Books for the Young and the Restless

Or maybe just one of the two.

Anyway, lately, I've had a hard time settling down with a book. I'll read a bit in, and then decide it bores me and move on. I've rejected a surprising amount of books. I'm not sure what's up. This has happened before, but is usually quickly curable. Granted, most of the books I've tried are classics. But, again, I usually don't have this much of a problem.

Does this happen to anyone else?
If so, what do you do about it?

This happens to me sometimes, but I usually try to finish anyway. Besides the fact that I hate leaving a book unfinished, occasionally the book picks up. Remember Phantom of the Opera? That book had a slow start, but I'm glad I continued with it, because it got much better.

Try to push yourself to read more of the book, especially if it seems to be a book everyone likes. You might find it improves later.

That was my first idea, actually. But it's like there's a wall there, or something. The words don't mean anything.

I thought about it last night, and I thought that maybe I should read a book I've already read. That might help. I think I'll do Gone with the Wind. I wanted to reread it this summer anyway; I'll just get a head start.

I usually give a book 100 pages before I decide to either read it through or put it down. As far as the classics go, I think that most of them do start slow but that was the predominant style of writing back then. I remember trying to slog through "Ivanhoe" back in middle school. The beginning was page after page of descriptive scenery. I hadn't thought it was possible for an oak tree to merit two pages of description, but there it was. Because of that I gave up on it, only to be told by a friend that once you got through all that the story was actually quite good. Perhaps someday I'll go back to it.

Contemporary novels today, for the most part, don't bother to do this. Publishers know that if a book doesn't grab the reader's attention immediately, then chances are the book won't sell. Escapism, not literary merit, is what pushes books off the shelves. Just look at the bestseller list and see whose names are on there. Nobody who is a literary powerhouse, that's for sure. Not to say that those books are necessarily bad, but they sure don't hold a candle to what has come before.

I've had this before, too. In fact, I'm right now in the middle of such a phase. Luckily, I am quite sure this will pass soon - I have about a dozen books lying on my desk that I have started to read, but then for some reason did not go on, even if they fascinated me in those first few pages. Today is the first day in weeks that I actually could settle down and get immersed in a book (Barbara Hodgson, Dreaming of East). Granted, it is non-fiction, and since it deals with history, it could technically count as work, but it's really well written and interesting.

I have found that it gets better when you take the pressure out of reading. Read something light and funny, of about 200 pages, maybe a girly novel or even young adult fiction. Something that is a real page-turner without being too heavy. I recently read David Safier's "Mieses Karma" (unfortunately, this has not been published in English yet). It deals with a woman who dies and is reincarnated as an ant. She has to collect positive karma to get a new life as a higher being - she next becomes a guinea pig, then a dog, and so on. This was so light and funny that it didn't really count as "proper reading", but anyway, it got me going again. So maybe you could try something like that?

I would suggest reading a few thrillers until your 'restless' phase is over. I would suggest Stephen King for something fast paced, since his books actually have characters with personalities, most thriller's protagonists.
Good luck!

It happens to everyone, and I agree with the previous answers. Read something light and fun. It really does help get you out of a reading funk. Whenever I have trouble getting through a book, I go buy one that's completely hilarious and that I probably wouldn't have read on any other day. Or I'll read teen fiction (unless I find I truly can't bear it, which happens quite often).

Or... you could do just what you said and read Gone with the Wind again. That's really enjoyable to read. And Rhett sure is one hot little muffin. That book probably could get you out of your funk.

Allison wrote:

Or... you could do just what you said and read Gone with the Wind again. That's really enjoyable to read. And Rhett sure is one hot little muffin. That book probably could get you out of your funk.

I started it last night. It's even better the second time!