Time is short. Life is just simply too short for some things. Nick Hornby once said that if a book has not interested him after the first 100 pages he could not be bothered to finish reading it.
This maybe sound advice, and so tempting when I recall my review of Carey's 'Tristan Smith.' However, to review a book after its first 100 pages is clearly unfair. The next 100 pages could be a classic, separate from the drudge of the first 100.
This column will not review a book unless it has been read in its entirety. The danger being that the only books to be reviewed would be the ones your correspondent falls in love with, which would be a complete nonsense. But in the spirit of realism, it is not possible to read everything.
If a book is bad, and we adhere to Hornby's 100 page rule (because life is short), then this column will come clean and say so. Readers of this column are intelligent enough to make up their own minds. But your correspondent will promise to make every effort to complete every book that comes their way. Though I can't promise to read beyond 100 pages of anything by Nick Hornby.
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"Though I can't promise to read beyond 100 pages of anything by Nick Hornby."
ReplyDeleteFor rational literary reasons rather than ... I don't know, silly football related reasons, yes? ;)
I give up on a lot of books within the first hundred pages. I think it's an inevitable by-product of reading a wide variety of stuff. If I was committed to finishing every book I'd started, I'd play it a lot safer to avoid being stuck with crap for weeks on end. Most recently given up: On Beauty. What did you think of it?
Yes I must admit that Nick Hornby has football related issues he needs to get over. Although I did enjoy 'How to be be good.'
ReplyDelete'On Beauty' I quite liked it actually - I thought it was nice gentle satire on academics. Still we cant all have the same taste I guess. Or is too bold of me to assume that I have some taste?