The 50 Page Rule

I've started reading a new book in preparation for Quill and Me's month long celebration of Pride in June (more on that in the next post) and it's.....bordering on terrible. So my question to you all is: Do I risk the potential bleaching my brain will need and finish the book? Or do I stick to the 50 Page Rule?

The 50 pages is a tad arbitrary. I think I picked up that number from an Oprah bookclub show. The basic premise is that a book should be able to hook you into the story in the first 50 pages. That number could be less, it could be more, but either way it is a line in the sand for the time conscious or discerning reader - if the book doesn't have you in 50 pages, you put it down and walk away. None of this whole "reading through to the end just because I've started it" thing.

The new book has a fun title and premise and I admit to being sucked into reading it because it referenced Queer As Folk in the blurb (Me - you really cannot escape it!) but less than 50 pages in and I'm bored out of my brain. Do I give up or continue? Can I trust that the book will get better? How do you weigh up the potential waste of time vs. the potential payoff?

There are a couple of things that factor into the equation; (a) I'm a pretty busy person and my leisure reading time is limited to late nights and occasional bus rides. Both not ideal times since I tend to be falling asleep! (b) I have a purpose for reading this book (see above). I kinda want to have it read by the end of June. And it's not like this book is an island, I have a whole stack of books I want to read in June. I feel like I owe each book I read at least 50 pages, so I'm probably going to get that far at least, but after that I'm going to have to weigh up all the pros and cons of finishing the book. What if I miss an incredible part somewhere in there because I gave up after 50 pages?

That said, I think this book will be easy enough to give up after 50 pages. It's what I call a "filler" book - the ones you read while waiting for the next book in your favorite series to come out. Easy to pick up and put down and nothing missed much whichever way you go. But what happens if the book is a classic? Do you apply the 50 Page Rule to some books and not to others? I would most definitely be more likely to keep going with a book that I viewed as a classic or more highbrow than I would with a filler book. Yes, my reading habits do have a class system. There's no such thing as a level playing field here, though I have been known to stage an uprising or two. For example, I gave up on Middlesex but I stuck with Torchwood: Border Princes. A bad idea, by the way, because the Torchwood book really had nothing to recommend it. The jury is still out on Middlesex.

Later,
Quill