1drneutron
There are just those times when the book you're reading isn't doing it for you. But some of us have trouble putting it down and moving on.
For those times, Nancy Pearl suggested her Rule of 50:
If you’re fifty years of age or younger, give a book fifty pages before you decide to commit to reading it or give it up. If you’re over fifty, which is when time gets even shorter, subtract your age from 100—the result is the number of pages you should read before making your decision to stay with it or quit. Since that number gets smaller and smaller as we get older and older, our big reward is that when we turn 100, we can judge a book by its cover!
You don't have to agree with the specifics, but don't be afraid to set that book aside and move on to something better.
And then talk about it here!
This is our space to chat about the book failures in our lives. Tell us why you didn't like the book everyone else seems to love. Tell us why you didn't finish the novel that looked so promising at first. Tell us why you couldn't stand the writing. Or the plot. Or the characters.
And get some (metaphorical) tea and sympathy if that's what you need.
Fire away!
For those times, Nancy Pearl suggested her Rule of 50:
If you’re fifty years of age or younger, give a book fifty pages before you decide to commit to reading it or give it up. If you’re over fifty, which is when time gets even shorter, subtract your age from 100—the result is the number of pages you should read before making your decision to stay with it or quit. Since that number gets smaller and smaller as we get older and older, our big reward is that when we turn 100, we can judge a book by its cover!
You don't have to agree with the specifics, but don't be afraid to set that book aside and move on to something better.
And then talk about it here!
This is our space to chat about the book failures in our lives. Tell us why you didn't like the book everyone else seems to love. Tell us why you didn't finish the novel that looked so promising at first. Tell us why you couldn't stand the writing. Or the plot. Or the characters.
And get some (metaphorical) tea and sympathy if that's what you need.
Fire away!
2m.belljackson
If you enjoy shooting rabbits, MAJOR PETTIGREW'S LAST STAND will work.
A definite Pearl, despite the intriguing Major Man/Pakistani Woman romance...
A definite Pearl, despite the intriguing Major Man/Pakistani Woman romance...
3m.belljackson
the Family Fang was awful, silly, and stupid, complete with jellyfish animal cruelty.
4DebiCates
I love this idea! Never heard of it before. I typically don't have a big problem with DNFing, especially as I've gotten older, but I can see the benefits of having an age-related number of pages as a goal as the clock is clicking pretty loud for me.
I recently saw a Youtuber go on "speed dates" with a stack of books, in order to determine which, if any of the books, she would want to read in the next month. I think she gave each book a 15 minute read, had a personal list of features she judged and then tallied it up. That was a lot of fun to watch--she did edit out the reading time--and there were some surprises.
Not every book is for every person. Not every book is for a particular person at a given time in their life.
John WilliamsStoner in an interview said:
"To read without joy is stupid."
Joy may mean any number of things to you, even reading a difficult book can bring you joy. I do like that DNF philosophy as well.
I recently saw a Youtuber go on "speed dates" with a stack of books, in order to determine which, if any of the books, she would want to read in the next month. I think she gave each book a 15 minute read, had a personal list of features she judged and then tallied it up. That was a lot of fun to watch--she did edit out the reading time--and there were some surprises.
Not every book is for every person. Not every book is for a particular person at a given time in their life.
John WilliamsStoner in an interview said:
"To read without joy is stupid."
Joy may mean any number of things to you, even reading a difficult book can bring you joy. I do like that DNF philosophy as well.
