> Was the reason you couldnt finish his books because you didnt
> like them or was it as a result of a short concentrtration
> span? You know like hitting the fast forward button on videos
>
Har di har har......life's too short, to waste time reading BAD books- there are more than enough good ones out there.
>
> If you couldnt manage to stick with Brighton Rock untill the
> end then you really cannot say whether its a good book or not.
Actually, I DID finish this one (like you, at school- for exam purposes only, you understand), and I sat doggedly through the recent BAB reading of Heart of the Matter, which sort of counts- the best I can say about B Rock is, at least he didn't cop-out the retribution and the girl's fate like the film did; but neither set of characters could elicit any empathy from me at all. And felt they were all a bit one-dimensional: there was a 'chess-piece' quality about them which I saw as a sign of lazy writing- he couldn't be bothered with fully-drawn characters, as long as they sufficed for his didactic purpose.
> I must admit my attention span is much shorter know than it was
> in my teens and twenties. Thats why I will never attempt to
> read War And Peace.
Funny, that: I seem happier reading long stuff now- I tried Dostoevsky in my twenties, for example, but didn't really come to grips with him till much later (I mean that in a strictly butch, literary way.....).
> Its so difficult to find the time what with the distractions of the internet, TV and of course porn videos.
I read a lot at work, of course..............
>
> I forgot to mention another enjoyable book we did at school
> which was Of Mice And Men.
Great stuff- Tortilla Flat is my favourite Steinbeck (and as a bonus, it's quite short.....),