Comments on: Abandoning Books

By: kaizerin

kaizerin — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 22:44:08 +0000

Yay! I always wanted a sister, and now I have one for reals!! Thanks, Ramona the Great Mommy!

And by the way, I’ll have you know I tried to read a Barbara Cartland when I was all growed up, and couldn’t stand them, either. But boy, I sure loved ‘em when I was a pre-teeny bopper. Probably filled my head with all sorts of silly notions about male-female relations, but you were such a good mom to let me read what I would, and trust me to assimilate the material appropriately.

I do clearly remember the shock on your face the day I asked you what a menage-a-trois was, though. Hee hee. “WHERE did you hear that term?” “In the book I’m reading.” Maybe that day you thought twice about monitoring what I read, hmm?

By: Ramona The Brave

Ramona The Brave — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 23:45:19 +0000

Well, now I know I do have two daughters! Ya got it from me girls. A book has to be rally rally bad for me to quit it.
I remember when Danielle (Ugh) Steele first became popular and EVERYONE was reading her. Well, I tried a book or two, but could not get past her horrible writing. Then I started working with a young woman I really liked and admired. She absolutely adored DS and practically begged me to read her latest book – one she had just finished reading. So, ok, maybe she has improved over the years. N-n-n-nt. I read the first chapter or two and could go no further. So what to do? Pretend I read it? But what if she asked how I liked the part where….or the ending? I finally decided to tell her the truth – that I just could not make myself read such bad writing regardless of how interesting the story line was.
I read In Cold Blood when it first came out many years ago and remember being totally fascinated by it. Of course I could not “hear” that grating voice in my head as I read. I have yet to see the movie.
There are some books out there that I have put down the first time I tried them and then went back years later and read and enjoyed. There are some books I have to be in the right place in my head to be able to read. And then there were the BC books Kai read when she was 9 or 10. I just could not read that author even if she was Princess Di’s step grandmother.

By: kaizerin

kaizerin — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 17:14:41 +0000

Oh, and: one of those 20 dimes is for the Phillip Seymour Hoffman love. Isn’t he the best? I would just love to have him ’round for dinner and conversation.

By: kaizerin

kaizerin — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 16:06:13 +0000

Oh, sister! I’m gonna have to put about 20 dimes in the Totally Agree with the Countess Jar when I get home tonight. (Seriously, what is the chance we’re the same brain, in two bodies?) You exactly nailed my own thoughts on this topic–I hate to abandon books, but I’ve learned to do it without regrets, when necessary.

The one other case I would mention is books I “should” like, books I “would” like, if I were in a different mood. There have been a few of those–started in the wrong season, the wrong mood, and held onto, knowing that the time will probably roll around. But those are usually ones by authors I already love, or in one of my preferred genres, or recommended by a usually-trustworthy recommender.