The Point is to READ ...

  There's a difference between a book that's not for you, and a book that's not for you NOW. Not all books are for you, but they are for someone. Let people read what they want to read. The point is to READ.

I am just as interested in why people abandon books as why they read them. There's no shame in DNFing (Did Not Finish) a book. Sometimes I know within a few pages that a book just doesn't feel right. Maybe it's not the book I expected it to be. If I get 50 pages in and it still hasn't
grabbed me, it's time to give up. So many books, so little time and why waste time reading something that doesn't bring you joy.

I felt this about 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It had the earmarks of a book I would love - magical realism, and Latin American magical realism at that. I absolutely loved Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel and The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia. It shows up on all the "100 Books You should Read If You Want To Be Considered A Real Reader" lists. The person who chose it for book club said it was her favorite book ever.

I honestly think I stopped at page 4. I felt nothing. I never even thought that it might get better if I pushed a little further. It was the wrong book for me in every way. And there's nothing wrong with that. I do not feel guilty in the least.

In high school, we had to read The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Please. A man in a boat trying to catch a fish. Yuck. I remember arguing with the poor recent college graduate who had the misfortune of teaching it to a bunch of 17 year olds who didn't get it. I mean, I understand the bigger themes and why it is a classic. But it was painful to the point of making me angry. To this day I have never picked up Hemingway. Maybe someday, but the experience of that book pretty much wrecked Papa Hemingway for me.

When The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt came out it was THE book to read. It landed on every list and won the Pulitzer in 2014. I started it and it stalled out fairly early. I'd set it aside, come back and try again. There were sections where my interest perked up but it would inevitably bog down. I was determined to find what it was that made this such a must-read. Push again. Now it was a challenge. The Mt. Everest of my unfinished stack. I took me months to finish it. All I can say is there is a great story buried in 784 pages. A great story that could have been told in around 300 pages. I conquered it but often wish I had just given up.

I do have to make exception for book club selections (except 100 Years of Solitude). When we join the club, it's expected that we will at least make an effort to read the books chosen. There are often selections that are not my cup of tea but I have pushed through and discovered some books that I truly enjoyed.I owe it to the group to step out of my comfort zone, challenge myself to read other genres and styles. Even when I haven't been able to finish in time for the 4th Tuesday of the month, I kept it nearby and eventually finished it. I found The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard this way. Would I have chosen this on my own? Very unlikely. Was it worth the read? Absolutely.

Book club has brought me some other great finds I would have never chosen for myself, books like  The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough, The Art of Racingin the Rain by Garth Stein, Dead Wake by Erik Larson and Beautiful Country by Quian Julie Wang.

There are also "right book, wrong time" reads. I picked it up but just wasn't feeling. Lucky for me, I came back to it at the right time because I found a real gem. Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel is one of my favorite books rom 2023. It took me a year for the time to be right, but when it was it was magic. I've also discovered Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler.

What we choose to read - or not to read - is very personal. Whether we have a steady diet of mysteries and thriller, rom coms and chick lit, or touch on many genres looking for that satisfying reading experience, the point is to read. It can only make your life richer.But don't feel guilty when a book isn't right for you. There's a million more stories out there waiting.