The Next Best Book Club discussion

When I was in law school, I had a professor tell me that the difference between lawyers and everyone else is that a lawyer will read anything. We read instruction manuals, bad magazines, even the seat cards in the back of airplane seats if nothing else is at hand. So when I overheard a discussion about giving up on "boring books" it intrigued me.

There was an editorial about just this subject that ran in the Chicago Tribune a few weeks ago. I happened to read it as it was syndicated nationally and appeared in the "Books" section of my local paper. The editorial can be found here http://www.chicagotribune.com/enterta...

The author makes good points about working through hard books and how the advent of e-readers makes it easier for us to "give up" on a book. She comments:

Just as Netflix and video-on-demand systems have made it so easy to abandon one film and nab another, electronic readers such as iPad and Kindle are rapidly changing the relationship between book and reader. Maybe books aren't so different from other media, after all.

So, when do you give up on a book? Why? Does it matter that you purchased it or borrowed it?

I give up on a book when I feel like I am struggling to read. Once it becomes a chore, I'd say flip it over b/c it's done!

I don't give up. I kindly tuck the exhaustingly slow novel to my to-read cubby and will get back to it sometime.

The exception is with a library book since it's due.

I take breaks from books that aren't working for me, and a year later when I happen to notice that book still sitting around with an optimistic bookmark in it and realize I haven't given it a moment's thought, then I give up. But it has to be a really, really boring book.

I definitely see that danger with my new e-reader. Book not really grabbing me? I happen to have the entire Sherlock Holmes collection on here, too. Maybe I'll just flip over and read one of those for a break. Oh hey, I downloaded this random sample chapter of some other book two weeks ago, maybe I should read that. Woops, look at the time.

I try to fight that, though. Bad habit.

Joyce wrote: "I give up on a book when I feel like I am struggling to read. Once it becomes a chore, I'd say flip it over b/c it's done!"

You took the words outta my mouth!

I hate to force myself to read!

I don't often completely give up on a book. Like Tanja said, I'll put a bookmark where I stopped and re-shelve it, with every intention of finishing later. I am a mood reader, so the chances of the same book NOT feeling like work at a later date are very good. My two exceptions are library books and books that I find offensive. I don't mean because of language or sex, but ideals. Otherwise I feel anything the author took all that effort to write, I can at least make a small effort to read.

Kandice, ME TOO! I am definitely a mood reader. But the introduction of e-books had no effect on my reading habits. I simply have more books in hand to easily flip back and forth as I would have done with physical books.

Lately though, I am forcing myself to read one at a time.

Kandice I agree . If the book is filled with dialogue that can't substantiate the story it is time to chuck it ,for me. I generally know what books I will avoid and which authors I will avoid. There is only one book I really can't seem to get through and I still read small parts every few months or so. At this rate I might finish it in 10 years. It is a thick book.

The author of the article is reading a book because "[it:] won the 2009 Man Booker Prize and is simply too highly regarded by too many smart people to be ignored."

Do you find yourself trying harder when its a book of that caliber? A classic or a current award winner?

Yeah, I definitely try harder if I've heard from trusted sources that it's great in some way. And I try harder to like it, too.

Carol, what's the book?

Donna wrote: "Joyce wrote: "I give up on a book when I feel like I am struggling to read. Once it becomes a chore, I'd say flip it over b/c it's done!"

You took the words outta my mouth!

I hate to force m..."

I've always hated to "not finish" but when I realized that it is taking me away from other great reads...my common sense kicked in.

I don't know if I really try harder when it's a highly regarded book, but I definitely tend to think the problem is more with me than the book itself in that instance! If so many people loved it, what's wrong with me that I can't? That sort of thought.

astrangerhere wrote: "The author of the article is reading a book because "[it:] won the 2009 Man Booker Prize and is simply too highly regarded by too many smart people to be ignored."

Do you find yourself trying ha..."

Definitely with classics and sometimes with award winners.

I've also found that I try harder when it's either a controversial book or a book that seems to evoke a strong reaction from those who read it (especially when the reactions are divided).

I used to push myself through a lot of unenjoyable books for seasonal reading challenges, but not anymore. I still participate, but I've relaxed about whether I complete the challenge or not.

Most of the books I've marked unfinished on GR are still on my TBR. Like Kandice, maybe I will be more receptive to the book at a later date. Those are generally books that I just couldn't get into.

I am a librarian, and it's amazing the number of people who feel that they HAVE to finish a book just because they started it. I personally give myself permission to stop reading a book if the story hasn't grabbed me after the first 30-40 pages. If it's a book I have from the library, it goes quickly back. If it's a book I own, I will reshelf it and perhaps come back to it at a later date. If after that second attempt I still can't get into it, it's time for it to go away.

Rachel, I like the way you think. Every book does deserve a second chance!

i give up on books if the story doesn't girp me to it and i mark the page and come back to it,could be 6 mnths or a year i've books that i have not got around to yet but i will read them all eventually

Alex asked:Carol, what's the book?

Moby(crap)Dick
Just can't get through that sucker.


I will try harder to read a book, especially if I have a discussion going on that helps me along. I just finished 2666. It was difficult, but the discussion was great. So I finished it.

Of course it's Moby Dick. I shouldn't have had to ask.

Ah Moby Dick, the thorn in the flesh of my American Literature class in college. I had a professor who was a specialist in Melville, so we couldn't escape having to read it. It was...daunting. I can't really say I'm better for having read it.

Conversely, I've made it through War and Peace twice and experienced alot of personal gratification upon both completions.

Haha... This is a great thread. I very rarely put books down... but then I don't normally attempt to read behemoth books like Moby Dick. I can think of 4 books off the top of my head that I put down:

* The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It was creeping me out... and I just couldn't handle it. I was SERIOUSLY going to have nightmares. (Perhaps audiobook was NOT the way to go with that one?)
* Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel - It was seriously depressing me. I don't know if it ends well (though I can't see how it could), but I couldn't handle the emotional effects it was having on me.
* I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith - I dunno... I just wasn't very INTO it. I'm going to try reading it again... We'll see.
* Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd by Holly Smith, etc. - Loved the first story... And the concept for the book is really great... The problem is that there are so many TYPES of nerds that I'm not sure it's a good idea to MIX all of them. Like I love Star Trek and BSG and Star Wars, but I don't know the first thing about WoW or (what's that dice game?) Oh yeah, Dungeons and Dragons, or the other Sci-Fi TV Shows... So while I cared about SOME of the stories, the other ones didn't even make much sense... So I just got stuck on one I didn't care about and gave up. It's the kind of book to check out from the library, read the parts you like, then return it.

As for Moby Dick. If I was trying to work through a giant book like that and wasn't enjoying it, I'd probably just read the plot summary on Wikipedia page call it "read." That's what I did for Jane Eyre. Oh, no... It was Wuthering Heights. Same difference. I like both Brontë sisters equally poorly. Loved The Count of Monte Cristo though. All 35 discs/42 hours of it.

Maybe in my lifetime I will get through Moby or maybe I will just harpoon it and send it to Davy Jones locker, who knows.

Sara- Like Water for Chocolate ends even worse than the middle would have you believe.

Alex wrote: "I take breaks from books that aren't working for me, and a year later when I happen to notice that book still sitting around with an optimistic bookmark in it and realize I haven't given it a momen..."

Alex, I am a little like you except I will give the book another try before I get rid of it. I have found that I am an emotional reader and sometimes books really work for me and other times I need to take a break from them and give them another try a few months down the line.

As opposed to us unemotional readers? ^_~ Nah, I'm Judgey McJudgerson, so generally I push through to the part where I *know* whether or not a book is a lost cause. Sometimes to be sure, I skip ahead to see if there is any payoff worth staying around for (I'm a skimmer). I gave up on... 5 books in the last year. That's not so bad, is it?*

More occasionally I put down a book for a nebulous "later", when it is just a mood thing or I've become preoccupied in other areas of my life.

*I do stick around longer for award winners and well-heralded books. This is a nasty habit I'm trying to break. I do not mind so much reading a little further for friend recommendations, if only so I have greater time to formulate an reply to said friend when the topic inevitably comes up.

Do any of you read a book just so you can take part in a discussion of it? I have friends that do that all the time. They say our "Book Discussion" night is to important to them to skip, so they will force themselves to skim or read the book!

I did the one time. Like I said I read 2666 and it was rewarding in the end. Would I do it again, probably not. If I really could not get through the book, I would not feel I could really add to a discussion.

I have a very difficult time giving up on a book - sometimes I wish it was easier! I have a pile of TBR books I'm dying to dive into, but I'm struggling to get two others finished first. It's killing me! And my DVR is suffering too, it's at about 93% full!

Brenda wrote: "Do any of you read a book just so you can take part in a discussion of it?

I have done this as well. The best example of this for me was when I read
Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West. I had the hardest time reading this short book, but it was for a class book discussion so I slogged through it. Every page was torturous & I didn't like any of the characters or plot, but I still read it - even though I could have played a much smaller role in the book's discussion & faked my way through it.

Rachel did you gather anything from the discussion even though you faked your way through?

You know what's my albatross right now? Freakin' Darwin. I want to read it so bad, because I don't want to be a person who hasn't read it, but it's just...pretty...dry.

Ugh, Alex, yeah, that would be a tough one.

Re. just to take part...there are so many books I'd like to read, and I'll bump one up for a discussion. I bumped Picture of Dorian Gray up 'cause you people were reading it. But I won't read a book that's not on my mental TBR list.

Carol (akittykat) wrote: "Rachel did you gather anything from the discussion even though you faked your way through?"

Good question Carol!! The discussion we had around the book was similar to a book club discussion, so it was interesting to see who liked it and why. I'm sure they felt the same way about my dislike of it.

DOH!

that is the sound of your moderator fighting the urge to point out the fact that we have an older thread on this exact topic.....!!
(opps.. I guess I just pointed that out..hehehehe)

Please help me out by checking around the group for a thread that contains the topic you wish to discuss before starting a new thread.

With the size of the group, and the amount of threads, we can easily get buried here. I would rather see us revive an old thread than have two or three that cover the same topic.

Here you go Lori, Is this it.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...

Yes!!! thanks :)

So what now? Do we post over there or combine the two???????

Cnat combine them, and this one is already rolling. Just asking that we look before we start a new one in the future.... to ease some of the thread congestion, thats all :)

Ok, will do. I just typed in what I was looking for on our page where it says find discussion and there it was. That is for anyone in the future to use.

Kaion wrote: "Sara- Like Water for Chocolate ends even worse than the middle would have you believe."

That makes me really glad that I only paid $1 for it at Half-Price books... ;) I think my library is about to get a donation...

I'm fairly selective about what i read and know what i do and don't like, so i'm happy to say that i don't do that very often. And i can remember doing that with maybe 5 or so books in all the years that i've been reading. Once was with the book Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld, Prep=the most boring book ever and one of my most hated books. Nothing happens, watching paint dry is more interesting. And another time was with The Catcher In The Rye, boring and all Holden seemed to do was brood and swear. I only got about 40 pages into it and have never had any desire to pick it up again.

My mum has a rule that goes if you don't like a book about one hundred pages in then you should put it down because by then you've got grasp of the author's style, characters etc. I think that's too long for some books but it has to be really bad if I'd never consider picking it up again. Some books just need to be read at particular points in our lives I guess.

Lori wrote: "DOH!

that is the sound of your moderator fighting the urge to point out the fact that we have an older thread on this exact topic.....!!
(opps.. I guess I just pointed that out..hehehehe)

Pl..."

mea culpa. I was hoping this discussion would lend more towards discussion of new mediums making it easier to give up on books, not necessarily about just giving up on them. Clearly, the topics did not differentiate themselves enough.

Apologies to the staff

Ast

Ast... DOnt feel bad. It's not the first time, and sorry if I misunderstood the topic. It appeared to be just asking about how long I give a book before shutting it forever.

Btw, staff=me :)

Clare wrote: "My mum has a rule that goes if you don't like a book about one hundred pages in then you should put it down because by then you've got grasp of the author's style, characters etc. ..."

Yeah, I think that's a good number of pages... depending on the length of the book, of course. But like a quarter of the book. If you get through a quarter of the book and you're hating it, why put yourself through the other 3/4?

Lauren wrote: "I'm fairly selective about what i read and know what i do and don't like, so i'm happy to say that i don't do that very often. And i can remember doing that with maybe 5 or so books in all the year..."

Heh, that's funny, because if I had to describe Prep to someone, I'd say "Helen Caulfield goes to college."

Alex wrote: "Re. just to take part...there are so many books I'd like to read, and I'll bump one up for a discussion. I bumped Picture of Dorian Gray up 'cause you people were reading it. But I won't read a b..."

Brenda wrote: "Do any of you read a book just so you can take part in a discussion of it?..."

See, I think I'm going to have to steal your "rule" about discussion reads, Alex. This month I gave up on two horrible group reads! (Poison Study and Assassin's Apprentice) Yikes. I only gave up on 4 books all of 2009, so bleh, goodreads.