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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 151-200 of 428 (428 new)
Muzakir wrote: "Persevere. If you can't persevere through a book then how will you persevere when life throws challenges your way?"Well, reading a bad book is a CHOICE, bad parts of life are not. 😯
i read half of stephen king's bag of bones and it wasn't connecting with me and didn't have a spark...i said to myself i have already given you a big chance and you didn't excite me. I only read that far and stayed because it was from a author that people say his books are good
I try to stick to the 100 page rule. If I get to 100 pages and I'm struggling to stay interested and having to force myself to pick up the book to continue it, I quit. Life's too short to waste time reading books that aren't gripping you.
Used to feel guilty about not finishing a book, so tried giving it 100 pages. Now with all the books I have waiting to be read I no longer hesitate to stop reading. Life is too short to waste reading time on something that just don't click. Not all authors or books are for everyone. If I find a new author and like their style I will end up reading their entire collection of books.
I also try to stick to the 100 page rule. If I am not hooked by then, I quit. But I do give myself the right to read the end. For those who knows Daniel Pennac who wrote "The Rights of the Reader", one of these rights is to read the end even though you haven't read all the book. So I use my rights when needed :-) (which is not that often)
If I am not enjoying a book, or outright hate it, I will skip to the last 2-3 chapters and call it good.
I rarely formally abandon books so much as I forget they exist until I realize I have 2 dozen books listed under currently reading. :)But I will quit if there is a complete lack of chemistry. If I'm liking it on any level, I will usually continue. Now that I'm borrowing more books online from the library, I can ask myself if my interest is enough that I'll finish in the allotted time. If not, I return the book so the next person can receive it faster.
Jeff wrote: "I have a BA in English Literature, finished most of the classics, enjoyed about half of them, and love contemporary as well. HOWEVER, this may shock some, I do not finish more books than I actually..."I am always looking for the "rare book that takes your breath away" as well. I have a "partially finished" shelf for those books I just can't make it through, but for the most part, I finish a book that I start, even if it takes over a year to finish the book. Sometimes you have to experience books that you consider bad in order to truly appreciate the take-your-breath-away books. I like to read all different types of books, both "good" and "bad" so that my reading has plenty of variety, it keeps my reading fresh and diverse.
I stick with non fiction books because I read them to learn something new but fiction books I give up after 80 pages.
When I was younger, I used to finish every book, no matter how much I hated it. Then I realized there had never been an occasion in which I reached the end of a book that was a chore to read and said, "That miserable experience turned out to be a good use of my time. I'm glad I persevered." Ever since, I've been casting off books without qualm.My reading time is precious and limited. I refuse to spoil it with dread and resentment toward a book I don't want to read when there are countless books I would be eager to return to every night.
It depends on the book. I force myself to finish fiction reads, even if I have to break...often. Nonfiction, especially those loaded with lists of names and dates, printed in 11 pt font, thick with academic speak, get reshelved if I can't make it past the halfway mark. There are a couple that have kept me interested three-quarters of the way through. Since most are library loans, the return date comes up quick and I decline to renew.
I will usually give it a go to about quarter of the book (give or take) if I really can't get into it then I DNF it
Generally if I can get between a third and halfway without undue resentment, I will finish it so I can add a number to my yearly tally and/or verbally punch it out with Authority (preferably here on Goodreads). If it's completely awful up to that point, however, it doesn't meet the cost/benefit threshold of ways to spend my time.
I like the 100 pages trial rule, the first 100 pages of a book for me equate to the first half an hour of a movie - by that point the introduction should be set up and a bit of action should be occurring that keeps you interested to the end. I've read two books that I'm glad I gave a 100 page rule rather than abandon. 'Room' by Emma Donaghue, I wouldn't say I wasn't enjoying it for the first 100 pages - but the style was initially jarring because it was from the little boys point of view and I had to wrap my head around it. But once I got used to it, I flew through it and really enjoyed it.
Jasper Jones is another one, at first I wasn't sure about it - the teenage boy perspective was a struggle for me, but after 100 pages I could see why it was such a good book.
The only time I persevere even after 100 pages are classics - even if I don't like I keep going because it's a classic. I finished Anna Karenina even though I wasn't enjoying it, and still think it's one of the most overrated classics of all time.
Maybe when I get a bit older and wiser I'll feel more comfortable abandoning a classic?
I only think i've put away a few books in my lifetime. Usually i'll start reading something new, and come back to them later. With game of thrones, I wasn't feeling it to begin with, so i put it down for about six months. By then I'd finished the tv show, and I ended up reading (and loving) the books.
correction: if the book is shorter than 500 pages long i'll finish it. If it's longer than that, i'll let it go.
#9 makes sound sense.That being said, I probably DNF 2-3 books per month. I read for enjoyment, and if there's something about a book that makes me hate reading it, I'm done with it. If I'm more than halfway through and find myself hating it more and more, I really don't think the ending is going to convince me. I'll just feel mad at myself for wasting my time.
I give a new book 50 pages! There are so many books I want to read that I don't want to bother if the characters are boring, subject doesn't interest me or if I'm falling asleep reading it. I found out my daughter does the same. It's not worth it. Maybe someone else is interested but why waste my time? I love it when a book hooks you right into the story at the first chapter.
If I end up not liking a book I can either drop it as I read it or finish it and drop the rest of the series. Since I'm clearly not going to give it anymore of my time.And usually I'll try to read a book based on the chapters. Say it has 25 chapters I will read the first five chapters and usually by then I can tell if it will end up being a bad read for me.
If the author wanted me to finish their book, then they would have made it good. That's my philosophy.
Jenn wrote: "If the author wanted me to finish their book, then they would have made it good. That's my philosophy."Haha I would hope that'd be their intention with their books. xD
But that's a good philosophy to stick with. :3
I give all Fantasy/Sci-fi, Historical, Classics, and Mysteries 100 pages if I am not drawn in by then I give up. Romances I give 50 pages and then give up sometimes longer if the author is a favorite or highly recommended. I hate DNF books but life is too short to read stuff you don't like. I only have so much reading time.
I usually give a book 100 pages. If I'm not into it then I will move on. I'm not getting any younger and there are a lot of books I want to read, I don't have time to waste on a book I'm not enjoying.
I don't believe in love at first sight. My rule of thumb is to read until at least halfway - I've had books that I ended up loving even though they really did not make a good first impression, so I feel obligated to give every work a fair trial. If I've reached the 50% mark and still hate it, though, it's not worth my time to force myself to finish it - I read for pleasure, and life is too short and my wishlist too long to keep wasting my precious time and focus on slogging through something I'm not enjoying at all.
I used to think I had to finish. But as my remaining years dwindle and my Want to Read list expands, I've realized life is too short to spend with a bad book. So I have a 100 page test. If it hasn't picked up by then, I drop it and move on.
Frank wrote: "If you were eating a terrible meal would you finish it?"Thanks, Frank. I was waiting for someone to come up with an apt metaphor to explain why no one reads or comments on my work.
I usually try to finish any book I start, especially if I am doing it to review. But sometimes I just cannot do it because the book just seems to not be working for me. So if I start to skip ahead and skim pages instead of really reading and enjoying, I have to put it down. I will try to go back later and see if maybe time and distance has made it better. But that is usually a no on better.
Frank wrote: "If you were eating a terrible meal would you finish it?"I would if the alternative was starvation.
Good thing that there are enough good books out there and I have enough money to spare that starvation doesn't look too likely at this time. :D
If a book doesn't grab me pretty quickly, I move on. There are just so many I want to read and there's only so much time. Not to say the books I've skipped out on are bad, they're just not for me. I may have missed out on some good ones, but that's a risk I'm willing to take.
Aqsa wrote: "Cassy wrote: "I have debated this a great deal. I finish every book, even it takes me 2-5 years and I read 50 books in between. I learn something even from the "bad" books. Plus it bothers me to sp..."I get most of my books from my local library - doesn't cost a cent. If it's one I know I'll want to read again, then I'll spend the money to add it to my permanent collection.
I rarely leave a book unfinished, but when I do, it's never a clear, intentional decision of "this is it, I'm putting this book down". I'm someone who reads multiple books at a time, so if a particular book is bad/boring, it never crosses my mind to DNF - I simply continue another of the books I'm reading. In this sense, I've never had a DNF book, because they're technically still at the bottom of my "tbr" and "tbc" pile.In terms of pushing through bad books though, I give up recommendations from my peers the first, because they often read genres I no longer enjoy but keep going with recommendations from my mom, and respected teachers. Favorite authors and genre favorites are also given more tries.
Mediocre books are typically the ones that get left "tbc", but I often finish the worst books, even when I hate them. If a book starts to suck halfway or a third of the way through, I continue reading it, because then I can unabashedly bash it afterward. (you have to give it a fair shot to be allowed to hate it) I guess being remarkably bad is still being remarkable in my books.
It kind of depends on the book, but for the most part and in general, life is too short to read a book that you don't like or that isn't engaging. That's not to say that you can't try it again later because, as others have mentioned, tastes do change. I will usually give a book three to four chapters to wind me up and drag me in and if I'm not hooked by then, I put it away. If I own it, it goes back into the bookshelf (I very seldom give books away), if it's a loaner then back it goes to the original owner. There are some cases where it took me an incredibly long time to read a book, but that always have to do more with some content that I'm struggling with in my head than the quality of or my connection to the book itself. Let the Right One In was one such book and it took me nearly three years to finish it. One of characters was a very unsavory and I had a really hard time getting through the chapters written in his POV. I was good for maybe a page or two before I would put it down and look for a palate cleanser. Took a long time to read that way, but I finished it because the book was overall stunning.
I don't like DNFing a book, and I rarely do. But, if it's just so incredibly awful that I'm falling asleep or skimming through most of it early on, then I will DNF it. That or if there are any of the things that I absolutely cannot stand - like racism or something of the like. The last book I DNFd was because a guy said he wasn't a f**. Nope, just can't deal with that level of bigotry in something I'm reading.
I give it 50 pages and if it’s a struggle or too bland or, above my reading level (not too proud to admit this) I move on to another book hopefully that I will enjoy. That’s not to say I sometimes feel like a failure, especially when it’s a book 90% of the population (even people who don’t read much) are raving about. But, So, So many books and not enough time to read them all in my lifetime.🤪
I use the quarter rule - I take the number of pages and divide by 4 - if I can't get into it by the first quarter- I put it down and go on to another book - if its a book club read I will stick with it until the end --- some of the best books were great until the end - some have surprised me and have been good reads the second half of the book.
When I DNF a book, I normally decide to drop it before completing 5%. Otherwise, I read it. If a book doesn't capture my interest for more than short periods of time, it takes me a very long time to complete, while juggling other books.
It depends why I'm wanting to quit. I stop short story collections fairly regularly because I use them to fill the gap, and I often come back to them. Full books I will stop if I'm beginning to get insulted or overly uncomfortable. I stopped The Preacher's Son recently because I really disliked the direction and the interpretation. But largely if I'm bored I will persevere and review with boredom.
I rarely stop reading a book unless it is too horrific in nature or I find myself slogging through it page by painful page, as in an assigned reading I was to do. Got 1/2-way through the tedium, repetitiveness, 1930's prose and just don't think I can do more. A high school English teacher many years ago used to advise to read the whole thing in case of a surprise ending. I try to live by that, but sometimes if something is moving too slowly (some people LOVE adjectives!!!), I'll skip pages...usually don't miss much in those cases.
I always finished books in the past, when I was younger, but now that I'm older, I don't want to torture myself if I'm truly not enjoying a book. I won't live forever and there are too many great books to read!
I never suffer through a book that I can't get into. I usually give it the first chapter or so and if I don't like it after that I'm done with it. Life is too short to read books that are not enjoyable!
I move on. If I can’t get into a book after the first few chapters I’m not going to waste my time trying to struggle through the rest of it.
Putting a book down or continuing to the end depends on how bad the book is. Just a 'not great' might simply be abandoned, but I book that I truly dislike I will read until the end. I don't feel right reviewing books that I didn't finish, and if a book has truly irritated me I usually want to leave a review telling other readers what is wrong with and why they shouldn't waste thier time. Sticking out the book is the price for leaving that sort of detailed and scathing review, such as the one I left for Doing Good Better (a horrible book on altruism and social profit organizations that immediately went into the trash as soon as I finished subjecting myself the inane and misleading 'arguments' it presented).
I'm definitely on Team To Quit, reading to me is all about satifying the pleasure principle and to fuel my passions, entertainment, gain new knowledge, new places,new cultures, and new things in general. And if a book isn't hitting on some or all of those earmarks or if the story is as dry as milquetoast or totally implausible or worst yet plain bland or boring, I'm out. There are times, however, when I've loved the characters in a book but the plot is thin to nil and I was on team finish just because of the characters.IMHO Reading should be a pleasure not a pain.
Definitely let it go. If I´m struggling to make progress in a book because I´m not enjoying it, I´m usually also thinking about other books I have that I´d rather be reading. I´ll stop & ask myself if I really care about how it ends. If the answer is no, I move on to another book. Having a books-I-hated shelf has been a bit of an eye-opener. I´m surprised by how many books are on it (it also overlaps with my DNF shelf) & I remember why I hated/DNF every one, & it reminds me of how much time I wasted on them, when I could´ve been enjoying a really good book instead (& increasing my to-read shelf that much more). There are so many good books out there - I want to get to as many of them as I can while I still have the chance.
I've never really had the experience of leaving a book unfinished, but I assume that there will one day be a book that I don't have the patience to finish. Once I broaden my reading spectrum, who knows!
I have Not finished very few books.As a latecomer to reading, I used to feel I needed to finish books once I started them. But now I do just like I do with TV and movies. If the book is not taking me to a good place, I stop reading. One time it was for the forty bad words in the first five pages. Another time, it was just poor writing. The other time, the story was not going anywhere after one chapter, so I quit.
But I have to say, I pick books very carefully, so that may be why I DNF so few.
Nichole, you are so right about life being too short! 😀