Bookworms: Give up on a book less/more with age?

Cafe Society
1

I read a lot, mostly non-fiction, and I’ve ramped it up over the last couple of years. I almost never used to give up on a book. The first book I gave up on was George Orwell’s “1984”, back in the 70’s when I was a teen. I didn’t give up on another book until maybe 2000 (admittedly, the ramping-up has been dramatic). Point is, am I getting less patient? Seems like it…but then I consider that it’s all a tradeoff: if I hang in there to the bitter end with this book, I will necessarily be unable to read that book. After all, it’s a big library; I can’t read it all. And I’ve gotten to the end of some books with nothing to show for it (I’m looking at you, Ian Ayres, “Freakonomics” wannabe and author of “Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart”. Howzabout some more actual content?).

I gave up on Kevin Philip’s “American Theocracy” (read maybe 100 pages). Not much bang for the buck. Pity. I’ve seen him in interviews and he seems like a smart guy. Lots of writers are good in print, but give dull interviews. It was the other way around with him. Ditto Chalmers Johnson. I got through about half of Thomas Schaller’s “Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South” before realizing it was a long magazine article; like “Supercrunchers”, it kept repeating itself. And I found Umberto Eco’s novel’s dense, turgid, and incoherent prose so repulsive I gave up after only a few pages of “The Name of the Rose” (although you can make the claim that that’s due to “non-fiction bias”).

Part of me says it’s the writers. I struggled to remain interested in Steven Breyer’s slim “Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution”, tellling myself, hey, legal people are never really engaging writers (in his case, too much philosophizing, not enough quoting actual court decisions and how he arrived at his votes). Moreover, picking a book written by people who are talented but not really writers (IMO, the largest hazard in reading non-fiction) can make life difficult. But John Dean somehow manages.

Another part of me says it’s the topic. Some things are almost impossible to make truly riveting unless you’re naturally drawn to them, and that that’s the risk you take when branching out. I’ve extended myself more, with a more diverse number of topics and viewpoints. When I read about politics, for example, it’s more than just the liberal viewpoint that I consider (hey, at least I gave Philips and Johnson a shot). And I like taking risks, topic-wise. It can pay off big. I mean, wow, whoda thunk a book on the development of sulfa drugs would be so compelling (Thomas Hager’s “The Demon Under the Microscope: From Battlefield Hospitals to Nazi Labs, One Doctor’s Heroic Search for the World’s First Miracle Drug”)?

I’m wary of online book reviews. Too many of them appear to be written by true aficionados of the topic at hand. That’s okay (and desirable) if it’s in an area in which I am quite knowledgeable, but if I’m looking for info meant to get me started on a topic in which I have little familiarity, that’s not okay.

So, have I gotten less patient or more practical? Is this a function of age (46)? Whenever I find myself halfway through something, and it finally dawns on me that it’s not going to get better, I find myself asking, “if I bail, I can get to my on-deck book faster…but should I?” What if the problem gets worse, with me giving up on a book after not giving it a real shot, like with Eco?

What do you people do?

2

I think I’m more likely to give up on a book than I used to be, but some of that is due to a delibrate effort on my part to read a broader range of materials. Although, I read mostly fiction, so my experiences may not be yours.

So sometimes I start something which proves unpalatable, and after a couple of chapters or a few weeks, take it back to the library mostly unread. Other times I stick with stuff and enjoy it. Or stick with stuff I’m not particularily enjoying because it’s good for me, or something.

Example: I recently read Bleeding Kansas by Sara Paretsky, author of the V. I. Warshawski books. I like V.I. Warshawski. Bleeding Kansas is not about her, unlike my assumption when I picked up the book*. My second assumption, that the book was a historical novel also proved untrue. As did the assumption that it was a mystery. And frankly, I didn’t much like the book, parts of it rang true in an uncomfortable way. I read for pleasure and escapism, and this book wasn’t doing it for me.

I also read a Dan Brown book not that long ago–Angels and Demons I believe. In some ways that was a lighter book, but in other ways . . . too much of the book is rather frantically paced for my taste. But it was kind of a mystery, and I did want to know how it ended, so I stuck with it.

And I eventually finished the Illiad by Homer, despite finding it boring and repetitive. And I’m glad that I did finish it, one of my favorite “chapters” was the next to last.

But I’ve also stopped reading several books which will remain nameless and forgotten because they didn’t engage me.

*Why, yes, I am one of those people who will often grab a new book by a favorite author and decide to take it home with me without reading any blurbs about it. Doesn’t mean I won’t read the jacket before I read the book, just that knowing that something is by a favorite author is sometimes enough to make me check something out. And sometimes, a good title will grab me for an author I’ve not read. Most of my reading material comes from the library.

3

I used to be one who would push on till the bitter end, but I finally realized that it wasn’t making me any smarter or helping me retain the material. No one ever gave me a medal or a cookie for suffering through a book that I wasn’t connecting with.

4

I don’t worry about it. I’ve always been willing to dump a book if it wasn’t holding my interest, but I’ve been more quick to do so recently. I’ll never run out of books to read in my lifetime, so I don’t care if a particular book doesn’t appeal to me. I just read what I like and ditch the rest.

(I liked *In The Name of the Rose *enough to read it twice, which is odd when you consider my preferred reading material runs more toward light-hearted pulpy stuff.)

5

When I was younger I never gave up on a book but in the last few years I’ve probably dumped 10% or more. I’m way less patient in my dotage.

Plus, although my posts in the monthly book threads might not indicate this, I’m getting pickier. I’ve read enough “good stuff” by now that I can recognize crap.

I believe a “good” book is “good” from the beginning. Some books that start “bad” might get “better”, but I’m not going to stick around to find out. Conversely, some books that are “good” might fail in some way, usually with an unsatisfactory ending, but the reading experience makes up for that.

Apologies for the quotation marks, but good, bad, and better are subjective.

6

In my late teens, early 20’s, I had such big plans. I was going to have a library with at least 10 000 volumes, having read them all, by the end of my life*, and I scoured book stores and bought a lot of books. Not nice books to display but 2nd hand paperbacks, things on sale, among which was a sorta box with stuff by Graham Greene** (ten hardcovers for 20 bucks), and generally anything that caught my eye. I had an idea that I would read every Nobel winner*** and I have a fancy total of one year literary studies at college level****.

Nowadays I read to be entertained or educated or both. I’d rather read Pratchett than Virgil or Chaucerand lately I’ve been looking more into biographies. the dV Code was awful literature, but DB can really spin a plot and make a page turner and it was the literary equivalent of a tube of Pringles. It really is awful, but I can’t stop eating the damn things (especially if I can find salt&vinegar).

In short - I don’t care who wrote it, if it’s the book to read right now, or what anyone thinks of my choices. I read a lot, and life is too short to spend time doing voluntary things that aren’t enjoyable.

*I’m a little bit over tha halfway mark and I’ve got about 1 500 and I’ve read about 80 per cent of them. I guess I’m gonna miss that goal.

**Most of these are unread. I guess a 21 year old wannabe hipster shouldn’t read books about mid life crisis. Maybe I’m cynical and old enough now to enjoy them.

***And most of them are so boring. And dated.

****Obtained over a 22 year span. I wasn’t a lit major.

7

I give up on books all the time, mostly because I have access to some nicely stocked public libraries. I often grab books that look interesting.

I usually get through almost all of the bestseller fiction I pick up, mostly because they tend to be very easy reads. However, I hate Dan Brown and Dan Brown knock-offs, and occasionally I will pick up a Dan Brown style novel without recognizing it for what it is. I did read DaVinci Code because of the hype, I call it “Foucault’s Pendulum for Dummies”.

I also read a lot of contemporary fiction that is a little too dense for the bestseller list. I am more likely to put down a more serious / literary novel if it doesn’t engage me, they usually require more time and concentration than bestsellers. I occasionally take a shot at a Richard Ford novel because the blurbs sound good, then after a 200 page inner monologue that happens while the protagonist isdriving beween exiis 13 and 16 on the Jersey Turnpike…I give up and grab a book where something HAPPENS.

Non-fiction is the worst, so much of it takes an intetesting thesis and beats it to death for 600 pages or so. I confess I have never finished a Jared Diamond work, I usually put it down after about 100 pages, screaming OK, I get it already.

8

I give up way more often now. When I was younger I had less money and more time so I hated to put a book down. Now I make pretty good money and have less time and when I read I want to enjoy myself.

9

I used to refuse to give up on a book. Now any given book I start has probably a 50% chance of getting finished.

Part of it is because I have access to a great public library system now, and I’ll sometimes pick up 10 or 12 books on a whim.

Part of it is because my wife has no problem with giving up on a book, and encourages me to do so if I’m not getting what I want out of it.

10

I tried Guns Germs and Steel too, and didn’t manage more than a few pages.

I’ve had better luck with historical non-fiction – Timothy Egan’s book about the Dust Bowl was excellent reading, and there was a lot of wit and humor along with fascinating political and medical stuff in a book about the Black Death.

So I gear toward non-fiction that focuses on events – especially events that could happen again – and how they affected society rather than non-fiction about slow societal changes that focus on ideas and ways of thinking. Too much philosophizing knocks me out.

11

Opening Guns, Germs, and Steel was better than any sleeping pill I’ve ever taken. I don’t think I made it 30 pages and I had it around for a long time.

12

Hmmm, now I don’t feel so bad. I kind of agree with AuntiePam, I’ve gotten better at recognizing crap (although it didn’t help with “Supercrunchers”). And although I somewhat enjoyed Jared Diamond’s “Collapse”, I agree he needs a serious editor. I’ve heard “Guns, Germs, and Steel” is better in that regard, but I dunno. Maybe I’ll get to it, maybe I won’t. BTW, AuntiePam, if you like historical non-fiction, consider “Dry Manhattan: Prohibition in New York City”, by Michael A. Lerner, or the previously mentioned books on sulfa drugs (way more interesting than it sounds, although Lerner’s book is the better of the two).

I agree with accidentalyuppie and Cisco on the library thing. When you buy a book, it’s easy to tell yourself, “I want my money’s worth, goddammit!” and refuse to bail. With libraries, it’s real, real easy to check out a stack of books and start eying them hungrily when your present read isn’t doing the trick.

Charlie Tan, I’ve gotten more into the biographies the last few years, too. You might want to check out the biography of either Ben Franklin or Albert Einstein, both by Walter Isaacson, or the biography of Huey Long, “Kingfish: The Reign of Huey P. Long”, by Richard White. Franklin’s as interesting as they get, and Isaacson doesn’t disappoint in bringing him to life. Einstein’s a little less compelling, but still good. Huey Long is another matter. He starts out fascinating, but then evolves into a dangerous, power crazed man. Reading about him is both revolting and riveting. Next up for me, biography-wise, is the biography of John Adams (I’m really liking the HBO series based on McCullough’s work).

13

80% of what I read is non-fiction, so I don’t share your complaint as a general rule, but it definitely applies sometimes. Salt: A World History, for instance, which came highly recommended both here on the Dope and elsewhere, should’ve been about a 1,500 word magazine article. It would’ve been really good. I told all my friends that it was exactly as interesting as you would expect a book about salt to be.

14

I’m more likely to give up on fiction than non-fiction, simply because I’ve read enough fiction to recognize formulas and I can read a few chapters sometimes and think, “ok, I get it.” If a story becomes too predictable to me, I lose interest. Fortunately, I’ve become selective enough about my choices now that I usually manage to avoid the really hackneyed, auto-pilot stuff.

I will tend to stay with non-fiction for longer because I don’t usually get tired of downloading factual information, but I’ll quit on non-fiction too if the author becomes too repetitive, too political or is obviously an idiot giving bad information (or, of course, if the subject matter just turns out to be a crushing bore).

I think the key is to be really careful about what I choose in the first place.

15

I know I give up on books more frequently than I did when I was younger. I have less free time and I’m also spending more of that time watching dvds. Thanks to Netflix, I can actually watch interesting movies and programs. Back in the local video store days, I didn’t spend nearly as much time watching movies since the selection was so limited.

16

I own about 1,200 books and I’ve read close to a thousand, and so far, I’ve given up twice. I had to put down David Adams Richards’ Mercy Among the Children, which was just too crammed with horrifying scenes to finish. It now occupies top spot in the genre known as Great Canadian Novel of Unremitting Horror. To my eternal shame, I also couldn’t finish Lenin’s Tomb, by David Remnick. It won a Pulitzer, and it contains a lot of the reporting that helped vault Remnick out of his career as a WaPo reporter and into the limelight as the editor of the New Yorker, but I found it dull beyond belief. I have to take another shot at it. I’m a lightweight, but I can’t be that much of a lightweight.

My tendency hasn’t changed over the years: I soldier on, even through fat tomes that include 100-page sections of pure boredom, such as Middlemarch and Le rouge et le noir. There’s always something good I can suck out of a book, even the most overblown “classic” or the trashiest low-rent thriller, and since I read fairly quickly, the rough patches don’t last long. I’m currently reading Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year, and it’s about the most uneven thing I’ve ever read – there are stretches of fascinating, chilling detail interspersed with long dull ramblings where you’d swear he was paid by the syllable. I take the good with the bad.

17

Well with DeadlyAccurate’s endorsement, I may just give The Name of the Rose another try. It and The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen are the only books of any consequence I’ve ever given up on. Conversely, Guns Germs and Steel kept me engrossed throughout, even the boring Department of Agriculture-like grain production tables. (Honestly! :slight_smile: )

In the main, however, I’ve always slogged through books until the bitter end, assuming that it’s some failing on my part that prevents me from proper appreciation. (The Catcher in the Rye is one such book.)

Now: bah. I don’t suspect my skills in literary analysis are going to get ANY sharper at this point … and if it’s so much work well then, life’s too short. Certainly there is merit in The Sound and the Fury (my SIL claims it rivets her and she’s read it numerous times). I’m sure it is but GEEZ for me, it’s painful!

18

I’m a hell of a lot more likely to give up on things now - as a kid I never would and I read a lot of crap. When I’m going on vacation in a foreign country where they don’t speak English I load up on those books I’ve been meaning to read and really do want to read but haven’t been able to get started on. That’s how I read The Name of the Rose, which is boring for the first hundred pages on purpose.

I always feel very guilty about giving up on books, though. Nancy Peal, who’s the model for the librarian action figure, says there’s an age rule - take 100 and subtract your age and that’s how many pages you ought to give it. So if you’re 99 and you don’t like the first page, toss that crap because you might die tomorrow. :slight_smile:

19

I just want to put in another good word for The name of the Rose. If you stick with it, it really pays off. One of my favorite novels (it helps if you can follow the Latin).

20

^ Yeah that.

At this point I’m lucky to get halfway through books I’m genuinely enjoying because I’ve got too many other things to do. It would probably help if the Dope wasn’t such an intriguing timesuck. :stuck_out_tongue: