Wow, what a week this has been. We had a visitor that.. hm, let’s just say it’s not the normal way our weekends go (thank goodness!). Thankfully it was relatively uneventful and I got to spend a lot of time out and about.
Unfortunately I did not get a lot of reading done. Why? … Let’s take a minute to talk about George Eliot shall we? First of all, I’ve heard her books praised as being “Austenesque” and wondered what exactly I was missing out by not reading them. Coming off a fairly recent read of Henry James’ Portrait of a Lady I felt equipped to tackle Middlemarch. I was woefully unprepared.
I’m barely touching 300 pages into this novel, folks. I pick up my Kindle and it puts me to sleep within the first few pages. I can follow the story just fine, it’s just.. there are pages upon pages upon pages of descriptions, politics, ways of thinking and very subtle dialogue that have me going crazy! And I’m an Austen lover! And I loved Portrait of a Lady (a book which took me five days to read, and I’m approaching seven so far with Middlemarch!).
So what do you suggest? I want to read this book, I’m desperate to know the story. Flailing last night I loaded up the BBC Mini-Series by the same name and I fell asleep within the first 15 minutes! Help me here – tell me what I’m missing. Please don’t tell me to quit, I don’t want to! What do you do to motivate yourself to push through the mire and find the story you just know is hiding there?
That being said, here are my regularly scheduled highlights of the week. ( haha! )
- I’m doing a Giveaway of Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver! This is a hot ARC folks, as Allison from Allison’s Book Marks pointed out in the comments. You can find the discussion on it here.
- Only one day left to enter my giveaway for The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo!
- I feel horrible, but I’ve yet to get my last Giveaway out to Sheila from One Person’s Journey through a World of Books. I can claim a good reason though, Sheila! I’ve had quite the nasty kidney attack this week but am on the road to recovery and hope to make it to the post office in the morning. It’s coming, I promise!
- I picked up Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough on a recommendation from my friendly B&N employees. Looking forward to getting an opportunity to read it!
- I have a blissfully uneventful weekend happening. Sunday on my afternoon out I plan to check out a Cuban-American restaurant I’ve been told about and relax in a coffee shop and HOPEFULLY finish Middlemarch.
So, to reiterate my question above: What do you do to motivate yourself to push through the mire and find the story you just know is hiding there?
I have never read Middlemarch but I remember reading somewhere that when you read it you should make or keep (or find online) some kind of chart of the characters. Don’t quit! I have heard that it’s worth it.
Thanks, Kari! I’ve heard it’s worth it too, which is why I’m being so bull-headed about it right now. I have a chart sitting next to me with little notes about the characters, and I have them all straight.. its just.. like watching a snail try to run right now lol
I dont know – but you kno what I think you would find really helpful right now? Have a look at J Kaye’s Book Blog, there is great big discussion over a couple of posts now about the very question you are asking – to quit or not to quit and how to decide
Hi Becky!
Yes, I’ve been participating there too. I’m dying here lol I tried to read it again tonight and caught myself snoring after 5 minutes. I was horrified.
I am actually a huge Eliot fan and just finished The Mill on the Floss. I know that the first time I attempted Middlemarch I had a really hard time getting into it. It seemed very overwhelming and boring. It is also an incredibly long book and it is kind of hard to get used to Eliot’s style. Since, at the time, I had only read Silas Marner by Eliot, I gave up Middlemarch and tried to read one of her books that falls in the middle, Adam Bede. It allowed me to get used to her style and adjust to her crazy amounts of description and unnecessary fluffiness. It really help and when I went back to try Middlemarch again, I fared much better.
Give it a little time. I am a firm believer that sometimes books have to find you in the right moment and this just might not be the time for Middlemarch.
But it really is a wonderful story! However, I would never compare her to Austen, she is more like Dickens in regards to her writing style.
Good luck!
Thanks Allie! I actually had downloaded Adam Bede to read first, but after researching a bit more was informed that Middlemarch really was the best book to start with. I’m not afraid of long novels at all – but I think you may have nailed with the problem is for me. I’m not a Dickens fan, at all. And you are right, she writes very similar to him.
I have read Adam Bede, actually. I read it for a class and enjoyed it.
Good. I’m really glad to hear that. Maybe I should have started with it (although I had to put a book aside once I’ve started it, I think I’ll have to make an exception here unless I can really get moving tonight.)
I sometimes have to put a book down when I get in that mood and then try again at a later date.