When You Can't Finish a Book....?

[Becki Rizzuti]

Hi everybody.

I haven't blogged since January, and the reason is because the next book on my list was <I>Wicked</I> by Gregory Maguire. I simply don't like the book, and because I had promised myself that I would finish every book I bought and picked up this year, I'm feeling very stuck. I have to force myself to read five or ten pages at a time, and during that time period I find myself feeling very distracted, or (depending on what part of the book I'm reading), disgusted.

I've heard that the book is worth finishing, just for the end. I also have the other two books in the series because a friend said that they have to be read together (ugh!). I'm feeling disheartened and a bit stupid for not being able to get through this book (sick to death of the reviews that talk about how "experienced readers" will love this book! I read <I>Anna Karenina</I> when I was 12 for goodness sake! I'm pretty experienced!).

Should I put it down and try again later, review the book only half read (almost exactly halfway through it) or should I try to finish it and then review the book? If I review it at this point it won't be a positive review at all. The end of the book could potentially change that, as it did with <I>The Lovely Bones</I> which went from a 5* to a 3* because of the end of the book.

Thanks!

[Stephanie M.]

Hi Becki! Well what I do if I don't like a book but have to finish it like for a review is try reading another book you know you will like then come back to it. Sometimes if I just really don't like a book I just completely stop reading it *This is rare but has happened*. It really depends on how you feel i guess. I would not review a book til you completely finish reading it because like you said sometimes the ending can change how you feel. Hope this helps:)

[Becki Rizzuti]

It seems I'm at a point where I don't like most of what I'm reading. Two of the books I've reviewed lately only got 2 stars (though one is beginning to grow on me). I managed to finish both of them, in one case by speed reading and in the other because I had to let the book prove to me that I'd "guessed" the surprise ending.

This book isn't like that, not because I don't know what's going to happen (blessedly, I don't), but because I can't seem to push through it. For nearly three months I've tried to get through Wicked and it just seems like it's a no go.

One review I read talked about how there is just no emotion in the book -- that sums it up nicely for me, I guess.

I think you have a good idea though, and very similar to what I was thinking: move on to the next book on my list and then come back to Wicked or read it as I go, but in smaller chunks. I have the very distinct feeling that this book is going to redeem itself and I would hate to completely give up on it.

[Becki Rizzuti]

The thing is that I've been trying (to speed read). For whatever reason I feel like I've gone through twenty pages and then discover that I've only made it through five, and it makes me feel ridiculously depressed.

I wrote about some of my feelings right here, but I deleted the part that mentioned that my husband is obsessed with politics and talks about little else, which means that reading about politics for pleasure is not high up on my "to do" list. Atlas Shrugged is also on my "currently reading" list but it's going slow, for the same reason. Interesting book, I like it, but I need a break from politics every now and again lol

I'm going to get through this, but I do think I'm going to pick up Revolutionary Road first and see what happens and how I feel later on about finishing the book.

[Becki Rizzuti]

It's unusual for me, too, and that's what's been happening lately. I've started to think about not taking book recommendations from friends and just use Book Bloggers to find books to read and review. I feel terrible about that too, because these people are my friends for a reason, right? It's strange how different we really are.

I guess we all have our own pet peeves. I don't like over-descriptive stuff (Anne Rice kills me a lot of the time -- Hubby LOVES her!); I don't like politics for pleasure; I don't like books that end in a way that is predictable to me; I MUST have a plot.

What happened to plot being the connective tissue that holds a story together? I've seen far too little of this in fiction in the past few books I've read and it saddens me.

[pussreboots]

Wicked isn't worth the effort. Go read something else.

[Becki Rizzuti]

Did you finish it?

I've heard this from several people who didn't finish the book. The two who I've talked to who definitely did finish it told me that it comes through in the end. I just don't see how putting the effort into a 500+ page book is really worth my time. I'm halfway through it and haven't gotten anything out of it yet. Really disappointing.

Did you read my blog post about the reviewers on this book? Now, looking back, the situation is funny though I was angry as sin when I wrote it not two hours ago lol

[Enbrethiliel]

+JMJ+

Oh, dear. It sounds as if the book just isn't for you. =(

I've had something I've been trying to read for years, because it came highly recommended, and I'm still wondering whether it's just one of those books I need to get "in the mood" for . . . or whether it's just my thing. Perhaps I should take the advice I've just given you? ;-)

[Ivan Oel Anyayahan]

Well, I had the same problem once, I just can't finish a book with so much romance in it so when I had a book that qualified that criteria, I asked my friend to read it for me and to retell the ending to me. :P