What Books CAN'T you get started reading?

[Alynna Lis Eachann]

Mirror of Her Dreams. I've tried. I've failed.

Ditto.

Had a hard time with LOTR, as well, though I did finish that. Most of the reading I have on hold now is due to lack of time, rather than motivation. I just can't devote the four to six hours per day to a book that I used to. *pout*

[duke]

The bigger the book, the more I struggle with starting it. But once I'm in, I hang on and keep going until the end. I can only recall putting down two books half way through. Crime and Punishment - which I went back and fully read a year later, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which I didnt go back to, as I was being made to read it for high school.

Have never had problems with SRD, and as for LOTR, I read it when I was 11, but havent felt inclined to re-read it since.

[iQuestor]

I read voraciously , but here is my list of shame:

1. Wheel of Time: Read the first 8 or 9, then just got tired of Egwin tugging her braid and silly conversations, etc. There has been a lull in between books, too long, and I just left. I tried to read Twilight, but just couldnt get back into it.

2. Wizards First Rule: Great series starter, but after the red suited S&M gals (forgot what they were called) it just got too tedious and sappy for me.

3. The Gap books. I dunno, I just tried, but couldn't get interested.

4. Dark Tower - Agree with previous comments, the quality is touch and go. I also put down insomnia by Stephen King: the whole fading text in the book to symbolize whatever it was just was the last straw for me. And I used to Love his stuff so much...

5. Otherland by Tad Williams. I read the first two, bought the third, and just lost interest.

edited for spelling.

[Fist and Faith]

Gates of Fire - I am going to make a 2nd attempt, because I promised Brinn that I would.

You...! I...! If...!

DOH!!!

It took 2 tries to get through Dune.

Same with me. And now I've read it maybe four times, and I consider it one of the few best books I've ever read. Go figure.

I put The Real Story down halfway through, and I've never picked it up again.

At least I made it through that one. But I stopped in the middle of the 2nd book.

[Fist and Faith]

I can't get started on the Earthsea Quartet.

Make that sextet.

[Cail]

3. The Gap books. I dunno, I just tried, but couldn't get interested.

Give it another go. They're the best thing SRD has written.

4. Dark Tower - Agree with previous comments, the quality is touch and go. I also put down insomnia by Stephen King: the whole fading text in the book to symbolize whatever it was just was the last straw for me. And I used to Love his stuff so much...

DT is worth it, even though it is uneven. Insomnia is a fantastic, but slow book. Insomnia is one of my SK favorites because it's so well written.

[iQuestor]

3. The Gap books. I dunno, I just tried, but couldn't get interested.

Give it another go. They're the best thing SRD has written.

4. Dark Tower - Agree with previous comments, the quality is touch and go. I also put down insomnia by Stephen King: the whole fading text in the book to symbolize whatever it was just was the last straw for me. And I used to Love his stuff so much...

DT is worth it, even though it is uneven. Insomnia is a fantastic, but slow book. Insomnia is one of my SK favorites because it's so well written.

OK, Gap gets another go, Cail. Thanks. Are they really better than TC?

As far as SK, I dont see how anything could beat The Stand, and It for sheer well-written-ness. Loved these so much!!! I loved the plot of TommyKnockers, but the writing kind of put me off.

As far as DT, I really liked the first couple, but then there was so long a wait. I think I was put out by SK's lets pull everything I ever wrote into one big storyline approach and felt this was somehow degrading to some of his past works. I also loved The Talisman, but didn't like the sequal Black House, I think. I thought the writing was off. Did you read these?

[Cail]

To me (and a couple other people here), The Gap is SRD's Magnum Opus. I'm a big sci-fi fan, but I loathe most popular sci-fi. The Gap is sci-fi done right. And if you think SRD wrote interesting characters in The Chrons....

Stick with it. I was very skeptical when I started resding it, but I flew through those books.

Then there's King.....

I'm rereading The Stand right now. I think it's his best work, bar none. Having said that, I loved the ambition of the DT series. It is terribly uneven, and I'd love to have read it had he not had his near-death experience (I won't spoil anything for you, but it did have an affect the story). If you like his work, it is definately worth reading, and there is some crushingly beautiful writing in it; specifically Wizard and Glass, which had me in tears at the end.

I enjoyed Black House, but it wasn't as good as The Talisman. I can't put my finger on what was missing, but it was about an 80% book for me.

It was a fine book, but I felt let down at the end.

Insomnia is a difficult read, but if you really want to read and understand the later DT books, ya gotta read it. I loved it, and when I fnish The Stand, it's next in line before I start The Tower again.

King's written some junk (Bag of Bones, Gerald's Game, Desperation), but even in the junk there's treasure to be found.

Bad King is like bad golf. It's still better than the alternative.

[Marv]

To me (and a couple other people here), The Gap is SRD's Magnum Opus. I'm a big sci-fi fan, but I loathe most popular sci-fi. The Gap is sci-fi done right. And if you think SRD wrote interesting characters in The Chrons....

Stick with it. I was very skeptical when I started resding it, but I flew through those books.

agreed. you have to persevere. the complexity of the characters and their motives makes it a tremedously rewarding read by the end.

Then there's King.....

I loved the ambition of the DT series. It is terribly uneven, and I'd love to have read it had he not had his near-death experience (I won't spoil anything for you, but it did have an affect the story). If you like his work, it is definately worth reading, and there is some crushingly beautiful writing in it; specifically Wizard and Glass, which had me in tears at the end.

My DT reading ground to a halt after WaG and then WotC. i absoloutely loved parts of WaG and, like you, felt emotionally drained by the end, but i cant believe that he couldn't have trimmed a couple of hundred pages off. WotC just seemed to be all the waiting of WaG without any pay off at the end.

i was also disillusioned by the thought that so much of the rest of the story was due to take place in our world. i always enjoyed the Ka-tet's little sojourns to NYC but was happiest when the story moved back. i'm convinced i'll get back to it one day, i just need to summon the motivation.....maybe there's a metaphor in there somewhere...heh.

King's written some junk (Bag of Bones, Gerald's Game, Desperation), but even in the junk there's treasure to be found.

a lot of King's writing seems disjointed to me, like he has a great idea but can't form it into a coherant novel. the start to Desperation was eerily surreal and completely gripping but by the end i was tearing my eye balls out.

[Cail]

WotC is a bastard. After the really long wait after WaG, I expected more.

But King had his near-death experience, and I believe that changed everything.

Desperation is one of those King books from the 90s that just sucked. It's worth reading, but (like the others I've mentioned, and I'll add Rose Madder), but the poo far outweighs the good. Insomnia was a breath of fresh air.

Face it....He's never going to write another Shining, Firestarter, Stand, or 'Salem's Lot. But even his worst books (which I believe are 10 years behind him) are still decent reads.

Except for maybe The Regulators.

[lucimay]

To me (and a couple other people here)*, The Gap is SRD's Magnum Opus. I'm a big sci-fi fan, but I loathe most popular sci-fi. The Gap is sci-fi done right. And if you think SRD wrote interesting characters in The Chrons....

Stick with it. I was very skeptical when I started resding it, but I flew through those books.

Then there's King.....

I'm rereading The Stand right now. I think it's his best work, bar none. Having said that, I loved the ambition of the DT series. It is terribly uneven, and I'd love to have read it had he not had his near-death experience (I won't spoil anything for you, but it did have an affect the story). If you like his work, it is definately worth reading, and there is some crushingly beautiful writing in it; specifically Wizard and Glass, which had me in tears at the end.

I enjoyed Black House, but it wasn't as good as The Talisman. I can't put my finger on what was missing, but it was about an 80% book for me.

It was a fine book, but I felt let down at the end.

Insomnia is a difficult read, but if you really want to read and understand the later DT books, ya gotta read it. I loved it, and when I fnish The Stand, it's next in line before I start The Tower again.

King's written some junk (Bag of Bones, Gerald's Game, Desperation), but even in the junk there's treasure to be found.

Bad King is like bad golf. It's still better than the alternative.

*of which i would be one

i gotta disagree about at least the first HALF of Bag of Bones...and definitely Gerald's Game. man...Gerald's Game actually gave me the willies!! after all these years i was surprised that King could actually do that to me again! heh. but that's just me. the fact that my spouse's name is GERALD might have SOMEthing to do with my reaction to this story!!

But King had his near-death experience, and I believe that changed everything.

Desperation is one of those King books from the 90s that just sucked. It's worth reading, but (like the others I've mentioned, and I'll add Rose Madder), but the poo far outweighs the good. Insomnia was a breath of fresh air.

Face it....He's never going to write another Shining, Firestarter, Stand, or 'Salem's Lot. But even his worst books (which I believe are 10 years behind him) are still decent reads.

it did change everything...right out of a freaking steven king story

i like desperation and regulators just as an exercise in writing. i liked that he did it. rose madder was another one like bag of bones...started out good and ended up in left field. ah well...

i got to see King on his motorcycle tour when Insomnia was released. he read in Lexington, Ky, my home town and i just happened to be there. my brother (the youngest of the two evil spawns) got us tickets. it was great hearing him read! he was touring on behalf of independant booksellers. the guy is just cool.

[stonemaybe]

My only motivational problem is going out to buy books I haven't already read - I will quite happily re-read nearly everything I own and that tends to make me lazy when it comes to trying out a new book or series.
Especially when we're talking about a 20-odd book series like Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey/maturin series (I know it's not sci-fi or fantasy but what a series!) or Tolkien or SRD or Salvatore .
When I HAVE a new book I can't wait to get stuck in - the only time there'll be a delay is when it's a new one in a series - then I have to re-read the rest of the series first, like with ROTE.

[lucimay]

dude...try amazon.com!!!! hee...they'll just MAIL the books to you and you never have to go any farther than your mailbox to get them.

[danlo]

Taigana--I still haven't been able to make it throught the first 2 chapters...

[Avatar]

The Guy Gavriel Kay book? I had the same problem...it sat unread on my shelves for ten years because I couldn't get into it. Then Encryptic encouraged me...and you know what? After being ready to give up again, I persevered...and it actually did get a lot better.

I was, in fact, sorry to see it end. The first 80-100 pages are painful, but if you can get to the secret meeting in the woods, you should be alright. That's when it starts to get interesting.

As for King and the DT, well, I like them. Some very painful and drawn out moments, (although I thought SoS was the bad one, not WotC), but I still love it. (Rereading DT7 right now in fact.)

And always enjoyed Insomnia. Reminded me of more hallucinogen-filled days.

As for Jordan, well, Crossroads was truly the nadir of that series. KoD, Bk 11, is a big improvement in many ways. It's biggest fault was that, with time running out, he's now rushing it too much.

--A

[iQuestor]

It's biggest fault was that, with time running out, he's now rushing it too much.

--A

Thats what I thought. After so many books with so little action , all o fthe sudden all this stuff happens at once, taint is gone, etc etc.

It was like baseball: 3 minutes of action crammed into 31/2 hours.

[Avatar]

Never having watched baseball, I'll take your word for it, but otherwise, agreed.

The events of Bk 11 would have been much more interesting spread over Bk 9 & 10 instead, with a little bit more depth to some of them.

Bk 12, although I'll read it, is going to leave a lot of loose ends dangling I fear, or else have to rush as much, with consequent shallowness.

--A

[duchess of malfi]

Let's just hope the poor man makes it through his health crisis, and gets a chance to even write book 12.

[Avatar]

Agreed, although for admittedly selfish reasons. *sigh* Sorry.

--A

[Roland of Gilead]

Well, as a King fan since 1980, I've never even come close to not being able to finish one of his books. I think that's one of his greatest strengths - readability. His uncanny portrayal of middle-class America, his characters, and his sheer story-telling.

I found much to disagree with in some of these posts. I think Insomnia and Desperation are over-written - by that, I mean the novels are too long for the plots. Shorten them both by 200 pages each, and they would be masterpieces.

I actually LIKE The Regulators. I read it before Desperation, back to back, but before Desperation, and I preferred it. Because it was leaner and meaner, but did wonderfully quirky things with the same characters and the adversary, Tak.

I think Gerald's Game, Delores Claiborne and Rose Madder are all good books, but I think of them as King during his "women as victim" period. They all explore facets of this theme. I think he said all he needed to say, and I hope he doesn't decide more needs to be said on the subject. But I fear the upcoming Lisey's Story will prove me wrong.

Wizard and Glass and Dark Tower VII are my favorites of the series, but I certainly didn't view Wolves of the Calla or Song of Susannah as inferior works, or a struggle to read. Each of them brilliantly juxtaposes two worlds, and the characters become richer and richer, and the plot more enthralling with every installment.

I agree that King's car accident probably changed the direction of the series, but for me, it was a good thing. Because I'm completely convinced that without King's brush with mortality, he would never have been motivated to finish his magnum opus. And we readers would have waited forever for even volume V, much less the six and seventh volumes and a resolution to his life's work.

I just don't subscribe to this common belief that King's best stuff was in the eighties, and since then, he's been cruising. Yes, The Stand and It are fantastic, and I count them my faves, too, besides DT. But a couple of my other favorites are Dreamcatcher and The Green Mile, and both of these were written during his later years.