I've come to notice that I cannot read over half of the books I start because most of their openings are slow and dull. It takes a hundred pages plus to reveal the plot, and countless time is spent on character developement without any mention of a plot. For example, it took me four months to get past page 100 of Speaker for the dead because in my opinion it's so dreadfully boring. It's good, but boring. I read Ender's Game in one day flat because it pulled me in with non-stop interesting turns in the story. Same thing happened with Xenocide, read it without stopping. Currently about 70 pages into Children of the Mind, I've been stuck here for about 2 months. It's just too boring to continue.
Plot Spoilers to Children of the Mind begin here:
Seriously; Not kidding.
No Really, I'm serious.
You have been warned.
________________________________
I cannot take the boring discussions between Wang Mu and Peter, as they lead no where and seem useless. 'Well Wang Mu I look stupid." "Oh no Peter you look crappy." That's basicly the dialogue I'm getting from it, and I don't know if I can continue. I already knew the big points of the Ender Series because my brother told me about it when he was reading. I know how the Descoladore are intellignet and they find their home planet, but I can't help but think if it would be worth it to continue. Back then, I had no intention on ever reading them, but than I did. Pint in case: I can't read over half the books I strat because they never draw me in, but instead build up boring plots with no action. I can't name a single person in the world of the people I know who has not said the begining of Speaker is drawing you in.
I know about 10 people who stopped with the Ender series because the beginign of Speaker was dreadfully boring. Does anyone else have the problem of continuing books because they are boring? I literally put down a book and stop reading it if it get's boring enough. I put down Redezvous with Rama for a month and a half bcause it got boring for about 30 pages and I couldn't take it. Only now have I decided to continue...
Anyone else encounter the problem where you can't finnish a book due to lack of action or long boring chunks of it?
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
It's really a shame that some people find SftD too boring to read, as they are allowing their patience to deprive them of a fabulous, moving story.
Posted by Reticulum (Member # 8776) on :
I know, that's why I continued, I knew it would be good. It's not the fact that I have no patience for it, it's just that... well... most of the book is very dull.
Posted by Amilia (Member # 8912) on :
I'd recommend you come back to Speaker in a few years. Story: When I was in elementary school, second or third grade, I thought I was hot stuff reading chapter books. At a read-a-thon, I attempted Lloyd Alexander's The Black Cauldron. Soooooo boring. I hated it. Tried and tried all through that read-a-thon to get through it. No such luck. I put it down and vowed never to go back. A few years later, when I was in Middle School, I decided to give Alexander a second chance as my friends kept recommending him. Wow! Those books were so amazing! What was boring before was suddenly exciting and interesting. Lloyd Alexander is still one of my all time favorite authors.
I am of the opinion that while you should give every book a chance, if it is not clicking with you, you should feel free to put it down and move on to something else. Try it again later when you are in a different frame of mind.
Have you read many YA novels? In one of his reviews, Uncle Orson said:
quote: But children are the most demanding of audiences. They have no patience with stories that don't make clear to them from the beginning why they should care about and believe in the characters, events, and problems in the story.
The result is that YA books have no room for writers to show off. Instead the prose must be clean and clear, and the story must move forward at a pace that makes "thriller" writers look like caterpillars -- lots of steps, but little progress.
He recommends YA authors and novels frequently in his reviews; you may want to look there for ideas on what to read next.
Posted by Palliard (Member # 8109) on :
quote: I've come to notice that I cannot read over half of the books I start because most of their openings are slow and dull.
I gotta admit, I have a slow attention span myself.
You gotta remember Sturgeon's Law: 90% of everything is crud. Most books are not timeless classics, or indeed particularly interesting.
The trick is, which books those are varies a LOT from person to person. The best-selling books right now are romance novels, and I'd rather have splinters shoved under my fingernails than read those. And the books I like tend to elicit blank stares from people. Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
quote: Lloyd Alexander is still one of my all time favorite authors.
He's a distant relative of mine.
Reticulum- It may seem crazy. But when I get stuck on a book. I start another one, but I don't stop the boring book. I read the books in turn.
If I enjoy the alternate book, I won't allow myself to read from it until I read from the boring one. A lot of the time this gets me through the boring part. And then I just read both at the same time.
I've had to to that with more than two books too. I'm not the type of person to just give up on a book that I've gotten 30 pages into. If I've only read the first few pages, sure. But I'm not a quitter.
Try it, sometimes it works.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
You know, I agree with you. Every single page of Green Eggs and Ham has some new plot point, but I got really tired of the repetition halfway through. I mean, we know he doesn't like them here or there; does he really need to say it over and over? And even if he does, shouldn't it suffice for him to say, as he shortly thereafter does, that he doesn't like them anywhere? Posted by Reticulum (Member # 8776) on :
You know Steve, that just seems crazy enough to work. I'm going to have to try that. There is just one problem with your plan that actually nothing to do with it... I have to find an interesting book. Great plan, I could never have thought of it. In case it doesn't look it, I'm being serious, good job. Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Tom!
Spoiler warning dude!
C'mon!
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
quote:Originally posted by Reticulum: You know Steve, that just seems crazy enough to work. I'm going to have to try that. There is just one problem with your plan that actually nothing to do with it... I have to find an interesting book. Great plan, I could never have thought of it. In case it doesn't look it, I'm being serious, good job.
My mother suggested that. I'm sort of staying away from it, because it kind of seems strange... Is it any good?
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
It was amazing. I loved it. Partly because I was friends with an autistic guy. But mostly because it was brilliant.
Give it a shot, it can't hurt.
Posted by Reticulum (Member # 8776) on :
I'll try it. In fact, I'll read the first ten pages right now...
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
Then let me know if you like it. I'm sure if you don't, I can suggest something you will.
Posted by Amilia (Member # 8912) on :
If you liked that one, have you read The Speed of Dark, Steve? I have not personally read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, but my brother read both and prefered Speed of Dark. Also deals with autism, and that one I have read and can vouch for. Excellent book.
Very cool about Lloyd Alexander, btw.
Posted by Reticulum (Member # 8776) on :
Wow, Steve, I have finally found a book with a good opening. It is written in the most excellent way. Who knew it would be so easy to find a good book. Thanks!
Posted by theamazeeaz (Member # 6970) on :
At a booksigning about a year and a half ago (it was part of the Shadow of the Giant tour), OSC mentioned rereading Children of the Mind, and wondering whether anyone ACTUALLY read the enitre thing- because he thought it stunk.
Posted by theamazeeaz (Member # 6970) on :
I recently read the Curious Incident of the Dog in Nighttime. I finsihed in a night at work, taking pauses every so often to actually operate the telescope. It's one of those books you don't put down. It peaks in the middle though, sadly.
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
quote:Originally posted by Reticulum: Wow, Steve, I have finally found a book with a good opening. It is written in the most excellent way. Who knew it would be so easy to find a good book. Thanks!
Just use the method I mentioned, and you'll be well on your way.
Posted by Foust (Member # 3043) on :
quote:Anyone else encounter the problem where you can't finnish a book due to lack of action or long boring chunks of it?
Don't punish yourself, just stick with comic books.
Posted by Vadon (Member # 4561) on :
I had a similar problem. I loved Ender's Game, thought Speaker for the Dead was boring.
Like many suggested here, I waited a few years, then I picked up Speaker again and I loved it.
I've had to do that with a few books that were just too complicated for me as a kid. The Foundation Series is an example.
But I have to admit, Steve Rogers' idea is really clever. If I have trouble with a book, I'm going to need to try that.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Psh, Prelude to Foundation is the best one anyway.
-pH
Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
quote:Originally posted by SteveRogers: It may seem crazy. But when I get stuck on a book. I start another one, but I don't stop the boring book. I read the books in turn.
If I enjoy the alternate book, I won't allow myself to read from it until I read from the boring one. A lot of the time this gets me through the boring part. And then I just read both at the same time.
I did this sometimes in college when I had to wade through some incredibly dull sociology books. So when I was reading something by, say, Max Weber, I'd reward myself for reading a couple pages of Weber by reading a couple pages from a SF book. (This sometimes took a good bit of willpower to ONLY read two pages of the SF book when I got to a good part.) Useful trick that helped me get through many tedious books.
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
See? It works.
Posted by Cashew (Member # 6023) on :
I've sort of gone the reverse of what some of you guys are talking about, that is, 'maturing into' books. When I was young I refused to let a book beat me. I would stick with it till it got good, or I finished it anyway. In the last few years though I've decided life's too short and there are too many unread good books out there to waste time on ones that don't convince me. This year has been a bad run for me, over a stretch of a couple of months. I started about 4 books that I just thought were too dumb, didn't have characters that I cared about, etc, for me to continue reading. So I dumped them. I usually won't think of doing that before I've read at least 120 or so pages, but if I still think by that stage that the author hasn't got me I'll chuck it and start a new one. But I would never count anything by OSC as not worth sticking with to the end. Or if you really can't stomach it at this stage, just be smart enough to realise there may be some things you might not have enough life experience to appreciate yet, so let yourself come back to them in a few years, as several others have pointed out.
Posted by Will B (Member # 7931) on :
I recently bought 6 books from SFBC. One unread; one read and liked; one read and disliked; three I couldn't go on. Dull, clunky, implausible. Two were by top-line authors. (Not OSC, of course.)
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Will, what were the 6 books?
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I love Speaker for the Dead, but if I recall most of the books after Ender's Game are filled with more dialogue and people talking about what action to take next instead of action. Now if you want action and a fast moving story, I suggest Maximum Ride. I love that book... Action ever few pages what with those wolf things and the kids with wings. Love it. You are making me want to reread Speaker.. The later books do have a bit of lecturing in them. But I like them anyway
Posted by Uprooted (Member # 8353) on :
A lot of people think Fellowship of the Ring is boring. I couldn't put it down. On the other hand, I didn't read Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe till I was in my forties because I'd started it several times on the recommendations of friends but never could get into the story. (I finally did read it because I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie--and I actually think I liked the movie better--which I'm sure will be taken as sacrilege.) I read maybe a quarter or a third of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell and just did not care what happened to any of those people and put it down.
Anyway, different things pique the interest of different readers. I haven't been bored with any of the books in the Ender series, but that's me. I say, why wade through a book that's boring to you unless it's required for a class or you feel you need it to be culturally literate? There's too much out there that will catch your attention.
Now, if it's a matter of only reading fluff because nothing else is interesting to you, then I'd say, OK, maybe you need to make a bit more effort to stick to it before giving up. But The Curious Incident doesn't sound like fluff, so I don't think that's what is going on with you.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
quote:Originally posted by Reticulum: My mother suggested that. I'm sort of staying away from it, because it kind of seems strange... Is it any good?
It's very good. I like books with people who have unusual perspectives, but it might not have enough action for you though.
Posted by Reticulum (Member # 8776) on :
Not just action, really. If something doesn't have action all the time, it doesn't automaticly mean it's dull and boring. So far from what I've read, it's good. Not much 'action', but VERY good.
Posted by JennaDean (Member # 8816) on :
Uprooted, I had the opposite experience ... I loved Narnia as a child and have read them over and over since, although if had I read them for the first time as an adult, I don't know if they'd have quite the same meaning for me. (And the movie was both better than the book and not as good, IMO.)
LOTR, on the other hand, I couldn't get into. I loved The Hobbit, but when I tried to read Fellowship in middle school I got stuck. Too many descriptions and meetings. I never did read it until the movie came out, when I wanted to finish it before I saw the movie. This time I found that it was only "boring" up to the point of the Council of Elrond - once they actually left on their quest, I tore through the rest of the trilogy. And it was worth it. And the descriptions of histories that would've bored me in school were enlightening now.
So ... sometimes it takes more than 30 pages to get into a book. And sometimes it takes more years of maturity to get into it.
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
An OSC book boring? Huh? I really don’t understand. And here I thought I was on a fan site…. Silly me…
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I have a bit of trouble getting through L of the R... Perhaps because it is very thick and rich like decadent cake with very little flour.
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
The first three chapters of Speaker nearly put me off the series. I even flipped ahead in the book to see when the first time Ender's name was mentioned, and told myself "I just have to get to chapter four" over and over again.
I'm glad I did, but the opening was really rough. I felt the same about the first chapters of Xenocide on Path - well, no, I felt the same about *all* the chapters on Path.
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And the books I like tend to elicit blank stares from people. ![[Confused]](confused.gif)
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