I couldn't wait until sunrise to post that I finally finished How To Read A Novel by John Sutherland. It's not that I hated the book, but it didn't grab me. I didn't want to ditch the book because I've been doing that with a lot of books lately. Getting back into the book-reading rhythm hasn't been easy, so I decided to force myself to read this book to the end.The parts where Sutherland explained the inner workings of the publishing industry were enlightening. I also enjoyed reading about history of lending libraries in England. However, in between those bits were chapters that I had trouble understanding. It was like the author switched from average guy to English professor mode in every other chapter. I'm sure that someone better-educated or more well-read than me would have enjoyed the book all the way through, but I felt like someone was messing with the speed controls of my treadmill.
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A book that I did decide to ditch is America (The Book). I added it to my list for the New Classics Challenge because I thought it would be a fun read. The joke became stale for me within the first few pages. I think that I would enjoy the audio version much more. Unfortunately, my library's copy of the audiobook is lost.
The next book on my list for the challenge is Comfort Me With Apples, and I happen to have it on hand. I guess I'll jump right into that one, seeing as I haven't completed a single book for this challenge yet. If I manage to start it after sunrise, you may even see another Sunday Salon post from me.
7 comments:
My problem with this book was that it didn't really do what it said on the tin. Did you not think the title was misleading?
If I can't read page 50, I ditch it!
Here is my SS post!
You are quite right, Table Talk; I did feel as though the title was a bit misleading. It seemed like more of a history of the novel in the US and the UK. However, so many of the chapters went over my head that I thought maybe it WAS teaching me how to read a novel and I just didn't get it.
Good luck with reading this one. Life is too short, and there are too many good books around, to stay reading a book that you are not clicking with.
Sadly, I have not enjoyed most of the books about reading/books that I've attempted. I have a couple in my TBR right now and no desire to attempt any of them.
I have another book about reading in my bedside stack entitled "Ex Libris". I'm hoping it will be a lighter read than "How to Read a Novel".
I have Ex Libris too... waiting...
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