I usually stay with a book, even though I’m sort of just plodding through it. I persevere and get to the end before putting it aside with some relief. If you get, say, half way through a book I reckon you’ve invested enough of your time already and owe it to yourself and the author to go the distance.
I mean, you wouldn’t go to a football match and, just because it hasn’t lived up to expectation, walk out at half-time, would you? You’d give it a chance to improve.
But more recently I’m changing. For a start I’m no longer acquiring my books in the same manner. For many years now I’ve generally bought at charity shops where you can have a good nose around, pick up the book, read the blurb, make a reasonably certain decision that it’s up your street before parting with your £1. (I generally throw a bit more in actually, in a charity shop, as I suspect others do). The other way I’d acquire a book is by personal recommendation, from someone I trust. Then I’ll dive into Amazon and call it up, confident that it’ll be OK.
But now it’s bit different. I’ve acquired a Kindle, so there’s no more picking up the physical book to check it out. Of course if you stick to the better-known authors you’ll generally know what you’re getting. And if there’s a predominance of 5-star reviews then, assuming the genre is right for you, you can shop pretty confidently.
The other thing though is that I’ve been nosing around the blogosphere much more in the last year or so. With my new wannabe author hat on I’ve taken much more interest in the 99% of the writing industry that swims around under the surface, below the headline acts. There are big numbers of writers out there, as well as many commentators and bloggers. Many (though not all) of the writers are desperate to be read and they will do most anything to sell you their book.
As a result I’ve been taking a chance on some new writers. Actually it’s hardly taking a chance as Kindle downloads are ridiculously cheap, and often free. And I’ve had the pleasure of discovering one or two very good writers that really ought to be more mainstream and successful. Their writing is a cut above many of the household names that churn out predictable work to an established and loyal reader base.
But I threw two books in the corner last night, one after the other. (Metaphorically speaking of course, those Kindles aren’t cheap). One started off nicely enough, but suddenly, one after the other, three of the characters developed super powers! The end (for me) came as a bloke careered through a town on a motor bike avoiding certain death by all manner of stunts and somersaults which might have looked good on the big screen but really… But it was free and I give credit to the author for writing and completing any story but what a waste of time. (Others might like it, maybe I’m just not the author’s target market by, like, 40 years).
The next was a short story about a couple, one of whom was a transexual. I’m puzzled as to how it’s there in the first place and I lasted about two pages.
It’s no wonder that one sometimes falls gratefully into the arms of John Grisham, Nick Hornby, Patricia Cornwell, Stephen King or Ian McEwan.
Britt Skrabanek said:
Wow, Roy! Super powers and a surprise transexual. Ah, the joys of branching out. LOL!
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Roy McCarthy said:
Britt you’ll be relieved to hear that I settled down after that to relax and smile at life in a downtown Dallas fashion emporium. Looking forward to picking it up again tonight and see where it’s going 🙂
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Britt Skrabanek said:
I am relieved! I saw the “Crap Books” title in my Twitter feed, as I have you on my very special blogger list, and I thought…Oh, crap! LOL! Phew.
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A.M.B. said:
Very amusing post. I can relate, except that I found myself dissatisfied with many of the traditional books I had purchased the old way, too. It was one of the reasons I started reading indie and small publisher books.
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Roy McCarthy said:
Thanks AMB. I do suspect though that the standard is dropping since it became easier & cheaper to self-publish. I could never be an honest reviewer though, as you are. Every work is someone’s best shot and has taken time and effort. What gives me the right to bring it down? I might be totally wrong, it might be a classic. We do need honest reviewers though and writers (I’m firmly included) need to be open to comment.
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Books, Libs, Scripts said:
The book that had me hurling it into the corner with all the verve, vehemence, and disgust I could muster was Joshua Graham’s “Beyond Justice”. It was billed as a thriller, but half way through the book, God appeared and with his angels smote down the protagonist’s skin head jail mates! What?!! One can write imaginatively about God, and one can write thrillers, but one cannot combine the two and call it a thriller. I felt so duped having bought the book.
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Roy McCarthy said:
Love it, a real wtf moment 🙂 Had God been lurking around early on then that might have been OK, but to introduce him/her half way through is a bit nuts. But hey, he has some excellent reviews.
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diannegray said:
Hahahaha – I just read about God smiting down the skin-heads and now I can’t stop laughing.
I’ve read a few shockers recently (but not THAT bad) 😀
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