The Host question

If I ever recommend this book to anybody I always warn them to get past the first few chapters of the book before giving up on it. I can see why they were necessary in setting the scene but weren't really action packed.

I think it was slow but once she went on the underground thing with Jared, Jamie and Jed, I couldn't stop reading it.

Yes! It took me months to get trough the first 150 pages, but once I did it it was too hard to stop reading. Funny thing is that a week ago I readed the book again and those 150 pages were really easy to read, lol.

Nope, It was interesting seeing how things were from an Soul's POV after the invasion, when the Souls changed everything.

I started reading this book 3 seperate times. Fir
st 2 times was over a year ago. I COULDNT GET INTO IT. i was soo bored. Then got caught up in the fifty shades craze & since then ive been devouring anything i could get my hands on. So last year, not having anything new to read, i was desperate! I picked it up & was instantly into it.i have no explaination!

I don't know if I would say it was slow. It was just a very complicated idea to understand and get into at first. It took me a while to grasp the concept of the story, who was who, what was what, "what is it?"
As I understood the story and who the characters were and how they all related to one another and such, I really got into the book and enjoyed it very much. It's too bad others didn't keep reading it past the first few chapters. It was a very deep and a book that really had to thinking. Can't wait for the next one.

I did think it was slow, had a hard time at first stating focused. It gets better, alot better, I just hated that it's been so long since I've read it I'll have to read the last few chapters, when the next issue comes out to see what happend.

I didn't really get into the book until 200 pages in! So, yeah, the beginning is really too slow.

If you think that this was slow, try reading Lord of the Rings. It takes the main character over 100 pages just to leave the village.

The first half of the book was ridiculously slow, but once it reached a certain point I just couldn't put it down!!

*Host*

I read it from the beginning to the end only because i'm stubborn and finish what I started. The Host, for me, was generally quite slow paced...I'm not excited about the movie at all. I think that perhaps comes from me being a huge fan of Twilight saga that the Hose almost feels like a let down. Perhaps if I read it from another author I wouldn't have expected too much.

It took me 3 years to finally finish the host because the beginning was really slow, I kept dipping in and out of reading it until I saw the movie trailer which motivated me to finish it. I ended up really liking it, but I thought the beginning was a tad slow and the ending kind of disappointed me

I agree with the thought that this book starts off very dull. It took me a while to get thought the beginning and encouragement from. Friend to stick with it. I am glad i did though, it really gets quite interesting and suspenseful. I have not read it since it came out, so some details are fuzzy. Really excited to see the movie. Wondering how they will pop roach the caves and the eyes, personalities, etc.

LOL, yea, the beginning was drug out & confusing for the 1st chapter, but it all came together after that. I know a few ppl who stopped reading it after that as well. I convinced them that they just had to get through it though & they loved it.

yes i totally agree, but worth it once you get past it. need to go back to that book for the movie coming out in march :)

EVERYONE thinks the beginning is too slow!! Only winners can make it past the first 7 chapters and are richly rewarded by making it through. I'm glad I slogged through because this is a good one. I'm still trying to convince my friend to force her way thru it to get at the meat and potatoes

Perhaps the beginning was a bit slow, but I was ENTHRALLED with the word structure and rythym in the desert. I absolutely loved this book - mainly because of the way she uses words, and then once in the caves, the story itself.

I had absolutley no problem with the beginning, I actually thought it was quite interesting. wanda's inability to adapt to her own kind, I really liked to read this. Of course it got more enthralling in the desert, because the action starts, but I definitively wasn't bored by the first chapters.^^

But yes, it seems slow, some friends of mine also quit reading it.

yea but once it picked up i couldnt put it down

Too slow? The first three quarters of the book was mind-numbing!

the beginning of the book is really slow. This is one of the main flaws of the book for me. Meyer focused excessively on detail, and although the detail is important to the story I found at times it was just never ending description. I've read it multiple times and found that I can often skip chapters and not have missed anything. However, if you get through it the book truly is wonderful!

I was a bit bothered by how slow the start went, but after I got into finding the caves it went alot faster and I really enjoyed it.

She *was* a little too focused on worldbuilding than plot in the first 100 pages or so.

When I rec the book to friends, I warn them about this. Then I say "just get to the desert before you decide to drop it."

Because invariably, they're hooked like trout after they get to Mel/Wanda's "You found us" line.

*raises hand* me! Unfortunately, I couldn't get past the first 20 pages, it put me to sleep.... My friends are convinced that I should try again & I probably will.

the first time i picked it up i read the first 30-40 pages. i had to stop because i was falling asleep, maybe i just wasnt into aliens but it just wasnt worth my time because i had other books that i could read. 6 months later i had books on order but nothing to read, i picked it up again. the first 30-40 pages were still boreing, but since i had nothing to read i pushed through. i am so glad i did, it is a great book. i really loved it after that first chunk.

I did think it was a bit slow in the beginning but I think it was a necessary evil so the author could truly reel us into the story and make the outcome as important to us as it is for the characters

I thought it was way to slow and put it down. I still don't want to pick it back up because I forgot the beging and really don't want to have to read it all over again.

I must confess, it was too slow. But I did enjoy the majority of the book. I'm sooooo excited for the movie!!

Me! I couldnt read past the first couple chapters. I would lve to try it again soon though!

defiantly the beginning was to slow i fell asleep after reading the first page at school

My friend made me read this and i though it was HORRIBLE until pg 300 then I absolutely loved it!!!!! It took me 2 weeks to get halfway through and then I read 300 pages in a day

It was a tad slow but once I got to the part where she sends that email to the woman about Jamie and Jared, I couldn't let go of the book.

Actually, I know someone who asked about it on facebook and about 4 or 5 people responded saying they couldn't get past the beginning and not to read it. I rolled my eyes at their commentary. I told him the beginning was a bit slow but (having read Dickens and such) it wasn't bad as all that and I didn't regret reading it through. I'm not sure if he ever actually read it or if he intends to as this was in the Spring, earlier this year. It does say something (decidedly unflattering) about the current culture of immediate gratification that people can't be bothered to read past 20 or 30 pages, or less, (of set up) to get to the meat of the story- makes the pay off that much more satisfying.