Wednesday Reading Fail

[lydamorehouse]

I think the ONLY thing I managed to read this week was SKIM by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki. It was a good, if a bit depressing. I mean things turn around by the end, but getting there was kind of rough.  It was nice, for once, to see the adult kind of/sort of do the right thing and move AWAY from this very, very bad student/teacher 'romance'/lust.

But, yeah, I don't know what happened to me, otherwise. I started THE SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF HOPE by Claire North, despite the fact that I bounced out of her THE FIRST FIFTEEN LIVES OF HARRY AUGUST. I'm not feeling it so far, but I'm also not very far in. I will give it my traditional 50 pages to make or break.  

I know a lot of people who will slog through a book that they've started because they're just that sort: they're completists or stubborn or deeply optimistic (hoping it will turn around at some point!).  With my dyslexia, mild though it may be, I can't do that. If I'm struggling with getting into a book, that slows me down to a crawl and, because I'm also a serial reader, that means I'm not reading anything else.  

So, I've developed a litmus test.  If I'm still enjoying at 50 pages, I'll keep going. If I'm struggling, I'll still give it 50 to change my mind.  I do realize this means there are books I miss because they really pick up after page 150 or whatever, but see above. I just don't have that kind of time. I have give up books later than 50 pages, but 50 seems like a good amount of time for me to get used to a writer's voice or style, in case that's the only thing I'm cold to, you know?

What about you? Are you a stick to it no matter what person? Or do you have some arbitrary number of pages? Or do you just give up whenever? I know that Shawn, for instance, won't even give 50 pages if she decides the book is not for her for any reason. She reads really fast, though, unlike me, and, also unlike me, has several books going at once.  So, giving up on one does NOT necessitate hunting around for the next one (like it does for me.)

Comments

[wild_irises]

Doesn't sound like "reading fail" to me.

I go by my own feelings, not a set number of pages. I finish most things, but not all. Most often, I put something down because I'm not excited, and then don't pick it up again (or do pick it up and see if it feels the same).

Nancy Pearl, perhaps the most famous librarian alive, says 50 pages, so you're in good company.

[lydamorehouse]

OH, such good company. That's a comfort!

[umadoshi]

I'll be interested to hear what you think about The Sudden Appearance of Hope--I think it's on my TBR, but as it happens, I also bounced about of The First Fifteen Lives.

On the one hand, I'm trying to get more comfortable with/willing to drop books if they're not working for me. My TBR list is TERRIFYING, and I know I'm never going to read all the books, but I can get through more if I don't insist on finishing everything.

OTOH, this is my third year of reading almost exclusively from my shelves of purchased books instead of the library (and I just keep buying books >.<), and abandoning a book is even harder when I've paid for it.

[lydamorehouse]

Well, I gave up on The Sudden Appearance of Hope, after all. It took me far too long to figure out what was going on, and by then it was tough to care? I think I'm going to have to assume North's writing style just isn't for me, which is such a bummer because I keep picking her books up because they seem like they would be right up my alley.

I hear you about buying books. I honestly just don't anymore--which is a terrible thing for a writer to say! But library sales are actually a big source of a writer's income, so I tell myself it's okay, especially since I go out of my way to recommend books to the library's book buyers (a.k.a. librarians.) And more often than not, the Ramsey County Library buys more than one copy (not always one for each branch, but usually more than just a single copy), so I tell myself I'm doubling the sale that would otherwise be only to me.

OTOH, we will buy Mason any (and as many) book(s) he wants, so we still have a hefty book buying budget.

I just get MINE from the library (or read his.)

[umadoshi]

I gave up on The Sudden Appearance of Hope, after all.

Well, blah. Thanks for the info!

Library purchase suggestions are how I handle most graphic novels I want to read--I'm so horribly behind on my purchased-manga-and-GNs stacks that it seems like the way to go.

OTOH, we will buy Mason any (and as many) book(s) he wants, so we still have a hefty book buying budget.

That sounds like it works out, then. ^_^

[bibliofile]

I too use the library a LOT, including suggesting the occasional book. Remember that libraries help, not hurt, sales (people buying the book for themselves, recommending it to others, broadening audiences, etc.). That's what I've heard, and I'm going with it.

I liked Claire North AND her Kate Griffin stuff. They're very different. Not everybody likes everything though, right?

ETA: The Kate Griffin books treat London as a minor character, which is two of my soft spots (London & cities as characters). FYI.

[umadoshi]

I've likewise heard repeatedly that library sales are really good for authors, so I try to make sure to suggest some titles every month. (Our library system allows ten suggestions per month per user.)

I didn't realize Claire North and Kate Griffin were the same author! I haven't actually read any of the Griffin books, but there's at least one in my to-read spreadsheet.

[bookzombie]

I finished 'The First Fifteen Lives...', but it left me with a real 'meh' feeling, so I'm in no rush to read any more (I think I've got her next one on Kindle, from 99p sale)

Having said that, I have enjoyed her 'Matthew Swift' books (London-based urban fantasy, published as 'Kate Griffin')