Recently, I bought a book that I was extremely excited about. I'd see pictures of it at various book events, posters, read interviews with the author, and got all twitchy waiting to lay my paws on it and have a good read.
It's now several months later, and I'm less than halfway through.
It seems that every time I try to read this book before bed my eyes close and I fall asleep before I can get past a page or two. Other books have beeen known to keep me up for all hours, so.... what the heck, book?? Why are you making this so difficult?!
When do you finally decide to throw in the towel on a book you're just not that into?
What finally puts you over the edge? What moves the book from bedside table only to be covered in cobwebs, forgotten in a corner?
For me, the usual culprits are these:
1) Unbelievable dialogue. And I don't mean in the sense of "Whoa! That dialogue is so amazing, it's UNBELIEVABLE!" Rather, dialogue that is just so silly or unreal that it takes me out of the story and makes me cock an eyebrow.
2) Characters repeatedly doing something stupid. No, you idiot! You can't save the world if you keep wandering off by yourself, losing the Sword of Awesomeness, and putting yourself foot-first into traps a cub scout could spot. Also, the female lead likes you. Pull your head out of your ass, already!
3) The writer loves the sound of their own keyboard. Every clickity clack is PURE POETRY and absolutely cannot be cut from the manuscript. Descriptions are long, usually unnecessar, and always snooze-inducing.
However, this book had none of these usual suspects :(. I'm just (and I hate to say it) ... bored.
What do you do when this happens to you?
Do you give the author the benefit of the doubt, or do you pitch it in the Good Will pile at page 10?
