
I will select one you couldn’t finish and one you did and enjoyed. Girl with a Dragon Tattoo: I could NOT get into that book. I was so confoosed by the first few pages and so uninterested I just could not do it. Cheryl Strayed’s Wild–I found it a fairly engaging read. Sometimes I think it’s just the reader–who she is at that point in her life. But who would know? And with so many good books to read, why go back?
Yes, Luanne, I do remember that first chapter of Dragon was a little slow and got tangled up in a lot of financial complications that were over my head. But the premise of the book was so interesting to me I pushed on and ended up loving it.
As to Wild, I really wanted to like that book. I like the author and the premise, but it wasn’t what I was looking for at that time–I think I was looking more for prose on nature, for what it was like being out there on that trail, alone in the wild. But it was more about her struggles, a lot of which she caused herself, insisting on carrying a backpack too heavy for her. BUT, I do want to finish it someday, knowing its a book about her struggles and her past, more than about hiking in nature.
If you do finish Wild I would love to discuss it with you. I am wondering what you think about how she set up the whole thing as a struggle against not only her grief, but her way of coping which showed her “almost” as an addict. I agree with you about her carrying the backpack and all and the whole way the story was contextualized/structured I like to discuss ;).
Oh the guilt of abandoning books! As I get older I abandon more books because life is too short to invest in something that doesn’t do it for me. I am investing in a comment here because I just finished The Poisonwood Bible (which had been sitting around for a year) and now I can’t move on. I am stuck in the 1950’s Congo after being gripped by that story. Even though the book is over 15 years old, reading in now was perfect for me. Good luck with your book list!
Thank you! I know I will return to Poisonwood–not sure why I abandoned it in the first place–strong writing, strong characters, interesting plot. I’ll get there.
no you are not alone, i am the same. i think as we grow older, our own life experience kicks in, and that which gave us wonderment in our younger days, no longer holds the same magic. stands to reason. also we are not short on stories nowadays, as so much is posted on the www. we are overwhelmed with all sorts of stories and articles. I can tell you honestly, there are few books i read through. eve
Thanks, Eve. It’s true what you say. I’ve been thinking about re-reading books I loved at an earlier age just to see if they still grab me. But then, like you say, there are so many books that I’ve heard about that I want to get to, re-reading seems like stepping backward–lost time.
For me, it’s about the checkmark, finishing a book, so I will plow on through almost every book I start. That said, there have been a few that I decided were just not worth my time. The most recent was Dr Sax by Jack Kerouac. Complete garbage. I picked it up for $1 at a sale and feel like I got ripped off 😉
I wish I could do that sometimes, Jeff–just plow through. I’d probably end up liking a lot of them, if I got over that hump or what was putting me off at the beginning.
I understand your frustration Deborah, I’ve got similar stacks at my house. One that I can recommend is “Mystic River” by Dennis Lehane. The way the dialog is presented is outstanding. FYI, there’s a lot of street language.
I loved the movie “Mystic River,” so I’m sure I’d love the book too. I have another one of his novels on my Kindle to read. Should start that soon.
Great post Deb.
I used to feel that I had to finish a book – the author had worked so hard! – but now, looking at the stacks of unread books piling up against the office wall, I abandon them pretty quick if they don’t sustain my interest. (Unfortunately I can’t go to town without calling in to the library, so doubt I’ll ever catch up.)
Sometimes It’s a matter of timing, or age – there are books I’ve sent or recommended to my daughter Sara with the proviso “If you can’t get into this, try it again in a few years”. She reciprocates – suggested the Hunger Games, and also Patrick Ness’s “Chaos Walking” trilogy.
One of the things I enjoyed most about living on a boat was swapping books with other cruisers – maybe that was how we met, Deb. I still remember a book I read at sea in the mid eighties: ‘Red Mars’ by Kim Stanley Robinson. It was the first time I came across the phrase “Extreme Weather Event”, and thought it was something he’d made up. We’re hearing it all too often now..
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A more recent book that has similarly impressed me is “The Windup Girl” by Paolo Bacigalupi, a vision of a world overwhelmed by corporations and GMOs (Sent Sara a copy). Searched it out after reading his short story ‘The Tamarisk Hunter (may have that title wrong).
I read ‘The Poisonwood Bible’ a few years back while in bed with the flu – can’t recall it, but know I liked it. (That’s happening a lot as I age.) Liked the Patchett book too. Been meaning to read ‘Wolf Hall.’
Here are some of the books I’ve been struck by in the last couple of years:
The Tortilla Curtain – T.C. Boyle
A visit from the Goon Squad – Jennifer Egan
Claire de Witt and the Bohemian Highway – Sara Gran
The Free – Willy Vlautin
Jasper Jones – Craig Silvey (described as an Australian ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’)
Kate Atkinson’s later novels
Breath – Tim Winton
So many books, so little time…
Jess, I’m sure we did meet that way, swapping books when we were sailing. That’s was one of the prime pleasure of reaching a new port, finding someone to swap books with. We met a lot of fellow cruisers that way.
Thanks for the book list, there are several there I have wanting to give a read and several authors/books new to me I’ll have to look up.
Being Irish yourself, and talking about Irish books in our comments here, what Irish authors do you read or like the most?
Peace Like A River is one of my all-time favorites! And Wild was not worth the read. At all. Loved Bel Canto but people seem to have very strong opinions. It’s a bit of a polarizing book. I hate to say it, b/c I’m an Oprah fan, but most any fiction book she recommends I do not like . . . a book like chemistry–either there or it’s not.
So glad to meet someone who loved “Peace Like a River”–I don’t think it’s well known. Another book I read ages ago with the same tone and a similar voice was John Yount’s “Hardcastle”, train-hopping and coal mining back in the day. Not sure if it’s still in print (it is, just checked), but it has stayed with me as a book that was pure pleasure to read. Here’s an apt description I just found online. It deserves a plug:
“I’d never heard of John Yount before I picked up Hardcastle, but from the first page, I knew I could be in the grip of a special writer. Hardcastle is a simple but dramatic story, a sort of morality play, set in an rough Kentucky coal mining town during the Depression. The writing is also simple, but in the best sense, the way that the novels of some of the best American writers, like Hemingway, Steinbeck, and Elmore Leanord, are written simply. Every page rings with honesty and Yount offers some startling insights. The ending is strong and haunting. I was disappointed when it was over. Raymond Carver loved this book, and after you read the first three pages, you will see why.”
I love that you wrote about this. I am more likely to abandon nonfiction books than novels, but when it happens it is often a book that has gotten a bit too much hype. For that reason, it took me a while to finish The Tiger’s Wife. I did finish it, but my reaction was, “Why is this supposed to be so great?” It was good structurally, but it did not seem emotionally genuine. This reinforced my bias against precocious young MFA program novelists. I enjoyed Poisonwood Bible and Bel Canto. It was good to learn of a few books I hadn’t heard about before. Reading contemporary books is a leap of faith. It can be so tempting to stick with the classics, but for writers it is so important o see what others are creating.
Yes, emotionally genuine. I’m finding that true too about some new books that have been hyped as great, but seem shallow to me, and I wonder, what’s the point? This is true for a lot of the short fiction I find in literary journals. I guess I don’t just want a good read, I want something meaty, something I can chew on. Yet, Game of Thrones, Hunger Games? I enjoyed those. So I guess it has to be either meaty and moving, or thrilling: poignant and profound, or a roller-coaster ride.
When I abandon a book, which I hate doing I really think hard about why I chose it in the first place, because I think hard before deciding to read a book, no whims for me and that’s usually when I get caught out – I got sucked in by the hype or felt that it was something I should read, rather than I would enjoy reading. I try to stay true to my instinct when reading reviews, recently abandoned The Narrow Road to the Deep North after 50% by Richard Flanagan highly recommended by someone, but abandoned it and picked up Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth instead, substituting a “men experiencing war and prison camps” story for a “woman experiencing war and volunteer nursing”, sometimes it not the story its the environment we end up in, a place we don’t want to be and while Vera Brittain’s world was also tough, it was true and inspiring, so helps the reader get through the tough stuff. I don’t require that it be compelling always, but there must be something essential that the work gives us if it is not.
Yes, “something essential” is needed–a new understanding of the world, a particular era or experience, or insight into human nature or the meaning of life, something that touches me, moves me, inspires me, enlightens me–poignant and profound, as I put it in the comment before this one. Or it has to be a delightful and thrilling romp, if I’m reading genre–but even that has to offer something essential or substantial..
Maybe we have reached a point in literary history where we need new narratives and even new myths. For me, feminism has made standard ‘boy meets girl’ story lines boring, which is why I love Stieg Larsson’s anti-heroine Lisbeth Salander. In my opinion, Larsson is more of a feminist than many women, and more insightful on feminist issues than many feminists! Another problem for contemporary literature is the Holocaust. As Martin Amis has pointed out, there is really no other story now, and it is the writer’s task to make sense of what we have done; am looking forward to his new book ‘The Zone of Interest’.
Briemma, you’ve given me something to think about. I loved the same thing you did about Lisbeth, the anti-heroine. I think that’s why so many people were drawn to “The Hunger Games” too, although a much lighter fare. We hunger for a new, edgier, independent, strong feminist protagonist who at the same time can show their vulnerability. I think that’s why I love the re-tellings of the old fairy tales, as Angela Carter did in The Bloody Chamber.
I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never read Martin Amis. But I have been wanting to read Peter Matthiessen’s latest book, The Paradise, about the Holocaust.
I think a lot of my own writing explores personal “holocausts,” horrors we encounter and the need to bear witness, without losing the spirit to live, to love, to survive. Allowing the human spirit to triumph over such atrocities, whether personal or historical.
Like you, I abandon books as well. Sometimes I abandon them, though, not because I’m not interested but because I get distracted by another book. (ADD?) Our tastes differ somewhat, though. I LOVED “The Poisonwood Bible.” I find Kingsolver to be a totally engaging novelist. Like you, though, I LOVE Enger’s ‘Peace LIke a River.’ I am teaching it now as a matter of fact. Thanks for the stimulating post!
I’m glad to find others who liked “Peace” too. Until I wrote this post, I hadn’t met anyone who had read it. I’ll have to revisit “Poisonwood.” So many of you have loved it.
I’ve got several books I’m working on. I have one that’s a daily reader and two I started a while ago and just haven’t found time to finish them.
But, I enjoy talking about books. They are magical! but as you asked, I think it’s normal. Humans are prone to ups and downs it’s in our DNA. So, be kind to yourself and enjoy what you want to enjoy and if you get back to the abandoned books great! If not, maybe pass them on to someone else who will finish them, so you can find other great reads that will bring you joy.
Thank you. “Being kind to ourselves” is always good advice. Well taken.
A book that I abandoned (so hard for me to do) that everyone else seemed to love is The Shipping News. The prose drove me crazy.
Sometimes we pick a book up and it’s just not the right time.
By the way … LOVED Peace Like a River!
Yay! for “Peace”. Glad to hear so many people love it.
I’ve always abandoned books that don’t grab me in the first few pages or that turn me off for any reason. It’s only recently that I’ll read a hundred pages and THEN decide to stop reading the book. The books we abandon may be wonderful books but not every book is for every person. At least, that’s what I try to convince myself as an aspiring author–knowing I’ll have to face rejection.
Yes, Susan, I think about that all the time as I’m writing–how many people will abandon my book some day, and what I can do to keep that from happening. It’s inevitable though. There are so many different kind of readers with different tastes. It comes with the territory, that rejection.
Deborah, I’ve had similar experiences with books. I’m always looking to fall in love but for some reason, I can’t seem to connect with the books that I’m reading. Not sure why since I used to read so voraciously. And The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is absolutely one of my favorite books. Couldn’t put it down.
Same with me, Quanie. When I was younger, I never had a problem with abandoning books like I do today. But then I came to a period when I stopped reading fiction, and just read non-fic. Now I’m back to both. Glad you liked “Dragon.” So sad the author died. I would have liked to have seen more of his work.
Deborah, I suffer from the abandoning of books too. I have an ever-growing pile on my TBR table. I did love Kingsolver’s “Poisonwood Bible.” It resonated and lived on in my memory years after finishing it. Some of your others look interesting. I’m going to write them down and check them out.
It appears I was not at all unusual in abandoning books! I’ll have to give Poisonwood another try, so many commenters have loved it.
I used to be one of those “must finish it, at any cost” kind of readers – even if I felt I was in pain as I read. But like the others have said, I’ve come to the point in my life that there are just too many “other” books waiting for me, physically, on my shelves, and on my iPad. Time is limited, so why waste it on something that isn’t engaging me (for whatever reason that may be)? Right now, I’m actually struggling with a book that the world seems to LOVE (All the Light We Cannot See), and I’m trying to decide if I SHOULD tough this one out or throw in the towel at the 200-page mark (therein lies some of my angst — that I’ve already devoted 200 pages to a 530-page book). Like you, I had troubles with Poisonwood Bible, and it still waits for me — for a better day or different period in my life.
I loved the first three of your “eagerly finished” list, and I adored The Light Between Oceans. Recent knock-my-socks off books: Evergreen by Rebecca Rasmussen, Burial Rites by Hannah Kent, The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin, and Wilderness by Lance Weller. I know … just what you needed from this post — MORE books! 😉
I’ve had my eye on Peace Like a River for quite some time as well! Happy reading — or NOT reading.
Not only is my time limited, but I feel like I’m spending time with the characters. If I don’t find them fundamentally interesting or appealing, then they don’t deserve my attention. I’ve set aside several books because I simply don’t like the people who inhabit the novel.
Not at all, Melissa, I love getting suggestions. I’ll check them out. And many thanks for tweeting this post. I love it when readers do that.
I’ve abandoned at least as many books as I’ve actually read all the way through. I used to beat myself up terribly about it. But I worked at a used book store for five years and that confronted me on a daily basis with the mind-numbing, nigh-infinite number of books that I will never read, so I kind of got over it. (I bought, thumbed, perused, flipped through and then just re-sold more books probably than I’ve ever read, too.)
There is still some guilt though. And guilt for not wanting to read the multitude of books that for whatever reason I feel I should. You know, The Classics (dun-dun-dun-DUNNNNN). I’m trying to get over that as well. I figure maybe it’s a maturity thing. Maybe I’m just not grown up enough yet for some books, but maybe some day…..
When I was in my mid-teens, my older brother recommended a book to me that I must have tried to read a dozen times at least and just couldn’t get more than ten pages into. For whatever reason, I kept trying and one day it hooked me. I was mesmerized. When I finished it, I immediately went back to page one and started over. I think I read it three times in a row. That book was “Grendel” by John Gardner. It’s incredible. I just re-read it again last year.
I try to keep that in mind too when I can’t seem to get into a book. Maybe I’ll try again later.
I’ve been trying to read more Hemingway for about twenty years now. I never could get into him either (especially having Old Man and the Sea shoved down my teenage throat) until I came across Garden of Eden. Again, that one just clicked. I have since enjoyed a number of his short stories and I find the man himself quite fascinating and I find myself at times striving for his clarity of diction and description (documentarianism?) in my poetry. Well, in certain pieces anyway.
The Hills Like White Elephants is pretty amazing. I’m still trying to read him. I just recently abandoned Old Man and the Sea yet again!
Maybe next time….
Thanks for sharing, Johnny. It’s been a long while since I read John Gardner. “Grendel” sounds interesting. For some reason, I never took to Hemingway. He never moved me the way other writers did. I think his writing may be too spare sometimes. I like writing that is more lyrical.
I have abandoned books halfway, after pushing myself to give another chapter a try of course. The first time I did it, I felt very guilty, as if I’d let the author down somehow. But now, I know some books just aren’t meant for me and I move on. I’ve even let go of a children’s classic that many of my friends rave about: ‘ A Wrinkle in Time.’ Too many books, not enough time. As for your lists of books, I have another Louise Erdrich book on my to-read. I’ve heard good things about her writing.
I can sympathize with that feeling. Sometimes, a book will stay on my to-be-read for over 8 months, even if I’m already halfway through and it would just take a day to finish it. I hate abandoning books, but I’m doing it more and more frequently… likely justified by just how MUCH more there is to read in the world… I don’t like pushing myself through something when there are literally millions of books that I’d probably “fall into” much more easily.
It is comforting to hear you talk about this as I too have abandoned several books over the years. I have even gone back some times to those books, finished them at a later date and loved them! I guess it’s just your frame of mind at the time or if you are feeling impatient and unable to sit with a book and let it pull you in. I too have also finished books that were “required” reading that I would have otherwise put down, only to really enjoy them in the end.
I used to say “I’ve started so i’ll finish”, but lately if the story isn’t compelling or doesn’t have convincing characters I will put it down and sometimes never pick it up. Like you, there are some books I will return to and finish them eagerly – maybe the timing wasn’t right. I also loved the Snow Child – I found it magical. Another book that I am currently enjoying is Sky Hawk by Gill Lewis, it’s beautiful.
I too am picky when it comes to reading books. A book I recently read that I nearly gave up on in the first chapter is The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I stuck with it and at the half way point I was pretty enthralled with it. Towards the end however I was again getting restless. All the same I’m glad I stuck it out. It’s not a great great book but it is worth reading.
I’ve been curious about The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz and am interested that you find it difficult or less than pleasing. I suspect I’ll feel the same.
Meanwhile I plan to get back to Hilary Mantel. I tried Wolf Hall when I was already over my head in too many books. But I recently heard a review of Mantel’s latest collection of short stories, The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, and from what I heard it’s a must read.
Thanks for replying, Helen. I’ve been wanting to try “The Goldfinch,” now I’m not sure. I’ve read short stories by Junot Diaz that I really enjoyed, and I liked his writing in the Oscar novel. But once I left it for a few days, I did not feel compelled to return to it and finish. It’s still on my nightstand though.