Try some; it's good.
Wherein I ramble about books, movies,
music, TV shows, my life, and occasionally, hot emo boys.
My Books
Current WiP
My ValentineGuide sequel = DONE
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Monday, September 04, 2006
A matter of taste
This afternoon while taking a break from coding this dreadful template (still haven't got the bloody sidebar quite right), I realized just how subjective enjoyment of a book can be. People have been recommending the JD Robb novels for a while, so on my last mammoth order from Amazon, I picked up the first three.
Started reading Naked in Death three days ago. Put it down. Started again. Put it down. Partly, I was handicapped because on AAR I read a really hilarious parody that crippled my ability to take the books seriously. And partly, I find the ping-pong POV enormously distracting. But it's good writing; it really is. Only someone who's mastered the craft could get away with that without destroying the story.
I read... four other novels, all of which I enjoyed, including $how Her the Money and Grave Sight.
Today, I picked Naked in Death up again with great determination. I swore I'd make myself focus. Surely if I buckled down, I'd like what other people said was a great book. And as I read, I thought, this is good writing, really spare and elegant. But I had all the emotional response of one reading an advertisement promising 15% off her next gutter cleaning. I think these are good books; they just aren't for me. I can't put my finger on it, but they don't engage me.
What books have you started with high expectations, only to find they don't push your buttons?
Started reading Naked in Death three days ago. Put it down. Started again. Put it down. Partly, I was handicapped because on AAR I read a really hilarious parody that crippled my ability to take the books seriously. And partly, I find the ping-pong POV enormously distracting. But it's good writing; it really is. Only someone who's mastered the craft could get away with that without destroying the story.
I read... four other novels, all of which I enjoyed, including $how Her the Money and Grave Sight.
Today, I picked Naked in Death up again with great determination. I swore I'd make myself focus. Surely if I buckled down, I'd like what other people said was a great book. And as I read, I thought, this is good writing, really spare and elegant. But I had all the emotional response of one reading an advertisement promising 15% off her next gutter cleaning. I think these are good books; they just aren't for me. I can't put my finger on it, but they don't engage me.
What books have you started with high expectations, only to find they don't push your buttons?
Stop laughing at me, I was 14!
I'd heard all these whispers about how her books were so scandalous (they actually used that word, I was in Montana) and racy. Such a disappointment, compared to a lot of my reading up til then.