21st Century Literature discussion

What are the books you started reading but have given up on entirely in 2024 (or put down to retry sometime in the future)?

I don't give up on books, but there are a couple that I tracked down at long last (books had spent at least a decade on the TBR) and then figured out that I was no longer interested in them.

Mean Genes: From Sex to Money to Food Taming Our Primal Instincts - Terry Burnham
Marcelo in the Real World -Francisco X. Stork

The first book I have given up on in ages was Nostromo by Joseph Conrad. I have heard that it is known to be his masterpiece, but I gave up about halfway through (it felt to me like a few thousand pages already). The funny thing is that I loved The Secret Sharer and Typhoon, and I saw much to like in Lord Jim and Heart of Darkness despite some problematic elements. But I found Nostromo deadly boring. Maybe I will try again someday.

Usually when I abandon a book I plan to try it again later, but once in a while I know relatively early on it's not for me. That was the case with The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I may try one of her other books, but will have to wait a while for that memory to fade. :-)

I'm thinking it has to be some aspect that's overwhelmingly annoying for me to give up on a book or author. That's what happened with If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino, which I did read all the way through and probably shouldn't have, because I'm still not able to try any of his other work.

Kathleen, none of Calvino’s other books are similar to If on a Winter’s… (no 2nd person point of view, less experimental/more fabulist). I hope you give him another try at some point.

Marc wrote: "Kathleen, none of Calvino’s other books are similar to If on a Winter’s… (no 2nd person point of view, less experimental/more fabulist). I hope you give him another try at some point."

Since he is a favorite of yours, Marc, I definitely will! I'll see what I can make of The Uses of Literature for starters. And I like the idea of less experimental/more fabulist. Thanks!

Invisible Cities is my favourite Calvino. Quite short, but unforgettable...

As for the question, I have finished everything I started this year, but I am always pretty stubborn once I am reading.

Kathleen wrote: "I definitely will!"
The Baron in the Trees is a fun one. :-)
(The Uses of Literarture is a good non-fiction one.)

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I think the only book I've given up on (so far) in 2024 was the graphic novel, Sex Machine. Not sure what I was expecting, but they were erotic short stories based around tech/AI-human entwinements and it just wasn't doing anything for me artistically nor narratively. Had I not selected it for a group read, I might have abandoned O'Farrell's Hamnet (which started off really strong and then just felt incredibly slow to me)--the group discussion was interesting and made it worthwhile.

I used to never abandon books and it's still hard for me to do so, but it's quite a relief not to feel obligated to finish everything or force my way through something that isn't working for me.

I am a relentless DNFer - the second I start to speed read then it's time to move one. The only time I break this rule is when I'm reading for prizes, then even if I hate the book, I give it the exact same attention as a book I am getting on with.

I also know that it's a matter of timing so I usually will return to a DNF.

The first book I DNF'd this year was Madame Bovary

Kathleen wrote: "Marc wrote: "Kathleen, none of Calvino’s other books are similar to If on a Winter’s… (no 2nd person point of view, less experimental/more fabulist). I hope you give him another try at some point."..."

If you really want Calvino to give it straight and plain then there's Marcovaldo or Mr. Palomar - political satires but heavily disguised.

I’ve always hated to not finish a book I start. Trying to change that though! So far this year I’ve stopped reading Praiseworthy because I was hating the style, and Pelican Girls because I thought the prose was poor.

Being the resident curmudgeon, here are mine from March 2024 alone:

Gwendolyn Kiste, The Haunting of Velkwood (loved her short stories, not the novels)
Helen Oyeyemi, Parasol Against the Axe
Renaud Camus, Tricks (I do enjoy pre/early AIDS era gay sex writing, but this got repetitive and tiresome)
Maya Binyam, Hangman (I know this got a lot of buzz, but the extended political screeds lost me)

No, it was not a good month.

Julia by Sandra Newman

and

Simpatía by Rodrigo Blanco Calderon

such disappointments.

Second vote for Invisible Cities as a favorite Calvino!

It still a bit early in the year for me to know whether it’s really going to be a DNF or not, because I’m perfectly happy with having something semi-abandoned on my nightstand while I read other things and then come back to it, and I’d like to have finished the series, but gosh The Mirror & the Light is slow going.

Robert, Madam Bovary is in a similar suspended animation state for me (has been for over a year though so shouldn't count). I actually loved the first section through their marriage and I’m planning to eventually read it but the French is quite challenging compared to some other things and so I’ve stalled out with Emma in her boredom. I read a few pages on occasion, so its probably on a five year plan, lol.

Ugh, sorry to hear about the Kiste book, Bill (and the month as a whole).
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Jenna, that third Mantel book in the trilogy just didn't match the pace/energy of the first two which I absolutely loved. I still finished it, but it was slow going.
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I could have given up on Spiritual Choreographies and probably not felt like I'd missed out. It was so short, I saw it through.

Jenna wrote: "Second vote for Invisible Cities as a favorite Calvino!

It still a bit early in the year for me to know whether it’s really going to be a DNF or not, because I’m perfectly happy with h..."

Haha good one

Thanks for the Calvino recs, Marc, Robert and Jenna!

I hardly ever give up on books. For ages and ages the only books I DNF'd were The Catcher in the Rye (I was a teenager myself at the time but had a very, very strong negative reaction to Holden as a character); and The Glass Bead Game, which I tried four or five times. It's a huge book and I always felt like I was on the verge of loving it, or finding it amazing; but it just... wouldn't... take.

Since then, I don't think I've given up on anything serious; though I've skipped some trash novels after a chapter or two (and now can't remember what they were). (And why was I reading trash novels in the first place, anyway? 🙄)

I think I would have given up on Hangman except that I had committed to reading the Women's Prize longlist. It was excruciating in audio.

I have been trying to reading Wall for a couple of months but keep setting it aside to read something else. I am halfway through though and it is pretty short so am holding off on abandoning for the time being. I can only read a very few pages at a time as I just want to give the artist a Gibbs slap and tell he, she, they to just move on with their life.

LindaJ^ wrote: "I just want to give the artist a Gibbs slap and tell he, she, they to just move on with their life...."

Sounds to me like Gibbs and Holden Caulfield should get a room 🤣

It occurs to me that I don't at all apply any sort of consistent basis for abandoning books... I give more leeway/patience with a debut novel or small press. Or, it might entirely be based on library due dates or a crappy mood. #TheToddlerApproachToReading

LindaJ^ wrote: "I think I would have given up on Hangman except that I had committed to reading the Women's Prize longlist. It was excruciating in audio."

I can't imagine Hangman in audio. Ouch.

Marc wrote: "It occurs to me that I don't at all apply any sort of consistent basis for abandoning books..."

I usually apply my 100-page rule: if I'm not getting it by around p.100, I'm done.

This must be what heaven looks like. :-)

Indeed!

Looks like 'Tim' wisely moved into an old warehouse ;) As long as the stacks are designed to lead you to the bathroom and the kitchen, it works for me!

I'm sort of a completist when it comes to books (almost to a fault) so it has to be a book that really draws my ire to make me not finish. I've only not finished about 4 or 5 books ever. So far this year none, but last year I could not for the life of me finish The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, which I was reading for another book club. About 60% in and I was out.

I'm still not sure how I finished Tristam Shandy.

I rarely abandon books. However, Tristram Shandy did for me too. As did Infinite Jest. I never really count anything as abandoned as there are books I’ve gone back to many times. I think it highly unlikely I’ll revisit either of those in this lifetime though.

If you found The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman a tough one to swallow, I had to read Clarissa, or, The History of a Young Lady in college. Now that is a doorstop of a book.

Guy wrote: "If you found The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman a tough one to swallow, I had to read Clarissa, or, The History of a Young Lady in college. Now that is a..."

Oh yes, Clarissa - it’s bringing it all back. Goes on forever. I have to admit I skipped the reading part with that one & went straight for the critiques.

Lesley wrote: "I rarely abandon books. However, Tristram Shandy did for me too. As did Infinite Jest. I never really count anything as abandoned as there are books I’ve gone back to many times. I thin..."

I DNF with wild abandon, but I loved Tristram Sandy - I read it several decades ago when I had more patience with long books and I had newly fallen in love with 18th century British Lit., I was amazed at it's comedy and modernity. I'm sure it helped that I read it in an amazing undergrad class that I took when I decided to go back to school when I was in my early 30's to see if I wanted to pursue a PhD in English. I decided not to, but taking undergrad English classes as an adult was such a thrill! I was still working during the day, and the school (Cal State LA) was more of a commuter school and the students in the class were a wide variety of ages - I wasn't the oldest by any means.

We also read Clarissa in the abridged version, and having read both, I think this is the rare case where the abridged works very very well and probably better for most people.

PS: I'm not sure I'll ever re-read Tristram Shandy or Clarissa though. If my feelings have changed, I don't want to know!

Oh, and I DNF'ed Infinite Jest the first time around, but loved it the 2nd time. But I'm positive I wouldn't have the patience for it now.

I've DNF'ed a lot this year, but I've stopped feeling guilty about - in fact, now I like the freedom. Sometimes it's the book, sometimes it's me. But it encourages me to make more bold reading attempts, whether it's because the book is difficult, or because they're not my usual genres. Some are even favorite authors.

Translation State (definitely didn't live up to her Ancillary Justice trilogy)
Such a Fun Age (I was bored)
The Book of Love (and by one of my favorite authors!)
Greta & Valdin
Long Bright River
Dear Fang, With Love
Mother Doll

Nadine, I'm a big Kelly Link fan, but was close to abandoning The Book of Love.

Nadine in California wrote: "We also read Clarissa in the abridged version, and having read both, I think this is the rare case where the abridged works very very well and probably better for most people..."

Nadine, I never read abridged books, but there are some rare 1,000+ page books that I'd definitely read abridged if I ever re-read them, because of frequent and lengthy unnecessary digressions (Les Miserables) or a whole lot of meandering repetitions thematically and plot-wise (Don Quixote).

Greg wrote: "Nadine in California wrote: "We also read Clarissa in the abridged version, and having read both, I think this is the rare case where the abridged works very very well and probably better for most ..."

Greg, the digressions are the best part.

Nadine in California wrote: "We also read Clarissa in the abridged version, and having read both,..."

Let's just let that settle for a moment. Nadine read Clarissa... twice. "We're not worthy", etc 🤣

Guy wrote: "Nadine in California wrote: "We also read Clarissa in the abridged version, and having read both,..."

Let's just let that settle for a moment. Nadine read Clarissa... twice. "We're not worthy", etc 🤣"

Well, to clarify, I read the abridged Clarissa in the early 1990s, Then started to read the unabridged about a year later, thinking that I would read a few letters at a time over the course of years and eventually finish it. I must admit that I stalled out after the “ big event” in the middle of the book, When Richardson turns her into a saint, and her letters start to feel very tedious. I think that worked better in the 18th century. 😜

None this year, although I was sorely tempted to DNF Swann's Way by Marcel Proust.