Michelle’s post about reading the other week got me thinking. I tend to put books down for all sorts of reasons–sometimes there is nothing wrong with the darn thing at all–I’m just in the mood for something else.
Have you ever felt that way? This week with all of the news about the Iranian election and the test nukes from North Korea, I can’t read what I think of as simple or sweet books. There has to be a complexity of character or plot to capture me right now. Otherwise, I’m drifting into other thoughts.
But other times, when life is overwhelming, it is the simple, the sweet, and the cozy that draws me.
I guess even though I always say that I’ll read anything, I’m a picky reader.
As a rule, I don’t read hobby mysteries, even when I like the hobby. I don’t usually read horror because the images stay in my mind. I’m not the type to read bestsellers just because they’re bestsellers either–a book has to be about something I’m interested in. But I will sometimes read best sellers to see why others are enthralled. I tore apart a couple of Dan Brown’s books just to see what the deal was. I concluded that his style read so quickly because he tended to keep it short. Short chapters, short paragraphs. There was always something going on–always more excitement but it was terseness that kept the tension. Or so I decided.
Lately I’ve put books down for too much terseness. There seems to be a trend where authors skip on description so that I can’t really see what is going on. It made me drop one book. She described a car as a “big ass pimp mobile.” And I couldn’t see the darn car at all–thus making some of the action obscure.
Conversely, another author who went on and on about every leaf in a field (or so it seemed) lost my interest. There can be too much.
As a writer, though this might seem discouraging, I think the opposite is true. Someone not being interested in your book is not a personal rejection. It’s not really a rejection at all. Sometimes, we crave ice cream, sometimes we want roast beef. What do you think?
What Keeps You Reading–Or Makes You Put a Book Down by Christine Duncan
June 22, 2009 · 2 Comments
Categories: Reading · Rejection · Writing · fiction
Tagged: description, disinterest, reading, rejection, Writing
2 responses so far ↓
G // June 22, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Okay, now that I actually read the title of the post, I can comment properly (had a bald moment).
What keeps me reading is that sometimes, I just need a severe mental break from whatever it is I’m writing at the moment (be it a blog post, a short story or a long story). I’ve always been a voracious reader, so basically if it’s got words and a cover, I’ll read it (even woman’s magazines if I’m bored enough).
What stops me is the need to get back to writing. Sometimes, the book/magazine I’m reading is so interesting that I have to force myself to stop right where I am, be it in the middle of a chapter, paragraph or sentence.
Very rarely will I put a book down because I think it bites.
Linda Faulkner // June 24, 2009 at 4:18 am
I seldom purchase a book, or settle down to read one, until I’ve gotten through the first 2-3 paragraphs. I tend to read books only if the writer’s voice grabs me. Yes, sometimes description is too detailed and I skim; but if the description is too brief, my imagination always fills in. Like you, what I read has a lot to do with my mood or frame of mind: mystery versus romance versus mainstream versus self-helpt, etc. Still, for me, it all comes down to the voice of the author.