Generally, if I start a book, I finish it. Even if I'm not liking it, I usually keep pushing through, convinced there'll be some payoff. Even if it that payoff is just finding out what happens to the characters. But yesterday, I returned a book to the library before I even got halfway through.
I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but what else am I supposed to do when I'm choosing books from the new releases section? I think if a book is good, I will generally be able to get a hint of that from its spine - the colors, the font, the texture, the title.... Of course, I read the jacket before I commit to carrying it home, but I depend a lot on spines to get the book under consideration. I say of course, but the book I returned unfinished was a spine-only decision.
It wasn't a particularly aesthetically (try saying that three times fast) pleasing spine, but I was drawn by the title: Disturbance of the Inner Ear. I'd been having some balance and hearing issues, seemingly related to fluid in my inner ear. So I thought it would be apropos. But I couldn't get into the story, and I didn't like the way it was formatted. I like to read while walking home, but it's hard to do when I keep having to backtrack to figure out which lines belong to whom. And I wasn't understanding the motivations of the main character, and finally decided I didn't care why a young woman was sleeping with her 70-year-old-plus cello teacher. So far, I am pleased with my decision to escape into A Thing (or Two) About Curtis and Camilla.
Posted by Shokufeh at May 2, 2003 11:57 AM