What's the deal with "100 Pages"?

My Reading Philosophy

I am not, what I would call, a completionist. While I feel the deep satisfaction of crossing an item off a list just as much as the next person, I don't feel compelled to see something through to the end for the sake of it. Unlike the completionists in my life, I don't keep reading on the off-chance that a twist ending will make up for the rest of it.

I think some of this comes from being a writer. If the fingers crooked at me in the first few chapters aren't pulling me under their spell, I find something else to occupy my time.

My threshold is usually around 100 pages. 100 pages is roughly a third of the average novel length. It's ample time for the author to cast their spell on me, so if, by the time I reach the 100 page mark, I'm still not drawn inexplicably deeper into the ever-darkening metaphorical forest of the story, I give myself leave to snap the book closed and move on to another.

My Reviews

My reviews are clearly marked with the cut-off point, whether I finished it, just got to 100 pages, or couldn't even manage that. Keep this cut-off point in mind as you consider my reviews. I acknowledge that reviews of a mere 100 pages won't be as accurate as the ones where I read to the end.

Being a Writer

It's likely some of my reviews will gently creep (or just outright plop down into) a literary analysis from a writer's perspective. My fellow writers out there know that reading is an essential part of the writing journey. Having been a writer for so long now, I cannot turn off my editor's brain; it's always picking apart the threads of every story's tapestry to see how it weaves together.

A Note on the Books I Read and Review

I'm a bit of a chameleon when it comes to reading. I used to be quite rigid when it came to what I liked to read as a teenager. Being in my mid-twenties with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English under my belt, I've garnered an appreciation for all different types of genres.

My staple genre would be fantasy, either adult or children's, but I also read nonfiction, a little bit of sci-fi, romance, the occasional thriller, and the odd biography or two. I also want to make an effort to read more classics (mostly so I can see what the fuss is about and to be able to say I've read them). I've also compiled a list of Printz and Newberry Award medalists I want to read in 2020.

Things I Post About

Not going to lie--between working part-time as an ESL teacher and being a full-time graduate student coming up to crunch time for getting this thesis done, I won't commit to a regular schedule of posts. I'll try, mind you, because, like decent manure, variety is essential for the stability and growth of my creativity. My goal is at least once a week, because surely I can find a spare half hour to talk about books.

I'd expect updates on what I'm reading (at the 100 page mark, of course) as well as reviews of books when I finish them, perhaps some posts on writing and books I'm looking forward to reading. I'll probably post about book lists I've made for various (usually overly-ambitious) reasons and maybe share some musings about bookstores and libraries because I'm a big fan of musing.