My Blogger rant began this morning when I went to edit a small little spacing error to the post I was about to publish. The spacing error baffles me and the HTML just doesn't even.. well, never mind. I was doing that whole, write it and let it sit for a while, in order to return with a fresh set of eyes. NO! How could I have been so practical? This simple correction led to the deletion of an entire section of text! But then, you know, when I try to click to UNDO, I'm suddenly all the way back to when I initially drafted the post, white space galore. Ugh. So, in my defense, especially considering I do tech work FOR A LIVING, I am very sad that I didn't get to share my most anticipated post (now I've got you speculating).
Friday. I can feel it. Friday is definitely my day.
Because I was really excited about today's post I felt that I could take this opportunity to pose another question on my mind.
I recently picked Once Upon A River by Bonnie Jo Campbell on our little excursion to Chattanooga (and like the best book store EVER). Ok, superfluous information, but I picked it up despite really trying to stick to a budget because I had wanted it for months. How could I resist the narrative of a girl traveling along a river, her guidance a book about Annie Oakley? I was excited because I felt like it was something quite different from many of the books I've been reading recently, and sometimes you just need a change. But after 100 pages I felt so disgusted with many of the pages of the book that I just stopped reading. And I was furious. How could I have been so excited about a book only to be disappointed and out twelve bucks? I wanted to pick it back up, give it another shot. Maybe it's just me and I'm missing out on something really great (I never really found a bad review) at the end of the novel.
So this is my question to you:
How do you handle uncomfortable scenes in novels? Do you continue to read because you know it's fiction? Do you cast the novel aside and just hope that the next book grabs you?
Not so relevant: I also read 100 pages of The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt, my first, which was also very disappointing. It was like reading Anna Karenina but not at all like reading Anna Karenina. I'll let you talk me into picking this one up again.
Aargh! I have thought about making the change to WP more than once, but have chickened out until I have some time to spend on it this summer.
ReplyDeleteAs for uncomfortable scenes, they can be enough to make me put a book down, especially if I think it's totally gratuitous. Sorry the book didn't work for you!
Now you have me waiting on Friday's news!
Col,
DeleteI don't think I'll ever make the switch with this blog because I'd hate to lose followers, but I'm often tempted.
I think that I'm probably going to pick this one up again but just need some time before doing so. It's just upsetting because I was so excited about this one.
I hope it's as exciting... it probably isn't! But I think it'll spark some conversation. People love to share their reads!
Oh man that doesn't sound awesome. If I'm reading a book with parts that really bother me I try to skim through it - reading bits to get gist of what's going on, but moving quickly enough to miss some of the details.
ReplyDeleteI see you're reading The Shadow of the Wind! Hopefully that one doesn't disappoint. (I don't think it will!) And it's really too bad about Once Upon a River. I thought that one sounded really good as well.
Brenna,
DeleteI guess it was more that I didn't expect it and not that it was really bothering me. I mean, it did bother me, but I think I've read worse. I think it's really that I wasn't expecting it and that made it frustrating.
I've actually just had the opportunity to pick it up and think I'm really going to enjoy it. I can't wait to share. And I'm really looking forward to your review of 11/22/1963 because I think that's going to be one of my next picks.
I prefer blogger over the other options because Wordpress's jungle-like dashboard makes me want to pluck my eyeballs out. I am sorry blogger ate your post and am anxiously awaiting its return.
ReplyDeleteI also skim the scary, uncomfortable, etc. parts of books and get on with it. I have rarely met a book that eeked me so bad I set it aside (though it was touch and go with ROOM).
I agree.. WordPress can be a nightmare. I'll live with the post I missed.
DeleteSkimming seems to be the way to go, so I'll attempt it (although I'm not faced with this often) but I could understand wanting to do that with Room.
This is why blogging is so great- all great recommedations!
Beth,
ReplyDeleteI've had a similar issue. I actually hate Tumblr, but since its where I set up my blog to begin with, it's been hard to try to switch. I tried to switch to WordPress a few months ago (actually I think if you search for ohmgodwin on WP you'll find my half-shell of a blog, but I agree with Andi, the dashboard is a nightmare.
As for unenjoyable scenes in books, I'm with Brenna...I usually skim just in case I might miss something, but not enough to have to be miserable because I read it.
Glad to see you're reading again after your slump!
-Brent
OH NO, Brent! It seems like you were creating your blog just the other day.. time really flies! I think the dashboard is cumbersome, but I think it has way more options in terms of customization, and that's really what I'm looking for. I will admit that I generally give up at night after trying to fumble through the dashboard.
DeleteI've definitely cut down on my reading time just because I have so much going on, but I'm really trying to get on here and at least blog once a week, even if it is just a rant on why I anticipate books and then hate them!
I'll take the advice from you and Brenna and just skim through! Happy reading! Glad you stopped by :)
i have blogs on both WP and blogger - pluses and minuses on both. i'll have to say, that WP makes me want to throw myself over a cliff more often than blogger does. wish there was a hybrid!
ReplyDeletesounds like your expectations killed the book for you. that happens to me all the time. definitely, set it aside and try, try again.
here's a little story of mine: http://www.abookchick.com/2011/09/elegance-of-hedgehog.html
on the reverse side, i had super low expectations for "real life and liars" and loved it. timing and expectations shape so much!
i just discovered your blog - eager to look around.
- lee @ abookchick.com
Lee,
DeleteSo glad you stopped by! Wow, glad to know what's in store with the other blogs on WordPress! Ha. I like the customization aspect, but the dashboard is definitely a nightmare.
I think it was just the amount of incest in the book that just really make me a little sick. I think that I'll probably pick it up again (and just skim through those sections like everyone's recommended) because I think the heart of the story is worth working towards. But I think you have a point about being in the right frame of mind for a story.
Looking forward to visiting your site!
a hybrid between wp and blogger sounds good. i write my posts with an offline blog editor (for example "blogdesk"). its saving automatically your drafts and you can work as long as you wish on the texts.
ReplyDeleteIf there are uncomfortable scenes I read them through as fast as possible. sometimes it's bad, but sometimes it's not bad as it looked at the first look. Only text-passages which are really boring annoying me so that i stopped reading. than it needs a lot of time before i pick it up again.
Stephie,
DeleteIt looks like there are pros and cons to both sites. I'll just stick with blogger for bkwrmmbkwrm. I'll take your suggestion of writing posts and then copying them at a later date and see if it works for me.
I agree that boring writing is so HARD to go back to. I've actually started abandoning books if they're that bad.
I just found your blog today so who knows where you are at with Once Upon a River. now that it's April... but I'll carry on as if you are still stuck! I understand what you mean as I found it difficult and upsetting to read at times. I managed to persevere and I would urge you to try again. It is a beautiful book and the horrible parts are sort of necessary for you to understand the development of the main character. I am normally very squeamish so kind of surprised myself by reading such a book and can therefore understand if it is too much. Personally though, it was worth the struggle for me.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I love your blog, whatever you choose to read!