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Force yourself

Martin

Martin

Active Member
Quick question.

Do you guys ever have to force yourself to pick up a particular book from your TBR-pile. Because I do.

I recently bought a few books (at Stansted Airport). It was a 3 for 2 deal, so I quickly had to browse through the pile of books, and I ended up with Dead Air (Iain Banks), Porno (Irvine Welsh) and High Society (Ben Elton), and now, a couple of months later, all three just don't appeal to me anymore. I recently finished reading a book, and I actually had to force myself to pick up Dead Air, because it would remain unread if I didn't.

Do you guys even have that?

Cheers, Martin

ps: I am enjoying Dead Air, by the way.
 
I've had to force myself on many occasions. The thing is, I keep buying stuff, and then I keep going to the library for stuff, and then I go out and lend stuff from friends. And after that, I'm just too damn tired to read.
 
I don't mean 'force yourself to read' as much as 'force yourself to read a certain book'.

I always feel like reading, but I just sometimes have to make myself pick up that one book on the bottom of the pile, because if I keep skipping it and skipping it, it'll remain unread (and we can't have that, can we?).

Am I making sense?

Cheers, Martin :D
 
Well, it's the same thing, really. (I know it isn't, but that's beside the point.) The books I have lying around are the ones I never get to, because I don't feel like it anymore. I tell myself every time: you're not going to the library anymore until you've read all the books in your room you haven't read yet, and the next thing I know, I'm in the library picking up books I feel like reading more.
 
Yeah, I have done that Martin. I did it with The Notebook, and that turned out good. I also did it with Girl in a Swing and Slaughterhouse 5.

Sometimes it has turned out good, sometimes bad, but at least they are not on my TBR pile anymore.
 
I know definitely what you mean. Especially when it's a book that someone's loaned me cause I have to read it, it soooooooooooooo good, but would generally not be something I picked out.

It's funny, I had one on my pile forever that I'd bought because I liked the author, but the back blurb just didn't appeal to me much. Turns out, the back didn't really match the book, and it turned out being my favorite by that author. I sent her an email, and she agreed with me that the cover didn't make much sense.
 
IIRC my 'to read pile' at the mo: Imajica, Islandia, Downbelow Station, Word of Honour, The Charm School, Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Uplift War, The Murder Room, Count of Monte Cristo, The Hannibal trilogy (Red Dragon etc), David Copperfield and The Worm Ouroboros.

Out of that lot, 3 or 4 have been sitting around for at least a year. I've probably started on all of them at some point but I'm just not in the mood to read them. I will get back to them, but I'm a bit faffy with my genre tastes changing from week to week. I don't force myself to read - if I don't like the book, I swap books, and go into town and get books from the bookshop or the library. Failing that, I go and purchase some DVDs instead.
 
Well read The Count of Monte Cristo first, coz that books rocks. I wish I had an island full of booty. Oh how I wish.

But to get back on topic. Those 3 for 2 tables will be the death of me. I scoot through, find loads of books I want, get them home, and then read something else instead. I think the problem is that I'm in a different mood when I'm buying them than when I'm choosing the next one to read. So I probably will really enjoy them once I start, it's just finding that initial impetus to actually pick up the buggering things in the first place. Plus other things get in the way. Have a semi-active book club on a different forum and you have to read things for that, and they're not always books you would have chosen yourself, so that pushes the next book on the pile further down. Then sometimes I buy books in stupid heavy formats and I can't be bothered carrying it into work with me. Then other times I'll be reading a really excellent fantasy book, and while I'm reading it I'll binge buy fantasy, then by the time I'm finished I'll be all fantasied out, so I'll have to go out and binge buy in a different genre.

I have bulimia, but for books. :(
 
Litany said:
I have bulimia, but for books. :(
Click to expand...

Me, too! This is why I need a 12-step program. It's not my fault, it's an illness. ;)

I am very proud of myself, I went to a bookstore on Monday and didn't buy a single book. It was a crappy bookstore, but still, I'm counting it as a win.
 
I rarely force myself to read a book on the TBR pile, because I know I'll eventually get in the mood to read it again. I just have to wait for the appropriate time to read the book. It helps that the TBR pile is large enough to accomodate my changing moods, or I would probably end up having to force myself to read a few of the books from time to time.
 
Litany said:
Then other times I'll be reading a really excellent fantasy book, and while I'm reading it I'll binge buy fantasy, then by the time I'm finished I'll be all fantasied out, so I'll have to go out and binge buy in a different genre.(
Click to expand...

You hit the nail on the head there. I guess it's obvious that I've not been into a bookshop for 6 months or so now to stop myself from getting more books. ebay and amazon haven't help kick the obsessive compulsive buying of books though. I'm really tempted to go on a short story binge at the mo.

Be right back...
 
There are a couple books I have to force myself to pick up and actually read, and a lot of time I don't get it on the first try, ex: read the first chapter, months go by, forget it, force myself to sit down and start again, stop in the same place, forget it. It's all about patience and mood with me I suppose,well, that and the temptation of the internet drawing me from my reading spot to the desk.
 
No, you are not the only one! :)

I do that too. Sometimes I just can't make myself and I end up just never reading it :)

Regards
SillyWabbit
 
Yeah, I'd be interested to know what Dead Air is like as well Martin. My brother has it, I could steal...........borrow it for him if it's good.
 
I really like Ian Banks and Ian M Banks :D I have not read that one yet but I have Wasp Factory sitting in my TBR pile :)

Regards
SillyWabbit
 
Ahem, it is Iain Banks, and Iain M. Banks.

I wouldn't normally care, but when you shaqre the same name as someone, you know...........you just have to correct it.
:D

And you have to read The Wasp Factory Wabbit. Have to, have to, have to!
 
i started with Tom Clancy when i was a kid and found the technical stuff too much to grasp.i read "The Hunt for Red october" first and had to really force myself to finish it. at the end of it i must say i admired the author
"The Fourth Protocol" by Fredrick Forsythe was one more book like that and it has ended up as one of my favourites
 
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