Books that don't sweep you away.

Are you talking about books that I pick up on my own, that sound interesting at first but that I then decide I don't like? Very few. I probably buy three books a week, and of all those books, I generally don't like about one or two a month. So let's say 2/12, or 1/6. I actually think it might be less than that, but that's probably close enough.

As for just total number of books that I read and don't like, it's a lot higher. This is because there are books I have to read for school, books I have to read for friends, and books I have to review for various reasons. Plenty of these books I end up liking, but I think the percentage of books I don't like is a lot higher.

Hope that answers your question.

Books that are too focused on a Grand Theme or are too busy doing literary gymnastics to give me a great plot or sympathetic characters are the ones that don't sweep me away. Occasionally, I get into such books, but not until well after the halfway point, when a sane person might have given up.

King's new romance....ugh, I cannot get though that boring book!

Pick up a copy of "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold. You will come to understand the meaning of the word slog when you finish it. To my horror they are shopping it to studios as a movie.

Funny, my ever-supportive husband said almost the same thing to me yesterday, when I was down in the dumps after reading through the collection of rejection letters from publishers my agent had forwarded to me. Even though most of the rejections were positive to a degree, the problem came down to too narrow an audience, too narrow in scope, too specialized a subject.

What it comes down it is "not swept away," I said. Whether because of the writing itself, or the content (which is hard to alter.)

He reminded me of all the stuff that gets published I'd never pick up--or books that are supposed to be wonderful, but leave you cold.

I guess we have to assume that if something gets published, at least by a major publisher--somebody was "swept away"--either personally, or at least by the prospect of big sales! (ie, they figure someone will be swept away...)

I have also read that in recent years there is more pressure to instantly "hook" a reader in the first few pages. Cultural shifts, short attention spans, the internet....I don't know if I completely buy it. But it's discouraging.

Susan

Trouble is stuff like Lovely Bones is an instant hook. But I seriously began to doubt the publisher had actually read the rest of it when I started the long, plodding, wade to the end.

I actually hate it when a book is promoted as being humorous and then it isn't. I cite Ben Elton's 'Popcorn,' as a case in point. I had a ceremonial burning of it.

Hey, I've been quoted!

Jone: What I understood from Dan was that he might be looking for a high concept fantasy without the other world trappings. He told me he read a large chunk of my story but, as I mentioned, it wasn't 'sweeping him off his feet'.

My story is not high concept fantasy in that it is set in a very familiar setting, basically a farm with the simple type of creatures you would find there. No dragons, no trolls, no elves, etc.

So if anyone has a high concept fantasy that features more of a real world setting you might just have what Dan Lazar is looking for. I've researched a few other agents since and have found there are more than a few looking for fantasy without a high concept approach, too.

It's subjective on the agent's taste so you just have to keep submitting until that one agent likes what they read. If not, time for a major rewrite.

Bones

RumpleTumbler said:

Pick up a copy of "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold. You will come to understand the meaning of the word slog when you finish it. To my horror they are shopping it to studios as a movie.

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Good example. I loved "The Lovely Bones." Finished it in one sitting. But to others it's a long, slow, slogging read.

Monday's Child by Patricia Wallace. It would have made a cool bad movie. But I couldn't handle it as a bad book.

When I was on vaction in the Smokies a couple months ago I ran across "Painted House" by John Grisham in our cabin. It was raining so I settled into the comfy chair upstairs, looking out over a grand view of Smokey mountain mist, and read the first two chapters. I thought it was so good that when I returned home I bought my own copy. Try as I might, I just couldn't read it at home. Maybe it was the atmosphere? Everything seems nicer in the mountains. At home it just seemed like a really bad book.

Could not get through Ian McEwan's 'Saturday'. Annoying thing was, someone then gave it to me for my b'day. So I tried again. Throwing good chunks of time after bad.

About two decades ago I bought 'Grapes of Wrath' and put it aside after a couple of chapters. A year or so later I finished the book I was reading and picked Steinbeck up again. Loved every word of it and still think it's a great book.

Haha. I guess I'd be in the literary minority if I said that I LOVED The Lovely Bones?

Don't shoot!

I recently picked up what I thought was chick lit. Then I saw it had 4 author blurbs on front/back covers, and 2 full pages of rave reviews from another 12 authors. So I figured it would be less chick, more lit. It was neither. It was full of promise but never got close to delivering. I still don't understand the over the top praise, nor the solid 5 star Amazon reviews. "Funny, fast-paced, and incisive"?? No.

I think you are actually in the majority when it comes to liking the book, Temerity! (in the global scheme of things)

I just found that the writing in the first couple of opening chapters, seemed to bear no resemblence to that in the rest of the book. And I'm one of those sad people that will keep on slogging to the end because the reviewers have told me that it's good. So, I'm presuming that I must get to those bits at some point ...

Okay, talk about hype? Anticipation. I went for it. Now I'm wondering why I did.


I know it's too early to tell, but I'm 200 pages into Ender's Game and it is a tough, tough slog through this maze. There really is no hook, other than a genius child goes off to train for war. To become an officer. A six-year-old child genius. So far, this is 200 pages of annoying setup--all of this practicing, all of these war game scenarios, which don't really change other than bouncing off walls and advancing in rank. I don't get the full meaning behind the mysterious computer game scenarios, played out in that fantasy setting. Are we discovering Ender's innovative thinking through this trial? Valantine presents a somewhat interesting character thus far, and somehow I know that the two siblings might be reunited. But she's buried in the background. Ender, the picked on kid, bullied and shoved around, is advancing in age, gaining rank, and transforming into the type of prick he detests. Guh. My empathy/sympathy is bleeding away here and I hope it doesn't end up a torrent.

Honest to gawd, there are a plethora of characters in this book (thus far) that aren't drawn well enough for me to remember them by name. Just bad ones and good ones. The manuevers they pull and the description of the inside of the war rooms have more characterization than the people themselves.

I hope this has got a major payoff somewhere--a twist, a full-out battle, or some really cool strategies. Gawd, please give me a time/warp jump to the alien planet, where Ender ends up 26-years old and is ready to hose some alien azz.

I will reserve judgement. I want to know why this took the Hugo and Nebulae awards, when it seems to have broken some major accepted rules. This story DID NOT hit the ground running. I will gladly retract my feelings/perception if I can get through this. And I don't mean to pizz off any Card fans. But somebody...please reasure me, cause I feel like a fool dissing this book.

Tri

Sorry, Tri, I can't help because I haven't read it. but maybe the ending will be really good ... something like, it all ends up being a dream

Dolly, heh heh. Now that's all I would need.

Tri

'The Memory keeper's Daughter'. This book was so hyped. It's even on Australia's top 100 reads! -everyone was rushing to buy it. I thought it was the biggest load of crap i've ever read and I actually felt cheated out of $22.95.

I read a lot of YA novels, and I sometimes wonder, "Why was this published?" I don't understand every adolescent girl's obsession with Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, but maybe that's because I'm not an adolescent girl anymore. To be fair, I can see WHY it was published, but that doesn't mean it should have been. It's pretty much 400 pages of the main character wondering why all the other characters think she's so gosh darn neat, including a vampire, who is (surprise!) ridiculously hot.

But, then, that's what I get for giving another vampire novel the benefit of the doubt.

Dollywagon said:

Sorry, Tri, I can't help because I haven't read it. but maybe the ending will be really good ... something like, it all ends up being a dream

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Wouldn't it be funny if it really was a dream -- but the dream was that you were only dreaming you were reading the book? Hmmm....