Life’s too short for boring books

eddiestarofficial

For the past 3 years, reading has become my new hobby. For certain books I read the actual text via e-book. Other times, I use audiobooks. In this quest, I have given many books the time of day. If a book cannot capture my full attention with meaningful substance within a chapter or two, I am out. I have thugged it out with some of the most celebrated books, just to say I have read it. In my mind, I will one day go to some pretentious wine party. At this festivity they will serve wine and cheese, with caviar and crackers as appetizers. We will have a conversation about the greatest books ever, and they will ask me if I have ever read “Ulysses” by James Joyce, or Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. And I will reply with “Why, Yes. Madam, may I suggest The Great Gatsby or Mark Twain?”

“Can you pass the Grey Poupon?”

Get the hell out of here!

On the other hand, I don’t wanna be that guy who reads the baseless books that are no better than an American infomercial. “Hey, Eddie! have you read the Kim Kardashian Selfie book?”

Im not trying to be a snob, I have no animus towards the Kardashians. I am just saying that we can’t have a civil conversation about books, if you’re coming at me with these kind of book suggestions. Saying you read a selfie book, is like saying you take medical advice from Dr. Oz.

I’m still chunky after taking those “cambogia” and “raspberry ketone” pills. Curb hunger, my ass.WTF!!

There are way too many books out there that I haven’t read to be reading mundane books. I have read books that were absolute money grabs. I just read a book today that talks about how athletes are performing better. I am reading the book under the impression that he will provide an aspect that will change what I already know. The ultimate point of his book was that they challenge the odds. 7 hrs of book reading, sums up to him writing about different athletes, who said they were gonna challenge the status quo. Another historical book with 4 star reviews, talking about how immigrant meat factory workers were in disease and death plagued workplaces. Sounds interesting, only problem is that it is written in an antiquated style that takes the strength of 2 Adderall pills to understand. I completed another book of a celebrated cocksure guru, who writes in a book to “Give maximum effort, to achieve maximum results!”. Not only does he give common sense advice, he talks to you like a Pop Warner coach while doing so. I can go on and on. Books are anecdotal. Hence, whatever book causes an epiphany for you, may not cause a breakthrough with me. This is why those “20 greatest books” lists always pisses readers off.  No more tedious books for me. I hope you gather the courage to discontinue books that don’t inspire reflective thoughts.

61 thoughts on “Life’s too short for boring books”

  1. Your are so funny but so right!!! I do the same: if I don’t feel the connection in the first chapter I just can’t continue :). And some really known books out there I find very boring and hard to read while books that probably nobody heard of really captivate my attention. 🙂 I suppose it’s about taste. 🙂

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    1. Its definitely about taste. Most of the so-called greatest books are very simple in theory. The praise happens because of the concepts during the society they lived in were different than popular consensus. Moby Dick was allegedly a failure. It didn’t become popular until after the author died.

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  2. I had to prop my eyelids open with a couple of matchsticks to get through some of the books on I had to study when I was younger. Moby Dick was one of them, funnily enough. It was sooo long. I kept wishing the whale would turn up and eat everybody.

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    1. What’s there to be bored by in Moby Dick? Yes, it has more information about 19th century whaling than there actually was information about 19th century whaling, and not all of it is true, but it’s all so fascinating stuff.

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      1. Once attended a showing of art films which ended in a Q&A session. When someone ventured the suggestion that some of it had been a tad boring, the organiser went into meltdown, placing the blame on short attention spans, etc. etc …. Then he went back to his projector and put on a 1920’s German porn film which pretty well cleared the room. Hilarious.

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  3. Centuries ago, Aristotle laid down some minimum requirements for a good book. It should have a beginning, middle, and end. It should provide the reader “catharsis” if the reader goes all the way to the end, catharsis being the feeling that the forces that be are back in alignment again. I’ve always tried to meet these minimums in my writing, and in my judgements about others’ work.

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    1. I’ve been struggling with the whole thing in novels where everything seems to get all nicely stitched up at the end. To me, it seems like such wishful thinking. I am working on a memoir and I am pretty positive and don’t see myself as a victim but I’m still waiting for things to reach that state in real life. The endings of so many novels etc are just too neat for my liking.

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  4. As a reviewer, I couldn’t agree more. If a book doesn’t capture me pretty damn quick, say within the first 15 or 20 pages, I’ll toss it out the window and start on the next one.

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  5. I have been given the advice to subtract your age from 100 and the number that’s left is the number of pages you read before you decide that life’s too short to spend any more time on this book. Works for me.

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  7. Thank you for making my week with your post. You summed up my internal battle with trying to keep up my reading. The books are ridiculous and I’ve now taken to finding unknown books written by lesser known authors who take the time to fill a plot and follow through storylines. Awesome post!

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  9. I am currently reading Stephen King’s book on writing and he says that as a writer you can possibly learn more from reading a poorly written book than a good one. That said, there are so many brilliant books out there, I don’t waste my efforts either.
    At the same time, as readers we also have to give the book a fair chance. I’m now tending not to read as I’m nodding off as reading a book in very short grabs doesn’t really do it justice. My favourite place to read is on my train trips to Sydney where I could have a good hour to read each way and we also have quiet carriages…perfect reading environment.

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  10. Hi there! I completely agree with the fact that we should read books that appeal to us and not those which people tell us to. Sure, you may come across a great book when someone recommends it but many times the book may be boring as hell. What’s the use of reading if it isn’t enjoyable, right? Oh, and BTW, thanks for stopping by my blog so I could discover yours… 😊

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  11. Great post. The older I get the less patience I have for reading boring books. I also know that the more a book is lauded by the media the more I’m going to hate it. I like genre, tropes and all the pedestrian books that the literature types sneer at. When I read I want to be transported, to escape, to live in this alternate universe for a little while. I think that’s what makes a great read, not pedigree.

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  12. I totally know where you’re coming from. I can start a book and if in a few pages I’m not riveted, I sometimes give up. My dad sometimes wonders how I can make a decision so fast, but sometimes it’s that clear to me if I’ll like it or not. Thanks for “liking” my most current post by the way! 🙂

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  13. AMEN! I’m writing my first novel and I’m making pretty sure it’s not boring. That’s the LAST thing I want. I have to FORCE myself to finish some books so that I can write a review on my blog. I guess I have ADHD and everything needs to be exciting.

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  15. In most cases I completely agree with you. When I’m reading entirely for pleasure, I’ll typically put it down after three chapters if I’m not drawn in by then. But when I’m reading for a review site, I’ll force myself to keep going. Two of my all-time favourite books have been ones that I reviewed and wouldn’t have kept reading if I hadn’t of forced myself.

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    1. Plato was incredible. But it wasn’t easy. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli had some dull points. So I totally understand. Two awesome books that’s like mental weightlifting. But afterwards I feel intellectually buff. Lol

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  16. After 17 years in the library service I’ve met many a book snob. I always answer, life is short and there are so many books. I’m not wasting time on anything that doesn’t grab me pretty quickly.

    All the same, Pride and Prejudice is one of my favourites still.

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  17. Yeeeeeees. I decided to stop reading things to impress other people I’m never going to meet, so this is refreshing. None of the books you mentioned sound like ones I would read…and that is okay! This was really funny and oddly inspiring.

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  18. Found your site when you liked my review of Keith Richards on Desert Island Discs. You really have something to say, my friend, and say it well. Love that phrase ‘thugged it out with … celebrated books’, a perfect description of grappling with challenging but rewarding texts. Will follow for sure, please revisit my site.

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  19. I love this you summed up my thoughts about book and reading in a more formal process and I immediately had the same thought about the Grey Poupon even before seeing the picture when I first saw your sentence about reading pretentious books. LOL! I have always loved reading I found as an adult I have faltered on that more as life has gotten in the way of that a bit. So when creating annual bucket list (established this year) I decided that I would read 50 books before the end of 2016. I know I will surpass this goal. However, by putting a S.M.A.R.T. goal to it I have now made sure I will do it because I seem to operate better this way. I also have learned that if I am not interested in the book I will not read it even though I have done like you and tried to read some of the top 20 lists. Some of them I actually enjoyed; however, if I have to go get Cliffnotes or join a book club to digest a book and understand it I am out. I prefer a book whose illusions and imagery is able to paint a picture for me as I am reading it on the spot with little effort. I want it to be like a television on paper, LOL. If it cannot do this or I am bored out of my mind good riddance. And no selfie books don’t do it for me either (no offense to them…they just don’t have enough substance or creativity).

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    1. Absolutely. I feel like a book is supposed to be a camera angle that shines light on whatever topic. A memoir is supposed to feel like I’m watching them without them knowing. That’s why Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson was phenomenal. He made me see the good, bad, ugly, and indifference of Jobs.

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  24. hi eddie, liked this,
    you right- “If a book cannot capture my full attention with meaningful substance within a chapter or two, I am out.”

    i do precisely the same with medical research studies
    if they can’t come up with a coherent succinct tittle how the hell can they do a whole study? and most studies nowadays crap

    as proven by j ioannidis ,who studies the studies, his title ” Why Most Published Research Findings Are False”

    http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124

    like your style got message across, some nice pics too

    also you mentioned dr Oz , how can america go from jonas salk, inventor of polio vaccine to dr Oz?

    anyway have a good day

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  25. I agree, Eddie. Some books known as classics are tedious to persevere. The writing may be excellent, which saves the endeavor as a lesson in expression, but the story may just not be my cup of tea.

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  27. I didn’t become an avid reader until I was given a Kindle Paperwhite as a gift. I take it everywhere I go and have my book collections synced with the Kindle app on my phone. BookBub and Free Kindle Books are two sites I signed up with to get emails listing e-book deals. It’s amazing how many free e-books are out there by super talented authors.

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  29. Pingback: Life’s too short for boring books | A Little of Nothing

  32. Well, I also went through a bottle of raspberry ketone pills and am still chunky. 😦 I buy all my books at Half Price Books on clearance ($3 or less) so I have the luxury of doing as you say. I could never pony up $20 these days. So I give it a good 50 page trial usually, and I still FEEL guilty when I give up. But if if there is no connection, then there isn’t. And I’m sure I couldn’t try to sell a book, explaining to the publisher that the reader would be hooked 3/4 into it. Too late.

    I asked for “Ulysses” for Christmas my senior year of high school, and it must have been part of the pressure to feel cultured. Wearing retro cardigans, sipping espresso in a coffee shop, writing postcards, and reading pretentious books that make ZERO sense. Not now. Plus, if you are 40+, your eyesight goes to heck, so you really don’t want to strain it on anything yawn-worthy.

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  33. I love to read. And I used to feel guilty if I didn’t finish a book. There are too many good ones out there to waste time on bad books.

    I have found that many bloggers have books that are self-published, so little or no advertising. I have found that if I like the blogs, I will probably like their book, not always the case, but it is worth the time and a few dollars to give them a try.

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  34. Don’t know how many books I’ve read in my life – maybe a million? Used to read by torchlight under the bed-covers after lights-out. Books have been my constant companion, I take a pile on holiday and give them away after reading them. Devoured most of the classics (including Ulysses by JJ). Are you into novels? The book I would take to a desert island to read over and again is “Once and Future King”. Thanks for visiting my blog!

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  35. I cannot agree more! As a self-professed bibliophile, I have a never-ending stack to get through and if I’m not desperate to get my day done so that I can lose myself between its covers, then forget it!
    An author gets approximately 5 pages to ‘convince me’ – otherwise they can jog on!
    Having said that, joining a book group has allowed me to enjoy books that I would never have even considered in the past. Having said that, being responsible for the book everyone hated was pretty cringey! 😝

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