Editor's Note | TLDNF

We’ve all done it. Maybe we got distracted. Maybe we simply got bored. But we all have those books that we never finished reading. Obviously, some of these books we have no intention of finishing. But then there are those that we promise ourselves we’ll get back to. Pinky swear and hope to die. 

   In the last issue of Texas Books in Review, I wrote about the “to be read” pile, but now I think it’s time to reflect on the “did not finish” pile. I know I have abandoned a few paperbacks because I found the writing atrocious and didn’t want to spend any more time trotting through clunky sentences and flat characters and obvious plots. There are better novels and biographies waiting for me. I’m too busy to waste my time.  

   But then there are the misfits. The books I didn’t intentionally stop reading. Sometimes I had to pause because of travel or chores or maybe lost the darn thing and never found another copy. These are the ones I feel guilty about. Oddly, these books rarely have anything in common. I’ve sworn to return to classics and thrillers and histories alike. I’m too proud to confess their titles. It’s a specific shame. Please don’t judge me. I think some books are abandoned because it is not the right time for us as readers. Either we’re not in the mood for a depressing tragedy, or maybe we overcommitted to a dense 900-page tome when we should have opened that breezy comedy. But will we return to these orphans? Will we reach the final page months or years later? 

   When I have (finally) returned to a book I stopped reading a long time ago, I tend to start over at page one. You can call it a reboot. But don’t call it a comeback. It’s good to refresh and remind oneself of what was happening. Anthologies are the easiest to jump back into. Literary novels are tougher.  

   Hopefully, you do not have too many unfinished books on your shelf longing for your return. And if you do, what’s holding you back? 

   I know. There’s so many other exciting books craving your attention. I can’t blame you. Texas Books in Review has several suggestions (and a few warnings) about what’s new out there to keep you distracted from those neglected, half-read novels and memoirs. You’ll get to them eventually. I believe in you! 

   In this issue of Texas Books in Review, you’ll discover books you’ll need to finish. Stopping is not an option. Check out Jim Sanderson’s review of James Wade’s Hollow Out the Dark for a dive into a world violent and primal. Some critics compare Wade’s novels to Cormac McCarthy. Find out if our reviewer agrees with that statement. Our friend Cheyanne Clagett chimes in with her thoughts on Sweet Vidalia by Lisa Sandlin. The East-Texas romance novelist Kate Boudreaux returns to TBR to give us an insightful critique of Natina Kumar’s Flirting with Disaster. You’ll find these reviews and more of the latest literature and history being written by and about Texans from the Panhandle to the Valley. 

   All of us here at Texas Books in Review promise to keep delivering the finest written reviews about the most important Lone Star State books. From the writings of Americo Paredes and Attica Locke to the musings of Molly Ivins. Texas Books in Review is the place to find the books you won’t want to stop reading.