The agony and the ecstasy .. - Page 2

Hadrien · 01-28-2008, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patricia

You haven't read Proust then. He has the longest paragraphs ever.

It's not paragraphs. He's got the longest sentences ever.

junkml · 01-28-2008, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lmarie

When I was a teenager I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy all the way to the middle of the third volume, got bored, and quit. Nobody could believe I never finished it. Then, when the movies were due to come out, I decided to try again. I stuck with all the "over hills and over dales" and found I liked it -- but that was 30-some years later!

When I was in the Peace Corps in Brazil, on a small boat on the Amazon river, I was so depressed by a Joyce Carol Oates book I had started that I threw it overboard. I've been happy to think of it over the years, long since disintegrated or eaten.

"There's no accounting for taste."

I'm glad I'm not the only one! Although, I still have not read the entire trilogy. All I remember is it being like: Chapter 10 - walking through the forest, chapter 11 - walking through the forest chapters 12-30, walking through the forest!

I got bored with descriptions of every tree and every leaf on every tree. I tried to read the trilogy TWICE, and failed.

Maybe someday the third time will be the charm.

montsnmags · 01-29-2008, 12:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcramer

It's very rare that I drop a book. The closest I have got in the last few years is The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It is the most depressing book I have read ever! Anything after the first 50 pages was a struggle and I still can't really figure out why I fininshed it (sheer bloody mindedness I guess

)

That's funny, as that's the last book I read. It is depressing, though for me that's not a discouragement usually. If you want depressing (but "essential reading"), try Primo Levi's 'If This Is A Man' (for some reason renamed 'Survival in Auschwitz' in the US I believe). It is a mighty brilliant darkness he presents, and it'll stay with you.

However, a book I have put down three times is 'The Satanic Verses' (Salman Rushdie). I really don't know why, as his skill as a writer is perfectly obvious and quite enjoyable. Yet, I end up putting it down. It still sits there, and I'll retake the challenge again one day. I might try 'Grimus' beforehand, as I'm informed by someone who I respect a lot for their opinions and who knows my specific "tastes" that I would most probably like it enormously.

A book that I slogged through was 'The Sea, The Sea' (Iris Murdoch). It was just a character assassination of a whole of seemingly completely unlikeable characters by a character you wish was assassinated early, before he got to writing about his life. That, amongst other things, may be the point, but it was hard to find interest in people that were boringly neurotic and yet wretchedly vacuous. I wish "the sea, the sea" would have risen higher and washed them all away. I did finish it though. It has tarnished any desire to read more of Murdoch's novels, however.

Cheers,
Marc

astra · 01-29-2008, 05:00 AM

I am very picky about what I read, so if I start to read a book then I go till the end. Sometimes I choose a wrong book

From the last year: Earthsea series by Ursula Le Guine, Black Man by Richard Morgan, American Gods by Neil Gaiman...they are the worst books I have read in 2007. These books were prised so much on fantasy forums that I absolutely had to read them to form my own opinion.

All that said, I do not read classics at all, since I have discovered fantasy gengre at age 21. I have had more than enough of Russian classics in school and I hate all of them, no exceptions. I liked some "foreign" classics when I was studying at University, such as Theodore Dreiser and Victor Hugo but since then - nothing. Much too boring for me. Too realistic. I have enough of real life around me, so when I read I like to be elsewhere...

I gave up on a couple of books/series before. I never feel guilty about it. I do feel frustrated because I wasted my time and money on it (but time is more important because I am a slow reader).

bookbinder · 01-29-2008, 09:21 AM

Some people liken a book to a meal... Take a few bites and if it doesn't agree with you, find something else. There are simply too many good books out there to waste time reading something that doesn't help you. That said however, it has happened a couple of times... The first hundred or so pages didn't impress me as something I'd like to continue with, but I did, mainly because of the person who'd recommended them to me. And I was very glad I had finished, because then I went on to read more of the same author (MacDonald and Kierkegaard come to mind). I remember one of Kierkegaard's books, though, a 600-page tome called "Philosophical Postscript" I didn't understand him after page 2, then again after page 10. But I thought maybe it would click, that the pieces would just come together into a big "A-ha" moment, working retroactively so that eventually I'd understand all he was writing about. Well, 300 pages in and I still didn't understand a bit of it, but I kept going, kept thinking the key might be coming soon. In a word, I finished that book; I hacked my way through it without understanding much of anything. I wouldn't have done that with an author who hadn't already impressed me.

vivaldirules · 01-29-2008, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by junkml

I'm glad I'm not the only one! Although, I still have not read the entire trilogy. All I remember is it being like: Chapter 10 - walking through the forest, chapter 11 - walking through the forest chapters 12-30, walking through the forest!

I got bored with descriptions of every tree and every leaf on every tree. I tried to read the trilogy TWICE, and failed.

Maybe someday the third time will be the charm.

Me, too. I bogged down in the Fellowship and had to restart twice over a decade before finally finishing the trilogy. The thing I most remember about my first attempt was turning the page and there would be yet another elvish ditty. I thought it curiuos that these were all omitted from the movies.

Gideon · 01-29-2008, 09:52 AM

I did the same thing.. tried to read it in jr high/high school... could never get past the birthday scene.

Then an ex girlfriend of mine talked me into giving it another try and I enjoyed it a great deal, but... I don't quite place it as high as many do. I think a "Song of Ice and Fire" by Martin or Stephen Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant are both better series, both as far as enjoyment and literary quality.

JSWolf · 01-29-2008, 09:58 AM

What d you do if a book that catches your fancy at the start ends up dragging in the middle? Me, I stick it out. I remember a book like this very well. I read Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard on the recommendation of a friend. I got about 1/2 way through it and it really started to bog down. And then like 3/4 into it, it could have ended at a numbe rof places. It's like he ended it and then decided to tack more on to it in a number of places. Overall a dreadful book that started off with some promise.

KDawg · 01-29-2008, 09:59 AM

James Joyce's Ulysses (sp?). Couldn't get through more than about 50 pages the first time. Some day...

vivaldirules · 01-29-2008, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What d you do if a book that catches your fancy at the start ends up dragging in the middle? Me, I stick it out. I remember a book like this very well. I read Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard on the recommendation of a friend. I got about 1/2 way through it and it really started to bog down. And then like 3/4 into it, it could have ended at a numbe rof places. It's like he ended it and then decided to tack more on to it in a number of places. Overall a dreadful book that started off with some promise.

T. H. White's The Once and Future King was like that for me. It started great and I was terribly impressed with the writing but half way through it became tortuous for me and it was years before I fought my way through it.

Then there are the books that have me from the very first page and never let up. Hesse's Demian grabbed me by my internal organs on the first page and I have never let up reading his books since - despite the pretty poor translations from German that I've had.

Gideon · 01-29-2008, 10:21 AM

Hesse is a favorite of mine, too...

If you've not, try to find some of his poetry - it's also amazing.

kezza · 01-29-2008, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KDawg

James Joyce's Ulysses (sp?). Couldn't get through more than about 50 pages the first time. Some day...

It took my boyfriend months to slog through that. I think he was reading only a few pages at a time. He said it was worth it by the end, though.
He has a much higher tolerance for wading through slow or difficult reads than I do.

astra · 01-29-2008, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gideon

I think Stephen Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant are both better series, both as far as enjoyment and literary quality.

The line from my previous post

Quote:

I gave up on a couple of books/series before. I never feel guilty about it. I do feel frustrated because I wasted my time and money on it (but time is more important because I am a slow reader).

was about this series

P.S. Also it was probably the only series that I never finished and the first book one of the very few books I could not finish as well.

rhadin · 01-29-2008, 11:41 AM

I usually drop a book after the first 30-50 pages if it doesn't hold my interest. However, sometimes I do slog through and find that about one-third of the way through it has improved significantly. I recently read -- to completion -- a book that I can't figure out why I read it to the end except that I was reading it while on my treadmill so it read in one ear and out the other. (I also suspect that I read it to the end because it was the first e-book I had bought and so stubborness took over from common sense.) Anyway, the book was Savage Survival by Darrell Bain. I found the "jacket" description excellent and so purchased the book. Although the storyline had great potential, the characters were more wooden and uninteresting than watching a tree grow for 3 hours. I'm now reading Crown of Slaves by Rick Cook, one of the Baen free downloads, and it is well-written. I plan to buy other Rick Cook books now that I have sampled his writing.

Penforhire · 01-29-2008, 12:14 PM

Astra, your note about Gaiman's American Gods is interesting. To me it was one of the best books I read in recent years, better than Gene Wolfe's Knight/Wizard duo.

It might be Gaiman's colloquial turns of phrase. They tickled me but perhaps they annoy others. I was delighted by the subtle portrayal of once-powerful gods living in modern America and how he handles an essentially passive protagonist. That took skill and restraint. I enjoyed it so much I'm right in the middle of his Anansi Boys, an additional book set in the same universe. Hmm, and a similar protagonist. Um... you probably won't like it either. Similar style.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Other Non-Fiction Starrett, Vincent: Arthur Machen: A Novelist of Ecstasy and Sin, v1, 16 Feb 2009.	Patricia	IMP Books (offline)	0	02-15-2009 09:32 PM
Other Non-Fiction Starrett, Vincent: Arthur Machen: A Novelist of Ecstasy and Sin, v1, 16 Feb 2009.	Patricia	BBeB/LRF Books (offline)	0	02-15-2009 09:30 PM
Mystery and Crime Biggers, Earl Derr: The Agony Column. v3, 12 Oct 2008	Madam Broshkina	BBeB/LRF Books	11	10-27-2008 06:16 PM
The Agony	bigscotty	Sony Reader	19	06-22-2008 04:41 AM
The Agony Column Book Reviews and Commentary	doctorow	Reading Recommendations	0	06-30-2004 04:13 AM

01-29-2008, 05:00 AM	#19
astra The Introvert Posts: 8,307 Karma: 1000077497 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: United Kingdom Device: Sony Reader PRS-650 & 505 & 500	I am very picky about what I read, so if I start to read a book then I go till the end. Sometimes I choose a wrong book From the last year: Earthsea series by Ursula Le Guine, Black Man by Richard Morgan, American Gods by Neil Gaiman...they are the worst books I have read in 2007. These books were prised so much on fantasy forums that I absolutely had to read them to form my own opinion. All that said, I do not read classics at all, since I have discovered fantasy gengre at age 21. I have had more than enough of Russian classics in school and I hate all of them, no exceptions. I liked some "foreign" classics when I was studying at University, such as Theodore Dreiser and Victor Hugo but since then - nothing. Much too boring for me. Too realistic. I have enough of real life around me, so when I read I like to be elsewhere... I gave up on a couple of books/series before. I never feel guilty about it. I do feel frustrated because I wasted my time and money on it (but time is more important because I am a slow reader).

01-29-2008, 09:21 AM	#20
bookbinder Connoisseur Posts: 67 Karma: 813 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Massachusetts, USA Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2, FW:5.6.1	Some people liken a book to a meal... Take a few bites and if it doesn't agree with you, find something else. There are simply too many good books out there to waste time reading something that doesn't help you. That said however, it has happened a couple of times... The first hundred or so pages didn't impress me as something I'd like to continue with, but I did, mainly because of the person who'd recommended them to me. And I was very glad I had finished, because then I went on to read more of the same author (MacDonald and Kierkegaard come to mind). I remember one of Kierkegaard's books, though, a 600-page tome called "Philosophical Postscript" I didn't understand him after page 2, then again after page 10. But I thought maybe it would click, that the pieces would just come together into a big "A-ha" moment, working retroactively so that eventually I'd understand all he was writing about. Well, 300 pages in and I still didn't understand a bit of it, but I kept going, kept thinking the key might be coming soon. In a word, I finished that book; I hacked my way through it without understanding much of anything. I wouldn't have done that with an author who hadn't already impressed me.

01-29-2008, 09:52 AM	#22
Gideon Wearer of Pants Posts: 1,050 Karma: 7634 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Norman, OK Device: Amazon Kindle DX / iPhone	I did the same thing.. tried to read it in jr high/high school... could never get past the birthday scene. Then an ex girlfriend of mine talked me into giving it another try and I enjoyed it a great deal, but... I don't quite place it as high as many do. I think a "Song of Ice and Fire" by Martin or Stephen Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant are both better series, both as far as enjoyment and literary quality.

01-29-2008, 09:58 AM	#23
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,758 Karma: 145864619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	What d you do if a book that catches your fancy at the start ends up dragging in the middle? Me, I stick it out. I remember a book like this very well. I read Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard on the recommendation of a friend. I got about 1/2 way through it and it really started to bog down. And then like 3/4 into it, it could have ended at a numbe rof places. It's like he ended it and then decided to tack more on to it in a number of places. Overall a dreadful book that started off with some promise.

01-29-2008, 09:59 AM	#24
KDawg Junior Senior Posts: 94 Karma: 81 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: nookColor, nook, PRS-900, PRS-505, PRS-500, Kindle PW, Kindle Oasis	James Joyce's Ulysses (sp?). Couldn't get through more than about 50 pages the first time. Some day...

01-29-2008, 10:21 AM	#26
Gideon Wearer of Pants Posts: 1,050 Karma: 7634 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Norman, OK Device: Amazon Kindle DX / iPhone	Hesse is a favorite of mine, too... If you've not, try to find some of his poetry - it's also amazing.

01-29-2008, 11:41 AM	#29
rhadin Literacy = Understanding Posts: 4,833 Karma: 59674358 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: The World of Books Device: Nook, Nook Tablet	I usually drop a book after the first 30-50 pages if it doesn't hold my interest. However, sometimes I do slog through and find that about one-third of the way through it has improved significantly. I recently read -- to completion -- a book that I can't figure out why I read it to the end except that I was reading it while on my treadmill so it read in one ear and out the other. (I also suspect that I read it to the end because it was the first e-book I had bought and so stubborness took over from common sense.) Anyway, the book was Savage Survival by Darrell Bain. I found the "jacket" description excellent and so purchased the book. Although the storyline had great potential, the characters were more wooden and uninteresting than watching a tree grow for 3 hours. I'm now reading Crown of Slaves by Rick Cook, one of the Baen free downloads, and it is well-written. I plan to buy other Rick Cook books now that I have sampled his writing.

01-29-2008, 12:14 PM	#30
Penforhire Wizard Posts: 2,230 Karma: 7145404 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern California Device: Kindle Voyage & iPhone 7+	Astra, your note about Gaiman's American Gods is interesting. To me it was one of the best books I read in recent years, better than Gene Wolfe's Knight/Wizard duo. It might be Gaiman's colloquial turns of phrase. They tickled me but perhaps they annoy others. I was delighted by the subtle portrayal of once-powerful gods living in modern America and how he handles an essentially passive protagonist. That took skill and restraint. I enjoyed it so much I'm right in the middle of his Anansi Boys, an additional book set in the same universe. Hmm, and a similar protagonist. Um... you probably won't like it either. Similar style.