eyeofthereader-blog

[eyeofthereader-blog]

You Must Finish Every Book

Yeah right.

When you open the book, and turn to the very first page you begin with a fresh mind- you expect the novel to have the ability to transport you from your bedroom, office, coffee shop, to the time and place that the plot is set- you do not begin the novel with the belief that you will not connect with the story that is lying between your fingertips.

I try to stick to the general rule of:

‘If you are not pulled by the plot of the story within the first 100 pages then you will more than likely not be within the next.’

I used to finish every book that I picked up, if the author had the time and energy to capture a story worth publishing, then I had the time finishing said story. Despite my persistence, I discovered that my love for reading would falter as I simply did not enjoy the book and thus did not want to put my time and effort into finishing.

It is unfathomable that someone will power through 380 pages worth just because the novel claims to be the next ‘Harry Potter’ of ‘Gone Girl’. You might not be passionate about a certain novel and that does not mean that you are a failure and cease to understand what others see in the text, you are allowed to have a negative opinion just as much as they are allowed a positive- that’s what makes discussions about books so interesting, you are able to be enlightened to other views on the plot and characters that you did not acknowledge in the first place, and even then, you still have the ability to disagree. You do not owe your time to a novel that you cannot connect with and you will not be punished for it. There is simply not enough time in the day or weeks in the year for you to finish every book you begin.

For example, I recently could not finish the novel, ‘We were on a break’ by Lindsey Kelk. Why? Simply because the plot angered me. It angered me because I didn’t like how Kelk had set out her protagonists to fall and then rise from their smoldering ashes, I felt it was too cliché. Ironically despite my love for a good ol’ chick-flick novel I could not connect nor enjoy Kelk’s writing. The protagonists lack the common sense of simply talking to one another in order to solve their problems; instead they pine and bottle up their emotions that could be solved over a cup of tea. My opinion might be an unpopular one yet it is one that I stand by, I could not connect and therefore I had no desire to finish. However, that does not mean that I do not value Kelk as an author, I am still able to appreciate the effort that she has captured within the lines of her book.

Next time you reach 100 pages, or if you put off taking the time to pick up the book to sit down and read, keep in mind that you do not owe the story and ending, you can choose to admit defeat, place it back on the shelf and start afresh with another.