I started reading A Game of Thrones then stopped. Started reading Wraeththu by Storm Constantine then stopped. Didn’t even make it halfway through. Started Shadows in the Asylum by D.A. Stern then…stopped.
Notice a pattern.
I can’t find any flaws in the story. They got great reviews. The writing was brilliant but after a while, I just got tired of the story. I didn’t find them all that interesting which is odd since they’re the type of books I’d like.What bothers me is that I’ve started and stopped reading three new books in a row. It’s getting kind of old. It’s not me because I just devoured my favorite novel by Anne Bishop and I’m on my way to finishing another in the same series.
With A Game of Thrones and Wraeththu, I was planning on reading them on the side but- I know myself way better than that. Determined to finish a book this time, I struggled through Shadows in the Asylum but found myself wishing for the end not because I was so riveted but because I wanted to be done with it and move on. It felt like homework. You know- a reading assignment you have no interest in but struggle through because you know the professor will test you on it.
I learned we writers need to figure out why we liked or didn’t like a book.
Writing this post helped me find part of the answer- why they were just such a pain. I’ve read many reviews where people said the book didn’t get interesting or “heat up” until the middle. I admire people who can stick with a book they don’t find interesting for that long. If the story doesn’t suck me in within two or three chapters, I’m done with it. It’s so important to grab the reader with the first sentence. Reading for me is an escape. If I can’t dive into the book immediately and lose my way in the story then, I want nothing more to do with it. This has got me thinking about my first novel. How interesting is my first chapter?
My problem with A Game of Thrones was each chapter was from the POV of a different character. I really don’t like books that do that. Now, I just need to figure out why Wraeththu and Shadows in the Asylum didn’t work for me.
