Can you put a book down?
Right now, I’m struggling to finish Washington’s Spies, the topic of which (espionage in the times of the Revolutionary War) has been on my mind since I toured the International Spy Museum in DC last summer.
The book is well researched and the topic engaging: my problem lies in the density of the material. A lot of names and supplemental anecdotes leaves me grasping to remember who the “important” people are, and who is merely side-story.
I want to like this book, but I can’t help but find it work to finish it. I’m just not in the mindset right now to truly appreciate it. I really want to put the book down and start in on The Economic Naturalist, but I find the idea of leaving a book unfinished somewhat abhorrent.
To me, books should be the last bastion of devoted attention. I’ll turn off a crummy movie or terrible TV show, and I’m even willing to walk out of a bad play, concert, or sporting event, but I can count the books I’ve left unfinished on one hand: and a few of those are only because I left it on a plane.
I’ve given Washington’s Spies a fair shake, reading a hundred pages or so. And I suppose I would be more amenable to finishing it if I actually had the time to read it. (Any tips?) But the loads of other, more interesting books on my list (birthday in two weeks!) make me itch to wander.
What do you think? Are you willing, or even able, to put a book down?
Technorati Tags: Reading
Category: Books, Everything Else 2 comments »
July 18th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
I abandoned a book once. I was young. I went back to it years later and it was pretty good.
At one point this summer, I was reading two books at the same time. I just read whichever one I felt like on a given day or during a particular trip. That seemed to work out well.
July 20th, 2007 at 11:37 am
[...] out there. Two hours after quickly adding a few books I don’t want anymore (I tried to list Washington’s Spies, but no one wanted it. Damn!) I had completed one trade and had another pending. I’ve always [...]