A Writer On Writing: Giving Up On A Book
Sally Jenkins gives up on a book after reading half of it.
I feel guilty this week because I gave up on a book half-way through.
It’s something I never used to do but as I get older I am gradually doing it more often. And every time I do it I feel bad. I don’t know why I feel bad – it’s not as if the author is breathing down my neck checking that I read every word or that I’m going to be tested on it at a later date.
Maybe it’s because I’m acknowledging that my choice of book was not up to scratch or because I’ve wasted my time getting as far as I did with the book – when I could’ve been reading something better.
I won’t name this book but the jacket is covered with glowing review excerpts from all the major newspapers. So I feel that I should have enjoyed it. Does that mean there’s something wrong with me?
I’ve just had a look at the book’s Amazon reviews, they are all 4 or 5 star except one. That single 2 star review makes me feel better – so at least I’m not alone in being unable to appreciate this book which the Guardian tells me is ‘a real page-turner’ and the Literary Review says is an ‘impressive piece of storytelling’.
How do you deal with books that don’t live up to expectations?
Finally, here are a couple of quotes that I’ve come across. Take them as a confidence booster. Forget all those ‘I’m not good enough’ voices in your head and just sit down and write!
To live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong. - Joseph Chilton Pearce.
I am the MASTER of my FATE. I am the CAPTAIN of my SOUL.- William Ernest Henley.
