Unfinished Business with Books

This year, I have had about three books that I did not finish and it's making me feel a bit guilty. My guilt stems from the fact that I have had books that I almost gave up on but glad I didn't because if I did I could have missed out on such a great piece of literature and the great reading experience it could have provided.

Here are some books that I've picked up which went through the said initial phase of disinterest but I still went on reading them and I'm glad I did: 

1. LOTR trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien - I have read this a long time ago so I am not quite sure as to which part of the trilogy I had a tough time getting through. Probably the second one. I remember wanting to give up when I was on the part telling about about the geography of Middle Earth, describing the locations and landscapes and such. Boy, am glad I didn't gave up on this one. I could have missed out on a great trilogy! 

2. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke - The first few pages of this book was too quiet, I wanted all the hoopla of magic. Besides the thickness of this book is daunting and the font size of the paperback was tiny, more so the footnotes. But I'm glad I stuck with this book because it was so interesting that I was flipping through it at a rate faster than I had expected. I wasn't even concerned anymore about it's thickness. I must say that the occasional bits of illustrations in the book helped as well.

3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - This has more to do with the language of the book. As with most classics, the way it is written tends to be a bit hard for me to read. But I was glad I read this book because aside from the fact that it's a classic, although a cliche one at that, still, I learned a lot about women in 19th century England, how their family brings them up, their education, the marriage, etc. It is such a "girl power" book I think, because of Elizabeth Bennet. 

I think it has been easier for me to put a book down and not finish it because of the fact that since I have discovered the book blogosphere, my TBR (and wishlist) have been pumped into massive proportions. So, when I am reading a book that does not seem to grab my interest in the first few chapters, I tend to glance at my TBR, already wishing and thinking of reading such and such book instead of the one I'm holding. My will power nowadays is very weak and I go and grab another book instead. But like I said, some of the books I almost gave up on ended up on my list of favorites. So, I tend to feel guilty about not finishing a book

The three books that I have put down this year are guilt tripping me to read them whenever I see them on my shelves. They are saying: "Why are you not finishing me?" "You are missing out on the greatest novel of all time!" I have gone nuts. :) To ease my guilt, I like to say that I am merely setting them aside and will get back to them. As to when that will be, is subject to discussion. :)

Anyway how about you what makes you put down a book and just stop reading it? Or do you merely set them aside with get back to them? Have you had books that you almost gave up on but glad you didn't?