Reading. And then there is Finishing.


 


I had thought I could remember nearly all the books I haven't finished. Maybe I can. I doubt it, though. In reverse chronological order (Marie, I know you're going to disagree with me at least once here), the ones I felt strongly enough about to remember:

- Bonfire of the Vanities - Hated it. Hated the book, that is. The characters? Couldn't tell you. One of the reasons I hated the book was that the characters left so little mark on me. You might say that Wolfe crafted his novel in just such a way so that you didn't love the characters enough to root for them, or hate them enough to want them to see their comeuppance. To that, I say, "eh." I just remember feeling profoundly bored by a bunch of seriously tedious quasi-people. I didn't care if they lived, died, or got hangnails. Book ended up flung against a wall in frustration.

- Gone With the Wind - Okay, this was slightly different. All of the characters except Scarlett? See above re: Bonfire. Scarlett herself? I saw a self-justifying little egotist I would rather ensure was five states away than ever encounter firsthand. Others have clearly seen a plucky survivor. We can agree to disagree. All I know is I gave myself permission to put this book down (hard) about 50 pages from the conclusion, not caring how it ended.

- YA Book - Can't remember the title. Googling hasn't helped. All I remember was a young girl, rural poverty, me being a kid, and reading a scene about a bunch of yahoos stoning a blackbird (possibly the protagonist girl's pet) to death. There may have been collusion in the stoning on the part of the protagonist. I remember being horrified, feeling that I had to finish, and then thinking, "Why?" It was, I think, the first instance I ever had of giving myself permission not to finish a book. It was a watershed, of sorts.

Finishing a book, by the way, is different from not being able to get into a book. If there is still a slim wedge of pages between the front cover and my left thumb and forefinger when I put it down, I wasn't able to get into it. If I mean to try again (pace, A Winter's Tale), I wasn't able to get into it. These are all personal definitions. It's hard, for me, to make a proactive decision to not finish a book.

You?
Posted: Monday - May 15, 2006 at 08:56 PM         | |

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