Unfinished 2.0

Like most bibliophiles (or so I assume), I have a very long list of books that are waiting to be read.  Some books, I can dive right in and devour them; others, I find are a little tougher.  And, if we're being honest, I even have some that I let slip through my fingers because I simply can't find it in my heart to complete them.  Here are just a few of those:

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HarperCollins

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Honestly, I've always enjoyed C.S. Lewis.  He was a gifted writer and orator, and he produced phenomenal works of literature.  His writing has always seemed wonderful, beautiful and uncannily inspiring.  Even Mere Christianity has that quality, a beautiful simplicity in which one man attempts not to justify or exonerate his faith but to explain it - to show readers and listeners the most important aspects of his religion.

I have honestly tried to read Mere Christianity.  I have succeeded, in some measure, in completing a handful of the essays contained within it; however, I haven't yet managed to complete the entire compilation.  I love the language of Lewis's work, but I find it relatively dense, manifesting in a theological examination of Christianity that simply doesn't hold my attention for long periods of time.

One day I may finish reading it.  Until then, I intend only to read snippets and relish the best parts I find.

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Jill Sanders

Finding Pride by Jill Sanders

For me, Finding Pride was unreadable.  I mean, if I'd stayed and focused and worked hard to slog through the remainder of the novel, I probably could have done it.  I just didn't want to for the simple fact that I really, really disliked it.

I couldn't appreciate any of the setting descriptions, I didn't care for the characters, and I found the story a bit trite.  The novel seemed to lack something essential, a special quality that could keep me committed.  It lacked vibrancy, it lacked life.  It was like all the characters were carved from stone, emotionless and cold, and I felt absolutely nothing for them.

Finding Pride didn't appeal to me in the least.  Granted, I read it as an e-book, which could make a difference (or explain the hurried errors that seemed to populate the pages); however, I'm not counting on liking it in any format in which it exists.  I doubt I will ever finish it, not if I have anything to say about it.

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Lulu Press

The Billionaire Wins the Game by Melody Anne

Let me say, upfront, that I have a bad habit of randomly picking out free e-books on my tablet.  I make some of the worst decisions when it comes to reading material if I'm using an electronic device.  I don't know why, I simply do - and The Billionaire Wins the Game is a stellar example of this.

Not only do the characters feel like caricatures, wavering on a pendulum of extreme emotions, they feel rigid, mechanical.  More to the point, they just feel wrong.  I could never keep track of how they felt, how they were going to feel, and how those emotions would manifest and, before I even reached the middle of the story, I was battling whiplash.

But that isn't even the worst part.  No, I hated the entire interaction between the central protagonists:  the shotgun wedding that occurs as if it's okay to coerce another person into a marriage with veiled threats and poisonous charm, as if its okay to blackmail a woman over the livelihood and custody of her unborn child.

I'll say this now:  It is not okay.  Ever.

And I hated that I was suckered into reading a huge chunk of the novel before I finally gave up, threw it aside (figuratively speaking), and started on something more substantial.  Although I finished a portion of the book (and, yes, I even read the last five pages, because I can't leave any novel without some kind of closure), I will never pick it up again.  Honestly, it wasn't even worth the time I spent to open to the first page.