Is life too short to read books you don’t like? #MondayBlogs #AmReading
It’s Monday, which means I should be writing a book review for one of the Pulitzer Prize winners for fiction. *Plot twist!* I’m not finished with the next prize winner. I’m currently on the 2014 winner, The Goldfinch. If you haven’t read this novel, let me tell you – it’s long. Over 800 pages long in fact. And it’s not the type of book you flip through quickly. Or at least it’s not the type of book I flip through quickly. In fact, I’ve been struggling to read this book since I picked it up at the Mauritshuis (the museum in The Hague where the painting The Goldfinch is displaying) last September.
As I struggled to read at least one-hundred pages this weekend, I started thinking about reading books you don’t like. I often read about bloggers who claim – life is too short to read books you don’t like. I’ve always had a problem with this saying. There are just some books that you don’t like, but you should read anyway. I, for one, hated Catcher In The Rye. But I’m glad I read it. It’s a book that is talked about often. If I hadn’t read it, I would feel left out as if I’d missed out on something.
Then, there are the books you don’t like because they are depressing. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi is a good example. I wouldn’t say I hated this book or didn’t like it, but it was depressing as hell. If life is too short to read books you don’t like, then it’s definitely too short to read books that make you contemplate what the purpose of life is and whether it’s worth living. It took me months to recover from reading this novel!
And finally, there are books you don’t like but read anyway because you can learn from them. Atlas Shrugged from Ayn Rand is a good example of this. Coming in at over one-thousand pages, this is probably one of the longest books I’ve ever forced myself to read. I’ll be totally honest and admit I skimmed a lot towards the end. Long speeches? No, thank you. But I’m glad I read this novel as it describes various philosophical and economical ideals that are important to understand in today’s modern economy.
The above does not mean I believe you should continue to read every single book you don’t like. I’m often asked by authors to read and review their novel. At first, I absolutely refused to DNF any book I’d agreed to review. (DNF = Did Not Finish) I wanted to respect the work and effort of these authors. I’ve since learned that while life may not be too short to read books you don’t like, it’s definitely too short to read books you don’t like that are poorly written, have plot holes the size of the moon, or feature flat characters. I also have no problem not reading a book I’ve downloaded for free via Amazon’s kindle unlimited. An unedited novel is a sure to end up on my DNF list.
Life is not too short to read books you don’t like. Life is too short to read ‘bad’ books you don’t like.
I would say the answer to your question is “yes”! Unless, of course, you’re studying the book, I think lofe is too short to read books you dislike… There are so many things you have to do in life tat you dislike, so why force yourself to read something you don’t like? For me, that just makes reading into a chore like everything else! Great post, really enjoyed reading your thoughts on this topic!
I agree with you in part. Reading something that’s been around a while and made itself part of our culture is good, even if you don’t like it. But I don’t always finish some everyday book I pick up off the shelf. Sometimes it’s just not meant to be.
Agreed!
The short answer to your question is yes. If I’m not going to sit through a movie I don’t like why would I read a book I don’t like? But I also understand the need to be well read and to have an awareness of literature.
As a writer, I may slog through a book I don’t like to find out what’s bothering me, or what’s problematic. Often I’ll find something that redeems what I find intolerable. I also like to step outside my preferred genre. I recently read Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perrota, an author who’s work I typically enjoy, and I didn’t even bother with the last chapter because, ugh.
I agree. As I writer, I tend to keep reading to figure out what the writer did wrong in the hope that I will learn from it.
Yes!
I like the distinction and think I agree. There was a time when I would slog through even bad books, but now I’m perfectly happy to put them aside.
Give Catcher in the Rye another chance when you’re a lot older. I hated it in my 20s and loved it when I read it earlier this year. I’m in my late 50s.
True! I decided to read some economics books this summer as a way to better understand my economics major, but most of them are flat out boring, even if it’s education. I’ve realized that I’d rather watch an interesting video that explains the concept better than a book I get lost in (and not in the good way!)