I don’t think I have much to add to this conversation that hasn’t already been said! I stop reading books for all the reasons the other girls mentioned. I actually have a pretty bad habit of abandoning books. In fact, I’ve noticed recently that when I have a discussion with a friend about books we’ve read or want to read, I usually chime in with “I read the first chapter (or the first 30 pages) of tha one, but I haven’t finished it yet. . .” Currently, there are about 30 different books on my nightstand in some phase of completion.
It’s not that any of these books are bad or even that I don’t personally like them. It’s more that reading a book is a big time commitment for me, and I have what feels like a million other things demanding my attention all the time. There are so many books I want to read (and I plan on finishing, some day), but there is also life, kids, my own books to write. My reading time is precious these days, so I only stick with a book that really hooks me from page one. Usually, it’s the voice or the main character or the story hook that keeps me reading. It’s hard to pin down exactly what it is, but I can usually tell in the first page or two of the book whether I’ll finish it or banish it to the “someday” pile on my night table. And some day, when I take a vacation, or my kids go to school all day, or I win the lottery and suddenly get lots of leisure time, I will finish those books!
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I sometimes get to the middle of a book and then put it down and just forget to pick it back up. That means it is boring and I don't want to waste my precious time with it. I have heard that most people only read the first quarter of a book in general. So for all of us writers out there, that means that we have to hook them from the get go!
I have a "someday" pile, too. Between that and my "today" pile, my tower of books is threatening to collapse my nightstand!
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