Abandoning Ringworld Engineers

I don’t do this often, but I do do it occasionally: I’m giving up on a book. I’ve been trying to get through Ringworld Engineers for quite a while now, and it just hasn’t been going well. I enjoyed Ringworld well enough, even though I didn’t find it exceptionally good, so I picked up the sequel when I saw it at the library. When I first started reading it, I liked it more than the original, mostly because things seemed to be moving faster instead of puttering around a great deal. Unfortunately, my liking of the book fell like a rock once the cast (Louis, Chmee, and the Hindmost) actually reached the Ringworld again. I don’t really know why. Same characters (mostly); same general plot (wander around the Ringworld trying to accomplish something, run into lots of interesting things along the way). Whatever the reason, I just haven’t been enjoying it much.

I don’t really like abandoning a book, particularly one I’ve read almost halfway through. After reading so far into a book, I almost feel like I have an obligation to finish it. Does that make any sense, or am I just a bookish nutjob? I’m trying to get over that weird “I should finish this” feeling, though. I’m well aware of the saying, “There are too many good books in the world to waste time reading bad ones.” That’s not it exactly, but it’s close enough, and it’s true. Even if it’s not a bad book (and judging by the amazon.com reviews, it’s not), I haven’t been enjoying it much. So, I figure I might as well move on to pastures that are greener.

Too bad I don’t find Ringworld / Ringworld Engineers to be half as good as Lucifer’s Hammer was. That book was amazing. It was one of those that held me hostage until I finished reading it.  Ah well. I’m not sure what fiction book I’ll be picking up next, but I’ll post about it tomorrow most likely.