Discussion // Hit a Brick Wall

I’ve literally hit a brick wall with the new book I downloaded to read.

There are some stories that I can literally pick-up and read within one day (Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin)… maybe less than a day (Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn). Then there are those stories that I pick-up, put down, and repeat (too many to list). It’s a fierce cycle that I have yet to conquer… the cycle of “omgIdon’twanttoreadthisbook,” but I continue because I’ve either dished out the money thinking it would be an awesome read; promised to read to share my thoughts, or I was sent a copy and have to read to post a review. Sometimes I wonder, is it worth the torture?

Well, yes and no.

Yes… because it’s good to get differing opinions of a book, topic, or author. You know that saying, “If everyone in the world…,” fill in the rest as you see fit. For me, I don’t care how awesome I believe a book is, ahem… Gone Girl, there are going to be flaws that someone else will spot and share in a review. I might not agree with a bad review of a book that I loved, but I respect the reviewer’s opinions enough to learn about their views. And, you never know, I might find another way to appreciate the book.

No… because let’s face it, anyone that reads or reviews a book that they are trudging through, has some emotional torture happening, IMHO. It can be downright difficult to continue on with a book that:

1. You can’t find that hook to capture you.
2. It seems to drag on about really absolutely nothing.
3. You are bored to death, as a reader and reviewer.

Are there any more to add to the list?

I’ve recently found my self in this cycle, bored with absolutely no meat to the story I’m reading. I don’t want to stop reading yet because I know there has to be more to the story. It hasn’t happened, yet, but for some reason, I keep going. Although I find the story to be boring (or non-existent), the characters each have a really good mystery behind them, and it is for that reason I continue. How can it be that there is no story as a whole, but each character does have a story to be told?

Was that the author’s intention?

So what keeps you reading after you’ve grown bored with a story? Let’s discuss and see what comes of it!