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August 5, 2006
On Starting/Finishing a Book
I just read a great essay in tomorrow's NYTimes Book Review. It's titled, "Why I Can't Stop Starting Books" by Joe Queenan. Mr. Queenan describes how he often has over 25 books that he's in the middle of and fully intends to finish!
This is so interesting -- I know that we all have different reading styles. I don't read more than one book at a time. I guess my memory isn't that great because if I put a book down for more than a day or two, I can't remember what's going on. Plus, if I was able to put the book down for more than one day, I probably wasn't that into it in the first place and won't pick it up again. As an aside, I firmly believe that it's okay to stop reading a book if you don't like it. Some people feel obligated to force themselves to finish a title before deciding if they like it. I don't feel any such compunction. There are so many books and so little time, if I don't love it, I don't finish it. There are times, such as when you're reviewing a book or writing a report that you need to complete the book, but that's another story.
I wrote an essay in high school that I called "On Finishing a Book." I remember writing in an emotional teenage voice about how I would read more slowly towards the end of a book that I was enjoying just to delay finishing it. I described having to say goodbye to characters and a world that I inhabited for a short time as a kind of mourning. I don't remember the grade I received, but it doesn't matter -- so many years later, I still remember the essay and still agree with what I wrote.
My least enjoyable part of reading is starting a book, so I found Mr. Queenan's essay all the more interesting.
Posted by Michele at August 5, 2006 10:37 AM
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