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hippywife

(22,767 posts)
34. I used to, but like others have mentioned,
Tue Apr 14, 2015, 05:48 PM
Apr 2015

with age comes the sense of time and what it's worth. When I was a lot younger, I could not for the love of me get into Tolkein's Ring Trilogy. I tried a couple of times, just could not do it. Then one day I found myself sick in bed, nothing else in the house to read, so I tried again. Voraciously read all three books and loved them. It's not that they're poor literature, so I guess I just hadn't been in the right frame of mind to appreciate them until then.

I'm in the midst of one now that I'm absolutely not enjoying, but I've got some time constraints this week preventing me from being able to start and get into a larger book, so as I mentioned in another post, this one is working as my current sleep aid.

Recently I took another one back to the library unfinished, it was due back and had holds on it so I couldn't renew it for one thing, but for another, more than a hundred pages in, with nearly 300 more yet to read, I wasn't enjoying it in the least. That one really surprised me because it was John Cleese's autobiography, So Anyway.... I love Monty Python, I love wry comedy, but I could not love this book. He seemed to ramble around quite a bit, and that far into the story of his life, he hadn't even reached the point of being out of school yet. Imagine the most boring, monotone person you know talking incessantly about his childhood for hours.

Another that I almost stopped reading was Dearie:The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz. Almost 600 pages and the first quarter of the book seemed to be mostly about her ancestors. I don't mind the background information, especially if it's interesting and sets up the rest of the book well. This just seemed to go on and on and on, and nothing in it made me really care about her grandparents or great-grandparents, and was somewhat confusing to boot. I did persevere and finally got past that, and it got better. But had I not had the patience at the time, I would have returned that one unread, too.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

Oh yes shenmue Sep 2014 #1
I just have so many other more interesting books I want to get to. closeupready Sep 2014 #2
Why feel guilty? Think of all the time you did NOT waste by reading through to the end. (nt) enough Sep 2014 #3
That's a good way of putting it, yes. Thanks. closeupready Sep 2014 #4
Re-reading good books is always a good idea. (nt) enough Sep 2014 #9
Totally Agree Wolf Frankula Sep 2014 #17
I very seldom give up on a book I've started. Here's why (a few reasons). Old Crow Sep 2014 #5
Thanks those are some good points. closeupready Sep 2014 #7
LOL... good point, actually, regarding Wikipedia Old Crow Sep 2014 #10
Factoid of the day: when I'm indecisive about what to read next, closeupready Sep 2014 #14
At the risk of being picky, SheilaT Oct 2014 #32
Guilty over not finishing a book? No way. scarletwoman Sep 2014 #6
Thanks - I really resent being drawn in to this piece of crap book. closeupready Sep 2014 #8
Donate the book to your local library, or a homeless shelter, or a 2nd hand store. scarletwoman Sep 2014 #12
With all the great books that I have yet to read, Curmudgeoness Sep 2014 #11
I so agree fadedrose Sep 2014 #13
Ah, so true about just trying to get to the end Curmudgeoness Sep 2014 #16
Never feel guilty about putting a book down. SheilaT Sep 2014 #15
Thanks - I did put it down, and closeupready Sep 2014 #25
I feel a little guilty, but I do it anyway. Chemisse Sep 2014 #18
I seldom quit a book part way through. Enthusiast Sep 2014 #19
I give a book 10% of the total pages Goblinmonger Sep 2014 #20
Your first mistake was buying a Clive Cussler book. Tracer Sep 2014 #21
lol, yeah - you know, like a lot of people, I do pre-judge a book closeupready Sep 2014 #22
Good choice! oldandhappy Sep 2014 #23
Yes libodem Sep 2014 #24
No. Not in the least bit. And, I've learned several hard lessons along the way... GOLGO 13 Sep 2014 #26
Yes. Sometimes. AngryOldDem Oct 2014 #27
I happened to like "The Girl at the Lion D'Or" very much, SheilaT Oct 2014 #28
Absolutely no guilt! gratefultobelib Oct 2014 #29
I'm 65..... llmart Oct 2014 #30
Nope bigwillq Oct 2014 #31
No guilt Susannah Elf Apr 2015 #33
I used to, but like others have mentioned, hippywife Apr 2015 #34
Not unless it's a book on loan from a friend. Paladin Apr 2015 #35
Nope. I'm in the middle of one right now, a loan from a friend, and I don't think I'm going to raccoon Apr 2015 #36
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