Thursday, May 28, 2009

Booking Through Thursday - Unread

In a perfect follow up to last weeks question, as suggested by C in DC:
Is there a book you wish you could "unread"?  One that you disliked so thoroughly you wish you could just forget that you ever read it?

My answer:

In one word, no.  If a book is really that bad, I will stop reading it...unless it is for my book club.  In that case,  I will persevere to the bitter end, share my opinion, and enjoy the discussion.  If the entire group dislikes the book (and that's only happened once with White Teeth), it becomes a part of group lore that we bring up and laugh about for years to come.

Visit Booking Through Thursday to see more answers or leave your own.



12 comments:

  1. I'm with you! If I am not interested by page 50, I move on to another one. I will finish a book for book club.

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  2. Thanks for visiting my blog! There's no point continuing if you're not enjoying it is there! Happy BTT!

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  3. LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO READ BAD BOOKS!

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  4. That's the second black mark that White Teeth has received (that I've seen... maybe more) in this week's BTT; I might need to move that down on my TBR.

    I agree, my book club is a compelling factor in finishing some books I'd rather have not read (but the discussion's always interesting). They're also good in compelling me to start some books I'd have otherwise overlooked.

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  5. I haven't encountered something that is irredeemably bad. Books that I want to "unread" are ones written by authors whose previous reads I have enjoyed. Sometimes they just have a bad day I guess. I would like to defy time and start over again with another book.

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  6. Nise' -Fifty pages is about right. Like the saying goes, life is too short to read bad books.

    Gautami - I haven't written off Zadie Smith yet. On Beauty is still in my tbr pile and I do plan to read it. We'll see...

    Dot - That's right, reading is supposed to be fun!

    Missy - Exactly!!

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  7. Matt - It is so disappointing to dislike a book by a favorite author! I didn't think of that angle...those are books I'd like to unread.

    Heather - Book clubs can be boring when we all love the same books. A little controversy makes for a good discussion!

    White Teeth has become the subject of many book club jokes, but I will read Zadie Smith again. The connection between On Beauty and Howard's End has me intrigued!

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  8. Good answer. I do tend to read things all the way through even if I don't like it, but I wouldn't want to "unread" it.

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  9. Oh no! White teeth bad? I just picked it up not too long ago. Our book club pick a few months ago was so bad that most of us didn't finish and we quickly chose another book instead (Miles from Nowhere).

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  10. Hi JoAnne, thanks for visiting my blog! I cringe when our book club discusses what book to read next...but I have to say I am learning from these books I would normally never read, and that is the point! I have white teeth on my TBR list - a bit disappointed to hear your whole group didn't enjoy it. Will still try it though.

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  11. Shari,
    I'm glad you're going to try White Teeth and decide for yourself. It got such great reviews, and lots of people out there really liked it.

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