Thursday, November 12, 2009

Booking Through Thursday: Too Short?


Booking Through Thursday asks (as suggested by JM):

“Life is too short to read bad books.” I’d always heard that, but I still read books through until the end no matter how bad they were because I had this sense of obligation.

That is, until this week when I tried (really tried) to read a book that is utterly boring and unrealistic. I had to stop reading.

Do you read everything all the way through or do you feel life really is too short to read bad books?


I sort of fall in the middle on this issue. Yes, it bugs me to not finish a book, yet, I can and do give up now and then. However, often when I give up, I don't really think that I'm giving up, I just think I'm giving it a rest, and plan to come back and finish sometime.

Books I plan to finish sometime:

War and Peace
The Idiot
The Wings of a Dove
Peter Pan
American Gods
Sabriel
Drood
1776

... this list is actually quite big and I could go on and on...


Books I gave up on and will not come back to:

The Prodigal Summer
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All
Scarlet

.... and I know there's more, but these two are all I can think of for now!

So anyway, it's really a rare thing for me, but I will do it, because yes, life is too short!

7 comments:

  1. I like that you put lists there. Here's mine: http://thecrowdedleaf.wordpress.com.

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  2. I like that you put lists there. Here's mine: http://thecrowdedleaf.wordpress.com.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yeah, I make the distinction between given up completely and putting aside for now. I've gotten to the point where unless there's a certain payoff in a book - like it's a classic and i know there's something in it - if I'm just bored, I can give it up and say nevermind.

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  4. I don't keep track of books I won't be coming back to, just the ones I plan a return visit.

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  5. Two James Michner books I never finished: ALASKA -- I quit half-way through, and TEXAS -- I quit with maybe 50 pages to go.

    Loved other books he's written, espcially HAWAII.

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  6. Usually if a book is really boring or difficult to read I just give it up for good. Occasionally I put one aside to try again later- I've done that with A River Runs Through it and Say You're One of Them. One book I gave up on twice and tried five years later then fell in love with, was National Velvet.

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  7. I will usually push on through and try to finish the book. But, if it is really boring me, I put it down thinking that I will finish it later. Meanwhile, I pick up another book that interests me more. There are too many good books to waste time on boring ones if you don't have to. :D

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