Actually Finishing

If you don’t get a classic book or movie, 90% of the time it’s your fault. (It might just not be the right time for you to appreciate that thing) - Principles, Nabeel S. Qureshi

There are a few classic books on my long term Did Not Finish list that I regret. One Hundred Years of Solitude,for example; often lauded as a deeply romantic and beautiful work of fiction, a profound exploration of Latin American history, family, and fate, and yet it just flew over my head every time I tried to give it a go.

Others I’m perfectly happy keeping there, like Rivals by Jilly Cooper. Loved enough by its fanbase to end up with a series on Disney+ with David Tennant as its lead, yet 90 pages in and it was becoming clear the author seemed more interested in introducing characters than letting them do more than reacting to what’s directly in front of them.

But occasionally I give it a second go and it clicks for seemingly no other reason than a change within myself. My current pace on Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami is one such example. I picked it up the first time five or six years ago, giving up once we started talking about fish falling from the sky (I almost gave up with the kinda awkward, weird boundary crossing sex scene earlier, but that’s a story for another day). This time around though I’m having no such problems. Apparently, my tolerance for the weird is improving, probably because of DanDaDan…

And so my thoughts return to another bug bear on my list. One i’ve been recommended time and time again. The Stand, by Stephen King.

I’m not a huge reader of King’s. I was deeply in love with the Dark Tower saga, demolishing that in short order. The Green Mile was the first big book of his I thoroughly enjoyed, then there was Dreamcatcher and The Shining. The Stand however always eluded me.

I first tried it when I got the book for free from a ‘pick one’ library at work. I couldn’t get on board with the constant cuts to everywhere else but the story. I got it was world building, that he wanted us to see the events happening across the globe, but it just kept taking me out of the story just as I was getting sucked in. Back to the shelf it went.

Then I started getting into audiobooks on Audible and figured it was worth my monthly credit. Only I didn’t realise that particular version was the unabridged one, meaning even more world building in longer passages. Fortunately, no physical shelf of shame for that one.

But times have changed and so have I. My tolerance for long and winding texts has improved, especially with reading Dune books one to four (gave up on five; once again, too weird, too far from the source). Plus I’ve been cherishing audiobooks the last few months, listening to them in the afternoons during work, or walking my dog. Might be time to give it another go.

It would easily be the longest thing I’ve ever listened to at 47 hours and 47 minutes, but another way of looking at it is just 96ish half hour blocks of reading. If I get started now, it could be done by May, or quicker if I’m up to the task.

Tonight it’s a bit too late to start. Dinner, wife, stretching, all take priority. But I’m going to give this another go, and I’m going to get this done. I’m going to conquer The Stand.