Gone Girl
question
Is It Me?
Alan
Feb 05, 2016 07:36AM
Is It Me? The late Sir Terry Wogan used that three word expression as a title for one edition of his autobiography, and I must confess to empathising with the general context of the demeanour thus presented. I am a reader as well as a writer, and sometimes my reaction to what I read will be a grumpy outburst that includes that same epithet...
I seem to have read a string of books in recent months that have been disappointing to say the least. Should I sit here and review each one of them to warn off other Goodreads members? Maybe. Maybe I would spend my time better by just shrugging my shoulders and picking up the next in the pile, and save my literary outpourings for my present project (already taking far too long). I tend to resign myself to the latter, as my views are personal to me and others will disagree with my points of view. But does it help to moan in public?
I am sure that others WILL agree with me that there is a lot of utter rubbish out there. When I look to read a book I want to lose myself in its pages. I want to be entertained. I want to experience emotion – or I simply want to learn something factual. Several of my recent choices I have given up part way through because they failed on each of the first three counts. On the fourth count (learn something factual) I simply learned not to read anything else by those authors!
But is it just unknown, untried authors that are subject to my displeasure? NO! Several mainstream authors (including some so-called bestsellers) are up there too, and I simply cannot believe that these people have exercised the same amount of care I try for myself in delivering a product that will leave its readers satisfied by the last page.
Your titles have been noted. Your ratings will be demoted. You have been warned!
I remember a note left on my school work so many decades ago: ‘must try harder’. So I did. I vote that we all encourage work of a higher standard by applying that marking to any substandard publication we encounter.
Next..?
I seem to have read a string of books in recent months that have been disappointing to say the least. Should I sit here and review each one of them to warn off other Goodreads members? Maybe. Maybe I would spend my time better by just shrugging my shoulders and picking up the next in the pile, and save my literary outpourings for my present project (already taking far too long). I tend to resign myself to the latter, as my views are personal to me and others will disagree with my points of view. But does it help to moan in public?
I am sure that others WILL agree with me that there is a lot of utter rubbish out there. When I look to read a book I want to lose myself in its pages. I want to be entertained. I want to experience emotion – or I simply want to learn something factual. Several of my recent choices I have given up part way through because they failed on each of the first three counts. On the fourth count (learn something factual) I simply learned not to read anything else by those authors!
But is it just unknown, untried authors that are subject to my displeasure? NO! Several mainstream authors (including some so-called bestsellers) are up there too, and I simply cannot believe that these people have exercised the same amount of care I try for myself in delivering a product that will leave its readers satisfied by the last page.
Your titles have been noted. Your ratings will be demoted. You have been warned!
I remember a note left on my school work so many decades ago: ‘must try harder’. So I did. I vote that we all encourage work of a higher standard by applying that marking to any substandard publication we encounter.
Next..?
Couldn't have said it better myself, was about to write something similar on another "Gone Girl" discussion group but glad I found this one.
First a comment to Elannas comment, there are many good books out there that are not classics yet if you care to pore through the piles of forgettable ones. If you only read classics you may be dead before you'd get a chance to read for instance David Foster Wallace. Often I find classics hard to read as well. Maybe I've just been in the wrong mood but I have unfinished books by Salman Rushdie and Nelson Algren among others in my bookshelf.
The main reason why I gave up on reading Gone Girl was a lack of those things you mention, I could never get lost in the story and after reading about a hundred pages I realized that I don't care at all what happens to any of the characters. Only because I was bemoaning this fact to a friend and somewhere along said *spoiler alert* she's so unpleasant that I wouldn't be surprised if she kidnapped herself, he encouraged me to watch the movie and I did. But only because I had nothing else to do on an eleven hour flight to South Africa.
I usually give any book I've decided to read at least a hundred pages before I decide to put it down. At that point I can go as far as writing a short recommendation letting anyone interested know about my initial thoughts, but if I intend to write anything longer than one or two paragraphs I feel obliged to the author to at least finish the book.
And please, don't stop writing bad reviews if they're warranted, I'd much rather read reviews from someone who writes what he feels rather than recommendations from those who only rate books they like. That's what they are if you only give good ratings, recommendations not reviews. Often when I look at the reviews on Amazon, the first thing I look at is the one star reviews (any book reviewed more than 10 times usually has at least one) and if the critique is sound I find something else to read, e.g. the review says something about the content and style rather than "doesn't open on my kindle."
First a comment to Elannas comment, there are many good books out there that are not classics yet if you care to pore through the piles of forgettable ones. If you only read classics you may be dead before you'd get a chance to read for instance David Foster Wallace. Often I find classics hard to read as well. Maybe I've just been in the wrong mood but I have unfinished books by Salman Rushdie and Nelson Algren among others in my bookshelf.
The main reason why I gave up on reading Gone Girl was a lack of those things you mention, I could never get lost in the story and after reading about a hundred pages I realized that I don't care at all what happens to any of the characters. Only because I was bemoaning this fact to a friend and somewhere along said *spoiler alert* she's so unpleasant that I wouldn't be surprised if she kidnapped herself, he encouraged me to watch the movie and I did. But only because I had nothing else to do on an eleven hour flight to South Africa.
I usually give any book I've decided to read at least a hundred pages before I decide to put it down. At that point I can go as far as writing a short recommendation letting anyone interested know about my initial thoughts, but if I intend to write anything longer than one or two paragraphs I feel obliged to the author to at least finish the book.
And please, don't stop writing bad reviews if they're warranted, I'd much rather read reviews from someone who writes what he feels rather than recommendations from those who only rate books they like. That's what they are if you only give good ratings, recommendations not reviews. Often when I look at the reviews on Amazon, the first thing I look at is the one star reviews (any book reviewed more than 10 times usually has at least one) and if the critique is sound I find something else to read, e.g. the review says something about the content and style rather than "doesn't open on my kindle."
This should have been a different thread with a different title to promote a good discussion.
I almost passed it up because I hate Gone Girl.
I love your gentlemen's opinions however the title.
So my question to you is"Why are you on goodreads at all?"
I almost passed it up because I hate Gone Girl.
I love your gentlemen's opinions however the title.
So my question to you is"Why are you on goodreads at all?"
Whwn it comes to narrative, I read almost exclusively classics. Life is too short. I'd rather read three times Proust, Rabelais or Joyce than waste my precious night-time trying to make sense of some sloppy concotter's pet. Last shameful attempts: Lovely Bones (abandoned half the way through the second chapter), The girl on the Train (decent thriller, but we have Maigret, so...) Munich Airport (self-centered atomised mental masturbation plus anorexia and death).
Now, back to Parnell's biography and let's start Brothers Karamazov. With some relief.
Now, back to Parnell's biography and let's start Brothers Karamazov. With some relief.
I agree with you, Alan, that is assuming you were talking about GONE GIRL. Way overrated. It reminded me of a "48 Hours" segment. I hope you're seen that. It used to be a news magazine but has degenerated into a murder of the week episode, and the husband is usually the principal suspect. As you know, GONE GIRL is just slightly different from that format. I knew what was happening by page twenty. How did that book stay on the best seller list so long? It's happening again with ALL THE LIGHT YOU CANNOT SEE, although I actually liked that one. Then there's THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN. I hope I got that title right. It's been up there for eons, too. Hated that one.
I agree that there is a lot of drivel being published today and i share your goal to not only avoid it, but to help others avoid it as well.
Of course, the challenge lies in that so much of reading enjoyment is truly subjective, that it is hard to warn people away.
My personal favorite example: Paolo Coelhlo's The Alchemist. Many people have given this 5 stars on GR and say it is the best book ever. I was disappointed that I couldn't give it negative stars from my reading--I actually wanted my time back that I had wasted reading that book. So who is right?
I have found for me that I never decide to read a book based on the recommendation of an author on the cover or dust jacket. I think there is way too much 'scratch my back and I will scratch yours,' for them to really be objective. I have also found that even reviews from some published reviewers or journals are not necessarily reliable either.
One thing I have started to look at is the distribution of ratings--if a book has a lot of 5-stars, but also a lot of 1-stars, then I view it with skepticism, even if the overall rating is 4 or better. That 'love it or hate it' situation is seldom a good starting place in my experience.
Of course, the challenge lies in that so much of reading enjoyment is truly subjective, that it is hard to warn people away.
My personal favorite example: Paolo Coelhlo's The Alchemist. Many people have given this 5 stars on GR and say it is the best book ever. I was disappointed that I couldn't give it negative stars from my reading--I actually wanted my time back that I had wasted reading that book. So who is right?
I have found for me that I never decide to read a book based on the recommendation of an author on the cover or dust jacket. I think there is way too much 'scratch my back and I will scratch yours,' for them to really be objective. I have also found that even reviews from some published reviewers or journals are not necessarily reliable either.
One thing I have started to look at is the distribution of ratings--if a book has a lot of 5-stars, but also a lot of 1-stars, then I view it with skepticism, even if the overall rating is 4 or better. That 'love it or hate it' situation is seldom a good starting place in my experience.
Antero Kärki
Wow, we are so different :) I keep looking for those love it or hate it experiences. It's those three or four star reads that everyone agree on I avoi
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Feb 28, 2016 04:37AM · flag