Books You've Thrown Away

[missmsry]

I can no longer afford to buy books. My mother, who is still solvent passes on her books to me, I read them and then sell them. And I just got my first library card, and have started riding my bike to the nearest branch. For a larger selection, I take the bus to the downtown library. Being without a job is a bitch, ie; NO MONEY, but it gives me time to read and figure out ways to save money. Oh, and I've lost 12 pounds in the last month.

At this point, I only read mindless stuff like James Lee Burke, because I just need to escape.

Might be time to revisit some Gogol, for a little lighthearted fun.

[qurtalain]

I haven't thrown my book away but I'm really stuck Curious Incident of the Nighttime Dog by Mark Haddon. Has anyone read it? It's told from the perspective of an autistic teenage boy. I feel awful for saying that I don't like the character but he comes across as very unsympathetic and I feel like I don't care about the story. Gah, I'm a terrible human being.

[Ripley]

I read that book a couple of summers ago. It was our local One Book, One Community selection. I think it's worth it if you power through the rest of the story. It is heartbreaking to read from the point of view who doesn't understand social interaction, and no, he's not likable.

[tabby]

I read Curious Incident a couple of years ago for my online book club. It was just "meh" for me, but stays in my head because of the Monty Hall Problem. That thing drives me absolutely freakin' nuts. I've understood it for, like, 15 minutes a couple of times, and then my brain shorts out.

[qurtalain]

I think I will perservere in that case. The book is certainly well-written so I can't fault it for that. I haven't got to the Monty Hall problem yet but it sounds intriguing!

[Deleted]

Apr 28, 2009 11:42:05 GMT -4 @qurtalain said:

I haven't thrown my book away but I'm really stuck Curious Incident of the Nighttime Dog by Mark Haddon. Has anyone read it? It's told from the perspective of an autistic teenage boy. I feel awful for saying that I don't like the character but he comes across as very unsympathetic and I feel like I don't care about the story. Gah, I'm a terrible human being.

How far into the book are you? There's a "resolution" about halfway through, and then the book sort of veers off as Christopher has to confront his fears. I teach this book to high schoolers, and they often have the same response to Christopher, but by the end of the year, most call it their favourite book (but no, most of them don't like Christopher!)

[lemuralley]

I really wanted to like that book, but would up finding it immensely irritating. Christopher never really became a character I cared about or wanted to read about, for that matter.

[Deleted]

James Patterson's You've Been Warned. As if the flying kid shit wasn't insulting enough, he gave us that. I love all the Cross books and Women's Murder Club, and most of all The Jester, but after reading that piece of crap I was sad I lost three hours of my life.

[Deleted]

Fear of Flying. I didn't throw it away because it was a library copy, but i've sent it back and hope I never even catch a glance of the spine again.

I hated the main character. And I have such a high tolerance for characters other people would love to slap. Heathcliff and Cathy? I love those crazy kids and hope they work it out in the afterlife! Bella and Edward? A bit annoying, I grant you, but I can get into their story. Isadora Wing, however, has just pushed me over the edge.

What a whiny, self-obssessed, prententious twit. I wouldn't be able to stand a minute in her company. Having to read pages of her neurosis should be looked into as a possible torture method. I'm struggling to think of one redeeming characteristic - there wasn't one, so the writer was reduced to making all the people around Isadora ridiculously over-the-top villains to try and make her look a little better.

I especially hated (and was reminded of Elizabeth Wurtzel by) the fact that Isadora blamed every negative part of her personality on her being Jewish. Uh, no plenty of Jews manage to go through life without being totally and completely insufferable.

[Smilla]

I almost threw away my current read, Camilla Way's The Dead of Summer, about thirty pages in last night, then decided to finish it. It's not very well-written, but the "characters" (based on a true story) are interesting and the plot does hook one pretty good...a quarter of the way through.

My kingdom for quality fiction again.

ETA: Just got done with it and wish I'd skipped the last half. Worst. Book. Ever. I still can't bring myself to throw it away, but I'll be making a trip to my fave book store's Free Box on Monday.