Until today, every time I have been turned off by a book, it’s been because of the plot (or lack of it) or the writing. I started reading Interface by Neal Stephenson and J. Frederick George yesterday, and I’m having a hard time getting into it. I don’t think it’s the writing – I’ve always liked Neal Stephenson. I don’t think it’s the plot – it’s a science fiction political thriller. What’s not to like? It did start a little slow – we got the main character’s full family history in the first eight or so pages (snooze), but the action picked up after that.
Even with something actually happening, though, I’m not that excited to pick up the book and read, and I think it might be the physical book at fault. This has never happened to me before. I know I’ve been reading a lot on my Kindle, but I like physical books. I like the weight, I like the way the paper feels…and the paper might be why I’m not crazy about THIS book. It’s smooth. Like, silky. Practically laminated, but smoother. And it’s a heavy trade paperback that barely opens, so I feel like I’m using a crowbar to see the pages. The very very smooth pages. I never knew I could be this picky about the physical qualities of a book.
I’m 58 pages in, and I’m giving this one at least 100 pages before I give up. Maybe I’ll get over it and maybe it’s just that I started it yesterday after watching The Crown all day long and maybe I was just tired and I’ve been working all day and maybe it’s not the smoothness of the pages at all and maybe it’s nothing and I’ll forget all about this in another ten pages if I can just find 15 minutes to focus on reading.
(But when I’m into a book, 15 minutes to focus on reading finds me.)
(Sh. I’m still in denial.)