When do you give up on a book?

 I'm currently finishing a book out of sheer bloody-mindedness. I keep berating myself for this, but with pages to go, I can do it. I will hopefully finish this tonight. 

The book is Sally Rooney's Beautiful World, Where Are You?

Normally, I have a 30 page rule. If, by page 30, I'm not getting into the book, I throw it against the wall, pick it up when I'm cleaning and put it back on the stack. Some of the books which have failed the 30 page test are The Great Gatsby (which I tried to read for 30 years, and finally got through it - and I enjoyed it) and The Hobbit, which I just can't make myself do, no matter how hard I try. I think Tolkien was ruined for me after a semester of Old English at Uni. 

Somehow, this got through the 30 page test. 

I've also taken this book with me overseas - it came to New Zealand for a ride. It's been with me to Darwin for three trips. It's hung onto me like a limpet for nearly six months. 

And now I have 15 pages left to go. 

I will persevere, even though I really dislike this book. I can't get into the characters. And I particularly hate the five-page paragraphs, which somebody like Anna Burns does so well in Milkman, but Rooney misses the mark. All of the characters are going nowhere and doing nothing, which you could argue is what your twenties is all about, but these guys I don't give a crap about. They shit me to tears.

And why have I kept on with it, other than I've dragged it around like a rag doll and if it wasn't for the fact the book doesn't belong to me, it would be going into the nearest street library once I'd finished it?

Well. I really liked Sally Rooney's Normal People, though I remember having a bit of difficulty getting into that one too - but this - nah. 

I know I'll feel a sense of relief when I've finished this book. It will be over. I can start something new, and not as boring. Maybe Pip Williams' The Bookbinder of Jericho - although I go into this with a little trepidation because as much as I liked The Dictionary of Lost Words, her first book, I found it lacked a certain something at the end. Or the third Amor Towles book - I'm listening to his first book, Rules of Civility on audiobook at the moment and loving it. His A Gentleman in Moscow is a must read. My To Be Read pile is huge. 

Maybe I've continued with this book because I am an optimist who hates to be disappointed, which this book has done in spades. 

Today's song: