Reading some books is like walking through fields of thistles. Struggling to walk through brambles and thorns sometimes while stepping over and around obstacles. Clothes and limbs bleeding when the end of the book is reached.Reading other books is more of an adventure without the hardship. Reading each chapter is like balancing on moss covered stones in waist deep freezing water. There is the anxiety of remaining erect while at the same time daring the slippery stones to drop me into the cold water.
Some books are too tame for me. They don't cause me to think or use my imagination. I am just reading words. It only takes a few pages of reading to know this type of book is not going to hold my interest.
This scale reminds me of The Three Bears, porridge too hot, too cold, and just right. The books that interest me are somewhere between too hot and just right.
You are an excellent writer!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes - some books make you go
"Yikes!"
i hear you...i try to keep a fairly open mind with books...but if you dont grab me it will make its way to the holding pile for when i have nothing left to read...
ReplyDeletewell, there is HOT and then there is also HAWT :)
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of a 3 Bears grading for books! Pure genius!
ReplyDeleteI don't read fiction at all, but I do enjoy well written non fiction. If a book doesn't grab me after a few pages then I just give up, even if the subject matter is interesting, if it's not well written I get bored.
ReplyDeleteI love your descriptions, and they have made me think. I read a lot, and will have to give some thoughts about where my tastes fall.
ReplyDeleteI read a lot, too, and I at present have five books underneath my curent one. Some I didn't get into, others weren't just right for the moment, and I always peruse them again at the end of a good read, just in case. I don't know that I would keep going through a thistle-y book myself. :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't generally read fiction, so that helps , but still.
ReplyDeleteand I love that photo !! ??
Lately I have been reading a lot of memoirs rather than fiction. I am now reading, and can hardly put down, Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, the story of Louie Zamperini.... wow this book is so well written it seems like I am watching a movie instead of just reading a book. What a life!!!
ReplyDeleteI love the Three Bears rule of thumb!
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean! I love your references to adventuring. Given a choice, I'd rather read what I don't understand right away or feel the words rather than know them.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree!
ReplyDeleteI used to finish every book I started. No longer. Time's too precious. Sure would like to see a post on some of your "just right" reads, even some in the other categories. Just wondering, would the "too hot" rating be for the "bodice-rippers"?
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this too! Happy Tuesday! XX
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent rating system!
ReplyDeleteThis is a comment by hubby. In the Apple Store. I love you, booger.
ReplyDeleteI have had books finished within 24 hours and others which have taken me 3 months. I refuse to give up once I've started, but sometimes it is WORK!
ReplyDeleteGood way of separating types of reads. For me, they better grab me fairly quickly or be an author I respect so much I feel obligated to read their work.
ReplyDeleteNeat post, TechnoBabe. When you find the "just right" book it's amazing, isn't it?
ReplyDeletewow so you read out by the stream in the back?
ReplyDeleteI notice a few others in the comments that are non-fiction readers so that's good to know since I fall in that camp. I don't like when I just have to give up on a book because it's too much of a pain to read.
So can we expect a Goldilocks/3-bear review of something soon?
Excellent and accurate description. I love reading. I wasn't doing much of it after my daughter was born, but now I use the time I'm on my stationary bike to read. It's great. It's the only time I really get to read uninterrupted, so it actually encourages me to exercise.
ReplyDeleteVery well put today...I so totally agree
ReplyDeleteInteresting! Three Bears Ratings. I don't know what I'd call my reading ratings. I always read the last page of a book first, and if that holds my interest, then I start from the beginning. If I don't find the ending interesting, I don't bother. Weird, I know, but it works for me.
ReplyDeleteI drive my husband nuts, he says I'm missing out on a lot. And he says "Can you imagine if a book critic worked like that?" ~ Don't bother reading this book, the ending held no interest for me.
HA!
All the best,
Eileen
I'm often amazed at what interests me when I read. Two of my most favorite books in recent years sound quite dry: One was about early 18th-century whaling, the other about the scientific study of the Ebola virus.
ReplyDeleteI like your rating system-- It's not easing finding the books that are "just right" but when you do it's awesome.
ReplyDeleteHope all is well with you Techno, xo jj
I read a lot of non-fiction so usually they are "just right".
ReplyDeleteReading is a love of mine. Just not enough time!
ReplyDeleteyes:)
ReplyDeleteclose to too hot, that's so good.
ReplyDeleteSo, what are some of your fave books?
ReplyDeleteGreat comments, everyone. It is such a pleasure to read books and it is a joy to read comments from people who enjoy reading too. My computer has been at the Apple store, so I use hubby's computer but not as much as I would if my own computer were here. Thank you all for your thoughtful comments.
ReplyDelete"It only takes a few pages of reading to know this type of book is not going to hold my interest."
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately that is what it's like for me reading just about any book. Just don't have the patience for it. Blogs I can handle however.
I agree. I can tell right away whether a book will keep my attention or whether it will be a chore to get through it.
ReplyDelete.... this entry reminds me to buy that Stephren King book. :) I only read movie reviews, I swear!
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean. Only you say it so well. It used to be that I would feel obligated to finish a book no matter how I felt about it a few pages into it. Not anymore. I no longer spend time on words which don't mean enough to me. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I'm a Goldilocks reader, too. Lately, I've been in a Sudoku frame of mind...off books for awhile.
ReplyDeleteI am so with you on this. It has to be worth my time. and attention
ReplyDelete