Victorians! discussion

A friend recently told me that she has a 100 page rule... If a book doesn't connect with her in the first hundred pages, she buds it an unfinished farewell and moves on to the next book. Which made me think about conversations we've had here about group reads and the commitment to finish.

Do you have a rule of thumb by which to determine if it's time to call it quits?
Also, is there a time when you soldiered on and we're glad you continues?

I don't have a hard and fast rule. If I find myself around 2-3 chapters in an it doesn't resonate, I will abandon it. But I've also abandoned books I've almost finished when the story goes in a direction that completely ruins it for me and I no longer care what happens next.

I, too, have no hard and fast rule. Probably most often it is dictated by what else is demanding to be read and whether I am still interested when something has been set aside for such required reads. I do usually ask that a book "feel" like it is worth the time it is demanding in order to be read. I try to choose books that seem as if they will be worthy, then they have to demonstrate it.

I don't have a rule, but must confess to quite often slogging through when I should give up. I'm trying to not do this so much. I think it's because I always carry the inner hope that it will get better.

lol. Yes, especially if it's a book that was well-recommended or acclaimed. I'm so SURE there's something of merit that I'll torture myself until there's nothing left and I have to admit that it just wasn't to my taste. Different strokes.

Renee wrote: "A friend recently told me that she has a 100 page rule... If a book doesn't connect with her in the first hundred pages, she buds it an unfinished farewell and moves on to the next book. Which made..."

I have no rule. I've quit books as soon as the third paragraph if I find the writing stilted or uninteresting or the opening scene lacks interest or creativity. I get a number of fiction books from the library to try because somebody suggested them or for some reason they came to my attention to try, and I would guess that at least half of them go back less than 15 minutes in to them.

Life's too short to spend on books that I'm not fairly sure I'm going to enjoy. There are plenty of books out there that I know are worth my reading or re-reading. And at my age, every hour of reading time becomes increasingly precious.

Nonfiction is another matter. I don't expect to be entertained; I expect to be informed, and if the book is giving me the information I want I seldom lay it down before I'm done with it, although at times I may skim parts (as recommended by Adler in How to Read a Book).

Deborah wrote: "I don't have a rule, but must confess to quite often slogging through when I should give up. I'm trying to not do this so much. I think it's because I always carry the inner hope that it will get better."

You have a lot more patience with or respect for authors than I do.

My inner hope that it will get better works differently from yours. I am quick to give up on books that aren't working for me. But if I have a reason to think someday they will work for me, I put them on the shelf (or on my library's to get list if they're library books), and when I am at a different place in my life or a in a different mood I may take them down and try again and this time find that they are now working for me.

Everyman wrote: "Deborah wrote: "I don't have a rule, but must confess to quite often slogging through when I should give up. I'm trying to not do this so much. I think it's because I always carry the inner hope th..."

Oh, Everyman don't you know by now? I'm an eternal optimist :).

Deborah wrote: "Oh, Everyman don't you know by now? I'm an eternal optimist :). ."

From Ambrose Bierce: “Optimist – A proponent of the doctrine that black is white.”

What he could have said but neglected to:

An optimist is never pleased to get good news because it's just what they expected. A pessimist is never dismayed by bad news because it's just what they expected

Deborah wrote: "I don't have a rule, but must confess to quite often slogging through when I should give up. I'm trying to not do this so much. I think it's because I always carry the inner hope that it will get b..."

Same here. If a book doesn't grab me, I leave it for a while, and hope next time will be better, which often happens. I may not be in the right mood/frame of mind for it (or like Everyman says, place in my life - age/experience are factors too).

However I have sometimes been faced with books that I just can't connect with and lately I've 'allowed' myself to give up. Still feel a bit guilty (not sure why) but as many have said, there are so many books out there and just a finite amount of time - I guess a sign I'm getting older :0)

In fiction: cliche, bad writing, adherence to themes which 'sell' or 'work'.
In non-fiction: assumptions, biases, propaganda, lack fo research.

Everyman wrote: "Deborah wrote: "Oh, Everyman don't you know by now? I'm an eternal optimist :). ."

From Ambrose Bierce: “Optimist – A proponent of the doctrine that black is white.”

What he could have said but n..."

Not my brand of optimist. I try to expect the best while prepared for the worst. I'm also a champion at making lemonade from the lemons of life

Lol. That's absolutely how I envision you, Deb!

Renee wrote: "Lol. That's absolutely how I envision you, Deb!"

Renee, you've got me figured out

I try to read every book I start. If I am not able to read any further, I put it down, and try to continue at a better time. If it is from the library, I try this till the due date. Then, I just return the book.

Deborah wrote: "I don't have a rule, but must confess to quite often slogging through when I should give up. I'm trying to not do this so much. I think it's because I always carry the inner hope that it will get b..."

Deborah, you sound like me. I almost always finish a book, simply because I am curious to see if it will get any better before the end. But personally, there are very few books I've read in my life that I utterly despised the experience of reading them. I have given a couple two-star ratings this year, but even in two-star ratings I found something to value. I can only think of one book at the top of my head I ever gave a one-star rating to, and it was one that I hated enough to abandon halfway through, seeing as I had no more hope that it would improve in the slightest.

Kari wrote: "I can only think of one book at the top of my head I ever gave a one-star rating ..."

I have at least one very great classic, which I did read all the way through, which I have given one star because I object so strongly to the impact it has had on subsequent Western thought! (Another potential quirky question -- how do you assign star ratings?)

Lily wrote: "I have at least one very great classic, which I did read all the way through, which I have given one star because I object so strongly to the impact it has had on subsequent Western thought! .."

You can't just leave us there. :) Which book?

Everyman wrote: "Which book?"

Wuthering Heights, surely?

Pip wrote: "Everyman wrote: "Which book?"

Wuthering Heights, surely?"

Or maybe Jane Eyre?

Everyman wrote: "Lily wrote: "I have at least one very great classic, which I did read all the way through, which I have given one star because I object so strongly to the impact it has had on subsequent Western th..."

You can't just leave us there. :) Which book?

If you want to make a guess, search my bookshelf of books read for one star entries. I might not make the same assessment today, but I will stick by my reasoning at the time I made the assignment. (I have come to see the story from other perspectives as well.)

In the meantime, of greater significance, read this fascinating article based on an interview with Herta Müller. She makes several fun comments that are related to a number of the "Quirky Questions" we have explored here.

www.nytimes.com/2016/07/17/books/revi...

Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?

"Sadly, there are many that I put down after 20 or 30 pages."

What moves you most in a work of literature?

"The beauty of the sentences is the key. If in the very first pages I’m forced to read gratuitous phrases or banal metaphors, I won’t be able to get inside the story. Only if the sentences 'sparkle' can I get hooked." [Bold added.]

How do you organize your books?

"I find any kind of 'organizing' very difficult. And that has irksome consequences when it comes to books, since I’ve often wound up buying books twice because I couldn’t find what I already have in all my mess."

What kind of reader were you as a child? Which childhood books and authors stick with you most?

"We didn’t have any books at home. Not even children’s books or fairy tales. The only “fantastic” stories came from religion class. And I took them all very literally..."

Lily wrote: "If you want to make a guess, search my bookshelf of books read for one star entries. ."

Hmmm. There are quite a few of those!

150 pages is my limit. If I struggle to keep reading because I am bored, lost, frustrated with the story I usually give up and then find something else to read. Reading is supposed to be a pleasure which usually I can relax, dream, explore and travel. There is no point to fight for finishing a book that I don' t like.

Everyman wrote: "Lily wrote: "If you want to make a guess, search my bookshelf of books read for one star entries. ."

Hmmm. There are quite a few of those!"

But I doubt that any except one (Milton's Paradise Lost) have had such vast impact on the interpretation of male/female roles, especially as relate to the Book of Genesis. I know your respect for that book, and I even respect that respect, so I hedged to admit directly.

If/when I read again, I shall probably be more focused on the treatment of Satan, partly 'cause I've seen some fascinating commentaries since that last read.

Lily wrote: "I know your respect for that book, and I even respect that respect, so I hedged to admit directly.."

I'm not all that interested in his treatment of gender roles. What I love about the work are his vivid imagination and his magnificent use of language. I revel in his language the way I used, as a child, to revel in rolling in my grandmother's field of sweet clover.