How Far Will You Read Before Giving Up on a Book?

One of my daughters got a book in the mail and squealed with excitement over the new book.

Sadly, once she started reading the new squeal-worthy book, it fell into the book graveyard. It had a gorgeous, captivating cover. A catchy title. An interesting blurb. And it promised to be a fun, light read.

So why did it die and get buried?

After she read the first chapter, I asked her how she liked it. She sprawled out next to me on the couch and said, “It’s boring.”

“Oh no.” My heart sank because I’d been looking forward to reading the book too but now wasn’t sure if I would. “Why’s it boring?”

“All she does in the first chapter is talk on the phone.”

Sure enough, as I paged through the book, the phone conversation was the primary scope of the first chapter.

Should my daughter have persevered? Was it possible the story would have held her interest better as it progressed? She never gave it the opportunity to find out.

Obviously, most authors search deep to find the right scene to start the book—something exciting or dangerous or unusual. We also try to find circumstances that alter the character’s comfortable life, knocking them off the easy path they’ve been on and forcing them in a new and different direction.

But no matter how hard authors attempt to craft a creative opening, the story won’t always jive.

How far will most readers go before giving up? A page or two? A chapter? The middle of the book? Does some of it depend on whether the reader paid for the book, feeling the need to persevere and get her money’s worth? Is it easier to toss the book aside if it’s a library book, loan, or Kindle Unlimited? I know it is for me.

So where does that leave opening hooks? Is the beginning really all that important or not?

On the one hand, I think a book needs to have something that hooks us into reading it right from the start. But on the other hand, even if a book has an exciting hook it can still fail to deliver the rest of the story.

Over the years, I’ve come to realize that while I like a heart-stopping opening, something that grabs me and dumps me into the middle of the story and conflict, I’m also able to overlook a slightly slow beginning if the story itself grips me.

I personally think a book should attempt to do both things: entice me at the beginning AND sweep me along with the story. After all, some people (like my daughter) won’t read on if an author doesn’t do BOTH.

But if I had to choose a fantastic beginning or a sweeping story, I’d pick the sweeping story. I can overlook a slow start, but I can’t overlook a slow book. I might be able to wallow through the first few arduous pages, but if the story doesn’t grip me, then I usually can’t persevere.

Dear readers, what’s more important to you? Do you NEED a captivating opening hook to keep reading? Or do you persevere past a slow opening if the story is promising enough?