What's to Like

I, personally, have three different categories for sorting the books I read in terms of preference: books I like, books I dislike, and books I am indifferent about (by far the largest category). Mrs. Dalloway sits unceremoniously within the indifferent category. While the novel may be hard to follow at times, I don't share the derision some of my classmates feel about Virginia Woolf's writing style and I actually find the regrets Clarissa Dalloway expresses to be somewhat relatable, albeit on a much smaller scale. On the other hand, nothing about Mrs. Dalloway as of yet has had ample appeal to me. 

My taste in books are usually for more fast-paced novels. This would usually be more action-oriented stories rather than sentimental thoughts. Knowing how characters think and feel is still an important part of any story but actions are more readily reflective of a character's ideals or morals. While actions and events do occur in Mrs. Dalloway, the characters seem very passive, as if they were simply letting the actions happen to themselves, and then wallowing in their own self-pity (Septimus with the sky-writing, Mrs. Dalloway and Peter). Despite the passivity, this does accurately portray real human thinking. No one has profound thoughts at all times and most of our thoughts are utterly boring to an audience. And we whine constantly. 

That's not to say we don't have interesting thoughts from time to time, though. It's just rather troublesome to find them as they must be sifted from the endless clutter that is the drawl of human thought. Gems will appear if words are put in enough different combinations, which is why I can't place any book within the category of books I dislike, barring truly dreadful prose.