This that and the other thing...

1. The New Avenger's Trailer - Endgame is finally out...

Avenger's Endgame Trailer and yes, every news organization on the planet has already analyzed it to death. It will air in April. I really want to see this one, Captain Marvel, and Dark Phoenix.

Also want to see the new flick "VICE" which is written by the guy who did the Big Short and Moneyball, and stars Christian Bale (Dick Cheney), Sam Rockwell (George W. Bush), Steven Carroll (Rumsfield), Amy Adams (Mrs. Cheney), and Tyler Perry (Colin Powell).

2. The joy of not finishing books that you don't like

Not enjoying that book you’re reading?

Quit. It’s okay. You’re allowed to do it.

Just quit.

I can already feel some readers seething with rage at this idea. Lucky for me, this group is now required by their own solemn values to read through the entirety of my argument. They can’t leave if they’re not enjoying it. This whole piece is now a hostage situation.

But there’s a reason to my madness.

There are a lot of books and we are but mortals. You simply will not read every book in your lifetime. As The Twilight Zone teaches, even if you are the final person on Earth with nothing but time to read, the powerful forces of dramatic irony will ensure your glasses fall to the floor and shatter. We have to accept that when we walk away from this life, we will each leave behind a number of books that, had we ever flicked through their pages, could have had a profound effect on our lives. That’s sad to imagine but it’s a fact of life. It also makes every second you spend wasting your time on a novel that doesn’t grab you entirely unconscionable.

I am not saying you shouldn’t persist with a book because it’s difficult at first. Sometimes overcoming that initial struggle is what makes a story beautiful. Slowly a world is unlocked to you as you move from decoding a story to coming along for the ride. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the moment we all know too well when you’re three hundred pages deep, you’ve tried time and time again to engage with the text and yet you still don’t care in the slightest about these people and their problems.

Wholeheartedly agree.

The number of books that I DNF (Did Not Finish) this year are legion, and Good Reads counts them towards the number I've read this year in total. I find that hilarious. It's counting books that I did not finish as read. Hee. So, in reality, I have not read 31 books this year, I've read 20, and didn't finish about eleven. I love the fact that Good Reads counts them anyhow.

Somewhere around my mid-thirties, I stopped finishing books that I did not like. It was so freeing. I just gave myself permission. There are a lot of literary books that I have not finished as a result of this decision.

If I'm not compelled by the characters in some way or aren't curious about what happens next, I won't finish the book or stick with it. I'm no longer in school, no longer an English Lit major, no one cares if I finish a book or not. I actually think that's why I gave up on Book Clubs, I got tired of forcing myself to read and finish books I did not like. Had to do that in school. Don't now.

3. Wait, The Good Place had another episode and isn't through for the Season? I honestly thought the one prior to Thanksgiving, when they fall into the Boundless Void with Janet (okay fall may be the wrong word, more like leaped) was the fall season finale.

I'm going to have to go watch that episode before the internet spoils me on it. It's trying. I'm ignoring it. I'm very good at avoiding spoilers on the internet, and finding spoilers on the internet, the result of years and years of practice.

4. In other more personally related news...

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