If you’ve been reading my writing for a while, you’ll know I tend to only write about the books I enjoy.
I rarely bother to jot down anything about a book I didn’t like. I’m not in the business of formal book reviews; I mostly want to holler about the books that mean something to me and, perhaps, trigger a reader or two to go out and get a copy for themselves.
Where’s the fun in writing, ”I hated this,” posts? I don’t want to re-live a dull book and nor do I want to put you through the misery of sharing how dull I found it!
That said – and you could probably see this coming – I’m breaking my own rule with this post. I’m going to mention a book I couldn’t get into and – shock, horror! – didn’t finish. My purpose is not to slag-off the book; I know for a fact, many people have loved it. I’m sure it’s a good book – The Guardian interview with the the author even ponders whether it is the ’book of the year’. But, for whatever reason, it just wasn’t for me.
I’m flagging it though because I want to raise the question of whether or not you should always finish a book once you’ve started it.
For most of my life, I’ve been that person who couldn’t not finish a book once I’ve begun turning its pages. The idea of starting a book and not finishing it seemed like blasphemy to me. But, gradually, I’m weening myself off this mindset. How much of my life do I want to dedicate to reading books I’m not enjoying? Life’s too short.
So yes, despite having three or four good goes at getting into Girl A by Abigail Dean, I have now officially extracted my bookmark and consigned the book back onto my shelves.
That’s not to say this isn’t a book I could enjoy in the future. I’ve long believed there’s a certain serendipity to finding and reading books. Timing matters; it was just clearly off for me this time around.
I’m interested though: Is this need-to-finish trait a quirk of my own, or do you struggle with this too? I’d love to hear from you!
I rarely bother to jot down anything about a book I didn’t like. I’m not in the business of formal book reviews; I mostly want to holler about the books that mean something to me and, perhaps, trigger a reader or two to go out and get a copy for themselves.
Where’s the fun in writing, ”I hated this,” posts? I don’t want to re-live a dull book and nor do I want to put you through the misery of sharing how dull I found it!
That said – and you could probably see this coming – I’m breaking my own rule with this post. I’m going to mention a book I couldn’t get into and – shock, horror! – didn’t finish. My purpose is not to slag-off the book; I know for a fact, many people have loved it. I’m sure it’s a good book – The Guardian interview with the the author even ponders whether it is the ’book of the year’. But, for whatever reason, it just wasn’t for me.
I’m flagging it though because I want to raise the question of whether or not you should always finish a book once you’ve started it.
For most of my life, I’ve been that person who couldn’t not finish a book once I’ve begun turning its pages. The idea of starting a book and not finishing it seemed like blasphemy to me. But, gradually, I’m weening myself off this mindset. How much of my life do I want to dedicate to reading books I’m not enjoying? Life’s too short.
So yes, despite having three or four good goes at getting into Girl A by Abigail Dean, I have now officially extracted my bookmark and consigned the book back onto my shelves.
That’s not to say this isn’t a book I could enjoy in the future. I’ve long believed there’s a certain serendipity to finding and reading books. Timing matters; it was just clearly off for me this time around.
I’m interested though: Is this need-to-finish trait a quirk of my own, or do you struggle with this too? I’d love to hear from you!
–Sam