>>1Right now I finished TBOTNS, in which I cared about the little adventures by themselves, they always were enough to surprise me, and I awaited for the next mind-bending thing to come up.
After it I started A Scanner Darkly, and the first 100 pages I just FORCED me to continue, for I had the certainty I'd like it. Right now it is starting to be interesting.
The same happened with Hyperion, my favourite work ever. The first 50 pages are ridden with nothingness, and the only thing that motivated me to go along was the promise of it turning to something better. After that slow start, the motivation came from the plot, the characters and the setting themselves.
Other things, like for example reading Camus' essays, motivate with the message and arguments he is trying to convey. They expose A and D, and you want to know how they'll explain A->B->C->D