Another Chance?

[magemanda]

I'm writing this post to ask whether other forum goers have had a similar experience to me...

It's to do with re-reading books and how many chances you tend to give a book before you write it off.

My friend and I were chatting about this. We often swap recommendations, and he likes to read the same style of book as I. So I was disconcerted when he didn't enjoy 'Bitten' by Kelley Armstrong, which I had enjoyed and which is similar in style to some other authors we both read. I suggested he could maybe try the book again, in case he was in an odd mood when he read it, and he said that he doesn't re-read books at all.

But I'm willing to give all books a second chance! I didn't enjoy Steven Erikson when I first tried him, but am eager to try again. Same with David Drake's fantasy quartet. It might be on a second read that I have the same views as the first - in which case, that book is gone!

I feel you can miss some real gems by not trying books a second time. For instance, I am only now getting into Robin Hobb's Assassin series and absolutely loving them. On my first pass at Assassin's Apprentice a few years ago, I couldn't abide it an cast it aside. I'm very glad I decided to try again.

What are your views?

 

[Wabbit]

Yeah, I give books a second chance and even a third, forth and fifth time! I re-read lord of the rings about four times over a span of many years to try and see what the fuss was about ( never did )

I agree with you. Sometimes you can be in an odd mood or you are tired and when you go to read the book you may not like it. Also, people change as they grow. So it's possible that you read something five years ago that you didn't like but maybe you like it now.

So, tell your friend the wabbit says don't be stubborn and try that book again

 

[cajunmama]

I usually will stick with a book until about a third of the way through. If it hasn't caught me by the first chapter, I usually put it down and try again later, so an odd mood can't be the reason. But if I've waded my way through a third of a book I still can't stand, I'm not going to waste my time finishing it. I have pretty broad tastes in reading material so not finishing a book doesn't happen very often. And I have only re-read one book in my life.

 

[Ashlea]

Depends on how awful the book is, or what about it bothered me. It took me a couple goes to get thru LOTR, but I really enjoyed them once I got into them. I still plan on reading Cold Mountain at some point, despite not getting into it after 2 tries. But if there's something about the plot itself that sets my teeth on edge, I most likely won't go back to it. For example, in one book - by Harry Turtledove, I think, there was a time travel thing where the modern person encountered the pervasive lice problem. I found that a touch too realistic, just thinking about it makes my scalp itch.

 

[Freya]

I still plan on reading Cold Mountain at some point, despite not getting into it after 2 tries.

Ashlea, you have no reason to trust my opinion, but please don't bother reading it. I bought it because I was having a 'must read all books before they are turned into films' period in my life, oh and because it had a really pretty blue cover. This, I now realise, is not sufficient reason to part with my hard earned cash. I tried to get into a few times, and eventually finished it off one week on nights when I was REALLY bored.

 

[Sapper41]

Always give books a second chance! And lets hang your friend.

 

[Ashlea]

I have enjoyed the rich language of Cold Mountain. So, despite any deficiencies it may have, I won't put in in the "to sell" pile until I've tried it.

 

[Kaz]

Weird, I have finished Cold Mountain couple of days ago. I was struggle with this book. It was so slow as same time I was frustrated. I was determind to finished it off. I know it was beautiful written but can be bored me. So I am glad to rid of it and never read it again. My advice is better off to watch film!

 

[Freya]

Yeh, the words were pretty.

 

[Themistocles]

I re-read lots of books, but rarely is it ones that I did not enjoy the first time - there are so many other books out there to read, and quite likely that I shall enjoy, that it seems a waste of time to trudge through a book that I didn't enjoy the first time again.

 

[liv]

I read a lot of the books I read as a kid again, because now I can understand them so much more. A lot of them I'm really dissapointed in because I had this fantastical view when I read them all those years ago. Some of them I understood really well though, when I didn't back then. Take for example, the Chronicles of Narnia. I read them all when I was little (like 7ish) and got the gist of the books, but was never able to read into them like I can now.

 

[letterHead]

If a book hasn't interested me the first time I try to read it, it is extremely unlikely it will have rewritten itself enough to engage my interest the second time around. I might give the author a second chance though.