Reading Outside Of Your Preferred Genre

13 Apr 2017 77 Comments

by Ritu in Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: , , , , , , ,

Do you ever pick up/download a book with every intention of reading it, then when you finally get round to it, wonder why you even bothered?

I have to say I am not one to leave a book midway, no matter how much I am not enjoying it.

A few years ago I remember before the days of my kindle, I bought a book… it had Rose in the title. Something historical, small font and rather a tomb…

Thick books don’t scare me, oh no! I battled Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy within a week, and that was the longest book written in the English language! And I am looking forward to the sequel, A Suitable Girl out sometime next year I think!

Image result for a suitable boy

Image from Google

But this one, I don’t know why but I just couldn’t read it. I got around one hundred pages into it and for the first time, I had to admit defeat, and take my bookmark out of the book, declaring for sure that this was a book I would not be going back to.

Over the years I have read a lot of books. My genre of choice is the fluffy Rom Com style books, where there are happy endings and lots of accidental comedic moments. But I have tried, and enjoyed other genres, historical stories and romances, thrillers and more recently, Young Adult Fantasy fiction.

Often I watch film trailers and think I want to read the book first, before watching the movie. I did this with Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children. I have downloaded The Girl On The Train, but not read that yet either. On the same day I saw the trailer for that we saw an advert for American Pastoral.

Image result for american pastoral

Another film that looked good and was based on a book by Philip Roth. So I downloaded it too.

Image result for american pastoral

And am currently reading it. It is a Pulitzer Prize winner. Gotta be good, right?

Oh man am I struggling! It’s a long one again, and so wordy! I have fallen asleep several times because my brain has to struggle with coping with the high falluted language! Is it me, or is a sentence that goes on for a whole 10 line paragraph too long? I know I am the Queen of Commas, but really??!!

Still, I know there is a really good story in this book. I just can’t get into it!

I am determined though. I have five days of my Easter break left. I shall try to finish it before my holiday is done… I will not give up!

If you have read it, please, give be some encouragement to make me see it through to the finish line!

 

77 Comments (+add yours?)

  1. writingthedreamblog
    Jul 11, 2017 @ 18:05:35

    Such a relatable post. This happens to me all the time!

    Liked by 1 person

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  5. LKD
    May 06, 2017 @ 15:51:55

    I pick up more books than I finish, because I read based on my mood. My go-to is mysteries and thrillers, but I’ll read anything, even trying to get into graphic novels recently. Tried the Dewey’s readathon last week, but all the books I piled were really dense, so I didn’t finish any. If you like quirky comedy, have you read Janet Evanovich? Her Stephanie Plum books are great. I love Philip Roth, but I have to be in the mood, ha!

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    • Ritu
      May 06, 2017 @ 16:05:09

      I’m still struggling through American Pastoral! My kindle tells me I’m 75% throufh and an hour to go…. I’m the kind that can’t read more than one book at a time! I am stubborn like that! I hate to admit defeat on a book! I’ve learned to give up if a film bores me… or I fall asleep,but I can’t do that with a book!!!

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  6. tesscol
    Apr 28, 2017 @ 17:11:37

    According to recent news it seems we are returning to ‘real’books! I only remarked yesterday that I would prefer a book to my kindle!!
    I re read Miss Garnet’s Angel this month. It is by Salley Vickers. Set in Venice and based around the Angel Rafael and his journey with Tobias.
    Today I finally took a copy of The Shack off my shelf. I have been telling myself for years that I would read it. It is gripping. I am almost half way through it in a couple of hours!! Have you read it?

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. thebeasley
    Apr 16, 2017 @ 22:37:24

    I’m the same. I HAVE to finish a book, no how much I’m not enjoying it. However, I am really struggling with the Sellout at the moment. Decided to read Shelley’s book as a break from it.

    Liked by 1 person

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  8. Donna O
    Apr 16, 2017 @ 19:39:54

    I am so bad at doing things outside my comfort zone, book genres included. I do try on the odd occasion to branch out and have generally loved the book when I’ve done so. Such a creature of habit! I’m the same with films. 😊

    Liked by 1 person

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  9. susielindau
    Apr 16, 2017 @ 15:47:18

    I never feel obligated to finish a book. The Goldfinch was also a winner, but so long and wordy too. I did get through that one. Had to put down The Elegance of the Hedgehog. So soon after the death of my brother I couldn’t read about someone’s suicidal tendencies. A Man Called Ove was about the same subject, but I flew through it!

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Ritu
      Apr 16, 2017 @ 15:51:26

      It’s funny isn’t it! I really wantt o try other genres though. I think it widens our horizons so much. This book has been hard to get into but the story is interesting. I think the language is so complex, and there are sentences or phrases I wish had just been written simply, and that they would be more effective. I’m sure as authors we have been told less is more, unless it enhances the story… I feel this one is the opposite, and it’s a Pulitzer prize winner… so what is right? Wordy stories, or simple???

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  10. Ruth Daly
    Apr 16, 2017 @ 15:23:21

    Life is too short to waste on a book you’re not enjoying 😉

    Liked by 2 people

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  11. angelanoelauthor
    Apr 16, 2017 @ 15:06:39

    I’m of two minds on this one. I believe life is too short to read a book I don’t love. But, then again, it’s hard to know what I can fall in love with until I reach out beyond my “standard” genre. I give a book 100 pages- but if I can’t stay engaged, I move on. Finding the right book is like finding a friend you want to spend at least 6 hours with. Sometimes, the best of intentions between author and reader, just don’t make a match. Good luck!

    Liked by 1 person

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  12. Traci York
    Apr 16, 2017 @ 14:55:24

    It’s very rare I give up on a book, but it has happened at least a handful of times. However, I have no doubt you will persevere! Best of luck finishing it!

    Liked by 1 person

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  13. josypheen
    Apr 16, 2017 @ 14:27:07

    Have you thought of joining a book club Ritu? I find that is the best way to get me reading outside my preferred genre.

    Plus if you do hate a book, you get to bitch over it with wine/friends!! Our book group meets as restaurants, so we choose somewhere to eat that matches the book. Eg. German history book = German pub or Dystopian Novel = eating in Brutalist building etc… I think you’d like it!!

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Ritu
      Apr 16, 2017 @ 14:40:31

      I have thought about it but my problem ends up that sometimes I can read loads and sometimes I don’t have the time because of work and family. Still, I get good recommendations from bloggers now!!!

      Liked by 1 person

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  14. globalhousesitterX2
    Apr 16, 2017 @ 14:00:36

    So many writers do not get the recognition because maybe they are not in the elite circles?. It is similar to paintings in a museum everyone was crowding around the Van Gogh exhibition, and I was drawn to this vibrant canvas of a sunflower field, by a not so famous artist. Guess which one I thought was the best? 🙂

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  15. emfletche
    Apr 16, 2017 @ 12:13:25

    Sometimes I perservere and skim read (I find just reading the first sentence of every paragraph is sometimes enough to get the gist of a dull book) but I’m not afraid of giving up. And sometimes the prizewinners are the worst (sorry Hilary Mantel, never got past the first 100 pages of Wolf Hall. And don’t get me started on Anna Karenina :D)

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  16. Circle of Daydreams
    Apr 16, 2017 @ 11:12:53

    I used to feel guilty somehow if I didn’t finish a book all the way through…. as if I wasn’t giving it a fair go and was somehow letting the author down. Now if I’m still not enjoying it after page 100 (sometimes earlier), it’s out!! I figure they wouldn’t want me to keep reading and get even more disillusioned with it and then tell other people how much I didn’t like it!

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  17. Rae Longest
    Apr 16, 2017 @ 10:56:30

    Anything Roth is a hard read, Hon, and this is coming from a literature major. I could identify with so much or what you wrote. For years, I had the attitude that if I started a book, I was morally obligated to finish it! Ha!

    Liked by 1 person

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  18. noellekelly
    Apr 16, 2017 @ 10:38:14

    Life is too short to finish books you don’t enjoy 🙂 I haven’t read it, but Godspeed with it 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

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  19. vanbytheriver
    Apr 14, 2017 @ 13:04:58

    Pleasure reading, so different from “assigned”, “required” reading. It should be enjoyable…don’t punish yourself with some arbitrary obligation to finish a book. If a book doesn’t capture me in the first 2 chapters…I’m out. There are too many other options.

    Liked by 1 person

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  20. Judy E Martin
    Apr 14, 2017 @ 11:45:35

    I struggled with ‘The Hobbit’, just couldn’t get inot it at all. I tried a couple of times but it is just not me! If I am really not interested in a book then I will not finish it. I want to be able to immerse myself in the story and enjoy it 🙂

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  21. Leanne
    Apr 14, 2017 @ 02:03:19

    Happened to me with Great Expectations and made me not want to read Oliver Twist. I didn’t expect it to be such a huge book, either, and I’m not one to be scared by size. I, too, struggled to keep the sand man at bay and it felt like I was dragging myself to read it. I got close to halfway. Left myself an open door – if I wanted to return in the future, I would.
    Exiling a book for life seems harsh. I feel like we have to grow as readers, and I’ve seen this happen with me, but not at a pace to my liking. Pulitzer Prize winning books are good 🙂 I just finished The Joy Luck Club and rereading it so I can write a more accurate book review in another blog. Maybe this is the next book for you. Just keep track of the characters and their experiences.

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  22. April Munday
    Apr 13, 2017 @ 23:15:53

    I think it’s good to read out of your preferred genre. On the other hand, I like to read quite a broad range of books.

    Over the last couple of years I’ve decided that I won’t finish a book that I don’t like. There are enough good books out there not to have to plough through the bad.

    Reading outside of your comfort zone can lead to the discovery of gems. I have high hopes of a couple of books I bought at literary events. I also have an urban fantasy book to read (never read one before), and a memoir about death and some fourteenth century Italian poetry (in translation). I’ve just read some Ovid, which I thought I might hate, but loved. I’m often disappointed by things I read within the genres that I love, so I’m always prepared to go beyond them.

    Liked by 2 people

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    • Ritu
      Apr 13, 2017 @ 23:21:35

      The feelings are starting to turn with this book now April! I hope I can finish it!
      I think its a good thing to try new genres too. I’ve discovered some books I never would have tried!!!!

      Liked by 1 person

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  23. Nina
    Apr 13, 2017 @ 21:12:21

    Good luck Ritu! Make sure to celebrate your victory when you finish reading that book! 😊

    Liked by 1 person

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  24. D. Wallace Peach
    Apr 13, 2017 @ 20:06:08

    I also used to finish every book that I started. But I don’t do that any more. There are too many good books out there to waste time on one I’m not enjoying. We all have our individual tastes and there’s nothing wrong that – especially when it comes to how we enjoy our free time. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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  25. noorainsobiya
    Apr 13, 2017 @ 19:25:24

    Oh dear!! Happens a lot with me as well. 😓😓

    Liked by 1 person

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  26. Erika Kind
    Apr 13, 2017 @ 19:04:36

    Sis, this sounds like a very special kind of book and you might be in the right “condition” or “ready” for it. I don’t think you should force reading it. Lay it aside and pick it up again when you feel like it. Reading should be fun and not hard work!

    Liked by 1 person

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  27. robbiesinspiration
    Apr 13, 2017 @ 17:41:11

    I think you have to be in the mood to read classic books and I also usually need to be on holiday or my brain can’t cope with the complex language either.

    Liked by 1 person

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  28. Allie P.
    Apr 13, 2017 @ 15:55:12

    I used to always finish a book I started, but I’ve grown to accept that I’m not going to earn myself a medal for reaching the end of something I didn’t fully enjoy so it is okay to move on to the next book.

    Liked by 1 person

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  29. Chris White
    Apr 13, 2017 @ 14:38:02

    Haven’t read it as yet but I did do a post recently about him on Routine Matters.Good luck with it. 😉

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  30. franklynzoe
    Apr 13, 2017 @ 14:28:12

    Doesn’t happen to me with adventures and sci-fi, but often happens with classics

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  31. shaunkellett
    Apr 13, 2017 @ 13:58:05

    Good luck, Ritu! There’s no harm not finishing a book/TV series/film if its not for you. We can’t all like everything! But at the same time, well done for choosing to persist 🙂

    I’ve just this year set up a Book Club between my friends, the very goal of which is to try and read books we wouldn’t usually. It’s working well so far, and I’ve read one book completely out of my usual Genre… Was quite eye opening!

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  32. Miriam
    Apr 13, 2017 @ 13:43:39

    Good luck Ritu. These days, as much as I love reading, I’m far too tired to even blog, let alone get through a book. 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

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  33. Charles Yallowitz
    Apr 13, 2017 @ 13:41:02

    That happened to me and a bunch of classics. Specifically, Steinbeck beyond ‘Of Mice and Men’. Then again, this was for school, so I’m not sure it counts. A lot of people hate their school assignment books. Also, Game of Thrones, but that’s in my genre.

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  34. Dan Antion
    Apr 13, 2017 @ 13:30:59

    I have so many books that I want to read, many piled on my nightstand, that I don’t bother with ones that don’t interest me.

    Liked by 2 people

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