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Do you like sad books? I can’t stand them. Time after time I try a book and then stop it in the middle because it makes me miserable. It really affects me. I know that bad things happen in real life. People write about them because they actually happen, but how anyone can get through reading about it is beyond me. Now, I am finally starting to realize how, through my friends.

My friend often recommends books to me. I love discussing books and look forward to talking about them with her. One time, my friend and I were talking and then she said “I just read a great book. You should read it.” I got the book from the library, excited to try it. I sat down, opened the book, read the first page, and loved it. I read it before bed, when I woke up in the morning and whenever else I had time. Until, somewhere in the middle, there is a car accident. The main character is hurt and very upset. And that’s when I felt despair and stopped the book.

I don’t like depressing books. I try to finish them because I want to discuss them with my friend but I can’t. They make me really dejected, so at some point I just stop. When my friend asked me if I finished the book she recommended, I said “The book was really sad, so I stopped it in the middle.” She looked at me and said “Sad?” “It wasn’t that sad. There was only one part that was. Did you get to the sad part?” “What was the sad part?” I asked, thinking that I had probably judged the book too quickly. The part where I stopped was probably the sad part and the book would stop talking about the car accident soon after. “The part where her friend’s brother falls out the window and dies.” my friend says. I was so glad I stopped the book!

It’s not like I complain about any book. I love to read. I have read many classics even though most have some boring parts. I am even willing to give sad books a real chance, and I do. I have finished Bridge To Terabithia, a book about a boy whose best friend dies, Walk Two Moons, a book about a girl whose mother left, The Boy On The Wooden Box, a memoir written by a holocaust survivor, and many other depressing books. I even liked some of them. But, when the main character is continuously morose, the book keeps referring to whatever tragic thing that happened, and the book only talks about the dismal thing, after giving it many chances, I decide that it’s not worth it to anguish myself over a book. Especially one that I was only supposed to read for enjoyment.

But it seems that none of my friends are bothered by these books. Am I the only one? What do you think? Do sad books disturb you?

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