Hi Samuel, great post. I struggle with the same question, although for me it's more about non-fiction than fiction. Some books are a joy to read, while others are a painful slog where I have to put it down for a break every couple pages. Ultimately it's a value judgment, but I will push through the slog if I feel like the value I am deriving from reading it outweighs the pain experienced by having to force myself to read it. The three volume Gulag Archipelago by Solzhenitsyn is one example of this. Also, as I have dozens of books waiting to be read, I try to vary what I read by going heavy book/light book (in terms of content) and switching up categories...I've thrown some fiction in recently including Goethe's Faust (part 2 was very painful to read).
The same thing applies to other media, of course. I havn't read Game of Thrones but I watched the first two episodes and stopped because there was no one worth rooting for, it was too nihilistic. Succession is another such example. There needs to be someone worth rooting for...and I very much hate the cast of thousands phenomenon!
I'm currently on the third book George RR Martin's work and many characters are just downright despicable and unfortunately the good characters have a knack of being killed off. Personally, I think the most sympathetic character is a man named Davos who was a common man elevated to lordhood. He just seems the most down to earth. The most moral character Eddard (Ned) Stark is also a good man and I think that's the problem with Martin's work. A character like Ned is the enemy of a cynic/nihilist like Martin. I'm still gonna finish it just so I can say I did it though.
This is why I'm not a big reader of novels, even if they are classic works. It can amount to filling the brain with a lot of waffle, indulgence and lard. What's the pay off ? It better be something really great. Never mind modern stuff which I interpret as people as with some addiction to a particular genre. I'm much more interested in the format of plays as a way of transmitting something than giant books.
War and Peace can be a bit of a grind. But I've been glad every time I read it. Honestly, probably most 18th/19th century lit starts slow but is worth the slog.
Hi Samuel, great post. I struggle with the same question, although for me it's more about non-fiction than fiction. Some books are a joy to read, while others are a painful slog where I have to put it down for a break every couple pages. Ultimately it's a value judgment, but I will push through the slog if I feel like the value I am deriving from reading it outweighs the pain experienced by having to force myself to read it. The three volume Gulag Archipelago by Solzhenitsyn is one example of this. Also, as I have dozens of books waiting to be read, I try to vary what I read by going heavy book/light book (in terms of content) and switching up categories...I've thrown some fiction in recently including Goethe's Faust (part 2 was very painful to read).
The same thing applies to other media, of course. I havn't read Game of Thrones but I watched the first two episodes and stopped because there was no one worth rooting for, it was too nihilistic. Succession is another such example. There needs to be someone worth rooting for...and I very much hate the cast of thousands phenomenon!
I'm currently on the third book George RR Martin's work and many characters are just downright despicable and unfortunately the good characters have a knack of being killed off. Personally, I think the most sympathetic character is a man named Davos who was a common man elevated to lordhood. He just seems the most down to earth. The most moral character Eddard (Ned) Stark is also a good man and I think that's the problem with Martin's work. A character like Ned is the enemy of a cynic/nihilist like Martin. I'm still gonna finish it just so I can say I did it though.
P.S. Tolkien>>>Martin
This is why I'm not a big reader of novels, even if they are classic works. It can amount to filling the brain with a lot of waffle, indulgence and lard. What's the pay off ? It better be something really great. Never mind modern stuff which I interpret as people as with some addiction to a particular genre. I'm much more interested in the format of plays as a way of transmitting something than giant books.
War and Peace can be a bit of a grind. But I've been glad every time I read it. Honestly, probably most 18th/19th century lit starts slow but is worth the slog.