I've been starting a lot of books lately, and then discarding them just as quickly. Do you ever have weeks like that? Each book sounds good when I pick it up, but after a few pages...well, let's just say they're not holding my interest. Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm just not in the mood for those particular books. But then again, maybe it's the fault of the books: bad writing, too-predictable plot, cardboard characters, etc. That can happen. It's just unusual for it to happen with so many books in a row. However I ended up in this bookish blackhole, I'm left with a growing stack of discards and without a good book to review or recommend.
It all started with The Map of Lost Memories by Kim Fay. I loved the exotic setting, but 100 pages in, when I still didn't love any of the characters, I stopped reading and moved on.
Then there was Kjerstin Gruys' non-fiction memoir, Mirror, Mirror Off the Wall, where she goes for an entire year without looking in a mirror. I was hoping for a funnier book when I picked it up--but it never once made me laugh. (Or at least the first three chapters didn't; I quit after that.)
I also tried reading In the After, a post-apocalyptic YA novel by Demetria Lunetta, mostly because I can never resist picking up post-apocalyptic/survival novels. And this one started off okay. But then I made the mistake of flipping to the end...and when I saw where it was headed I decided I just didn't want to go there.
So, that's my sad tale of woe. Three books that should have been good (and maybe are), but that I couldn't get through. Luckily for me, I still have a few library books left to try. Wish me luck. (And a good book!)
I have a couple of books that I started ages ago and then got distracted. I still haven't picked them back up. I guess that means they weren't all that compelling after all?
ReplyDeleteDoesn't sound like they're worth reading. Send them back and try something new!
DeleteI sympathise with you so much here. I used to be one of those people who had to finish every book I started, but then I realised life is actually wayy too short to trawl my way through endless pages of Robinson Crusoe :L I wish you luck with the next books you try, hopefully there'll be an amazing one in there somewhere ! :)
ReplyDeleteThere's always a good book out there somewhere. I'm headed to the library soon...hopefully I'll come home with a whole bag full of lovely reads. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
DeleteI just hit a "three strikes you're out" phase myself. I have decided to totally blame the books! I find it so hard when my discard pile keeps growing to keep trying for a good book. Surely there will be another one on the horizon. Too bad it can be like finding a needle in the haystack. I hope your next book is a good one!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I hope so, too.
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