Yeah, some times you just can't get into a story, and it takes a few tries to get past the first fifty pages.
When it is a good story you end up enjoying, I always wonder why I had so much trouble getting into it in the first place, and if it was crap, I wonder why the hell I persisted and didn't just throw it in the bin after the first false start.

I think as I have aged I have got to the point where the whole mystical wisdom, journey of self discovery stuff is just too much effort, and I find myself thinking, if you've got anything worthwhile to say, just friggin say it.

But there are still things that cannot be given, but must by their nature be, 'found'.