Books we didn't finish (but you might)

Our staff share the books they didn’t finish in 2014 – but that you might want to…


In general, I have no problems stopping a book that doesn’t interest me, but when this happens with authors I really, really want to love, things get more complicated. Early this year, I got halfway through Jennifer Egan’s Look At Me before giving up. Jennifer Egan is a writer I admire, and I am always excited about reading her books, but I never quite connect with them in the way I want to. After a few previous failed attempts at reading Egan, I thought I’d give Look At Me a try; the description of the book is so appealing and I once read an interview with Egan about how exhilarating the experience of writing it was. I wanted to love this book so much and I did love it, for the first few chapters. But after a while it started to feel too long, too meandering, and my interest began to wane. Then a shiny new release came along and grabbed my attention. Feeling terribly guilty (abandoning a Jennifer Egan book is literary sacrilege, right?) I put Look At Me aside and read something else. But I remain open (and determined) to try and fall in love with Egan’s work one day, if I can.
– Nina Kenwood, Digital Marketing Manager

Smith Henderson’s Fourth of July Creek felt so raw and real that right away it was like just walking around next to the characters, feeling the crunch of hilly terrain underfoot in the hazy lost world of Montana’s neglected mountain communities. Colleague Alison, who is always right about the books she recommends, told me this was amazing and she was completely right. (Read her review here.) Following social worker Pete Snow around, and those he meets, was a literary sensation you could feel on your skin. It’s no light-hearted romp, though, and when I read it I was a bit too heavy on my own emotions to deal with those of Pete as well, so I tucked in a bookmark and put it lower on my to-read pile for when I could deal with it. It’s still there – I would love to finish it – but if you finish it first, let me know.
– Fiona Hardy, Bookseller

It’s true that I did not finish Ulysses by James Joyce. Why? Perhaps because I was either too young to get it when I was studying it in second year uni, or perhaps because it’s the Great Heist of Modern Literature. I have since tried to read it again but have found other novels more interesting and stimulating.
– Chris Gordon, Event Manager

I thought Firecracker by David Iserson was aptly named. When I began reading it I was struck by its razor-sharp humour and anti-hero, rebellious rich-girl Astrid. The author also writes for New Girl which, until towards the end of Season 3, I found very funny and original. Unfortunately I lost love for Firecracker about three-quarters of the way in, much the same as deciding that New Girl had had its day, and it was for the same reasons: the comedy was strong but I wasn’t getting anything else out of it. I didn’t care about the outcome or believe in Astrid as much as I enjoyed her dry sense of humour. So I’m certainly not sorry that I picked up Firecracker, but neither do I have regrets about putting it down. On a completely different note, much to my colleagues’ amusement I stopped reading The Road halfway through. I couldn’t take the anxiety any more. The father and son had just found a supply of tinned peaches and that seemed like a good image to leave with. If you’re not a total wuss, read it for me.
– Emily Gale, Online Children’s Specialist

Adelle Waldman’s The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. sounded right up my alley – a smart, stylish comedy of manners which has won many a heart at Readings and earned the author a reputation as this generation’s Jane Austen. Yet (and I feel guilty saying this) I never warmed to it. I think I found the portrayal of Nate just too irritating to care about him. Some friends who’ve loved the book have pointed out that, well, this is kind of the point – Nate is representative of a certain kind of male which Waldman is poking fun at and that’s why it’s witty. I agree with their reasoning and I don’t mean to suggest you need make a character likable for a book to be good! But ultimately, Nate was just a character I didn’t want to make any time for in my reading life.
– Bronte Coates, Digital Content Coordinator

I started Evie Wyld’s All the Birds, Singing soon after it won the Miles Franklin Award but then I got started on a few other upcoming books and never got a chance to finish it. I look forward to finishing reading it uninterrupted on holidays.
– Emily Harms, Head of Marketing and Communications

And, here is a report from one reader who returned to a book this year that she’d originally never finished…

I started reading Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl not long after it came out but I didn’t get into it within the first 60 or so pages and when I put it down temporarily for another book I didn’t return to it. But then, when everyone was talking about the book and film a few months ago, my colleague Nina convinced me to give it another go. This time I was soon completely caught up in it and intrigued until the end. It was an enjoyably compelling and unsettling read (I can’t even go into the plot!) and I still don’t know how I feel about the ending, which is always a good sign.
– Elke Power, editor of Readings Monthly

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Cover image for Fourth of July Creek

Fourth of July Creek

Smith Henderson

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