Last night a friend and I were discussing books that we just couldn’t get through. As some of you may know, I very rarely give up on a book. I will fight with it and force myself to finish because I believe there will be something worthwhile that I’ll miss if I don’t finish the story. Often this pays off, and I find something to love about a book I would have written off, but sometimes I get to the end and I regret those hours I wasted trying to finish a book that never did get better. That’s right The Witches of Eastwick, I’m talking to you!
Then there are the few times I have given up on a book completely. James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces was one of those books that I just couldn’t force myself to read. I tried three times and never made it past the 2nd chapter. And I won’t be trying again. (Learn about punctuation and grammar buddy.)
Currently, I’m stuck on 1984 by George Orwell. I’m not a huge reader of the classics, but I try to read at least one or two a year, just to counterbalance all the fluff. I started 1984 in November, and after realizing I wasn’t going to get our book of the month read unless I put it aside, I finally set it down, planning to go back to it once I caught up on some of my other reading. It’s now January and I still haven’t gone back to it. I do plan to finish it, because I just don’t believe that so many people could be entirely wrong about a book that is touted as one of the greats.
Are there books you’ve been unable to finish? What was the most recent? What do you do when a book isn’t working for you?
Oh, I loved The Witches of Eastwick!
However, the classic I couldn’t finish was Bleak House by Dickens, which was assigned in college, and I absolutely faked my way through the last half. God, it was awful.
I wanted to love the Witches of Eastwick, but just found it way too wordy. The story could have been told in half as many pages.
I was assigned Great Expectations twice in school (different schools) and couldn’t manage to get through it either time. That was my one use of Coles notes during school.
I couldn’t finish a million little peices either…. too hard to read – didn’t flow for me.
Love the One You’re With by Emily Giffin, The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver and The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith are the ones I’ve tried to get through but I just can’t seem to finish them. I liked a Million Little Pieces. I even bought the one he published after that a few years back. I still haven’t read it but maybe one day I will.
Have you read any other Emily Giffin books Candy? I enjoyed her first 2, but haven’t tried Love the One You’re With.
The Post-Birthday World is one that I’ve picked up a few times but never read. What didn’t you like about it?
I loved Something Borrowed and Something Blue. I thought Baby Proof was okay. The Post-Birthday World I don’t know what is about that book I just can’t seem to really get into it.