Monday, June 10, 2013

Musing Monday...Do Nice Guys Finish...Last?


 

How time flies..There is never enough...Check out the other muses at...
 Should Be Reading...



Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!

• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!


“Sir—” remarked Samuel Johnson with droll incredulity to someone too eager to know whether he had finished a certain book—“Sir, do you read books through?” 
How do you feel about finishing a book.
Must you? Do you feel compelled to soldier on, even if you are not enjoying it?

Yes, I have another Wall Street Journal article to quote...hey, you have to love a newspaper that still actually writes about books and reading every week!
"In the age of the e-reader, dropping a book has never been easier: It doesn't even require getting up to grab another off the shelf. But choosing to terminate a relationship with a book prematurely remains strangely agonizing, a decision fraught with guilt.

"It goes against how we're built," says Matthew Wilhelm, a clinical psychologist with Kaiser Permanente in Union City, Calif. "There is a tendency for us to perceive objects as 'finished' or 'whole' even though they may not be. This motivation is very powerful and helps to explain anxiety around unfinished activities."
Oh gosh, "choosing to terminate a relationship with a book.." That makes me feel even worse!

I must admit that in the past, that is how I felt. I would read and read...maybe skim a tiny bit..until the last page, relieved that then I could go on to another book I might really enjoy. To do less was to fail.

But as with many reading related matters, blogging has changed me. So many books to read...and I don't just mean the ones in my greedy TBR pile that we talked about last week.
No, I mean I am also more aware of all the great books coming out every month, so many of which I would like to read. I read the reviews of my fellow bloggers and other publications, I get the e-mails from publishers going on about the latest releases, all the suggestions from Library Thing and Amazon and Barnes and Noble every time I look at a book online.

So many books, so little time!

Really, who has time to waste on a book you are not loving?

But what if it is a review book? Do you then have an obligation? Or an even greater obligation. A promise, a duty? Well, to my mind, sort of. I will give it a try. A really good try. I think that is my obligation for asking for the book or taking it. But if I hate it, do you , Mr./Ms. Publisher or Author, really want me to force myself to finish it and then say why I felt like that?
Not to say I don't give negative reviews. I do. So imagine how bad the others reviews might be!
And there just is not ENOUGH TIME!




25 comments:

  1. Even with the advent of eBooks and with so many websites offering free book downloads, I still buy the physical book even if I already have the eBook copy. For me, I feel there is some sense of fulfillment seeing the books in the shelf, and that I know for sure I can pass on the books to future generations.

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    1. I once agreed...until the floor of my wee house started to buckle under the weight. ok, I am kidding, but like there is only so much time there is only so much space.

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  2. I am just terrible about this. I torture myself. Off the top of my head, I can only think of two audio books I ever stopped mid-stream, and maybe a handful of books. EVER. I don't know why I do it to myself.

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    1. I think we might need a 13 step program for you..and I suspect a few others. Free yourself!!

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  3. I must confess that as far as I remember I only left two books unfinished and I felt really bad about it. I’ve read others until the last page even when I was not enjoying it that much – I feel that it will get more interesting at some point and I carry on until I’ve finished it. Sometimes it’s a waste of time. It must be really freeing to let go of that sense of obligation and read only what we enjoy.

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    1. well, that is the point of reading, isn't it? ENJOYMENT...

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  4. Last week I also had a "so many books so little time" dilemma... I always finish a book whether it's good or bad, even if it's not a review book. I hate the thought of an unfinished book because I think it would go to "waste", though it would take me more time to finish a book i don't want because of the lack of motivation.

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    1. sorry i forgot to include my musing mondays post:
      http://wp.me/p3v5T1-4J

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    2. which to 'waste', the book or your precious time?

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  5. I started refusing review books, because some were so boring and I read them anyway and gave my review, which I'm sure the authors didn't like. Then there were two so boring I never finished reading them, however, I wrote my reviews, and quit accepting books from authors and publishers. There I've confessed my shortcomings... I buy my own books so feel no guilt when I don't finish reading them, it's my money and my choice.

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    Replies
    1. Gee, if I was buying them I might feel even worse..being I am so cheap and all...lol

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  6. this is so timely .. this weekend i started and then stopped/archived three eBooks .. Neil Gaiman's America Gods, Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruins and The Last Pollceman by Ben H. Winters (which it turns out is book 1 in a series) ... Gaiman was so over the top i lost interest, Walters bored me from the get-go and its hard to think of The Last Policeman as part of a series since its about the world ending .. didnt finish it, it was too predictable tho now i am wondering if i shouldnt give it another shot

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    1. Golly...I loved Beautiful Ruins and The Last Policeman! What can I say...
      The second Policeman book is not yet out I believe..as I have been actively perusing a copy. Granted the world ending and all, the future of the series is and should be limited.


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  7. I must say I rarely stop reading a book once I have started it. There have been a few however that I just could not finish. I feel bad when that happens.

    Here is my MM http://cynthia2729.wordpress.com/2013/06/10/musing-mondays-june-10/

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  8. I have fewer qualms about not finishing a book I've purchased...if it's a stinker, that's my bad.

    But review books...well, I'll soldier along for awhile, but if it's too excruciating...well, I had one like that; I simply could not finish it. So I sent an e-mail to the author and explained that I was not connecting with the story or characters, and apologized. (In a way, it was his fault, because I declined when he first requested that I read and review the book, but he kept pursuing me and pressuring me, so I finally accepted the book. I won't do that again!

    Here's MY MUSING MONDAY POST


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    1. With a publisher I don't feel so bad, but if I have communicated with the author, then it is hard, very hard. So why, oh why do I ever take a book from an author...

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  9. I used to feel obligated to finish any book I started but not any more. Too many books not enough time.

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  10. I'm still not good at ditching books I'm not enjoying and I don't know why. When I accept a book, I always say I'd like to have it for "review consideration," so I don't commit to it ahead of time.

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  11. I'm a little bit stubborn about finishing books, even if I don't like them, and I think my blog has actually made me worse. Once I start a book, I want to review it and I mostly don't feel I can do that unless I finish the book. However, I recently had my first DNF on my blog because I felt I read enough to write an informal review saying it was well written book but not my cup of tea :)

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  12. I've learned to let go of the bad books. You're right--there are so many books, so little time!

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  13. Since blogging / reviewing I no longer have a must finish approach. It's getting easier to put a book aside if its not for me. Here's what I'm reading now https://daystarz.wordpress.com/2013/06/11/musing-mondays-what-im-reading/

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  14. Since blogging / reviewing I no longer have a must finish approach. It's getting easier to put a book aside if its not for me. Here's what I'm reading now https://daystarz.wordpress.com/2013/06/11/musing-mondays-what-im-reading/

    ReplyDelete

please speak up, I LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!!