I confess, I have given up on reading Love in the Time of Cholera. I know it is a classic work of literature. I know that Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a Nobel Prize winner and acclaimed genius of the pen. But I also know that close to a hundred pages in, I don't care that Dr. Juvenal is dead. And I am tired of waiting for the love to begin. I am bored.Reading is not supposed to be a self-flagellation by pages. It's supposed to be a thing of beauty, a journey eagerly taken whether it leads to the heights of love or to utter desolation. Reading is not meant to be a chore, but rather a joy and there is no joy in this book, at least, not for me. And life is short so I am putting it down. Classic or no.
I don't like keeping books on my shelf that I have neither read nor plan to read so if you want a copy of Love, you're in luck. You can have mine. I should warn you that it *is* the Oprah's Book Club edition. I was tricked into that. A wily Chapter's employee put the 20% sticker right over the logo. I still have not forgiven Opera for Songs in Ordinary Time.
A while back I saw a list on a blog of the 100 hardest books to read and going through it I noticed that quite a few of them have been OBC picks. Coincidence?
I'm well in The Other Boleyn Girl now and it is everything a decent novel should be. I am delighted.
2 comments:
Hello. I accidentally found you through Andrea's blog, and, as it happens, I like books. I had a hard time with 'Love' as well, but as it turns out, I had nothing better to do that day, so I finished it. It slogs and it slogs and it slogs, and then at the end it all hits you in a rush and you get this sense of something huge and amazing. So to look back now, I would have to say that I really liked it, but if you'd've asked me midway through, I would have said 'no,' and I'm not sure that's how a book should be.
And your house looks lovely.
Where did you find this list of books? I also have one and I keep thinking about picking it up and working my way though, but I always seem to find other books wanting me to read them NOW.
I hope all is well.
Love,
Rachel
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