An Old People Move
I am not an
avid reader. I like books, but generally
I am too lazy and spend my free time (and I have a lot of free time) on other pursuits.
When I am on
vacation, I do enjoy a book or two, especially when sunning by the ocean. This last week I’ve enjoyed an easy read
James Patterson book, and a recommendation from old Fraternity friend Bud,
about an NFL backup quarterback (fiction) playing American football in Italy.
I enjoyed
both books.
Next, I took
a shot at buying a Kindle recommendation.
It was a thriller by an author who has had several successful thrillers.
This book
was a little difficult to get into.
Unlike a James Patterson book where someone gets kidnapped or murdered
by page 3, this book did a lot of scene setting. Eventually there were four different characters
in four different situations which all were slowly coming together to create a
plot.
Half way
through the book I was getting a bit frustrated with going back and forth
trying to see how all the pieces were going to finally fit together. I was also getting frustrated with how long the
chapters were. I like finding a good
stopping point ever few minutes, not dragging through a chapter for 25 or 30
pages.
Anyway, I
did something that I realized was an old people move.
I just stopped
reading and downloaded a new James Patterson book to enjoy.
A young
Cranky would never have done this. You
start a book, you finish the book, especially one you have paid for.
A seasoned
Cranky will not waste precious moments plodding through something he is not
enjoying if he does not have to.
Go to a
crappy movie… “Let’s go, this movie stinks!”
Slow service
and waiting on a meal at a restaurant… “Let’s go, we can eat someplace else.”
Bad program
on TV… “Change the channel.”
Yankees
losing again… “I’m going to bed.”
Reading a
boring confusing book… “I’m done.”
Getting
seasoned is not always easy, but not having to be patient is at least one small
perk.
Do you just
move on when you are not enjoying yourself, or do you feel compelled to finish
what you start no matter what?
I listen to a LOT of audiobooks which I purchase with credits I pay for as a membership type plan. Credits are equal to around $10. But I also purchase some books on sale on the same site for as little as $1.99 to 3.99. When I run into a really crappy ( I know….not nice) book and want to dump it, I usually go back to see if it is one I used a credit for or purchased really cheap. Now, why do I do this? Bad is bad no matter how much it costs. But I feel the need to hang in there if it was a $10 credit. But sometimes, I have to dump it, no matter the cost.
ReplyDeleteI move on with a book if I can't get into it by the first 20 pages. Life is just way too short to suffer through a book that is not interesting. I don't buy books but download ones from our Elibrary or get the hardbacks from the library itself.
ReplyDeletebetty
I did exactly the same thing with a kindle book two days ago. Scrapped it halfway through chapter two. I don't need to waste time on overly long scene settings and descriptions of this or that place/person.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading the whole of this post. As for long books like War and Peace, or Les Miserables. I just see the film with closed captions/subtitles on and then claim to have read it.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I’m with you! Life is too short and there are a billion books out there.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. Even when I was a youngster and had a ton of time ahead of me, I would bail on a bad book, movie or even party. Me too when the Marlins are losing. I do record them though just in case they catch fire while I am sleeping:)
ReplyDeleteBefore I was really, REALLY seasoned, I made that decision, too. When the boys were young, we spent a summer going to the local library. We could each check out two books. I'd re-checked one book a couple times, because I had trouble getting into it. Finally I decided to give up on it, so it didn't prevent me from getting other books that were better. So much pressure off my shoulders! It was empowering!
ReplyDeleteI love on - can't see wasting my time on something I don't enjoy - even if it means I blew money on it which I don't like to do. That just means I need to make better choices.
ReplyDeleteI like James Patterson books as well.
I move on. Life is too short. My wife, however, is of the persuasion that she has to finish a book, even if she's complaining about how bad it is. Lately, though, I've seen some of my admonitions to her about quitting it if you don't like it may be taking hold.
ReplyDeleteI'm a mover oner... however I also read the last page first. I find that helps. I actually left the first Star Wars movie half way through. It was 1977..I was in labor but we had waited so long to see the movie I thought I could hang in there until the end. Nope. He's lucky we named him Craig and not R2D2.
ReplyDeleteLuke is a cool name!
DeleteSunk costs. You won't get the money back by making yourself suffer through something you aren't enjoying. it's a sunk cost, write it off and move on.
ReplyDeleteThe only book I can ever remember that was worth the difficult beginning was Ghost Story by Peter Straub. It was also the only book that scared the hell out of me.
ReplyDeleteI don't have kindle, because Im a reader, not a listener.
Library. Think, library.
i choose book carefully so it hardly happened that i left the book in middle ,though if i get bored i leave it for a while ,i mean for long while and read in breaks between books i enjoy ,i have two like this right now
ReplyDelete