Are you unforgiving or dogged?

I've left The Idiot about 60 pages before its end and I never went back to it. I simply did not care what happened next and was thoroughly mad at myself for even getting that far. I inhaled Crime and Punishment in 24 hours, but the rest of his books will never get another shot. It may make me unsofisticated, not understanding or a modernist of sorts, but I can't. I also only read The Hobbit, leaving the rest of the trilogy in the capable hands of its own fringe culture. I also proudly say that I never finished a single book by Robert Ludlum, or Janet Evanovich or any of the modern thrillers and that I do not intend to touch Twighlight, pop culture or not. Some books I'll plough through if I deem them to hold some literally value to me as a writer, but those are rare occasions. I am yet to sink my teeth into 'The Girl Who...' trilogy, but I am merciless lately. Definitely unforgiving.

I'm glad to know I'm not alone!  I joined a book reading club several months ago and can not for the life of me get interested in reading of any of the book assignments.  August reading assignment is the GOOD EARTH.  I just have no interest in reading this book again.  What is wrong with me - this is a classic!  So far this year I've read 12 books.  This is pretty standard as I look back on years before.  However, going forward, I find I don't like the idea of a book club deciding which books I read for the year.  I see so many great manuscripts that I would rather read.  I just don't want to commit to reading whatever is on the list.  And I find myself very particular about what I want to read.  For instance, we had to read THE WOMEN by T.C.Boyle - for anyone who has read this book (or hasn't), its centered around the life of famous architect - Frank Lloyd Wright.  The very first page and a half contains words I had to look up in the dictionary.  It also had footnotes a mile long and by the time I finished reading the footnotes, I had no idea what the heck the paragraph was all about.  I struggled with this book to the very last page.  Who wants to read this kind of book?  Granted it was a real learning experience for me, but, lets face it, I read for enjoyment - ya know, relaxation?  Something to take me away from my daily routine!  After all, how much fun could it be to read one line, look up a word, read one line, look up a word - etc. etc. etc.  Moving forward - I am currently engrossed in THE BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE by Allen Rucker and enjoying it immensely!  (Not on the book club reading list.)

Mother's Happy Child

Caitlin -- I'm glad to know that other readers are as unforgiving as I am. The "dogged" readers always make me feel as if I didn't try hard enough!

And MHC: You bring up another great point that I might blog about some day. I don't like someone dictating my reading material either, which is why I've never joined a book club. If the book doesn't appeal to me, I won't read it or finish it, so what's the point of joining the club? I don't think there's any way to guarantee that you could join a club that would always choose books that you'd enjoy, unless maybe it was a niche book club that read only books from your favorite genre or author. That might not work either.

Thanks for the comments!

I'm not a huge fan of Stephen King's books, but after all the media hype, I felt compelled to read "The Dome."  All went well until about half way through. The number of characters kept me flipping back through previous pages for a reminder of who they were and what part they played in the story.  I finally gave up and gave the book to my grandson.  When I asked him how he liked it he confessed he

didn't finish it either.  I am 70 and he is 25 so guess neither one

of us were dogged enough to stick with that one!   Martha Watson

I'm certainly an unforgiving reader. I've given up on books after the first or second chapter because they were boring--and never went back to them. I give them away in the hope that someone else will like them better than I did. I rarely read books on the best-seller list. If I do, it's a coincidence. I have my own reading list to pursue. Since I keep adding to it, I'll never get done!

I, too, am an unforgiving reader.  There are just so many books out there, that I cannot settle and keep reading one for any good.  I don't like to be told what to read, so book clubs do not always meet my needs.  I own a Kindle which I love and I get samples of books free sp if I don't like it, I don't buy it.  I love having a Kindle for many reasons, the biggest being, I don't have to put another on my bookshelf which is already burgeoning and I don't have room in my house to add more bookshelves.  I use the Archives on my Kindle to store the books I have read.  It works for me and I still love the hardback/paperback books that I do have.  Some books I cannot just go into even with a sample!  I love this blog.  It certainly gave me something to think about.