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I usually don't do call out diaries. I like to think that even in the most boring book there are good things to learn. If I finish a book how could it be completely boring? There are books I have managed to finish by doing a few pages at a time while trying to keep my eyes open. Boring does not necessarily mean that it is worthless. In fact, I do encourage people to read boring books and to not give up.
Having said that, however, I am interested in what various titles are considered boring. I realize that every reader has different reasons for finding a story boring. I may find a story boring that other readers love. In later life I have re-read stories that I thought were boring when I was younger and loved them now that I am older. Sometimes in a series where I love most of the books, some of them are boring. I usually keep trying, but sometimes I do quit buying that author.
There are so many great books to discuss that I feel a little bit guilty about talking about disappointing books, but I know I have been saved from making a bad choice more than once by someone talking about a book they did not enjoy.
I like to get discussions started. So here are some questions that you can copy and paste into a comment:
1. What classics that others love and respect do you find b-o-r-i-n-g?
2. Which books came close to being great, but missed the boat?
3. Which best sellers did you find impossible to finish?
4. What turns you off in a book?
5. Which book was just too scholarly for you?
6. What series was fun to begin with, but now you no longer read the books?
7. What book title sounded really good, but the book was not?
My answers:
1. What classics that others love and respect do you find b-o-r-i-n-g?
I am afraid I have a long list, but I will just mention David Copperfield by Dickens. I enjoyed several of his other books, but not this one.
2. Which books came close to being great, but missed the boat?
The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World before the War, 1890-1914 by Barbara Tuchman. Sorry. MT Spaces insisted that I should read Guns of August, first, and it is a good thing he did insist and that I did read that one first. Otherwise, I might have been turned off Tuchman for life. Yes, there was a lot of information, but I could barely stay awake to appreciate it.
3. Which best sellers did you find impossible to finish?
I finished The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker, but I was not very impressed. I gave the book away. I just didn’t believe it. I know it was fiction, but even in fiction, things should be believable up to a point. I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief enough to like the story.
4. What turns you off in a book?
Too glib characters, characters that are all depressing, rich snobs, and bad dialog are all things I avoid.
5. Which book was just too scholarly for you?
A History of London by Stephen Inwood. I finished the tome because it was well-organized, but sometimes one paragraph was a whole page long and considering all the books there are about London, I just shouldn’t have tackled this one.
6. What series was fun to begin with, but now you no longer read the books?
I have pretty much quit on the mysteries by Sue Grafton.
7. What book title sounded really good, but the book was not?
I love the King Arthur stories, but I am aware that he was mostly myth. This book title grabbed me and I expected great things: Pendragon: The Definitive Account of the Origins of Arthur by Steve Blake, Scott Lloyd. They did their best with the few items that are left in the records, and I learned a lot, but I was disappointed in how the book was put together. I found some of it confusing. Maybe the word Definitive was misleading. I can’t argue with their research, but I felt the book could have been summed up in a few paragraphs.
Diaries of the Week:
Write On! This one cliché in particular.
by SensibleShoes
http://www.dailykos.com/...
SNLC, Vol. CDXXXIX / UDKCJ 33: Frans Bruggen (1934-2014)
by chingchongchinaman
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Contemporary Fiction Views: Life in a grey city
by bookgirl
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Robert Fuller says:
The new Rowan Tree chapter:
We're now only a few pages away from the end of the novel, and President Blue is making full use of the "Rowan tree", root, branch, fruit and seed, to bring China into the fold!
http://www.rowantreenovel.com/....
My whole profile on Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/....
The audiobook of The Rowan Tree has been discounted to $1.99 for people who already own the (free) Kindle ebook.
Audiobook: http://amzn.com/....
EBook: http://amzn.com/....
Memoir, Belonging, on Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/....
Calvin S. Fuller's memoir (Robert’s father)
My father's memoir is also now available for free on Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/....
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NOTE:
plf515 has book talk on
Wednesday mornings early
Summer is flying by.