The right time and place for a book.

[HalcyonDaze]

It certainly exists. Often a reviewer will mention something is a great beach read by which they often mean a nice light read that you don't have to concentrate too heavily on. Other reviews will mention a 'summer read' and mean something that you have to concentrate hard on and it will be a tough read, but hey, it's summer, and you have the time to do this.

Well, I discovered today that reading Career of Evil by Galbraith/Rowling is not the book to be reading when sitting at a playground in a park with lots of kids running around and playing happily. Getting engrossed in the book and looking up at the happy kids was quite jarring when you'd just been reading about a serial killer's methods of carving up a body and also tales of child abuse. And the annoying thing is with Rowling's work that you want to keep reading to find out what is happening. For once I was glad when someone I knew turned up so I could go and chat with her!

Anyone else have times when you've put a book down not because you weren't liking it, but it was just the wrong time for that book?

[Queen]

I had to read "We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda" in short sessions and not before sleeping. It's very good, but very harrowing. Sometimes I had to take a break from it as well - the only book that I've ever had to do that.

But then he describes some horrendous things one that stuck with me was him noticing that there were no dogs, and asking about it. He was told that the UN had shot the dogs when they started feeding on the piles of human bodies. So the UN couldn't protect people because there was no mandate to shoot, but could kill dogs. When I read that I had to put the book down for about a week.

[Liiisa]

It's true, there are good and bad places for reading certain things. In college I tried reading "Being and Nothingness" (Sartre) on the beach, and it kept putting me to sleep. To be honest it would probably put you to sleep under any circumstances, but I suppose one could get through it with a lot of coffee.

The bus is where I do a lot of reading, but sometimes it's not ideal: if I'm reading something very controversial (e.g., "Lolita"), I get nervous about the person sitting next to me looking over my shoulder. I do it anyway, but the bus isn't the ideal venue for that. I remember reading some offensive novel on the bus (I forget what it was, but it was politically offensive and kinky) and this developmentally disabled guy sitting next to me goes "That's a big book. What's that book about?" and I was like "Uuuuhhh...." (I ended up telling him how the author had written it on paper bags, which he wanted to know a lot of technical details about, so that worked.) (I didn't tell him it was written on paper bags because the author was in prison for writing politically offensive, kinky novels.)

[viv]

I can't read horror stories at the best of times, but especially not in the house. I read Stephen King on the beach.

Otherwise, I like big tough political stuff when I'm well, and re-read my guilty pleasures when I'm not so good - Twilight, Hunger Games, that sort of thing.

The joy of the Kindle is no longer having to worry about the covers of books.

I had to put a plaster over the eyes on the cover of "It", just to be able to pick up the book.

[Queen]

Reminds me of this

[kraken]

Jan 12, 2016 8:11:25 GMT -5 viv said:

I can't read horror stories at the best of times, but especially not in the house. I read Stephen King on the beach.

Ha! I spent my teenage years reading Stephen King before bed and often reading through the night partly because of the stories and partly because I couldn't turn the lights off and go to sleep!

I still read King but can't read before bed as although they no longer freak me out I still suffer from good book syndrome but can't cope at work if I stay up reading all night.

I can't read really funny or sad books in public due to risk of laughing or crying. Otherwise it's more down to my mood than surroundings.

[lillielangtry]

It's hard to read difficult books on my commute because there are always distractions.

Otherwise I find the choice of which book to read next can be quite important. I read Elena Ferrante directly after David Mitchell and found her a bit dull, but I was aware that I was comparing her writing to the fast-moving plot of Bone Clocks and that's not fair, because her style is totally different.

[Liiisa]

I've said this here before but anyway since it's a propos: I've dealt with kraken's "good book syndrome" by only reading fiction during the daytime. For nighttime reading I have nonfiction going at the same time, which even when at its most fascinating isn't something that will keep me up all night. "Oh, just five more pages - I have to find out how this chapter about Cambrian arthropods is going to end!"

[kraken]

Liisa--I did once read War and Peace to combat insomnia --I could read maybe 20-30 pages max in one go and it would definitely not hook me in. I finished it in a couple of months of only reading it before bed and it sorted the insomnia out too. Not saying it's a dull read but definitely not a page turner apart from very few exceptions.

[Queen]

BBC have produced a series on War and Peace, I think watching that might be enough... no need to read the book.

[lillielangtry]

I'm watching War and Peace, quite enjoying it although not blown away. I've read it too and found it quite OK except for Tolstoy's philosophical ramblings which need to be skipped, or at most skimmed!

[kraken]

There is a lot of rambling in the book. I read the unabridged version and almost got wrist injuries even though it was the paperback. Someone I know was wondering how they've squeezed the whole novel into six episodes but I have a feeling there's plenty of rambling left...

[sprite]

on a related note, i'm wondering why bbc insists on showing anger-inducing tv at 10:30 pm.

[lillielangtry]

Yeah, Kindle is good for those massive books...

[lillielangtry]

Oh yes - War and Peace digested read (obviously with spoilers!) www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jan/11/war-and-peace-by-leo-tolstoy-digested-read

[romily]

I never had the feeling there is a right time for a book depending on seasons – for me it’s more about the mix – eg when I read some crime, I want something light and fluffy afterwards, and if I read a serious fiction I want something different after as well. And some books are really good but not very gripping read in short spurts, so they are hard to pick up for ten minutes on the train or the like, and better read in quiet at home (to do the book justice I tend to say).

As Q said, the books that emotionally upset me most are some non fiction books, or books based on real experiences – they can get under your skin in a very different way as you can’t tell yourself it’s only a story.

I love horror or really tough crime novels – they don’t tend to really scare me anymore though, or just in an enjoyable way if that makes sense?. But I can’t watch a horror movie without freaking out!

Hal, I read the Galbraith/Rowling books, and found them really boring and hard going, not gripping at all. Interesting how differently we perceive books!

[Bastet]

I sometimes have to take breaks from depressing books because they affect my overall mood. Especially when it's relentless.