Does it sadden you to give up on a book? Frustrate you? It does me, and I find it something very difficult to do.
I’ve finally given up the ghost on The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. This book has received such high praise in so many reviews, and I started it with high hopes. The subject and plot seemed like something I would love, and Wroblewski’s writing is beautiful. So why, after reading about 1/4 of the book, am I putting it aside? It’s just not grabbing me. And it’s a very long book.
Why giving up on a book saddens me, I believe, is that I really look forward to a good story; I want it to take me to another place and enrich my life in some way, even if simply fabulous entertainment. I have nothing against a “quiet story,” but it still has to pull me in. I want to feel, sometime during the day, that I am looking forward to delving back into that novel. Is this your experience as well?
I also realize that there are times in our lives when we want a change, where the subject matter or depth of emotion in a novel may be different than what we’ve sought out in the past. Lately I have been drawn to urban fantasy, thanks to my friend’s husband who introduced me to the genre and who has been kind enough to entrust me with a nice selection from his own library. So now I begin An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire, the third in a series.
The main character, October (Toby) Daye is a private investigator and a changeling, half fae and half human, which brings many of its own problems. The stories are a bit on the dark side, but when they take place in the world of faerie, which is most often, you can see that McGuire has thoroughly researched the entire mythological world of the fae, as all the characters are entirely believable and well-developed. There’s mystery, suspense, and a look into a world invisible to the human eye. Works for me.
So Edgar … I’m sorry. Maybe some other time, but for now I’m off to roam the darker side of San Francisco with Toby Daye.
Still A Dreamer 
I have been so very remiss in not visiting your blogcasa more often that I missed this post entirely.
I have giving up on many books–most of them well reviewed and highly praised. I can’t tell you how many books I’ve hauled home from my wonderful public library to explore futher than the few pages that that make me decide to check them out–and then I find I hit a sort of wall of “I want no more of this, thank you very much.” It’s a very long list. As a matter of fact I’m on the verge of giving up on smething I selected simply for some light easy reading. We’ll see what happens after another run at it.
I am intrigued by your exploration of urban fantasy–I haven’t exactly kept up with this genere’s recent offerings but in the past I found much of it very very satisfying. Two favorites–War for the Oaks by Emma Bull and Forests of the Heart by Charles de Lint. Have you explored either of these?
What else are you reading?
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No problem – we get busy!
I can never give up on books; I love reading too much, and happily, I’ve not found too many that I’ve had to give up on. Thanks for the reco’s on those 2 books – I’ll make note and see if I can find them. I don’t know why urban fantasy is doing it for me lately – it just is, and who’s to question when you’re in a good read, right? I highly recommend the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs, but start from the first.Others of hers are also good. I’ve also enjoyed the October Daye series, starting with Rosemary and Rue, by Seanan McGuire. There’s another I can’t remember at the moment.
Right now I’m re-reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Truly brilliant writing. It’s YA, but no matter. I read it awhile ago and after seeing the movie, which was just fabulous, I picked it up to reread. The story is told at the time of Hitler’s rise in Germany about a girl, Liesel, who was left with a family who could better care for her, and the events, times, and people surrounding her. She’s the book thief. The story is told in first person by the narrator, Death. Such an unusual concept, but the writing itself is superb.
Other authors I like most of the time are Alice Hoffman and Barbara Kingsolver. Try The Poisonwood Bible. Excellent!
OK – back to work! 🙂
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