Bobbing for Books

I find it a very difficult task to choose books to read.  I have a very small selection of writers and stories that sit so near my heart, and there have been piles of others that, due to probably slightly unreasonable expectations, have fallen short.  The complicating factor is that I often need time after completing a read to really decide if the book falls into the favorites or not-so-favorites section.  The other complicating factor, as of late, is finding the will to force myself to get all the way through a book even if I'm not really feeling it.

Some other obstacles in this process come to mind.  Not all books have great covers, so a first impression may label them as dull, uninteresting, too wacky, not wacky enough, etc.  Not all books have great authors, so an interesting story may not bloom in all of its glory.  Not all books have a great story, so there may be a fantastic author behind it, but the story may be incredibly bad.  And this list can go on for what seems like forever.

My latest read was The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides.  As I dove into this book, I wasn't convinced I should be spending my time on it.  However, since it brought me a certain amount of sadness to reach the end, it obviously resonated with me on some level.  While this book probably will not go down as one of my all-time favorites, it struck me as I finished it up that I had become incredibly invested in the story's characters.  The story was not terribly complicated, but through the introduction and development of its characters, an enormously impressive texture resulted.  

So, the next time your book is falling flat on its face for you, take a moment to think about the characters you've met and whether any one of them may, in the end, reward you for continuing the journey.