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Article: Reasons why it's important to read books you hate
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I disagree! I am of the 'life is too short' ilk. I suppose at times I might give up and miss out, but I'm ok with that. I don't write reviews for books I didn't finish though. I have an 'abandoned' shelf, and they are not added to my reading tally.
I'm with Susie ---- I am the same. It's actually a new thing for me and a very conscious decision not to finish. I do actually finish books that I don't love, maybe because of a difficult subject matter or unlikable characters that make me uncomfortable. However, if it's really poorly written I sometimes just hang it up (unless I really need it for a challenge).If something is considered a classic or maybe on the 1000 BTRBYD list, I might give it more leeway.
While I do sometimes abandon books, in general I agree with the points made by the article's author. Especially when re-visiting a book I "loved to hate" in high school; my more mature self has loved some of these, or at least appreciated what made them classics (still hate Jane Eyre, though). That being said, if a book is truly badly written, I have no problem just quitting after about 50 pages. I'm in my mid 60s; I'll never get to all the books currently on my TBR, and there are new ones being added every day!
I also DO write a "review" of DNF books. I write these reviews for myself, so I can remember what I read and what I liked (or didn't) about them.
A couple things that make me not trust that writer, first she didn't like Catcher in the Rye as a teenager, but likes it as an adult? Seems odd... Second she's only 10 years out of high school, I bet she doesn't have a spouse or children, it's much easier to "power through" books if you have more free time and let's face it, once you're a parent, you have to prioritize! I do agree that I like to push my boundaries and try things that I might not think I'll like, but if it sucks, I'll quit. I do like to read the book everyone else is reading. I like to be able to chat with people about Gone Girl or Girl on the Train or whatever.
She seems to think the books we hated were mostly literary. I have gone back and read most of those and, yes, Jane Eyre is just definitively terrible. Most of the other books I hated will likely be less well-received as I age. Outlander? I understand why people like it. No judgment. It's just not for me and I will never ever like it. And I will certainly not force myself through another Ayn Rand as I already did twice. I should have abandoned more of the books I hate. By pushing through them and not allowing myself to quit I put myself in a slump and end up missing out on who knows how many others books I might have loved.
I had the same thought about the writer clearly not having kids. Before the kids I would have pushed on through a bad book, but there have been times through my parenthood thus far where reading a shopping list seemed like an insurmountable task so I'm not wasting my time on books I'm not enjoying. One thing I have been doing of late is switching to audio if I'm not liking a book, or the reverse if I'm not enjoying the audio. That has at times helped. I much preferred Rivers of London in audio form, and I have just given up on A God in Ruins in audio as I think I'll enjoy the print copy more.
My first thought while reading this article was ,'does this mean I really should force myself to finish Anna K?' nooooooI do see the value in rereading some of the classics that I read when I was very young, not because I did or did not hate them, but (1) my aging brain may not even remember them and (2) I'm more likely to understand the author's intent from my current vantage point (wise in years and experience)
I don't write reviews of books that I don't finish, but I think B.C. has a point and I may follow her example. I write reviews for my own benefit. Several times I've found myself picking up a book by an author that I had already rejected and forgotten. I could have saved myself an additional waste of time if I'd just written down my first impressions.
, and I have just given up on A God in Ruins in audio as I think I'll enjoy the print copy more. I'm addicted to audiobooks, but I also gave up on listening to A God in Ruins. It worked much better for me in print. I still think about that book.
Well I disagree with most of what the author stated as reasons why we should read books we hate. A few things I do agree with1. We should consider rereading classics or literary books we were forced to read in high school. Many of the books we read in our teens or early adulthood are books we hate because we didn't truly understand them --lacking the life experience or maturity to fully appreciate certain themes.
2. we should try to challenge ourselves to read books that our outside our comfort zone.
I think the main message should be that we attempt to read books beyond our normal fare. Sticking to one genre and reading either all commercial, all literary, all set in the US/UK, etc limits us - in my opinion.
I read for both entertainment and for increasing my knowledge and understanding of other people and topics. Reading helps us develop empathy but we limit our knowledge and capacity to empathize when we only read books that make us feel happy and comfortable. I don't think that means we should read books we hate. I will never love Twilight and rereading will do nothing to advance my knowledge or empathy.
I have a problem. I have never really been able to abandon books. If I start them, I always finish them. We're reading through the Man Booker longlist now and I would have abandoned North Water or Hystopia at the very beginning but then ultimately would have missed out on reading experiences that I very much appreciated. So I feel like for some books (literary fiction, classics, award-winners) we should try to push through because often times there is value there that may not be evident from the first 50 pages.
I generally speaking don't like most things written on Bustle. It's supposed to be a female-driven, 'go girl', empowering "online magazine", but I find it to really be dragged on opinions by entitled millennials. Click-baity titles are catching, but does this site have real content? Not really. This article being the prime example. Here is (you guys were right, her profile revealed a 20-something girl who consders herself a "yogini") a mid-20s millennial telling all women how to read books? No thank you. I AM a mid-20s millennial, and I don't even agree with her! I'm not going to trust anyone from this site, especially this author, whose other "successful" article is titled 14 Maid of Honor Speeches Inspired by Jane Austen.
I do agree with her thoughts on TRYING to re-read disliked books later on as a general concept. I have definitely been able to see my growth in reading, and change in reading taste by re-reading. However, if I'm re-reading and don't like it, it's really not worth it to drudge through 700 pages of hatred.
I 100% agree with Jen & Joi. Push your boundaries but if you really don't like it, why suffer? I should write reviews of books I don't finish though, I think I made and exclusive shelf on GR called "abandoned" or something. I don't do it a lot but every so often I just don't feel like finishing.
Susie wrote: "I had the same thought about the writer clearly not having kids. Before the kids I would have pushed on through a bad book, ..."Maybe that's why I do push through books.
ETA: Not really why I push through, but why I am able to...
One thing I have been doing of late is switching to audio if I'm not liking a book, or the reverse if I'm not enjoying the audio. That has at times helped.
That's a good idea!
I actually have an exclusive shelf for DNF, but I have a regular shelf called DNF-will-try-later. Sometimes it's all about timing --- mood but also reading challenges.I generally don't write a review for a DNF, since I'm not sure if it's an option unless you mark it "read", but I don't want it in my stats.
Well, yes and no. As a part of education and schooling, certain we are going to read books we hate, and we can't form solid arguments for why we hate the books if we haven't read them. It can also be useful when studying rhetoric (IMPORTANT writing skill; I'm so happy my middle one has to do this as part of her first year college writing class since she skipped homeschooling high school which is when we were going to study it).As for being more tolerant of view opposite of yours; sometimes it can do that, but sometimes it can make someone less tolerant of different views. That's happened to me in my life; sometimes knowing more makes it harder for me to accept a view different than mine due to illogical presentation, poor information, harmful practices, etc. There was some book on nutrition like this that was big when I was young; after I read it I hated it more due to the terrible reasoning, faulty premises, poor biological and physiological information. I went through a stage of thinking how stupid many people were with their diet. I am happy to say I am less critical now about the intelligence of people on diets, since I realize that ignorance (as in lack of knowledge and education in certain fields) doesn't equal stupidity!
Perseverance is important, but how much in reading something we hate just because? I think persevering in reading for something where we are actually learning something that serve a purpose or meet a personal goal, yes.
However, there comes a time when enough is enough. In my pleasure reading life can be too short. I have done some of this finishing books I dislike or hate this year when I won books on the condition I wrote a review or was part of a discussion, but at my age, I really don't need to be reading more satire (I almost always hate satire) since I know what it is, how it works, etc.
I don't write reviews for DNF books.
JoLene wrote: "I actually have an exclusive shelf for DNF, but I have a regular shelf called DNF-will-try-later. Sometimes it's all about timing --- mood but also reading challenges.I generally don't write a re..."
It is an option if you make it an exclusive shelf. I write short reviews for my DNFs so I know why I didn't finish.
I think you can get around it by putting the book on your read shelf. Then writing the review and then changing it to another exclusive shelf. I do this for reference books --- I have a lot of cookbooks and knitting books that I like to review for myself.You can also write a private note to yourself which is available on the screen where you do the review --- if you don't want others to see.
JoLene wrote: "I think you can get around it by putting the book on your read shelf. Then writing the review and then changing it to another exclusive shelf. I do this for reference books --- I have a lot of cook..."Private note is a good idea, Jolene. I forget to use that option. Thanks for the reminder.
For me, it depends on the book and the subject matter. For example, I detested Fahrenheit 451 when I was in high school. I decided to read it again as an adult. While I still didn't much care for it, I definitely appreciated it more so I'm glad I took the time to reread it.I also trudged through the Old Testament for 2 years because I felt it was important. The only part I enjoyed was Genesis and a few other stories here and there, but I'm still glad I read it at least once.
I do like to challenge myself by reading books I wouldn't normally read. That's one of the reasons I love my IRL book club and this group. However, as Susie and others have said, I do feel like life is too short to make myself read something I know I'm going to hate. And, often they put me in a slump if I do read them. So, I have to be careful or read something I enjoy immensely alongside it.
I do have a hard time DNFing books, though, because some do get better or some books are hard for me to read but they're still rewarding. If I do DNF a book, then it's a big deal. I either don't like the content or the author's views and philosophies make me angry. I do write a small review if that's the case, but I always make sure I put that I didn't finish the book so others know I didn't.
Like JoLene said, I also have a shelf called Come Back to Later because I know that particular book is just a matter of timing and mood.
Jenni Elyse wrote: "For me, it depends on the book and the subject matter. For example, I detested Fahrenheit 451 when I was in high school. I decided to read it again as an adult. While I still didn't much care for i..."Interesting. I liked Fahrenheit 451 both times I read it (more in high school), and while parts of it can be a slog to go through for sure, I like most of the Old Testament. Mind you, I have found ways to make parts of it more interesting.
I am glad I read some books I hated, such as 1984, since they are referred to so often, and reading it a second time in the past year was helpful because I'd forgotten who Big Brother really was, but I hated it more the second time.
I think there's a difference n the types f books this author is referring and those I hate. Those I hate are for very different reasons than this article. I'd give anything to get back the time I wasted on a book like Beatrice and Virgil
Age and stage of life are so important. I reread - and mostly loved - those must reads from high school. College rereads didn't change much. I will always be ambivalent about Hemmingway.I reread quite a bit until my early 40's (rereading was a good respite from the demands of young children) and almost always finished books until my 50's - maybe 1 DNF per decade.
Now I'm in the life is too short for rereading camp and certainly too short for rereading books I didn't care for. I've gotten better at predicting what I will like and feel a little cheated by a 3 star book, something I would have contentedly read years earlier.
Denizen wrote: "Age and stage of life are so important. I reread - and mostly loved - those must reads from high school. College rereads didn't change much. I will always be ambivalent about Hemmingway.I reread ..."
Well, there you go. Den just took the words right out of my laptop.
Regina wrote: "I think there's a difference n the types f books this author is referring and those I hate. Those I hate are for very different reasons than this article. I'd give anything to get back the time I w..."fair. That book was so bad I can't burn it from my brain.
Mary wrote: "Regina wrote: "I think there's a difference n the types f books this author is referring and those I hate. Those I hate are for very different reasons than this article. I'd give anything to get ba..."It was so bad that I always have to go look up the exact title name before I mention it. I have tried to erase it from my memory.
http://www.bustle.com/articles/179830...