"I tried the first Potter but it fell of my hands around page 51."
Huggy Jon did the right thing by letting the book fall out of his hands after 50 pages.
If a book doesn't interest you after 50 pages, put it down and select another.
So many books, so little time!
No one is forcing you to finish a book you're not enjoying.
Remember THE RULE OF 50, as spoken by Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl...
"Give a book fifty pages before you decide to commit to reading it or give it up."
"The Rule of 50" works for The Mistress. Years ago, I was nearing the final chapter of a very long, boring book. I just couldn't face another page so I put it down before the final chapter and never picked it up again. I have no idea how the book ended nor do I care. I was wasting my time on a book I wasn't enjoying. From that point on, if a book didn't hook me after a few chapters, I put it down and picked up another.
The Rule of 50, Bitches! Make it your motto.
And while you're preparing for The 2016 Infomaniac Book Challenge, have a look at your rights:
The Rights of Readers
1. The right to read.
2. The right to skip.
3. The right not to finish a book.
4. The right to read it again.
5. The right to read anything.
6. The right to mistake a book for real life.
7. The right to read anywhere.
8. The right to dip in.
9. The right to read out loud.
10. The right to be quiet and not discuss the book with anyone.
[source]
Click to enlarge...
NOTE: If you are over 50 years old, Nancy has revised her Rule of 50, so you don't even have to read that many pages before deciding whether the book is worth your time or not. Click here. Some simple math required.
The only novel I began, but did not finish, is Gravity's Rainbow. It was like the "Rule of 20" on that one...
ReplyDeleteLX: Twenty pages into a book can be more than enough.
DeleteSometimes you instinctively just know when to stop.
I skitter around between three or four books at a time and sometimes one just gets left behind. I've decided it's Darwinian.
ReplyDeletePEENEE: Survival of the flightiest.
Deletelike mrpeenee, i've a number of books by the bed that i pick up & discard. i've just recently got, "the overstuffed history of the jewish deli" which i will take on some travels soon. i'm well into ruth reichl's, "my kitchen year" & i like it. i believe i've stated this before, i do not read novels.
ReplyDeleteNORMA: The Overstuffed History of the Jewish Deli? There’s a title I can sink my teeth into.
DeleteRuth Reichl writes deliciously but I haven’t yet got my hands on “My Kitchen Year.”
I know a lot of people who are strictly non-fiction readers and don’t stray into fiction territory.
You won’t be interested then, in picking up Ruth’s new(ish) novel, “Delicious.”
I forced myself in 9th grade to power through that overblown, overhyped, overly bloated American classic--and required reading in some schools--that massive disappointment, Moby Dick!
ReplyDeleteI only did it for extra credit & earned enough points from the book reviews to ace the class & not have to take the final exam & write a term paper. All the other books were good, or at the very least entertaining, but good gawd, Moby Dick was a long, drawn out, exhausting experience & not in a good way! For every one interesting, fascinating chapter that dealt with plot & characters, it seemed like there were four chapters that described the various parts of the ship & their functions--stunsail, mainyard, & scuttlebutt, etc. That book was more a whaling ship manual than an actual novel!
That book is the reason why I drop books that don't grab my interest in 2 chapters or 50 pages--whichever is less. Life is too short to be wasted.
EROS: Required high school reading lists tend to dampen the enthusiasm of even the most voracious reader.
DeleteI won’t read “Moby Dick” because any description of the whaling industry saddens me regardless of the fact that this book is considered a “classic.”
As you said, Life is too short to be wasted.
btw, i've read more than one moby dick in my life. just depends where you look in the stacks.
DeleteNORMA: The mind boggles at what you get up to in the stacks.
DeleteNancy Pearl is the queen of Readers' Advisory for librarians. They even made an action figure in her image that 'shushes'. Listen to Nancy!
ReplyDeleteCANADIAN GIRL: I’ve seen the action figure!
DeleteIt was carried by one of my favourite stores, “Archie McPhee” but their website says the product is discontinued. So count yourself lucky if you have one.
As noted over in my little part of the world, I do find unfamiliar fiction increasingly hard to dive into, sticking instead largely to biography, history, and essays.
ReplyDeleteAs for the rights of readers - I'm enchanted. My all-time failure, alas, is War and Peace, but if I ever get the urge to scale Proust, I'll keep these rules very much in mind...
MUSCATO: The Mistress has tackled neither “War and Peace” nor Proust but like you, is an avid reader of biographies.
DeleteIf a book doesn't grab me by the third chapter it goes into the sharing pile. So, I couldn't agree with you more.
ReplyDeleteWALLY: I have a book that will grab you…see my Wenis Wednesday post for January 6th.
DeleteAlthough I loathe giving up on a book, I do. BUT, sometimes I might go back and check - sometimes I have given up on a book simply because I wasn't in the mood for its genre.
ReplyDeleteSx
MISS SCARLET: Much like me not being in the mood for Mr. DeVice’s “Star Trek” books.
DeleteBut maybe someday.
I love to read out loud especially in a foreign language I'm learning. That's how I became fluent in English. Not only does our brain learns words faster when they are spoken out loud, but it also developps the sense of rythym, intonation, accentuation and all the physiological aspects of elocution (mouth and lips placement, movement of the tongue and jaw, ect...) And if I don't know how to pronounce a word, I can check out online any dictionary have a sound files for every word.
ReplyDeleteLove this Right of the Reader thing. Especially the warning...
HUGGY JON: It’s essential to practice speaking a foreign language aloud. Reading quietly to yourself isn’t enough.
DeleteMovement of the tongue and jaw? I’m sure yours get a workout.
Alas I truly miss ye. #hashtag #awaiting #oldbuggerwhousetoknowyoubutnotreallyknowyou #youbemybuddude #love you
ReplyDeleteDivian lives!
Delete