is that I get half way through, put it down and forget about it. Does anyone else have this problem?
Yup, me too, although often not even half-way. I'm part of a degenerated generation who's attention span is
just too short for books.
Strange.
Sometimes, if it's too difficult to follow or not captivating enough.
Try a different author/genre/format.
Try reading books you actually like?
try reading books with pictures on every page
The Cat in the Hat
Green Eggs and Ham
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
neal stephenson
Some books that, imho, have a sort of post-2000 information age channel-surfing sort of consciousness behind them (often quickly stepping from scene to scene, a lot of disparate ideas tossed together, a lot going on really quickly):
Jennifer Government
The Illuminatus! trilogy
Metaplanetary and Superluminal by Toney Daniel, if you're into SF
the book I'm working on now, The Universe is Burning, if it ever gets finished
Also, in regards to "books with pictures," you could try some light novels. Basically a sort of book with pictures, and that are slanted towards a younger college aged crowd. Pretty big in Japan, though it's starting to make headway in the west too. I hear "Kino no Tabi" is a pretty good one, plus there's the Haruhi novels, and others.
Graphic novels are books too. Some more literary suggestions:
The Fountain (recently had a movie made after it)
David Mack's Kabuki books (sweet art)
Most stuff by Daniel Clowes (if you like the Gen-X, indie sort of shit)
Maybe this will help. Plus there's always short stories. Some old American writers were truely a master of the form.
Libraries would be a lot more fun if they thought it was real funny when you made sound effects to the book you were reading, instead of just making you leave and telling you not to come back.
I have this "problem", but really, why is it a problem? If the book is that easily forgotten, it's probably just not for you. Look for a different book to read.
i don't have this problem because i only read books that hold my interest
>>12
Or you're like me, and have ADD. I love the entire harry potter series, but i still got busy and forgot to read it. Later on, about 3 books later, i had finished the first one and made up my mind that i was going to set some time out and fscking READ.
My sister and I have the same problem. I agree with >>12 , but if you WANT to read it and still face this problem, try at least just picking it up, skim through the previous pages and find something that you want to know more about, like a favorite character or something.
But even I don't do that, so don't listen to me.