Books I have not finished lately:
Eldest: The sequel to Eragon is, I think, pretty highly regarded in the fantasy realm, at least by not-fantasy-obsessed people I know. But this book just annoyed me for some reason I can't quite pin down. It took forever for any action actually to develop, but that's not the only problem. I think that the conversations all got on my nerves too much. The characters would engage in what I suppose was meant to be witty banter, but it did not appeal to me.
God Created the Integers: This book, by Stephen Hawking, looked really interesting based on the cover's inside flap. Hawking, the famous physicist and perhaps longest-surviving person with ALS, presented a brief biography of a groundbreaking mathematician, and then explained each mathlete's work. The main problem for me was that the book was quite technical, and I was in search of something lighter. It is probably a good book, and perhaps I will pick it up again later.
The Highwayman: R. A. Salvatore wrote the books about Drizzt Do'Urden, a spectacularly skilled sword-fighting dark elf. The Drizzt books have been consistently excellent and action-packed, so I had high hopes for this one, although it takes place with different characters in a different world. Unfortunately, it also started out too slowly for me really to get into it.
I think the reason that I quit two of these books because they started slowly is that I don't spend as much time reading as I used to or would like. Since I go through books more slowly, there is much more time for me to lose interest before getting hooked, so a book has to start out quite well. I wonder if this is mostly because of my commuting hours, or if this will be a new equilibrium state for me. Since I have become so interested in so many blogs and internet reading, have books permanently become my second-favorite source for entertainment? I don't really think so, but I will say that I haven't brought a book on my overnight stays in KC in about 3 months, while I use my laptop for a couple of hours on each of these trips. Hrm.
Oh, no!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have noticed lately that even I check out library books and have not been getting around to them. I am thinking it is because I can never catch up with reading the newspapers and magazines that keep coming, but you just made me realize that I also spend time on the computer which could have previously been spent reading. Luckily, I always have a house and a car book on tape going.
I feel bad about this. If you and I aren't reading as many books as we used to, what about the rest of the people, who aren't as passionate about books as we are?
I think this is happening to me as well. As you know, these days it seems rare for me to actually finish a book because I go so long in between reading any of it that I lose interest. While that makes me sad for the sake of literature, I am thrilled to have the Internet and everything that it offers. Also, I do expect to get back to more frequent reading when my children are a little older.
ReplyDeleteThat stinks that you aren't finishing these. However, some day you will hopefully have more time to read!
ReplyDeleteI think the third book in the Eragon series is slower than Eldest overall. I really didn't have a problem with Eldest while reading it. Although, now I'm thinking about the book and I can't remember what happen during it. That's happened with each Eragon book. They seem to be very forgettable.
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