Musing Mondays
Hosted by Should Be Reading
My Musing:
I really hate it when I am read a book for fun and happy then suddenly something happens in the book that is so outside the realms of what seems reasonable/acceptable/sane that it is like slamming into a wall. A character is suddenly subjected to something that makes you wonder why on Earth the author would do that ? Just yuck!
This just happened to me yesterday with a book I had downloaded from Amazon. It was a light fluffy read - more or less a cozy style mystery. I was past the 84% mark, the story had started well but gone a little downhill and things were more unrealistic but not unreasonable so. We hadn't quite broached too stupid to live territory when bam - something just ugly happened out of left field. There was not point to it. It not advance the plot. It was just this bizarre punishment to one of the characters that didn't make any sense and frankly made me feel squicky for even reading it. I wanted a shower. I am not talking about a murder - which you might expect in such a book. Nor were the "bad-guys" involved in any way - which also might have at least made some sense. It really was totally out of left field and I was left wondering why? Why, author, why?
Now I don't even want to finish reading the book, heck I don't even want to admit I was reading the book.
So I am really new to the idea of even attempting to review books. What do you do with something like this ? Warn potential readers ? How without spoilers ? Press on and finish the book? Quietly toss the book onto the DNF and might use as kindling pile ?
This just happened to me yesterday with a book I had downloaded from Amazon. It was a light fluffy read - more or less a cozy style mystery. I was past the 84% mark, the story had started well but gone a little downhill and things were more unrealistic but not unreasonable so. We hadn't quite broached too stupid to live territory when bam - something just ugly happened out of left field. There was not point to it. It not advance the plot. It was just this bizarre punishment to one of the characters that didn't make any sense and frankly made me feel squicky for even reading it. I wanted a shower. I am not talking about a murder - which you might expect in such a book. Nor were the "bad-guys" involved in any way - which also might have at least made some sense. It really was totally out of left field and I was left wondering why? Why, author, why?
Now I don't even want to finish reading the book, heck I don't even want to admit I was reading the book.
So I am really new to the idea of even attempting to review books. What do you do with something like this ? Warn potential readers ? How without spoilers ? Press on and finish the book? Quietly toss the book onto the DNF and might use as kindling pile ?
I commented on this in my MM! I don't feel I can review a book if I do not finish it.
ReplyDeletehttp://kerrieanns.blogspot.ie/2014/01/i-think-i-can.html
I understand and respect your feelings about DNF reviews but I have found them to be useful when they are well reasoned and can explain what caused the DNF. I have even found books that I like because whatever it was that turned the reviewer off was something that I didn't mind - like excessive use of info dumps can entertain me sometimes.
DeleteThe thing I was trying to rant about here is when an author just sideswipes you with nonsense that takes you out of the story for some reason.
DNF surely. What a horrible thing to do to characters!
ReplyDeletehttp://cupandchaucer.wordpress.com/2014/01/27/musing-mondays-january-27/