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To Quit Or Not Quit a Book? Our Readers Weigh In...
Reading is a bit like dating. Sometimes a book ignites a spark, and other times it fizzles. So we asked our followers on Twitter and Facebook: Do you stick with it or do you move on? Check out some of the most popular comments below and let us know which camp you fall into.
1."99% of the time I will finish the book. I feel I owe it to the author," says Todd.
2. "I usually stick it out. There's been many times that I've ended up loving something that wasn't initially drawing me in," says Andrew.
3."Move on. Reading should be a pleasure. If it’s not the book for you, it’s not the book for you," says Barbara.
4."I give it the 100 page limit. If I am still not into the book by that page, I put it down and get another book to read. Life is too short to suffer through a book you are not enjoying," says Luci.
5. "I used to stick with it, but I have decided that I only have so many years in my life and it is not worth it! There are so many good books out there to discover," says Tamara.
6. "I always finish them off. I sometimes put them down and pick another book but always come back," says Carola.
7. "It depends on the level of not pulling me in. If I'm not loving it, but still want to know how it ends, I'll stick with it. But if reading it feels like a chore, I'll stop reading it," says Chelsey.
8. "If it’s a book I really want to read, I try the audio before giving up completely," says Dana.
9. "Put it away and try much later on. Tastes and style change over the years," says Brad.
10."Depends on why I'm reading it. For review? For my private students? For research? For pleasure? For the first 3, I stick to it. For the last, I move on," says Elizabeth.
11. "If it's unrecommended I'll give it 2-3 chapters. If it's an author I like or has come with a respected recommendation I'll give it more time," says Danielle.
12. "I always try to stick with it. I feel like there is something to learn in the struggle of getting through a book. I’ve only put down a couple of books, but that was because I developed a strong dislike for the material," says Kira.
13. "I usually move on. For every page I force myself to read that I'm not enjoying, that's time I could be reading pages that I love," says Nicole.
14. "Some books take more time than others to learn the flow of the prose, but more often than not it pays to keep reading until you get there," says Carole.
15. "I leave it alone for a couple days and if the desire to read it doesn't come back then I just don't bother," says Teresa.
16."So much of my reading is for book clubs that I pretty much always stick with it—at least I’ll have people to complain to!" says Megan.
Which responses do you relate to? Share your two cents in the comments!
Check out more recent blogs:
Monogamous vs. Polygamous Reading: Which 'Type' Do You Prefer?
24 of the Season's Highest-Rated Debuts
Tomi Adeyemi's Diverse Must-Reads to Rock Your World
Check out more recent blogs:
Monogamous vs. Polygamous Reading: Which 'Type' Do You Prefer?
24 of the Season's Highest-Rated Debuts
Tomi Adeyemi's Diverse Must-Reads to Rock Your World
Comments Showing 101-150 of 428 (428 new)
message 101:
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skylar
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Feb 23, 2018 12:30PM
I will (most of the time) finish books. You never know! Some books could be really boring in the beginning, but get really good towards the end. To be honest, I almost didn't finish Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone because the beginning chapters didn't captivate me. But, I am SO glad that I continued on with the series!
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I try not to select books that I am not interested in, so I finish virtually all of them. I do understand readers starting and not finishing books, but I don't understand how they can submit reviews on books they don't finish.
Some books are dogsh*t and should be treated like dogshi*, tied in a plastic bag and flung in a river
There are some books that you just can't finish due to bad writing, grammatical errors, poor plot points, etc. It's not fair to the reader to have to try to figure out what the writer is attempting to say when the writer isn't clear to begin with. However, even when the book has been proofread and edited properly, it can still be a challenge, but I find that it just takes a while to actually finish. I'll put the book down and come back to it much later. Usually I can finish it that way. I just needed a breather lol.
I've started using my local library a lot more in the last 2 years. I'm much more willing to DNF a book when I haven't paid for it. This also means I've been willing to try many new authors and genres than I previously would have. Some are now favorites & some not so much.
How relevant! I am currently considering DNF-ing a book for the first time ever (I'm pretty sure it'd be the first time anyways). I always feel I owe it to myself as well as the author to stick it out to the end, however this particular book is terribly written. I read a fair amount of true-crime as well as some other non-fiction and I expect at times for some of the writing to be less than stellar, but the information in the books often at least keeps my interest piqued. However, the one that may be my first ever DNF, feels like it is quite literally someone telling a very convoluted story to someone and it is being typed word for word as it is told.
Going to leave it on my currently reading for now...I've got a trip to Australia and New Zealand planned this summer so perhaps I'll finish it at some point during my 30 hour travel day(s).
I do think that I have a lot of patience when it comes to bookreading. But if I don't get hooked by a book halfway through, then I put it down.
Inken wrote: "If the book doesn't have me by page 100 I'm done. Life is too short to waste it on books that don't interest me. There are so many excellent books out there that I'm not reading while I'm wading th..."I second your thoughts exactly.
If a book fails my personal Jillsy Sloper test, that book and I are headed for Divorce Court. I read for pleasure and entertainment, and when I am no longer interested in what happens next, no matter where in the book I may be, I move on.
I almost always finish the book- I feel if I don't finish I don't have the right to share my opinion of it. Sometimes I take a break and read something else and come back to it. I've found that some books I had a hard time getting into, sometimes turn out to be my favorite books, other books that grabbed me from the first page occasionally fizzle out.. and I find it a chore to finish.
I'm usually the type to read a boring book completely. I have, on occasion, abandoned a book because of the style of writing. If I can, I read until the end.
Adrienne wrote: "I've quit books - I have an entire Goodreads bookshelf titled "Started-couldn't finish". Some were audio books that were digitally downloaded and expired before I could finish - so, hopefully, I ca..."I have a shelf called 'forced myself to finish'
I don't drop books. Ever.Most of the time I feel it's an insult to the author and to the book itself. And even if I hate it (usually that's cliche-filled chick lit), I finish it so that I can complain about it and/or prevent others from reading it.
And to prevent myself from wanting to DNF books, I try to be very picky on what I'm reading. If I'm sure I'll like it from the start, no reason to drop it :)
I try to finish every book I start, but sometimes I am just not feeling it. While I usually love reading, sometimes I go into a funk where I try to read, but really just don't want to. That's when a book better be really good for me to finish it. It's rare that I find a book so unappealing that I don't want to finish.
I give a book 50 pages at most. Reading is pure pleasure and an escape for me so if I don't like a book, I won't force myself to finish it.
I'm not as bad about not finishing books as I used to be. It doesn't happen often anymore where I don't finish a book, but maybe I've just gotten better at picking ones I know I'll enjoy. When I do put one down I don't like, I usually attribute it to not being to my tastes rather than the fault of the author even if they may actually be just a terrible writer lol. I'm too nice maybe to criticize authors too harshly. But I see no point in suffering through a book you don't like when there are so many books out there that you might enjoy.
For me, it isn’t about time. I close a book that leaves me empty or disheartened—or a book that celebrates that which I find offensive and unworthy of my endorsement. Why inflict its ugliness on my soul? I finish books that help me examine my own morality—books that offer both beautiful and painful insights into the world and the sometimes amazing people who show me how to live better. Books that make me cry or smile and remember them forever.
If I find bad language or sex in a book I will stop reading it and move on to next book. For this reason I feel that books should be rated. If i read a hundred pages into a book then it takes a turn to graphic sex or swearing then I walk away from the book but I feel that I've wasted my time on it and the book cant go towards my reading goal.
Answers 4 - 5 and 13 really speak to me.I used to feel obliged to finish a book I started. It all changed when a friend, who was an avid reader asked me: "What are you reading?" When I answered, she said: "But you were reading that 2 weeks ago!". I explained that I didn't enjoy the book, so it went very slowly. I can still hear her answer: "I will not have enough time in my life to read every book I want to read. So I don't have any time to loose. If I don't enjoy a book after 100 pages, I move on to the next one." That was 25 years ago, and I think of her every time I decide to let a book go without finishing it.
I almost always finish. In the last few years though, i abandoned 2 or 3 books. one of them was part of a series i wasnt familiar with so i might resume reading it later.i have so many things in my tbr list and so little time that i try not to lose my time with thosebooks that i dont enjoy.
Dec wrote: "Some books are dogsh*t and should be treated like dogshi*, tied in a plastic bag and flung in a river"That's some poetry, right there.
I have decided to not waste my time and read something that I do not enjoy. Be it for review or for my own pleasure if the a book does not cooperate with me then I just leave it.
I was formerly in Camp Never DNF but last year I came across some books that were just awful. I decided that life is too short to force myself to read a book that makes me feel like I am being punished. I never want reading to become a chore. I don't owe anyone my time so if a book just isn't going to cut it I put it away forever. I have tried to go back to those books and find that my feelings haven't changed one iota which just proves to me that I made the right choice to stop reading it.
I almost always finish a book once started. I have read a few how ever, that just dragged, and I found my mind wondering off. That's when I say, it is time to stop, reading, this book. Fortunately, it is not very often.
I have learned from living with a retired librarian, that if a book doesn’t keep your interest after a chapter or so, no matter how much hype (Immortalists), go on to the next. And I read 170-200 books a year, reviewing each one honestly even if I hated it
Dec wrote: "Some books are dogsh*t and should be treated like dogshi*, tied in a plastic bag and flung in a river"please don't throw dog poop into rivers, guys, that's environmentally awful
I like to argue with myself about why someone else would like the book I'm reading that I'm really tempted to put down. So I tend to stick with the book all the way to the end and try to see what other people like about it. Also, like one of the commenters above said, I like finding meaningful quotes from every book I read if I can find them, and even in books I really dislike I can usually find a quote or two still.
I'm somewhere in the middle. I'll know by the end of the first chapter whether or not it'll keep me hooked through to the end. Nine times out of 10, if the first chapter hooks me there and doesn't let go. Sometimes though, the book looses it appeal part way into the story (kind of like how the spark fizzles after a few dates).Life is too short to read something that's a chore (which is what school is for anyways)!
Grace wrote: "I'm almost the 100 pages idea. US librarian Nancy Pearl once said:If you're 50 years old or younger, give every book about 50 pages before you decide to commit yourself to reading it, or give it ..."
I love that advice
Even if I don't like a book I'm reading, I tend to finish it. An example I could give: it took me 13 years to finish << LOLITA >>.
If an author doesn't grab my attention within the first 50 pages I'll put it down. If it is a book that has high praise l might go another 50 pages but if it's a struggle I move on.
If it's a book that I think can teach me something (lately I've been reading some non-fiction focusing on social issues) I'll try to power through. That's about it though- if I'm not 1) enjoying the book or 2) learning from it, then my time is better spent on something else.
I have a 'two-tier' system. I give a book 50 pages; if I think there's a possibility it might get better, I give it another 50 pages. But if it feels like a massive chore to continue, I let it go. With 1449 books on my Want to Read shelf, forcing myself to read a bad book feels like a waste of time.
I will usually make an attempt to finish reading a book. If it doesn't grab me immediately I will put it down for a couple of weeks/ months, read something else, then come back to the original book and give it another go. Sometimes they do actually get better with persistence, and end up being a favourite read after all.
I always feel as if I have to finish a book. I am such a bookworm that I can’t quit! I just think that the author didn’t deserve to have their book put down after first judgement. Sometimes, I will decide that I can’t read it after the first few pages, and then come back to it in a few years and lo and behold, I read it and it’s one of my favourite series. I’d suggest to always try to stick with the book if you start to read. You never know!— — —
Oh - one exception. I’m generally good at finishing books, and can always find the good in them, except: Lord of the rings. I can barely start it!
When I was younger, I would always finish a book (even if it would take me months). I spent money on this book, so I will read this book.Now, I stop reading if I feel nothing for the plot, characters, or writing style when I’m a couple chapters in. With some unfinished reads, I might skim to the end to find out what happens. However, I know I truly dislike a book if I outright throw it out without attempting to skim.
Life is too short to waste it on a story I’m not interested in.
I have only not finished about 3 books in my life. I want to finish a book. I recently was reading a book that a friend lent me that I thought I would not get through, and almost didn't finish. but I plowed through. I like some of the comments about Life to short to finish books that aren't to our liking, or as one commented, would you finish a bad meal? Gets me to thinking, do I want to read a book that is really not written well? So many books on my book shelves that I want to read. Why read a bad book?
Nichole wrote: "I used to be in the camp of finishing books no matter what because I felt duty-bound to finish even bad books. Now, life's too short. I know what I like and don't like."Bingo! Exactly the way I feel! I don't want to waste time on something I don't care for. There are too many books on my TBR pile for that. I just dumped a book at 50% - only went that long because it had so many 5-star reviews I kept reading, expecting it to suddenly become a great read. Wasted way too much time on that one!
It just depends on so many factors for me. If I feel like I'm not enjoying a book because the writing is bad or in a style that I strongly dislike, that's an easy DNF. But if I just feel like the story is a slow build (and some are reeeeaaalllly slooooowww) and I'm having trouble getting into it because of the pacing, I will usually stick it out. Some of the books that stuck with me the most when I finished were the hardest to get myself into - Game of Thrones, The Secret History, The Careful Undressing of Love...all felt excruciatingly slow at the start due to the pacing or lack of actual plot movement, but were so impactful that I have never regretted the boredom I felt, sometimes for as much as half the book.
For me it all comes down to what's killing the book. If the style is tedious or the characters are obnoxious, I keep going in hope that the story might still have something to offer. On the other hand, if the basic premise of the book turns out to be tedious or obnoxious then the book gets dumped.
I always finish the book, even if I do not like the book. I just can't leave it incomplete.
I give my books the 50% test- if I can get through 50% and am still enjoying them, I'll continue. Especially if I love the plot, or identify with a character or if the pace is good and not boring me. I have 5 books on my DNF list and have been a Goodreads member since 2010. I also agree that tastes change over time. I do occasionally like to revisit childhood/ teen favourites of mine though. As I alao have drafts of books of my own and would love to publish them, I identify witb the author wit the work put into creating a book, and try to get through as much of it as I can. I also find that by 50%, I have a pretty good basis for a review too.
I agree with number 9, sometimes is just not the moment to enjoy it, but I try again later (maybe a lot later, like 10 years). Maybe I still do not enjoy it, I quit it for the moment but knowing that I can always try again another time :)
Lauriie wrote: "I normally finish my books because I want to know what happens. I have a DNF shelf, but I don't use it much. I have one book which I started, stopped, started again and so on until I finally got t..."
Me too! I really love to find what happens in the end! But when i find it difficult to continue i stop, i put the book down and i read another one. Usually i read 3-4 books at the same time so, i read, i come back and try again, and again!
But yes i have some books too, in my shelves that i couldn't finish as many times as i tried!
I admit I don't finish the book. Like another reader here said, I only have so many years left in my life. I cant spend precious time not enjoying a book.
I give until the halfway point. If I'm still not caught in by then, I leave it. I don't have enough time to deal with a book I dislike. There are so many I am certain I will love that I haven't read yet so any that I don't think will be worth my time, I leave aside.
Alondra wrote: "I hate when good books go bad. LOLI used to force myself to finish, but I refuse to continue reading a book that is just not for me. Not every book is for every body.
Life is too short for bad ..."
Oh Alondra, I SO agree!
I have a DNF shelf - mostly for YA lit that isn't up to my standards - I always want to give the book a try if the synopsis interests me, but if the writing style and I don't mesh, or the author fills the book with lazy tropes instead of interesting characters - I just move on. As stated before, life's too short to read books I'm not required to.If The Great Gatsby hadn't been a course book in high school, I would have DNF'ed it so damn quickly. I do try to stick with an ARC if I got the book solely for review purposes.
Betty wrote: "I agree that life is too short. Especially as I get older. I will stick with it till I quit. Not a particular page or chapter. No Mercy Reads."I agree Betty, and no mercy reads is right!! LOL
