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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 301-350 of 428 (428 new)
I don't usually abandon a book because I like to see where the story goes but there have been times where it became a chore to read and that's when I decide to drop it and move on to something better.
I give a book its first 10%. If a 300-page book hasn't hooked me by page 30, I return it to the library, give it one star on Goodreads, and put it in my "Read" shelf. I thought about creating a separate shelf for DNF's, but I decided that from my point of view, a DNF is the same as a "Read." I've gotten all I can out of that book.Harsh? Yes. Unethical? Maybe. But as I tell my students, "there are a lot of books out there." There's no time to waste on the stinkers. (I mean, "the books that aren't right for me.")
It's rare that I don't finish a book, but if it's that much of a disconnect for me I will DNF. Life is too short and there are too many books out there waiting for me to read.
I usually give it at least 60 pages to draw me in. If not, I have better things to do, better books to read. There aren't very many books that I don't like though, really, so this isn't a problem for me most of the time. ;)😏
I never make a conscious decision to quit a book. I usually am reading more than one at a time. When a book is not interesting, one day I will simply notice that although it is in the reading stack, I have not picked it up for months. I rarely finish the few books that find themselves in that category.
If I'm not engaged within the first few chapters, I move on. A caveat to that "rule" is if I think I will benefit in some meaningful way from the book, then I will make a good effort to finish it.
50 pages is all I read if it's not catching my attention. Unless it's a shorter book than that, then I finish it.
I can only recall one book I have not finished, and that was because the writing was so bad I just could not bring myself to finish it.
I used to finish everything, but I’m older and wiser now. It was my absolute need to know the ending used to make me finish, but now if I’m not enjoy the read, I’ll skip the very end, read it, and then move on.
I check the ending.If I don't like the ending of the book --or the ending of the last book in a series-- I won't read it.
When I read a book of fiction I look for three things: entertainment, information and inspiration. If one is lacking, I might finish the book. However, if two or more have been overlooked, it is a struggle to finish it. I'm reading one now that none of the three: I push on.
I read a certain series because it was so popular with other people. I won't name it because this series was either "love obsessively" or "hate with a passion" and honestly, I'm in the latter category. I forced myself to read the second book because I kept telling myself "it has to get better!" It didn't. But now I'm halfway through the series and maybe it finally gets better at the end. (It did not.) But I learned a very valuable lesson: if I keep checking to see how far along I am in the book, if anything about the story annoys the snot out of me, or if I start fantasizing about hunting down the author and punching her in the face, then no, I don't finish the book. There are so many other great books out there, life is too short to waste on a book I despise by the third chapter. With that particular series, that's a month of my life I'll never get back.
Most of the time I finish the book. I can count on one hand the books that I have started and will never finish. A couple were classics that I just couldn't get past the writing style, one was a surprise, as I had loved the first 7 books in the series and the very last one that came out years later was horrible (so bad I couldn't just cringe a bit and read on - one of the popular series that has been made a movie I did that with - because it was a YA and my daughter was reading it).I will read anything that sounds interesting. So for me to not finish a book...it has to be something very difficult to get through.
A book has to be really bad for me to set it aside. By bad I mean no forward movement, poor prose, flat characters, filled with cliches. I've even been known to return to a book I've stopped reading and give it another try. I like to give authors as much of a chance as possible, but if I still can't make my way through it, it's history.
Betty wrote: "Another good question is when do you stop following a series when it starts to no longer hold your interest. Could the next book return to the author's original quality. Is one bad book a fluke or ..."This comment caught my eye. If an author puts out a book that does not match the quality of the others in a series, in my mind he or she has lost it. To me, it becomes too risky to then give that author another chance when there are so many other writers who have not 'lost it' yet.
Mark wrote: "Take the number of books you read in a year and multiply it by the number of years you might reasonably be expected to live. That's all there will be - ever - do you want to waste it reading a book..."Great advice Mark!
Pegacorn wrote: "I also to to finish the book or I will come back to it later on
I feel like I can't give a fair rating if I don't finish a book, though I give myself a little bit of leeway if I decide I'm not in the mood to read it when I first start it, I'll change it back to "Want to Read" and then maybe pick it up again later.Also, sometimes I will start a book that might be slow the first few chapters, and then it picks up and it'll be one of the best I've ever read. If I'm really having trouble, I might pick another to alternate with, but ultimately, I finish. I admit that if I have to force myself through a book I will tend to give it a very low rating (even if everyone else loves it), and those are the ones I probably should pass on, but again, it's the whole fairness thing. If I'm going to rag on an author's book, I should at least read it all the way through.
I fall in the number 7 category. There have been very few books I haven't finished. I feel like I wasted my time reading some of those books though when I could have been reading something more worthwhile.
I'm in the "life's too short to spend time on pleasure reading that's unpleasurable" camp. I've put down books out of disinterest that I may go back to (those almost never work out, however), and I've finished books that frustrated me because I thought there might be redeeming qualities by the end (and have always been disappointed, unfortunately). But overall, I don't think it's good use of my time making myself unhappy if I don't have to. For others, having curiosity satisfied or gaining a sense of accomplishment for continuing: I don't see it as a waste of time if that is what works for you. It's just not enough incentive for me, that's all, so I stop when I want to, and go back when I want to, which is sometimes never. I don't think it's a failure on anyone's part, either way, but I also don't think that just because I respect every author for putting a book out there that they are owed my time, whether it be my finishing the book or even my choosing to try it in the first place.As for reviews and ratings... my philosophy is that I use ratings only when I've actually completed a book, but feel there's validity in expressing opinions in a review to explain why a reader doesn't finish or why they decide not to read a book. It simply means that I take those opinions with a grain of salt in deciding whether to try the book, and would expect others to do the same with mine, should I ever go that route.
I used to finish every book on paper, because it always was from one of my favourite authors, or a widely recommended bestseller, or a nonfiction book about something I was interested in. But with Kindle my horizon has widened, there are so many books for a few USD or for free. I discovered at least a dozen new authors I will read everything from, but of course many books were a letdown. I stop reading these books, why should I bother? But if I dislike a book from a known / loved author, I try to read it several times, but in the end some of them I give up as well.
Ivan wrote: "Why quiting the reading habbits? In fact more readers now moving to eBooks because of the usability and compatibility. You can carry them anywhere in just one device and keep them safely forever...."
I think people read a lot more now than a few years ago...the only difference, as you pointed out, is that most people read text on a screen and no longer rely on physical books.
I give the book a good chance by reading a few chapters. If the writing style and plot are still not satisfying, I lay it aside . Sometimes, especially with non-fiction, I will try it again at a later date because I have found that the state of my mind changes in the different seasons of life
Life is too short! I used to force my way through books, but not anymore. My time is too precious to me. I try not to stay in bad relationships as well!
Yes, life is too short for bad books! I'm struggling through one right now who has not hit me right away, but has lots of possiblities. 40 per cent in, so I will stay. I loved her other books -Katherine Webb - this is the Misbegotten. For me, they're not bad books; we don't get a connection to the story...usually if we've done our research, its a good book, but may not be my cup of tea.
"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," http://5toppackersandmovers.com/packe...
Yes, there is something to learn in the struggle of getting through a book. Well put!
Until you are 25 or 30 (this is a stand-in for reading experience plus maturity), you should finish each book. With the knowledge of what you like and knowing that disagreeing with a book is not a good enough reason to put it down, you can feel free to DNF ruthlessly. I still have a hard time following this advice.
I use percentage rather than page limit. I figure 100 pages may not be enough to get involved in a 1,000-page book, but 200 pages should be. So 20% is my limit. If I'm not marginally interested by then, I move on.
Hmmm. Once upon a time, published authors generally got their books published because they had talent. Nowadays it seems any 'name' will which will sell a book- reality tv 'stars' et al- can get published, and as a result there's an awful lot of dross out there...
Laertes, there may be offensive masterpieces, different people have different standards and values, but that doesn't mean I need to finish them. Might I learn something from them? Possibly; but I read fiction for entertainment and would rather spend my limited time reading something I enjoy.
I don't force myself to read every page of a book that strikes me as a bad read BUT I do jump to the back to find out the ending. I feel like I at least deserve to know how it ends if I paid the price reading the beginning.
Aenea wrote: "I have a completionist nature. Go through with it to the end even if it's a drag.Unfinished business haunts me like nothing else!"
Just read the ending! ;)
I used to force myself to finish every book, but I realized it was such a waste of time, and there are so many good books out there that it's not worth wasting time on a bad book. So now, I try and give a book 50 to 100 pages before giving up. There was one book that I gave up after about a dozen pages, because I just couldn't stand the writing style, and reading it annoyed me.I gave up on Frankenstein several years ago. I read about 50 pages but couldn't get into it. I gave it another go last year, and loved it!
Betty wrote: "Another good question is when do you stop following a series when it starts to no longer hold your interest. Could the next book return to the author's original quality. Is one bad book a fluke or ..."I generally do not read series, but your comment reminds me of when I read The Babysitters Club books as a child (ages 9/10), and VC Andrews books as a teen. I certainly did not continue with those series, as I grew out of them! But I recall the last VC Andrews series I read, Ruby, and I couldn't stand it, but made myself finish it.
Okay, let me ask you this:If you don't like a book, if it's not enveloping you in it's story, why would you finish it?
Don't you have better things to do?
Athena wrote: "Okay, let me ask you this:If you don't like a book, if it's not enveloping you in it's story, why would you finish it?
Don't you have better things to do?"
People have lots of reasons for plowing through a book, no need to be rude about it.
DNFing book is a very rare thing for me.Usually if I don't like a book, I skip the pages and read the important parts which adds value to the story or I put that book aside for sometime,then try to finish it later
Athena wrote: " If you don't like a book, if it's not enveloping you in it's story, why would you finish it?"It builds character.
Would you expend valuable time on anything else in your life that you weren't enjoying or otherwise benefiting from? I think there's a danger of becoming a bit precious about books per se. Just because someone has written a book and had it published, doesn't necessarily mean it's worth reading to the end.
I want to add my two cents on a feature that I think that should be added to GoodReads, a function that allows people to make the book as a DNF. So that way anyone looking an at the book can see the percentage of people who did not finish.
Anne wrote: "Would you expend valuable time on anything else in your life that you weren't enjoying or otherwise benefiting from? I think there's a danger of becoming a bit precious about books per se. Just bec..."I agree.
Karatics wrote: "I want to add my two cents on a feature that I think that should be added to GoodReads, a function that allows people to make the book as a DNF. So that way anyone looking an at the book can see th..."That sounds like an idea. I don't know how well that would go over, though.
♔ Vee Is A Blind Man Patting An Elephant ♔ wrote: "Athena wrote: "Okay, let me ask you this:If you don't like a book, if it's not enveloping you in it's story, why would you finish it?
Don't you have better things to do?"
People have lots of ..."
I don't think she was being rude.
Nor I, I think it's a perfectly valid question.
Stephanie wrote: "Karatics wrote: "I want to add my two cents on a feature that I think that should be added to GoodReads, a function that allows people to make the book as a DNF. So that way anyone looking an at th..."It sounds like a very good idea.
Karatics wrote: "I want to add my two cents on a feature that I think that should be added to GoodReads, a function that allows people to make the book as a DNF. So that way anyone looking an at the book can see th..."This is an awesome idea!
Karatics wrote: "I want to add my two cents on a feature that I think that should be added to GoodReads, a function that allows people to make the book as a DNF. So that way anyone looking an at the book can see th..."Funny you should mention that now. I asked last year and here is a part of the response I got;
'. . . if you want to add a book from DNF as "read", that is up to you! . . . because books that are in the DNF shelve are considered "Currently Reading" since they don't have a "finished" date.'
I didn't get a 'yes we will add that option' or 'no we won't.'
I always always always finish the book. However, I do change how I read it.If I am really not enjoying a book, I will start reading another, but commit to reading a chapter each day of the one I am not enjoying. That way I can still read for pleasure, but I finish the book eventually.
I don't recommend this to anyone, it's just what I do. I have this nagging thing in my brain that would keep me from enjoying life if I just walked away from a book I had started.
So while reading a badly written or an uninterested book, I'm most likely cussing out the writer all the way to the frustrating end.
At the end of it though, I'll be objective and say, 'well it's just a book and the writer does not give a damn if I like it or not; he or she will not be rewriting it to suit me.
On the other hand, there tons and tons of wonderful books to turn to for a lively and fulfilling read.