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Throwing in the towel.
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Jennifer
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Aug 01, 2011 10:23AM
It's official. I'm giving up on a book and feel like I need to confess about it. I hate giving up on a story. I have been reading this book for two weeks and have only gotten 26% into it. Every time I try to read it I put it down and walk away or fall asleep. I just feel like I should always finish a story and really hate throwing in the towel.
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OK, so as long as you're telling all - which book is it!?!
Ugh...I know a lot of you love it and that's why I tried. The Poisonwood Bible.
I did like it but it is one that I would only read once.
I never read it but there have been books I threw in the towel on. Never Let Me Go comes to mind.
Well, yes, I did really like The Poisonwood Bible. Books I've thrown in the towel on this year are:The Name of the Rose
State of Wonder
The Book of Night Women
I love Barbara Kingsolver but I can't get into Poisonwood Bible either. I've tried twice and just keep putting it back on my shelf. Since I love her other books so much, I feel like I should really give it a shot.
I threw in the towel on "The Bone People"
I can see why Poisonwood would be difficult. I think one of the main reasons I could get into this book is because the main character was my age. Oh, well, of course, not my age now. I mean I was her age in the book at the historical time of the book. I remember vaguely the things that were historically correct and I wanted to have those things reinforced in my thinking.
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "I threw in the towel on "The Bone People""I agree on that one, Jayme. I made it to page 100 and then quit.
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "I threw in the towel on "The Bone People""I agree on that one, Jayme. I made it to page 100 and then quit.
I got to page 92. I was reading it for my bookclub. We tend to read alot of nonfiction and books I found out I really didn't like. It's a Reading Around the World club. So we read books where the author is not American born or the setting is set outside of the United States. Some of them have been good like the Namesake, Like Water For Chocolate, Baking Cakes In Kagalia was good. However The Siege of Lesbon was not and The Bone People was not.The Lady and the Unicorn was good. It's a fun club but I question some of the book choices.
That's quite an eclectic collection, Jayme. lol.
Dear Jennifer...don't feel bad about The Poisonwood Bible. I love KIngsolver's writing, and as an author myself, the construction of this novel fascinated me. BUT...it is set in a foreign country, it is somewhat political, it is HUGE, and sprawling, and took her 30 years to write. It did not appeal to every reader. You should try her other shorter books, the writing is gorgeous. Again, don't feel guilty. There have been books I 'disliked' too. Or which vastly disappointed me. I love Michael Ondaatje (THE ENGLISH PATIENT), but his later novel DIVISIDERO was confusing and unfocused. Ashamed to say I also could not finish NAME OF THE ROSE. Life is too short. If after 50 pages the book is not
engaging you...STOP. There are too many beautiful books out there waiting for you! Happy Reading! And alohas, Kiana Davenport, author of HOUSE OF SKIN and CANNIBAL NIGHTS
Poisonwood Bible was the first Kingsolver I read and the only one I really liked. I find her books get more and more preachy. They strike me as a thin veil for an essay on her political views. The last Kingsolver I read was Prodigal Summer. I wanted to throw the book several times and say, "If you want to write a political tract, do so, but don't pretend that people really say these things over coffee or standing in a hardware store. I am not stupid and don't have to take my intellectual medicine with a cup of sugary storytelling." And, I do not disagree with her position for the most part, so I can't imagine how I would feel if I had a different sociopolitical standpoint.
I couldn't get through
. I was really excited about reading this one and yet it just couldn't grab me. Maybe I'll be able to get to it when I have more time to devote to it but the early pages wore me out. If I'm going to get my mind excercised I'm going to enjoy the process! Right now reading
and every page enchants me more! I'm sure there were many who felt the same about Weir's book!
Irene, that's funny you should say that. I'm pretty much the political opposite of Kingsolver. I'm totally a right wing nut (and I'm fine with that - lol), but I really enjoyed Prodigal Summer.
I don't think it's the politics of the story that is a problem, because truly I don't think I've read far enough to get to that. I feel like every page is "We got up, there was nothing to do, we laid around, the Congo is not like Georgia." Yeah, got it could we please move on now?!
Some books aren't plot-driven. If you're looking for plot, not characterization or setting, then putting down this book might be a good thing.
Jennifer wrote: "I don't think it's the politics of the story that is a problem, because truly I don't think I've read far enough to get to that. I feel like every page is "We got up, there was nothing to do, we l..."Bwahahaha. That's funny right there.
I know a lot of you love it and that's why I tried. The Poisonwood Bible. I did like that book, but I couldn't make it through
Prodigal Summer. My favorite, though was The Bean Trees.
I was never able to make it through Ahab's Wife: Or, The Star-gazer or The Known World or Charming Billy. I tried, but I just couldn't do it.
I figure life is too short to spend time on a book you don't connect with. There's no shame in it!
I also didn't finish The Known World. I did like it, though. The premise was fascinating. I was in a live book club and the pace for reading a book a month was difficult for me. I read a book a month but the book club books would be hard to get through and I would have my other books to read. I would get behind so many of the books that we read I didn't finish. I would be half way through then we would have our meeting and pick out another thick book. I had to put a stop to the MADNESS!
The premise was fascinating.It definitely was. I'm not sure why I couldn't get into it, but my mind drifted off every time I picked up the book.
I think we should all stop beating ourselves. Everyone has different DNA and therefore different tastes, esp. in books. I LOVED "The Known World" I learned so much, esp. that in the period it was describing there were African-Americans, freed-slaves, who themselves owned slaves!But at the time I read it I was researching the South and the Civil War. I wonder if the book would have appealed to me so much had I read it 5-10 years earlier. Again, its such a personal thing and depends on where we are in our lives, emotionally, when we pick up a book.
There was a book in the past couple years that won the Pulitzer Prize. A darling of all the reviewers. (about an immigrant from the Domican Republic). I won't name the title, but I hated it. Every other word was the "f" word. No one I know liked the book, yet it won the Pulitzer and was a bestseller. Who can explain the logic?
In the end, you have to love the writing. If you don't, after 50 pages, STOP. Again, life is too short! (Of course, then you've wasted money. Books can be sold to used book stores, or donated to libraries and prisons.)
Kiana Davenport
Kiana, I just want you to know one person who absolutely loved that book. I thought that it captured the experience of that population so well. I was so impressed with the ability to capture the dialect. And, it did not hurt that I recognized all the places in the Jersey part of the story.
I've firmly given up on William Faulkner. I consider myself a good English reader, and have read Dickens, Rushdie etc with no problems, but after reading 10 pages of Absalom, Absalom! and having no clue what the ... he was rambling about, I gave the book to my friend Anne :-)
@Kiana -- I didn't care for that book either, but I appreciated the writer's ability. I could tell that it was done by a writer who had really honed his craft and went about it in an intelligent and creative way. The setting and character development were absolutely great. It was the voice and some parts of the story that didn't agree with me. I read it based upon someone's recommendation. This book was among his favorites. At the time, I chalked it up to: men tend to like different books from women and maybe this is one that appeals more to men. Clearly, Irene proves me wrong!
Louise wrote: "I've firmly given up on William Faulkner. I consider myself a good English reader, and have read Dickens, Rushdie etc with no problems, but after reading 10 pages of Absalom, Absalom! and having n..."
I haven't read Absalom, Absalom!, but I do like Faulkner. I like him quite a bit, actually, but I think his style can be difficult to read. Those of you who have heard me say I don't like Southern Lit will be surprised to read this, but until I found Faulkner I didn't think much of the genre. Looking forward to reading his Snopes trilogy - maybe next year.
I've firmly given up on William Faulkner.hee hee! Me, too. Although, I do admire his concepts and his characters (particularly the Snopes).
There are a number of contemporary writers as well that I simply can't get through. And, as a general rule, I prefer Booker prize winning authors to Pulitzer prize winners.
Michelle wrote: "And, as a general rule, I prefer Booker prize winning authors to Pulitzer prize winners. "Me too!
Michelle wrote: "And, as a general rule, I prefer Booker prize winning authors to Pulitzer prize winners."This is interesting. Pulitzers are Americans only, Booker are books published originally in the UK or Ireland. Each excludes the other group of writers.
I didn't know serious readers were allowed to admit we don't care for Faulkner. I thought that was one of those sins right up there with adultery and stealing. lol.
Mary wrote: "I didn't know serious readers were allowed to admit we don't care for Faulkner. I thought that was one of those sins right up there with adultery and stealing. lol."I don't like Hemingway, won't ever read another by him. Is that acceptable?
*gasp* I've never heard anyone say it out loud before! haha.(I do like Hemingway, I don't care for Faulkner so much though.)
I hate Walt Whitman. It was torture reading "Leaves of Grass".
@Irene + @Viola, regarding the Pulitzer Prize book I 'hated.' I slept on that and decided 'hate' is too strong a word. As a bi-racial woman (mother brown-skinned Hawaiian, father Caucasian from Alabama) I did admire how the author captured the character's feelings of isolation, frustration and growth while evolving in the 'new world' and his grasp of the dialects, and scary and hilarious take on New Jersey as opposed to the scenes in Dominican Republic. There IS much to admire. I do believe the 'f' word is very effective when used with restraint, but it still seems to me he overdid it. But, I apologize. Hate is too strong a word. And I'm sure there might be someone who 'hates' any one of my novels.This confession stuff is scary! I confess to one more book: I love dogs, love them! and beautiful writing. So, why could I not get into EDGAR (EDWARD?) SAWTELLE???? Did anyone else have that problem? Perhaps as an author I expect too much.
Happy Reading!! Kiana Davenport
I *loved* Edgar Sawtelle!! (But then again, I knew nothing about the book before I started it, so that may have worked to my advantage.)I did admire how the author captured the character's feelings of isolation, frustration and growth while evolving in the 'new world' and his grasp of the dialects, and scary and hilarious take on New Jersey as opposed to the scenes in Dominican Republic.
Okay, to be clear. Are you all taking about The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love? If so, I agree. A few years ago, I got to hear Mr. Hijuelos speak at a writing conference, and someone in the audience asked him about the language and sex. He just laughed and shrugged it off, lol.
Viola wrote: "Oh, I thought we were talking about The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao..."I thought we were too. And thank you for using the links, ladies. It makes it so much easier to go to the book page and learn about the book.
Dear Viola and Elizabeth...We are! I just couldn't/didn't want to mention the title. I loved his first collection, DROWN. It was brilliantMichelle, re MAMBO KINGS PLAY SONGS OF LOVE. His characters were from Cuba. And I loved that book, too. I met Hijuelous at a Book Festival down in Australia. He said that was still his favorite book.
(He was also hilarious and very generous to other writers.)
Kiana Davenport
I like the way people here say they respect authors even when they don't like them. I never thought I'd be defending Hemingway, but here I go: first of all, he struggled against major depression all his life (which doesn't make him a good writer, but it casts a different light on the stiff-upper-lip tone), and we do owe him a debt of gratitude for rescuing us from some of the post-Victorian gewgaw literary stylings he rebelled against....Shelley
Rain: A Dust Bowl Story
http://dustbowlpoetry.wordpress.com
Shelley wrote: "I like the way people here say they respect authors even when they don't like them. I never thought I'd be defending Hemingway, but here I go: first of all, he struggled against major depression al..."It isn't the stiff upper lip tone that I don't like. I don't like his writing style.
Kiana, never apologize for an opinion about a book, even if you decide to modify it. I doubt anyone was offended that we were holding different opinions. I have heard more people say that they disliked Brief Wondrous Life than liked it.Michelle, I will have to check out that book. I never heard of it, but your recommendation makes me interested.
Oh no Jennifer now I feel the need to admit a book I stopped reading. I am going to get some heat for this, but Anna Karenina. I am half way done and my enjoyment level was high until about 40%. It is not official, like your break-up with The Poisonwood Bible, but it is on hold in my to finish section.
In all honesty it's so silly to keep thinking about it, but I think I'm going to give it a break and try again later. I know life is short and there are thousands of other books, but quitting isn't my thing either. We'll see. Maybe I should have confessed that I just can't stand Oprah's Book club picks since this is one of them. As was Edgar Sawtelle which I tried to read and quit as well.
(He was also hilarious and very generous to other writers.)Yes, he seemed like a very nice person. I wish I liked his book more, lol.
I'll defend Hemmingway, too! That's because he wrote about the Two Hearted-River here in Michigan :) But I also really loved his short story, "The Short, Happy Life of Frances Macomber". (Especially, the first line.)
I actually admire his writing style. I've heard that he worked very hard to develop it using the skills he had as a journalist.
But I'm totally okay with people who don't like his writing. Personally, I've never been fond of John Updike.
I read Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea years and years ago. I don't recall that I didn't like, but apparently I didn't like it enough that I felt compelled to immediately find another Hemingway to read. Well, wait a minute, I guess I then read For Whom the Bell Tolls. This was Hemingway, and I was young, so I was impressed that I was reading Hemingway. Fast forward 40 years and recently I read A Farewell to Arms. I was startled at the number of incomplete sentences, many of which had incomplete thoughts. Why did I think he could write? I hated that book.
I have a small group of books (4-5) that I haven't finished. Most of them I intend to finish some day... maybe. But! The first book on the pile was The Canterbury Tales. The bawdiness turned me off of that book completely.Totally agree with comments on Faulkner--give that man a coffee and some pep pills!
I've read a few of Hemingway's short stories that were just kind of abrupt and not my style. However I did read A Moveable Feast and loved it.
I read Canterbury Tales in college. It was tough reading.
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