I've Given up...Twice

One of the things that I took away from the pursuit of a PhD in American Literature is the complete understanding that I do not have to finish a book if I don't like it. I decided upon deciding to quit that monstrous degree that if I wasn't ENJOYING what I was reading then I didn't HAVE to read it. I had paid my dues, and my time was worth way more than the book was.

I do try, though, to read a book, even if I'm not 100% into it after the first few pages--and how many books can you honestly say have "hooked" you page one (Elegance of the Hedgehog most recently, most not at all). So I do try and give the book a couple of reading sessions--sometimes a couple of days. But when I find that I'd rather do the dishes or clean out my closets than sit and read, I know that I'm just simply not "into" the book.

Recently, I was avoiding Pawn in Frankencense by Dorothy Dunnett. I've read the previous three books in this series and really loved book 3. Book 2 was a challenge to get through, but I chalked a lot of the main character's challenging personality traits to youth and figured that he had gotten over himself some. In book 3 I was not disappointed. It was a gripping and very well-written book. However, book 4 found me totally engrossed in mindless nintendo games during reading time, and after a couple of weeks of making absolutely no progress I decided that it wasn't time for me to read the book, passed it along to David and picked up this month's bookclub selection--which I was really looking forward to reading.

And was quickly and sorely disappointed. The Devil Wears Prada is not my cup of tea. I can barely stand the immature whining baby antics of the main character/narrator, and Miranda is simply a psychotic control freak who somehow manages to produce the top fashion magazine while going around and making everyone's life absolutely miserable. I used to work for a bad boss--granted he wasn't quite as bad as Miranda, but he was pretty awful--and I got myself out of that situation as soon as I could. I wanted to ask the characters, "so what if you don't jump 10 feet when she says to do so? What IF everyone decided to rebel? Why let yourself be so cowtowed? Get another job if this one makes you so miserable!" But since I can't converse with the characters, change the plot or writing style of the author, I decided that I'd read the end and see if there was at least some redeeming change in plot (nothing unpredictable) at which point I decided that the journey to the ending just simply wasn't worth the book. I also have to mention that the book is so stressful that reading it causes me not to sleep well...and that's never a good thing!

So, now after two rough reading experiences, I'll go pick out a new book--I bought several this weekend and am looking forward to each and every one of them. Every book offers so much promise before you open them up. Some of them deliver, some of them don't, but I'm always excited about starting anew and seeing what this new set of characters or plot twists will bring me. I think I'm going to go for something safe, though...something that I know I'll enjoy and will get me over this bad hump...how to make that decision, though...