How can you motivate yourself to finish reading a boring book?

[waht]

I'm half way through reading a book which is part of the classic literature books. The ratings are off the charts on Amazon, the author got a Nobel price in literature, and I was recommended to read this five years ago but never got a chance. Anyways the first half is so utterly boring I cannot, for the life of me, look at another page. I spent the last 30 min reading seven pages and finally said no way. Naturally, I should just drop the book completely, and read a dozen or so books I'm so eager to read. However it doesn't feel right to not finish what you started. In a situation like this, how do you motivate yourself to plow through?

 

[Office_Shredder]

Put it down and read a different book. Then come back to it... sometimes you just need to take a break and try again later

 

[seerongo]

Heavens, why torture yourself with a book just because someone else says you should? Life is too short. I say, get back to the books that you know interest you. It's fine to try something new, of course, but halfway through is enough to know. I've put down books after the first few pages sometimes. I know there is a better one waiting. (I do have the advantage of having a great library system here).

I don't know know what book you are referring to, maybe it's the latest Great American Novel for all I know, but it seems to me that some book reviews just perpetuate themselves, like some bad art, by pretentious people who need to sound smart and are following the leader.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

What book is it?

If you really feel as though you ought to finish the book then finish it. Just do it. I put down Don Quixote a couple of times before finally finishing it years later. I restarted it from the beginning and just didn't allow myself to stop. But I really wanted to read that. If you don't really want to read the book then forget it.

Heavens, why torture yourself with a book just because someone else says you should? Life is too short. I say, get back to the books that you know interest you. It's fine to try something new, of course, but halfway through is enough to know. I've put down books after the first few pages sometimes. I know there is a better one waiting.

Some times it is good to read books that are of a major cultural or historical significance even if you are not particularly fond of it yourself. Many of the classics are referenced in other books and in film. For example the reason I had such an issue with Don Quixote is because it consistently references the 'classics' of its time most of which I know little to nothing about (the bible for example).

 

[GeorginaS]

I'd be interested, too, to know which book is giving you such grief, waht.

I read quite a bit, fiction and non. Classics that I'm reading for the sake of "reading classics" I'll give a bit more leeway than current popular work simply because I'm reading it because I think I should. (Doing some background research into older, classic works helps a great deal. When you have the setting in history in which the book was written in hand and some context with regard to literary criticisms of the work, it generally goes a long way to giving you an appreciation for the work that you might not otherwise have. In other words, you know what you're looking at and looking for.)

Sometimes, I'm just not in the mood for a book, so I put it aside and come back another time. Sometimes it catches fire with me and sometimes not.

As far as popular fiction goes, the stuff that "everyone's reading" and you just "must read", if it doesn't grab me, I put it aside and leave it. There are too many other great authors whose work I know I enjoy, too much other really good stuff out there to waste my time forcing myself through something I'm not enjoying. It's got to be pretty bad, though, because I almost always finish books once I've started. However, there was one that springs to mind, The Life of Pi that won all sorts of awards, was a best seller for a long time, came with all sorts of rave reviews, and it just wasn't gelling with me. I got half-way through and moved on to something else. Sometimes, it just happens. And, yes, seerongo said, life's too short.

 

[arildno]

I will try to find out who waht is thinking of:

First off, poets and historians don't count, so that leaves out Sully Prudhomme (1901) and Theodor Mommsen (1902).

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnsson (1903) IS very boring, but he hasn't got any rave reviews on Amazon.com.

Taking all the others into account, I think waht is referring to "Growth of the Soil" by Knut Hamsun (1920).

 

[FredGarvin]

I'm half way through reading a book which is part of the classic literature books...Anyways the first half is so utterly boring I cannot, for the life of me, look at another page.

That is the quintessential definition of a "classic."

Classic: “A classic is a book which people praise and don't read.” - Mark Twain

Or the corollary to that:
Classic: A book that everyone wishes they read but don't want to read.

 

[waht]

What book is it?

If you really feel as though you ought to finish the book then finish it. Just do it. I put down Don Quixote a couple of times before finally finishing it years later. I restarted it from the beginning and just didn't allow myself to stop. But I really wanted to read that. If you don't really want to read the book then forget it.

It's The Plague by Albert Camus. I read his two other books and they were great. However this is one dull, where death dominates every page - for example: 150 people died today, 200 yesterday, but the newspaper is lying about the actual figure of 900 people who have vomited their guts out that week and then it repeats the same scenario over and over again ad-nauseam.

When you have the setting in history in which the book was written in hand and some context with regard to literary criticisms of the work, it generally goes a long way to giving you an appreciation for the work that you might not otherwise have. In other words, you know what you're looking at and looking for.

That's some good advice there, but I almost never do that.

Taking all the others into account, I think waht is referring to "Growth of the Soil" by Knut Hamsun (1920).

You had 1/106 chance of guessing the correct author.

That is the quintessential definition of a "classic."

Classic: “A classic is a book which people praise and don't read.” - Mark Twain

Or the corollary to that:
Classic: A book that everyone wishes they read but don't want to read.

ahh!, Twain being way ahead of his time again...

 

[Pattonias]

I have developed a tactic for surviving boring books. It may sound like craziness to many, but I find it very helpful...

Skim until you find something interesting. It is a method of creating an abridged copy of a book without feeling like someone else is editing out something you find interesting.
I am normally a reader who reads every word, but some books really don't hold my interest that well. If the book is bad enough you can catch the main points without having to toil through the sometimes painful details that the author may have burdened his book with.

 

[DavidSnider]

I once tried to read "Foucault's Pendulum" by Umberto Eco when I was a teenager on the recommendation of a friend, but I absolutely could not get through it. Way over my head.

Picked up again about a decade later and it was pretty good.

Can't say the same for "The Lord of the Rings". Even the movie made me fall asleep.

 

[lisab]

I'm half way through reading a book which is part of the classic literature books. The ratings are off the charts on Amazon, the author got a Nobel price in literature, and I was recommended to read this five years ago but never got a chance. Anyways the first half is so utterly boring I cannot, for the life of me, look at another page. I spent the last 30 min reading seven pages and finally said no way. Naturally, I should just drop the book completely, and read a dozen or so books I'm so eager to read. However it doesn't feel right to not finish what you started. In a situation like this, how do you motivate yourself to plow through?

The last book I read like that was The English Patient. I simply willed myself to finish it...it was torture.

 

[arildno]

Actually, I've read "Remembrance of Things Past" by Marcel Proust.

I found it quite enjoyable, but a bit short.

 

[Pattonias]

"Silas Marner" by George Eliot is the most boring book I have ever read.

 

[ViewsofMars]

Naturally, I should just drop the book completely, and read a dozen or so books I'm so eager to read. However it doesn't feel right to not finish what you started. In a situation like this, how do you motivate yourself to plow through?

It's not easy. LOL! I've been reading off and on for the past year the Chronicles of the Hudson - Three Centuries of Travelers' Accounts by Roland Van Zandt. I need to finish reading it, since I'm in need of completing a fictional novel that has to contain historical facts. Your question inspired me onward. Thanks!

 

[arildno]

Have any Americans ever read "Moby Dick" beyond the obligatory calling of Ishmael??

 

[turbo]

I forget the title, but when I was in elementary school, I was a precocious reader, and my 6th-grade teacher assigned me a book by W. Somerset Maugham. I could not make myself plow through that crap. I thought my teacher was going to be mad, but she was pretty understanding. I had already plowed through a lot of novels by Twain, Dickens, Verne, Melville, etc, so she knew that it wasn't laziness on my part.

When I was 10, my parents bought a house from a widower who traveled in construction work. He left the place partially furnished, including a home-made bookshelf in my room (a walk-in closet) filled with very cheaply-printed editions of classic literature. I had my very own library! Small, but high-quality. That little book-club collection set a pretty high bar and Maugham didn't make the cut.

 

[arildno]

Somerset Maugham has a subtle irony going through his stories. I think you would appreciate him better now than back then.

 

[turbo]

Have any Americans ever read "Moby Dick" beyond the obligatory calling of Ishmael??

Yes! That was one of the books in my little personal library. I found out later that the novel was based on the true story of the wreck of the Essex - a quaker-owned whaling ship that was rammed and sunk by a white sperm whale named Mocha Dick after the Mocha Islands, the waters of which his pod frequented.

The crew-members jumped into the small whaling-boats to save themselves, but the boats became separated, and the members that survived the ordeal had to resort to cannibalism to stay alive. They could have made it to the Marquesas, but they feared being captured and eaten by cannibals, so they undertook a longer voyage toward South America, only to have to resort to cannibalism, themselves. One of the first to be killed and eaten was a young cabin boy (Owen Coffin) who drew the short straw.

 

[Sorry!]

Yes! That was one of the books in my little personal library. I found out later that the novel was based on the true story of the wreck of the Essex - a quaker-owned whaling ship that was rammed and sunk by a white sperm whale named Mocha Dick after the Mocha Islands, the waters of which his pod frequented.

The crew-members jumped into the small whaling-boats to save themselves, but the boats became separated, and the members that survived the ordeal had to resort to cannibalism to stay alive. They could have made it to the Marquesas, but they feared being captured and eaten by cannibals, so they undertook a longer voyage toward South America, only to have to resort to cannibalism, themselves. One of the first to be killed and eaten was a young cabin boy (Owen Coffin) who drew the short straw.

Woah what? What book is this? It sounds something like Life of Pi and that book IMO was amazing.

 

[turbo]

Woah what? What book is this? It sounds something like Life of Pi and that book IMO was amazing.

I was just explaining that the madness and megalomania of Captain Ahab was extrapolated from a real-life incident. The survivors were quite disturbed, including the first mate, Owen Chase, who hoarded food compulsively later in his life. Melville heard the tale of the Essex and the white whale from Chase's son, and that was the seed for Moby Dick.

 

[Stratosphere]

Can't say the same for "The Lord of the Rings". Even the movie made me fall asleep.

How could you not like "The Lord of the Rings"? I loved those books so much I just reread them last summer.

 

[DavidSnider]

How could you not like "The Lord of the Rings"? I loved those books so much I just reread them last summer.

I think it's just one of those books that is so ingrained in our culture that you have already effectively read it 100 times before you ever read it.

 

[arildno]

What about the fox in the Fellowship of the Ring, David?

Had you read about him before, and his thoughts?

And the hazel thickets??

 

[Pattonias]

What about the fox in the Fellowship of the Ring, David?

Had you read about him before, and his thoughts?

And the hazel thickets??

It is true. The movie is good, but still doesn't do the books justice.

 

[arildno]

But, fortunately, PJ got rid of TB..

 

[DavidSnider]

No, like I said, it didn't hold my interest. I get a sense that most of it has bled through into the surrounding culture in some way, but I'm not sure.

Also, to what extent is it just a rehash of catholic doctrine? I'd almost prefer to just go to the works that inspired it rather than slog through another layer of symbolism.

 

[arildno]

It is more of a rehash of Beowulf and the Finnish Kalevala.

C.S. Lewis was the Catholic, not Tolkien (staunch Anglican, that one..)

 

[DavidSnider]

It is more of a rehash of Beowulf and the Finnish Kalevala.

C.S. Lewis was the Catholic, not Tolkien (staunch Anglican, that one..)

I think you have it backwards...

 

[Pattonias]

Personally, I would much rather read C.S. Lewis's symbolism than force myself into a study of the religion that generated it.

 

[arithmetix]

I tried to read Jorge Luis Borges at 20 years of age... it was another 20 years before I felt understood his work. I think that sometimes it's better just to give up, find something more profitable.
I had thought I was somehow bettering myself by attempting this difficult author, but it's lucky for me I knew no-one else at that time who was interested in Borges - I would have made a complete fool of myself in any discussion of his work.
It would have been the same if, at that time, I had attempted J M Coetzee, a Nobel winner, or many another author of mature intellect.
I think I was much better off reading Jack Vance, whose work I still love. The very thought of a whole new dish of his delightful phrasings of magic and whimsy must have made my face shine!
For me, life is more to be enjoyed than it is to be profited by.

 

[waht]

For some reason I always associate Mody Dick with captain Picard.

 

[Virtuous]

I don't bother myself with any book that doesn't improve my understand of something or I don't get enjoyment. I really don't care how good other people find it, if it gives me nothing, I am not going to waste my time with it, I can do other things to waste time. I've seen people that look down on other people for not being well read with "popular" literature. Really though, what exactly does it give you besides bragging that you read it. No different than jocks bragging about how much they fornicate, just for the intellectual population.

I still haven't read the origin of species, I respect Darwin for is contributions, that doesn't mean I am going to sit through a whole book with flowery wording so that I can feel enlightened. I can see evolution from any modern textbook.

Unless your vocabulary is bad (like me) and you are bothered by it (not like me) then why read a book you don't enjoy. There is none.

 

[DavidSnider]

For some reason I always associate Mody Dick with captain Picard.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120756/

You're not the only one.

 

[Moonbear]

I liked The Plague, but I can definitely see how it's not for everyone. (I also read it way back in high school, so had a pretty different perspective on reading then, and don't know if I'd still enjoy it now.)

But, if it isn't an assigned reading for a course, why torture yourself finishing a book you aren't enjoying? If you had to read it for a course, then I'd only be able to recommend things like finding a brightly lit place in the middle of the day when you're least likely to fall asleep reading, especially if that brightly lit place came with coffee (i.e., sitting next to a window in a coffee shop) and just plodding through.

 

[turbo]

I liked The Plague, but I can definitely see how it's not for everyone. (I also read it way back in high school, so had a pretty different perspective on reading then, and don't know if I'd still enjoy it now.)

But, if it isn't an assigned reading for a course, why torture yourself finishing a book you aren't enjoying? If you had to read it for a course, then I'd only be able to recommend things like finding a brightly lit place in the middle of the day when you're least likely to fall asleep reading, especially if that brightly lit place came with coffee (i.e., sitting next to a window in a coffee shop) and just plodding through.

Yes! And making notes along the way, so that your book report/analysis will have some semblance of structure.

When I switched from engineering to liberal arts (with a double-major in English literature and Philosophy) I aced all my lit classes by annotating during assigned reading. It might be hard to regurgitate stuff months after reading some works, but if you can refer to the feelings that came upon you when reading a poem by Byron, Shelly, Keats, etc, you'll ace your exams. The profs didn't get into the field for wealth and grandeur - just personal drive. Show them a spark of what they felt, and you will be encouraged.

 

[waht]

But, if it isn't an assigned reading for a course, why torture yourself finishing a book you aren't enjoying? If you had to read it for a course, then I'd only be able to recommend things like finding a brightly lit place in the middle of the day when you're least likely to fall asleep reading, especially if that brightly lit place came with coffee (i.e., sitting next to a window in a coffee shop) and just plodding through.

I'm finished with English, just reading on my own. What I'm afraid of is that quiting will only open doors to quit reading other books in the future. This will lead to hopping from one flower to another flower without really completing anything. I guess I've been reading when I go to sleep, sleepy and tired. Will give it a try on a bright afternoon, never though about that actually...

When I switched from engineering to liberal arts (with a double-major in English literature and Philosophy) I aced all my lit classes by annotating during assigned reading.

I didn't know you were an English major. My former English teacher often talked about rock, he brought electric guitars to class many times and let us see it. After half hour of unloading, he would then begin the lecture.

 

[turbo]

I didn't know you were an English major. My former English teacher often talked about rock, he brought electric guitars to class many times and let us see it. After half hour of unloading, he would then begin the lecture.

Yep! Instead of writing a massive term-paper for a course in English Romantic Literature, 2 friends and I came up with a stage adaptation of Samson Agonistes. The other guy wrote all the stage direction, adapting that to the poem, my girlfriend designed the costumes and sets, and I composed and recorded the soundtrack. We didn't have any money to actually produce the adaptation, but we turned in the written adaptation, sketches of sets and costumes, and a very long tape of instrumental music with voice-over on another track to explain where in the production that particular music would be used. We all got A's on the work, though the professor expressed disappointment that we could not actually produce it so it could be performed live. Most of the soundtrack was recorded with a '60's Telecaster through a Princeton Reverb with LPB-1 power boosters for distortion. Percussion was done with whatever stuff I had kicking around my apartment.