Reader’s Guilt?
2nd April, 2010 - Posted by Allison Chase - 8 Comments
I heard an interesting discussion on NPR yesterday, about how difficult it is for readers to stop reading a book they’ve started, as opposed to changing the channel on a boring TV show or pulling your latest Netflix movie out of the DVR and sending it back for another.
I thought about this a moment and realized yes, it’s easy to hit the remote and change what I’m watching. I do it without a second thought. But once I’ve picked up a book and start reading, it’s like I’ve made some unspoken emotional commitment to take this journey with the author. Which is not to say I never put a book down. In fact, I’ve done it several times over the past few months – more than ever before. I don’t know what is is…am I just getting cranky lately, or have the books I’ve generally loved throughout the years begun to lose their sparkle?
The reason why is kind of a moot point – we all have diverse tastes and choose or reject stories for innumerable reasons. But it’s only with the greatest reluctance that I’ll admit a book simply hasn’t grabbed me and I don’t want to continue with it. Some readers speak of “throwing a book against the wall” because it didn’t live up to expectations. This isn’t me. I try to give every book the benefit of the doubt and ample time to redeem itself. Sometimes those efforts just don’t work.
Part two of this dilemma is the lingering guilt. Have you experienced this? You’ve put the book down, but can almost feel it mocking you from afar…challenging you to pick it back up and finish it. I’ve got one on my nightstand at this very moment calling my name. It’s by a long-time favorite author of mine, and I snatched it from the bookstore like a thief who stumbled upon an unexpected cache of gold. Partway through, however, I realized there was nothing new or fresh or particularly intriguing about the story, so I moved on. Still, I think about returning to it…
Is it that most of us who love books don’t simply discard them when we’re through with them, so unlike a TV show that disappears the moment you change the channel, a rejected book will still be there as a visual reminder of the broken bond between you and those characters whose experiences will never be played out in your imagination? Or does the guilt run deeper, back to our formative school days when finishing certain books, even those dull awful dry ones, meant achieving success in the class…while NOT reading them meant failure, and resorting Cliffs Notes (which I never did) or “watching the movie” (ok, once or twice I did) implied a certain form of, well, cheating?
Maybe not finishing a book, even one picked up for pleasure, strikes directly at our deep-rooted sense of accomplishment and nags at us with the suggestion that maybe the failure was on our part and not the book’s. Just a theory!
What do you think? Is it difficult for you to put a book down, and if you do does it continue to call to you? Or can you blithely fling a disappointing tome against the wall and forget it?
(Cross-posted today at Allison Chase’s Blog)
8 Comments
Traci
April 2nd, 2010 at 8:26 am
I used to read through to the bloody bitter end, lol. Now I don’t have time to finish the books I like so no way do I waste my limited time on something that doesn’t do it for me…I’ve recently bought books that I thought were going to be amazing and they weren’t – I figure I am in editing and writing hell so it could be me. But then I picked up Angie Fox’s The Dangerous Book For Demon Slayers, and I am laughing my way through it. Short fun chapters help – I can read a few pages, feel good about it, and come back when I have another five minutes.
Great topic, Lisa!
Mary Ricksen
April 2nd, 2010 at 9:52 am
I have to make time for reading. It makes me sooooo happy!!
Carol Stephenson
April 2nd, 2010 at 6:08 pm
Time is so precious that I don’t waste it wading through a book I just can’t get into. I will flip through a few pages here & there to see if the book perks up. If it does, I’ll continue.
And yes, some books have made me so mad that I’ve tossed them against the wall in disgust.
andrea
April 4th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
i think the key to not reading books that you want to abandon midway, is to do your research first. i never buy a book i haven’t heard rave reviews about from someone i know has similar taste in novels. also, i check amazon, nytimes bestsellers, etc. to recheck the ratings/reviews. if you go into a bookstore blindly, you’re bound to snatch something up that is awful. i read over a hundred books a year and refuse to waste my time on a poorly written book or one that has no spark, so i use my time doing the research.
Kathleen Pickering
April 5th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
I hate to admit, I’m a book tosser without guilt. Life is too short for a book that doesn’t a.) seem believable (or at least successfully suspend my belief), or b.) set me running neck and neck w/the characters.
Do I need a counseling group or something?
Nancy Cohen
April 6th, 2010 at 1:46 am
Life is short. If I don’t like a book, I’ll skim through to the end. If I really can’t get any further, I’ll put it in the donation to the library pile. Usually I have no problem with books I choose to read, though, because the story fulfills my favorite archtypes.
Christina Alfonso
April 8th, 2010 at 8:21 am
Man this topic hits home for me. I do the exact same thing. Once I pick up a book it’s hard for me to put it down even if I don’t like it. The good news is that lately I’ve had more courage to put it down after about the first 20 or 30 pgs if I don’t like it. I actually did that about a week ago when I was on vacation. I had the same feelings that you had. ‘Maybe if I just read a little more I’ll get into it’.'Your just going to quit?’ But it’s true that life is to short and you really need to dump a book if you can’t get into it.I’m glad I’m not the only person with this problem.
Jennifer Wilson
April 28th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Yes you are so right, I am currently working through a book. I really enjoyed the author’s last book but am now reading one of her previous books and not enjoying it much. I think I feel that if I finish it at least I will then have a more rounded opinion of that author. However if I really dont like a book I dont read it but as you say that is rare. It has to be really bad. Also I am a fairly slow reader and by the time I finally decide to read a book a lot of thought has gone into it ! I see you are all mystery writers – does that include detective books ? Have you all tried The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ? I really enjoyed that.
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