Where Do You Draw the Line?

Avatar for cl_ladibbug
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Where Do You Draw the Line?
13
Wed, 02-23-2005 - 8:38pm

At what point or page number do you decide that a book just isn't interesting for you, it's time to cross it off your list and get on to the next read?


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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-27-2004
Wed, 02-23-2005 - 8:46pm

I don't have any specific page number or anything. Just when I feel that my interest will never be captured.

Julie

Avatar for cl_ladibbug
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 02-23-2005 - 8:51pm
Fifty pages is about my maximum.
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 02-23-2005 - 10:40pm

I usually go a handful of pages past the point I lose interest... I've got to give it the benefit of the doubt if I've started it and hope it picks up.

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Registered: 03-20-2003
Thu, 02-24-2005 - 6:59am
SOmetimes it depends on the book. I've found some books that start off extremely slow can suddenly take off. I usually measure it by the days. If by the second day of having picked it up I find that I haven't really started reading I will shelf it and hope to come back to it. If I've already started the book and it starts to fizzle by the first 20 or so pages it's time to let it go.

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Registered: 04-06-2004
Thu, 02-24-2005 - 11:30am
I usually soldier gamely through til about a quarter of the way through the book before I start seriously skipping pages in search of some action.
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-30-2003
Thu, 02-24-2005 - 11:42am

I almost never make a conscious decision to give up on a book. I usually just end up picking up something else or even stop reading all together for a while. In fact, there's only 1 book that I can remember putting down on purpose, Confederacy of Dunces, which I still refuse to finish.

It's usually circumstances that keep me from finishing a book and sometimes I don't get back to ones that I've really enjoyed. I think I'll adopt the group's attitude that "life is too short to read bad books" philosophy though from now on!

Beth
www.lverose.com

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Avatar for cl_ladibbug
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 02-24-2005 - 7:44pm

Beth, uh, does that mean A Confederacy of Dunces will not make its way into any of your gift book baskets?

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Registered: 12-30-2003
Fri, 02-25-2005 - 5:35am
Teri, I'm with you! Life's too short and there are too many great books to read. I just won't continue to slog my way through a book that cannot hold my interest. I will give it a good go. If I'm not captured in the first few pages, I usually will put it down and move on to something else. However, if the reviews are good and friends insist that it's a great book, I'll give it a couple of chapters. There are two books that stick out in my mind that I heard were good and I just couldn't stick it out. One was 'The English Patient'. It was just too hard to keep track of which character each chapter was about and too much backward/forward stuff. One of these days I'll see the movie. The other was 'Pilgrim at Tinker
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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-30-2003
Fri, 02-25-2005 - 3:53pm

Celestlyn, I can't help but laugh at your noting The English Patient. It popped into my head at this question, too! It was for the movie though. It's one of a handful of movies that was worth sticking it through for the very last scene. It was an amazing and exceptionally moving scene, but boy was the rest of the movie an effort! I couldn't begin to imagine how long the book must be. The movie is 3+ hours!!

Beth
www.lverose.com

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-30-2003
Fri, 02-25-2005 - 4:01pm

Oh, Teri. I can't tell you how happy you've made me! I thought I was the only person alive who HATED this book. Hated a book. I wouldn't have imagined it. It was awful and it made me depressed to pick it up each time.

I read it (and kept on for more chapters than I'm willing to admit) for the very same reason as you!! One of my favorite columnists on Slate said it was her favorite book, too. An insightful political commentary I believe she called it. I'm at a total loss as to what the insight or commentary was!

The only reason it won a Pulitzer was because the author killed himself after he completed it. I will not offer further opinion at this point at the risk of offending someone here... ;-)

I'm so relieved I'm not alone...Thank you!! LOL!

Beth
www.lverose.com

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