Monday, July 27, 2009

Finishing Books

I'm totally with the guy Sullivan quotes who says life is too short to finish books you don't like (or even books you do and feel like you "get"). I still resent the time I spent finishing The Emperor's Children (a terrible book). And yet, I am not at all with Sullivan who comments with the thought that sunk costs have a lot to do with the drive to finish a book. Hogwash. A relationship to a book - or my relationship to a book - is much more irrational and nuanced than my need to get my money's worth from the experience of reading a book. In fact, I've never once finished a book, even a book I've loved to itty bitty bits, and thought, "I really got my money out of this one!" Instead, I usually think: "I've got to buy this book for all my friends!"

1 comment:

Sue Dickman said...

Two things:

I too hated The Emperor's Children and was continually horrified by the glowing reviews. I should have known, however, because the friend who sent me the ARC said he wanted back the time he spent reading it.

On the other hand, I thought the Julia Child memoir was delightful. Really, it's worth it just for the photos of the Valentine's Day cards that the Childs sent out, including one of them in the tub.

And it was thoughtful of you to announce you're not going to blog for a month. I've managed to not blog for all of July, but it wasn't planned, and so every day I don't write something I feel guilt ridden. Your way is better.

Happy August!