The Unfinished Book

I recently came across a book (which will remain nameless) that I'm having a really hard time getting into. I think it's ultimately a question of it being fairly dense and a lot of the "story" is given as "information." (It's a novel.)

And all I can think about is all the other books on my shelves and on lists that I've made to bring to a local Minneapolis/ STP book store and how much I'd rather be reading them. It's a bit like being a teenager at a family dinner when all your friends are out at a party.

But I'm compelled to carry on. I keep telling myself that I just need to give it a little more time -- the story and characters will sink inside and I won't be able to put it down.

I hate putting a book down. It feels like an unfinished conversation and, as the mother of a toddler who is in the throes of learning how to not interrupt, I have enough of those these days.

I've added a poll to my blog (look! over there! on the right!) to both experiment with polls on blogs and to find out: is it OK for me to put this one down or do I give it another chance.