Rachel Reads Randomly Book #64 - An Apology

Thank you to everyone that took the time to vote on last weeks Rachel Reads Randomly feature.

I honestly do love this feature, but will admit my heart dropped slightly when I spotted what was in the lead and was eventually won.

I am shocked that the first time a non fiction book wins, is one that I had a feeling I may struggle with.

Now to be fair, I have got to 130 pages, but I can't read on, I am sorry.

It is not particularly the fault of the author, nor the subject, and it definitely lies with me.

My copy of the winning book is in hardback. Anyone that knows me I am not a huge fan of hardbacks, and I'm surprised I have got this far in some respects.  They are heavy, and given half the time I seem to struggle with my motivation towards reading paperbacks, hardbacks are a step too far most of the time. That being said had it been fiction, I may have been able to continue.

My other main concern was that the book was a biography. I much prefer autobiographies, as I like hearing things from the person's point of view, instead of how someone else has chosen to portray the subject.

Now the subject of this book definitely has had an interesting life, but in the 8 or chapters I have read, I can't seem to even keep the keen players straight in my head. There are mentions of things happening out of order, and for someone who is struggling to concentrate due to external factors, I am finding myself either skimming sections, or re-reading the same bit 2-3 times over.

I received a copy of this book from a giveaway run by the publisher, and it wasn't until it arrived that I twigged I had made an error of judgment entering, due to my preference for autobiographies and paperbacks, and it has taken until this week for me to even give it a go, thanks to popular opinion.

I suspect if you are a fan of the subject of the book then you would thoroughly enjoy it, but at the point I am at in the story, I can't keep track of the information. I did contemplate skipping ahead to the chapters involving films that I have seen, but I doubt it would increase my enjoyment of the overall book that much.

If it had been purely a hardback problem, then I would have probably paid and got the book onto kindle to complete, but with my other issues, I'm sorry to say I'm giving up. Life is too short to continue struggling, even for the sake of anyone that picked the book this week.

And the name of the book that I am apologising for that I have been unable to complete, for the first time since I first started this feature is - Maggie Smith: A Biography by Michael Coveney.

Just as a reminder the next new vote is on 12th June, so hopefully it will be better luck next time!